The Calculation Methods and Incremental Approaches of the Acreage of Privately-Owned Ponds in the Late Qing Dynasty: An Investigation Centered on the Fish-Scale Registers of Lanxi in the Tongzhi Reign of the Qing Dynasty
Abstract
By conducting an in-depth analysis of the Fish-Scale Registers (yulin tuce 魚鱗圖冊 ) of Lanxi 蘭 溪 during the Tongzhi 同 治 Reign (1862-1874) of the Qing Dynasty, this study systematically reveals the methods used to calculate the taxation category known as “acreage of privately-owned ponds” and the specific approaches to incremental distribution in the Late Qing Dynasty. The research finds that the local customary method of measuring the area of privately-owned ponds was not as simple as the “rough estimation and declaration” recorded in the local chronicles. Instead, it was a comprehensive approach integrating multiple dimensions, including irrigation efficiency, fishery output, land grade ratios, and folk negotiations, which skillfully converted intractable values into measurable output quantities. The incremental changes made to the privately-owned ponds were, in fact, a dynamic and complex process. Ranging from adjusting shares for a single owner to reconstructing interests among multiple owners, and from technical measurement rules to social-level property rights negotiations, this process demonstrates the unique institutional flexibility and practical wisdom of traditional rural societies in resource management.
Keywords
fish-scale registers, privately-owned ponds, acreage calculation, increment
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