Tang Equal-Field System

Timeline

1. 624–626Chang'an · ChinaIn the seventh year of Wude, land and tax-service ordinances were set: men aged eighteen and above received one hundred mu, of which twenty mu was hereditary land and eighty mu allocated land; allocated land could not be sold and reverted to the state upon death, laying the land and household foundation for the zu-yong-diao tax.
2. 626–649Prefectures nationwide · ChinaTaizong reformed household registration and gathered fugitives to settle the people; the equal-field system was implemented nationwide alongside household registers and village accounts, with land allocated to returning refugees, becoming the institutional pillar of agricultural recovery and tax-service collection during Zhenguan.
3. 649–700Prefectures nationwide · ChinaUnder Gaozong and Wu Zhou the equal-field ordinances still operated, but land annexation, fleeing and hidden households, and granted lands to nobles increased; insufficient allocation and difficulty in reclaiming land gradually emerged, loosening the institutional foundation and foreshadowing later reforms.