Compilation of Fish-Scale Registers

Name: Compilation of Fish-Scale Registers
Start: 1371
End: 1380

Type Event Region China Time 1371–1380

In the early Ming, land surveys during the Hongwu era produced fish-scale registers recording each plot's boundaries, area, and owner for taxation;…

Timeline

1371–1373Zhejiang · Zhejiang ProvinceThe Ming court carried out land surveys in Jiangsu, Zhejiang, and elsewhere, measuring fields plot by plot, recording boundaries and owners, and drawing registers resembling fish scales as a basis for land-tax collection, accumulating experience for nationwide rollout.
1374–1380Provinces of the Ming dynasty · ChinaAlongside household registration and compilation of yellow registers, prefectures, departments, and counties across the realm carried out land surveys, compiling fish-scale registers cross-checked against yellow registers, forming an early Ming registry system giving equal weight to household and land records.