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Tang equal-field system

Type Object Region China Time 485–800

The equal-field system was a medieval Chinese land system allocating fields by household and curbing consolidation, promulgated by Northern Wei Emper…

Timeline

  1. 485Luoyang · HenanNorthern Wei Emperor Xiaowen promulgated the equal-field edict, allocating open fields and mulberry fields to adult men and women, with rules for return and reallocation terms, to curb land consolidation and restore the household registration and tax-labor base.
  2. 501–580Northern Qi and Northern Zhou territories · North ChinaNorthern Qi and Northern Zhou continued the equal-field system amid war and population movement, adjusting allocation standards and return terms, providing an institutional legacy for the Sui to continue the system after unification.
  3. 581–600Daxing City · ShaanxiAfter unification, Emperor Wen of Sui carried out the great census and household registration reform; the equal-field system was linked to collecting the zu and diao taxes, becoming the foundation of state finance and land allocation during the Kaihuang era.
  4. 618–800Territory of the Tang Empire · ChinaThe Tang equal-field edict detailed hereditary fields, life-term fields and various allocation standards, operating alongside the zu-yong-diao tax; after the An Lushan Rebellion, land consolidation intensified, the equal-field system existed in name only, and it was gradually replaced by the two-tax system.

Sources