The Modern Jinjiluyu Clan Land

The modern time is an important period for the development of the clan fields. And for the social and economic history of modern times, an important task is to know the characteristics and influence of the clan fields. The present research of the clan fields mainly focuses on the south of China, and rarely on the north. In order to uncover the nature and value of the clan fields and reveal their regional characteristics, this thesis has made a comprehensive investigation on the clan fields of four Northern provinces, namely Shanxi, Hebei, Shandong and Henan.Generally speaking, clan fields were few and distributed unevenly in these four provinces in modern times. It is reported that clan fields accounted for 1%-2% of the total land in each province.The clan fields were mainly donated and bought fields, therefore, their increase depended largely on clans'economic levels. As a result, clan fields were hard to be internalized and normalized and had a fluctuate development. Leaders of clans managed clan fields either strictly or loosely in the light of actual conditions. At that time, clan-owned fields were cultivated by people of their own clans or rented by others. As time went on, the functions of clan fields diversified, but the main function was still the sacrifice. On the basis of the research, this thesis has further compared the clan fields of the south and the north.The subject and objective aspects influencing the development of clan fields have been studied to further investigate the causes of the underdevelopment of the clan fields of the north, with an aim to reveal the regional characteristics of these four provinces in modern times and display the original appearance of the clan fields of the north.