Custom, Land and Livelihood in Rural South China: The Traditional Land Law of Hong Kong's New Territories, 1750-1950Land was always at the centre of life in Hong Kong’s rural New Territories: it sustained livelihoods and lineages and, for some, was a route to power. Villagers managed their land according to customs that were often at odds with formal Chinese law. British rule, 1898—1997, added complications by assimilating traditional practices into a Western legal system. Custom, Land and Livelihood in Rural South China explores land ownership in the New Territories, analysing over a hundred surviving land deeds from the late Ch’ing Dynasty to recent times, which are transcribed in full and translated into English. Together with other sources collected by the author during 30 years of research, these deeds yield information on all aspects of traditional village life—from raising families and making a living to coping with intruders—and evoke a view of the world which, despite decades of urbanisation, still has resonance today. |
Contents
| 1 | |
| 23 | |
The Customary Land Law andTransactions in Land | 95 |
Customary Land Deeds | 183 |
A Note on Measures | 401 |
Notes | 409 |
Bibliography | 459 |
| 479 | |
| 499 | |
Common terms and phrases
absolute sale acres agreed verbally ancestral trust arable Block Crown Lease brothers cash Chan Cheung Chau clan close relatives collection of Dr copy Crown Rent Customary Land Law descent line dollars Dr J. W. Hayes elders fields figure five handed heir Hong Kong Government Imperial Land Law inherited Kong Public Records Kowloon Kowloon City Kuang Hsii land deeds Land Tax Registry Lantau Lantau Island loan Ma Wan Magistrate market price middleman Moon mortgage Note official paid perpetual tenancy place called probably Public Records Office purchaser redeemable sale registered rent-charge rice-land is issued Royal Asiatic Society Sai Kung sale of rice-land Sha Tau Kok Sha Tin Shan Shek Pik signature taels tau tsung tei kwat landholder tei pei tenants Tin Liu transaction Tsuen Wan Tsui Tung vendor verbal agreement village community White Deed witness Wo Hang Wong Wu Kau Tang Yeung Yung