Modern Social Science Research

This article focuses on the major changes in land and core economic systems in early China (from the Western Zhou Dynasty to the Xin Dynasty). Taking the "Well-Field System"—Shang Yangs Reforms—the Salt and Iron Monopoly—and Wang Mangs Reforms as key nodes, it analyzes the evolution from the communal practice of "public land for public cultivation" to the family-based transformation of "public land for private cultivation," then to the nationalization of industry and commerce, and finally to Wang Mangs attempt at comprehensive nationalization, integrating the past and the present. The study finds that these reforms profoundly reflect the exploration of the relationship between "public" and "private" by different dynasties. Their successes and failures not only shaped the economic foundation and social structure of ancient China but also revealed the eternal struggle between political power, economic efficiency, and social stability, providing important historical insights for understanding the path of Chinese institutions.

The Square-Fields System; Land; Reformation