Technical Forms, Economic Benefits and Local Governance of the “District Field Method (Outianfa)” in Qing Dynasty

By tracing the source of the technical forms of outianfa (区田法, lit. “district field method”) in the Qing Dynasty, we find a contradictory phenomenon in traditional agricultural technology. On the one hand, compared with the original outianfa of the Han Dynasty, the modified form and system improved land utilization rates and increased operability. Its field management method was more refined and mature with regard to deep ploughing, shallow cropping, sparse planting and ripe manure. On the other hand, due to human, water and fertilizer restrictions, despite its seemingly rigorous and perfect technical system, its high yield target would have been difficult to achieve, and it could not be popularized on a large scale, resulting in a lack of economic functionality. The cause of this phenomenon was that the local governance logic behind it was that the top-down regional experiment led by the gentry connected technology and power, the ultimate goal being to build the grassroots order in which they lived, thus forming a unique landscape of technological education in traditional society.