匹兹堡大学东亚图书馆藏土地契约文献简介

Chinese Land Records at the East Asian Library,University of Pittsburgh

2011年,美国匹兹堡大学东亚图书馆从福建一私人收藏家手中购得一批反映福建数百年土地和房屋交易的土地文书,并于2014年将其中的214份文书数字化,包括地契、土地买卖文书、家族析产书、土地税收据等,上自明代(1368—1644),下至20世纪50年代,成为中国以外有关中国土地文书的最大数字馆藏.这些珍贵的原始文献是研究福建乡土社会和文化以及政治史、经济史、社会生活史等不可或缺的珍贵史料.本文拟就这批文书的年代、种类、地域分布以及文献内容及特征作一介绍,以期更好地揭示其文献价值与研究价值,使研究者能够有的放矢、更便捷地利用这些原始资料.

In 2011,the East Asian Library at the University of Pittsburgh acquired from a privatecollector in Fujian Province a group of Chinese land records that reflect the land ownership indifferent historical periods,land tenure changes and land management system of Fujian from Ming dynasty(1368—1644)to 1950s.As historical records they are indispensable for the research andhistorical studies of politics,economy,social life,and local customs of not only Fuijian province,but also China.This article is an introduction to these land records regarding their time period,document type,geographical distribution,and unique research value.