Introduction
The Archives is in possession of one hundred items donated by Ms. Lan-ying Ku from her family’s collection. The archival materials are rich in both form and content, with the majority being items on property transactions in Beijing from the Qing dynasty to the early Republican Era of China, including contracts and deeds, maps, judgment records, and newspaper clippings of transaction disputes.
Regarding the contracts and deeds, they primarily concern properties in the areas of Dapen and Shengziku alleys as well as a tract of land in Tong county. The earliest and latest records concerning the former are from 1759 during the reign of the Qianlong Emperor (r. 1735–1796) and 1945, respectively; whereas the records of the latter stretch from 1885 during the reign of the Guangxu Emperor (r. 1875–1908) to 1946. Seeing that the documents are well preserved and encompass a long period of time, they provide a clear picture of their related property transactions and allow us to observe evolutions in such dealings, differences in currency units, changes in management agencies, and how property and land transactions in Beijing shifted from being dealings among bannermen to being those from bannermen to citizens of the state, and ultimately, to becoming property directly benefiting the industries of the people. In addition, this collection helps expound how different regimes from the Qing to the Republican Era handled disputes over property rights and transactions through taxation and certification; in other words, these archival materials provide remarkable insight into the workings of local governments.
Regarding the contracts and deeds, they primarily concern properties in the areas of Dapen and Shengziku alleys as well as a tract of land in Tong county. The earliest and latest records concerning the former are from 1759 during the reign of the Qianlong Emperor (r. 1735–1796) and 1945, respectively; whereas the records of the latter stretch from 1885 during the reign of the Guangxu Emperor (r. 1875–1908) to 1946. Seeing that the documents are well preserved and encompass a long period of time, they provide a clear picture of their related property transactions and allow us to observe evolutions in such dealings, differences in currency units, changes in management agencies, and how property and land transactions in Beijing shifted from being dealings among bannermen to being those from bannermen to citizens of the state, and ultimately, to becoming property directly benefiting the industries of the people. In addition, this collection helps expound how different regimes from the Qing to the Republican Era handled disputes over property rights and transactions through taxation and certification; in other words, these archival materials provide remarkable insight into the workings of local governments.