Culture Insider: Housing issues in ancient China

A Qing Dynasty residence belong to a former official in Shanxi province [Photo/IC]

The Song Dynasty (960-1297), meanwhile, specified the regulation and required house sellers to first ask relatives, and then neighbors. The Yuan Dynasty (1271-1368), on the other hand, added that relatives and neighbors must sign their consent on a piece of paper. This regulation lasted until Qing Dynasty (1644-1911), although in some parts of the country it continued until the Republic of China's Minguo Era (1912-1949).

The result of this policy was that many people were unable to sell their properties as sometimes relatives or neighbors would refuse to cooperate with them. The purpose of the regulation was to keep the clan intact as property was treated as a legacy left by ancestors and selling it cause fight within the groups. Another goal was to reduce migration and control the society.