ABSTRACT
The amount of cultivated land in the Ming dynasty has been controversial for a long time. Through the analysis of the official records and local gazetteers of the Ming, it can be seen that the land in the early Ming was managed by both the administrative system and the military system. The amount of land managed by the administrative system was recorded by the Ministry of Revenue and was made public. The military system, consisting of garrisons and guards (weisuo), also had independent jurisdiction over a large amount of land. The sum of the two was the true amount of cultivated land in the Ming dynasty. For reasons of confidentiality, the land of the garrisons and guards in the military system were effectively “hidden,” resulting in differences in the estimated amount of land under cultivation.
