Equal-field system country Tang dynasty
Basis
The system worked on the basis that most land was owned by the government, which would then assign it to individual families. All individuals, including slaves, were entitled to a certain amount of land, the amount depending on their ability to supply labor. For example, able-bodied men received 40 mu of land (around 1.1 hectares or 2.7 acres), and women received less, and more land was granted per ox owned by the family. After they died, the land would revert to the state to be reassigned, but provisions were allowed for inheritance of land that required long-term development, such as farms for mulberry trees (for silkworms).
The system was intended to foster the development of land and to ensure that no agricultural land lay neglected. That prevented aristocrats from developing large power bases by monopolizing the fields and allowed the common people to take part of the land and ensure their livelihood. It also allowed the government to develop a tax base and slowed the accumulation of land by vast, untaxable estates. It was also used by the Tang dynasty to break the dynastic cycle, the idea that all dynasties would end. Having people receive the land from the government would make them feel that the government gave them something even though it never left.
Nation State Land Territory