The next seminar of the 10th Year Greater China Legal History Seminar Series (https://www.law.cuhk.edu.hk/app/greater-china-legal-history-seminar-series-2024-25/) organised by CUHK LAW titled “The Dian – a Pre-revolutionary Security Right with Post-revolutionary Implications” will be delivered by Dr. Ulrike Glueck, Managing Partner, CMS Shanghai, China on 28 February 2025.
About the seminar:
The term Dian (典) refers to the following situation: an object, mostly land or buildings, is transferred to a creditor for use in return for payment of a sum of money, the dian price (dianjia – 典價). The dian giver/dian debtor (出典人) can later redeem the dian object in return for repayment of the original dian price. No interest is paid during the term of the Dian. The interest payment by the dian giver is replaced by the use of the dian object by the dian creditor (典權人).
The Dian is a Chinese legal institution with a very long tradition. It was probably already known in the later Han period (25 – 220 AD), but certainly since the Tang period (618 – 907 AD) and became widespread from the Song period (960 – 1279 AD). In the past, legal institutions of the Dian type were widespread in agrarian societies around the world. However, while all these legal institutions already centuries ago became only of historical interest, the Chinese Dian continued to exist into recent times. In PRC case law it can be traced until the 1980s and in the Civil Code of Taiwan, the Minfa (民法), regulations exist until today.
To attend, please register at https://cloud.itsc.cuhk.edu.hk/webform/view.php?id=13703089.