Includes bibliographical references and index.

Introduction : the mystic role of land tenure reform in sustainable rural development -- International context of land tenure reform : theo retical reconstruction -- A brief account of 600 years of China's land struggles before the market reform era -- China's land tenure reform si nce 1970s : crossing the river by touching the stones? -- Withering hou sehold responsibility system and sustainable natural resource managemen t in north China -- Land transfers for scaled development : an economic fix or marginalization of the poor? -- Innovative pro-poor collective land tenure : case study of a village commune in southern China -- Cond itions and dynamics of pro-poor land tenure.