A Primary Discussion on the Pawnage Right

Pawnage right is a particular institution of the Chinese native laws. The earliest existing written regulation of pawnage right appeared in the middle of Tang Dynasty. The contents of pawnage right in the two penal codes of Ming and Qing Dynasties were the same. Pawnage right is not absolutely a sort of usufructuary right. The function of pawnage right also involves not only that of secured property rights but also creditors' rights. Allocation of risk on the pawnage right shall be stipulated by statute in accordance with the real situations. When, in China, the subject matter of pawnage right perishes by reason of force majeure, both the pawnage right and the right to redemption are extinguished, while the right to reconstruct the subject matter is on the party who had the pawnage right. The practice of pawnage right in Mainland China almost follows the relevant rules established in the Nationalist Period. The development of pawnage right in China depends on the value rationality and formal rationality of pawange right.