Abstract: The transformation of public assets（Gongchan） in modern China was closely related to the evolution of local public utilities and national governance mechanism, and bears the historical changes of the concept of “public” （Gong）. From the perspective of property rights, this paper examines the historical change of Gongchan management system at the county-level of Zhejiang Province during the Republic of China. Gongchan in Ming and Qing Dynasty was the property owned by grassroots level non-governmental organizations that took care much of the needed public services. After the founding of the Republic of China, the county-level Gongchan was brought under the unified management of local self-government, and its property rights， different from government or private property， were confirmed and regulated by national laws. However， its implementation was affected by the changes in national politics and personal disputes. There was also a conflict between the traditional way of Gongchan operation and management and the new mission of promoting modern public services. The above-mentioned factors caused many problems in the management of Gongchan by local self-government organizations， resulting in deepening the conflicts between local self-government organizations and the government and the people. The Nanjing National Government allowed local self-government organizations continue the management of Gongchan， and related problems were further magnified. Under the wartime pressure in the mid-1930s， the Nanjing government implemented certain administrative system reform at the county-level in order to extract more revenue， and gradually incorporated Gongchan into government management. In the process， the meaning of Gongchan expanded to include both government property and traditional Gongchan. The concept of “public”， once embedded in the traditional public property system and representing the common interests of specific groups， was eventually replaced by the meaning of referring to the state， the imperial court， and society as a whole.

Key words: Gongchan, local self-government, grass-root public utility, modern state transformation