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Throughout Chinese history, Confucians opposed heavy-handed Legalist government control and warned of the negative effects of state intervention in the economy. This did not translate, however, into endorsement of an unfettered private property rights regime. From a Confucian perspective, the state’s obligation to secure the conditions for people’s basic material welfare has priority over the free market and should inform a justifiable regime of property rights.Historically, Confucians advocated for abolishing state monopolies in salt and iron during the Han dynasty, whilst Mencius’ well-field system enabled state-led allocation of land with egalitarian aims, showing that their primary concern does not lie with either the extreme of state-control over the economy or the free market, but rather with the well-being of its people.Nowadays, the special attention given to Confucian values within East Asian property rights regimes incentivises state-led redistribution of resources with egalitarian undertones, for instance in the form of a high share of public housing in Singapore and Hong Kong or the modern revival of Mencius’ well-field system under Deng Xiaoping in the agricultural sector. In these cases, the people’s access to land and housing guaranteeing their basic material welfare has been prioritized over the existence of a libertarian real estate market. The central value of guaranteeing basic material welfare has been promulgated by Mencius and Confucius alike, as they consider the ensured survival of the people as a necessary precondition for a functioning state order.Whilst there has been a widespread belief that Confucianism does in fact oppose private property rights, this essay suggests that Confucianism proposes its own theory of property instead. Rather than challenging property rights per se, it challenges the European and American conceptualisations thereof. Fundamentally, the Confucian theory of property considers property rights to be particularistic and relative to other social considerations, which can override individual rights when required.This Confucian notion of property can not only be seen as an alternative to the Western liberal conception of property; it can also offer a viable starting point for considering a multitude of culturally shaped notions of rights in an international context. Thus, moving away from a West-centric notion and taking other theories such as Confucianism into account can be crucial not only for the Chinese state in designing laws and regulations, but also for the international community when drafting truly international agreements.This essay shows how Confucian-style property rights have influenced the workings of East Asian countries with a Confucian heritage and continue to do so today.