本文透過三十份鬮書，研究清代草屯的社會與經濟。 清代草屯的社會是傳統的社會，三代同堂，同居共財，在第二代或第三代分家，遵守諸子均分的原則。因為草屯是開墾最前哨，每個個人獨立性更強，自由也更多，舊傳統逐漸在改變，父母親已不為鬮書的立書人。 清代草屯是一個小農經濟的型態，嘉慶時最大的家有二十甲水旱田園，七房分了每房只有二甲多；光緒時最大的家有五十餘甲水旱田，六房分了，每房自三甲多到七甲多。家庭收入除農作外，還有出租田地、放貸取息。草屯的小租、利息都比北台灣高。另外有部分資金投入油車、糖的農產加工。近代的工商業尚未萌芽，新時代似乎要到日治初期才開始出現。

This paper investigates the socioeconomic conditions during the Ching Dynasty in Tsaotun through thirty allotment agreements. The society in Tsaotun of the Ching Dynasty was a traditional one. A family might live together for three generations and share the common property. However, the shared property would often be evenly divided among the male offspring, when the males of the second or third generation had grown up. Because Tsaotun was a frontier of the reclamation movement, individuals could be more independent and could have more autonomy. The traditional customs then were gradually losing their social sanctions. As a result, an agreement that set forth the division of property was not made by parents as it traditionally was. The socioeconomic condition in Tsaotun of the Ching Dynasty presented a small-farmer economy. In the Jia-Ching era (1796-1820 A.D.), the family which owned the most estates possessed twenty Jia (approximately twenty hectares) of fields and orchards. They were distributed to seven sons, and each son received less than three Jia. In the Guang-Hsiuh era (1875-1908 A.D.), the richest family possessed a little more than fifty Jia of fields and orchards. They were then distributed to six sons, and each son received estates ranging from three to eight Jia. In addition to crops, family income included the rent from sharecroppers and interest of loans. The rate of rent and interest were all higher than those in the northern areas in Taiwan. People also invested their money in businesses that processed produce, for example a small factory that processed peanut oil or cane sugar. Yet, the modern industry had not appeared, and the modernized society was not formed until the early days of the Japanese Colonial period.