Since the Qin and Han Dynasties, all dynasties have attached great importance to population statistics and tried their best to find out the number of workers under their control. Because workers are basic social productive forces, they can create material wealth and are the main targets of exploitation by rulers. The number of military service and corvee is closely related to the population. Therefore, the population records after Qin and Han dynasties are quite rich. However, these figures are only official figures. In essence, people of past dynasties concealed population figures in order to escape corvee and taxes. For example, although we have made great efforts, there are still problems of underreporting and concealing population figures in cities, but the phenomenon of hiding household registration still exists in rural areas, especially in mountainous areas, because people have to apply for household registration, and those who do not conform to the family planning policy will be punished and fines will often occur.
Because the hidden population is a common phenomenon, the comparison of population figures in different dynasties can still reflect the increase or decrease of registered permanent residence and the size of population density. In addition to natural appreciation, death and natural disasters, the main factors affecting population growth and regional distribution in historical periods are political turmoil and war. At the same time, migration is also an important factor. Especially after the Western Jin Dynasty, due to the war in the north and the influence of its natural environment, a large number of people moved south, which reduced the population in the north and increased the population in the south.
First, the pre-Qin period.
The first national population survey in China was completed in the Qin Dynasty, and these statistics were not left behind. But it was taken over by Liu Bang after Qin's death. When Liu Bang entered Xianyang, Xiao He "collected the imperial edict of the Prime Minister of Qin Dynasty", thus making Liu Bang a "person who knows what's going on in the world, the number of registered permanent residence, the strength and weakness, and the sufferings of the people". Later, when Liu Bang passed through Quni County (now southeast of Dingxian County, Hebei Province), he asked Shi Yu: "What is the geometry of Quni hukou?" The suggestion replied: "There are more than 10,000 households in the third day of the Emperor, and the number of soldiers starts at intervals, and many die without seeing them. Today, there are 5,000 households. " It is conceivable that the number of households in each county at that time was clear.
The statistical system of household registration in Qin Dynasty was based on Qin State. As early as Qin Xiangong, the system of "unified household registration" was implemented, which was made stricter by Shang Yang's political reform, and the age of the population was regarded as an important factor in registering household registration. "Year of Boys' Book" and "Fu Ji" were officially listed as household registration items. Women's age was registered at the latest in the Western Han Dynasty. Emperor Hui Di once issued a decree: "If a woman is over 15 to 30 years old and does not marry, five counts."
The population of the Qin Dynasty was similar to that of the Warring States period, that is, about 20 million people.
Second, in AD 2, the number of households in the Western Han Dynasty was the earliest existing population in China.
This population can be found in Geography of Hanshu, which records the registered population in the second year of the Western Han Dynasty (AD 2), 12233062 households with 59,594,978 people. Compared with the Qin Dynasty, the population increased by nearly 40 million. The reason why this happens is that we have learned the lessons of Qin's death in the early years of the Western Han Dynasty, shared the interest with the people, and there was a situation of "the rule of cultural scenery". During the period of Emperor Wu of the Han Dynasty, the land expanded greatly and the society developed greatly. So the prosperity of the Western Han Dynasty appeared. Generally speaking, the increase of population is a manifestation of economic development, because the increase of population will inevitably lead to an increase in the production of food and other materials.
This statistic is of great significance to the study of China's ancient population, geography, history, economy, society, politics, culture and military affairs.
It should be said that this statistic is relatively accurate. Because during the rule of the Western Han Dynasty for more than 200 years, the function of the feudal state machine was brought into normal play, and the population survey system began to improve. Moreover, the tax system of the Western Han Dynasty includes all men and women over three years old, and its administration is efficient. Therefore, although there are some omissions or concealment, it is still recognized as one of the most accurate data among the existing household registration numbers in past dynasties. This figure not only shows the population of the whole country and counties, but also records the population of individual counties. Since Ban Gu started this precedent, feudal dynasties have generally followed it, which has become an important material for us to study the historical population today.
Judging from the population statistics of the Western Han Dynasty. At that time, the population in the north was more than that in the south, equivalent to a quarter of that in the north, which reflected the general situation of economic development in the north and south at that time and showed that the economic development in the north was better than that in the south. At that time, the border counties were sparsely populated and could not be compared with the mainland, which was the same as that of the Qin Dynasty. In the Qin dynasty, in order to change the situation that the border was vast and sparsely populated, the method of "emigrating to the real border" was adopted.
The war at the end of the Eastern Han Dynasty prompted northerners to migrate to the south, indicating that the concept that the climate in the south was not suitable for Han people had changed in the Western Han Dynasty. In short, during the Eastern Han Dynasty, the population of northern counties generally decreased, but increased in some cases, while it generally increased in the south, and some counties even exceeded several times. This may be because northerners are used to the natural conditions in the south, such as climate change, which leads to continuous migration to the south.
Third, the population was scarce in the Eastern Han, Wei and Jin Dynasties, and the surrounding ethnic groups migrated internally.
Different from the Qin Dynasty and the Western Han Dynasty, the Eastern Han Dynasty restricted the migration of local population to the mainland, but it still showed that the border areas were sparsely populated. Although border residents are not allowed to migrate inward, more and more nomadic tribes have migrated to Senegal. The reasons for their migration are different, some are forced to move in, some are gradually infiltrated, and some are approved by the rulers.
Wei, Jin, Southern and Northern Dynasties is a period of great ethnic integration in China's history. Ethnic minorities such as Xiongnu, Xianbei, Jie, Di and Qiang not only migrated in large numbers, but also established their own different regimes, that is, the period of "five lakes and sixteen countries" in history. You can imagine the grand occasion of population migration at that time. To this end, Jiang Tong and others at that time put forward the theory of "moving to Rong", that is, the northern nationalities who moved inward would move back to their original places.
Fourth, Sui and Tang Dynasties
The population of Sui Dynasty reached 56-58 million in its heyday, that is, after 400 years of repetition in Wei and Jin Dynasties, it basically recovered to the highest number in the Eastern Han Dynasty. In a short period of time, the population of Sui has increased a lot, which is due to the emphasis on household registration. In 585, Sui conducted a nationwide "big search" and checked his age and physical appearance according to the household registration book. If he lied about his age and cheated the old and the young to escape class service, once he was found, his Chang Bao, Lv Zheng (Li Zheng) and Zuzheng (general manager) would all be transferred. By 609, more than 640,000 people had been discovered.
In the early Tang Dynasty, with the war in the late Sui Dynasty, the population decreased again, only about 27 million people. With the economic development of the Tang Dynasty, the population of the Tang Dynasty reached 80-90 million. After the Anshi Rebellion, the population dropped sharply, and it dropped to about 60 million in the later period.
Verb (abbreviation of verb) Song Liao Jin
In Song Dynasty, the population was around 1 100 million, accounting for 40% in the north and 60% in the south. The reason for the increase in population at this stage is that the area of cultivated land has increased greatly during this period. According to Professor SJGH's calculation, the highest amount of cultivated land in Song Dynasty was about 720 million mu. He thought that this amount was unprecedented not only in the previous generation, but also did not exceed this amount in the later Yuan and Ming Dynasties. At the same time, rice, especially early-maturing and drought-tolerant professional rice, will be promoted between Jianghuai and Jianghuai. These two measures are of great significance to population growth.
The population of Liao is about 4 million.
The population of Jinshi is as high as 60 million. Together with the Southern Song Dynasty, Xixia (3 million people), Dali and other tribes, there were about1200,000 people in the country at that time.
Six, yuan, Ming and Qing
The highest population in the Yuan Dynasty was 85 million.
Mr. He Bingdi estimated the population of Ming Dynasty to be 1368- 1953. Population research in China. Mr. Ge thinks that by the 28th year of Wanli (1600), the population will reach1970,000.
The population data of the Qing Dynasty studied by Mr. He Bingdi in the United States were 65.438+0.50 billion in the 39th year of Kangxi, 275 million in the 44th year of Qianlong (65.438+0.779) and 36.5438+0.30 billion in the 59th year of Qianlong (65.438+0.794). Because the Taiping Rebellion broke out in the 30th year of Daoguang, and hundreds of millions of people were lost in the oppression and resistance of cities and towns in 14, the population of Qing Dynasty never recovered to 430 million, which was the highest in China's feudal society.
Some scholars call it "population deprivation", but Mr. Ge Xiongjian thinks: "It should be evaluated from the relative growth and absolute growth of population. From the perspective of relative growth, that is, the percentage of growth rate and total growth, the population of Qing Dynasty is not a miracle. From Shunzhi 12 (1655) to Daoguang 30 years (1850), the total population increased from1190,000 to 430 million, with an average annual increase of 6. Taking Xuantong three years as the end point and the population of that year as the base, the average annual growth rate is 4.7 ‰. Compared with the previous periods, the average annual growth rate and total growth rate are lower than those of the Western Han Dynasty by any standard. During the two hundred years of the Western Han Dynasty, the average population growth rate was about 7 ‰, which reached 10‰ in previous decades. In the early Eastern Han Dynasty, the early Tang Dynasty and the Northern Song Dynasty, the average annual growth rate was higher than the relative growth rate. The actual annual population growth rate is between 7‰~ 10‰.
Judging from the net growth of population, the population development in Qing Dynasty was indeed a miracle. The reason for this miracle is that the Qing Dynasty ruled for more than 200 years and basically maintained peace and stability of 160 years. Another important reason is that Kangxi 5 1 (17 12) implemented the policy of "breeding population will never be given". Before that, it was an important tendency to conceal the population. Because local officials conceal accounts, it means that they can reduce the taxes they pay; Corrupt officials can enrich themselves and ease the relationship with local strongmen; Honest officials can reduce the local burden and avoid new apportionment by superiors. People can pay less or no taxes if they report less household registration or even the whole family evades registration. Of course, these are illegal acts, and once they are pursued by the court or the boss, they may be punished, lose their official positions and even die. But when this phenomenon is quite common, the court can do nothing. Once it becomes a practice, the appropriate proportion of concealment will be rationalized, at least it will be acquiesced, and it will be added to praise as a story of honest officials pleading for the people. If they suddenly declare that they have ulterior motives, both public and private will suffer big losses. Most people flee or hide their hukou out of helplessness and can only be reckless. And most of them can only be exploited by powerful landlords, which is nothing more than the lesser of two evils. It is the powerful landlords who really dare to hide many people, and the local officials can't help it. Their actions were actually acquiesced by the government. Since it is stipulated that freshmen will never be given new hukou, hidden hukou can be made public, and people dare to give birth again. So the population of Qing dynasty increased greatly.