The Population History of China (1368–1953)

CAO Shuji, Ph.D. (1989), Fudan University, is an honorary professor at the Hong Kong Institute for the Humanities and Social Sciences.  His research areas include the history of China’s population and China’s economic environment.  He has published many journal articles and books, including A History of Chinese Immigrates (Ming Period) and A History of Chinese Immigrates (Qing Period) (Fudan University Press, 2022).

List of Tables, Diagrams, and Maps





1 Introduction





2 Reinvestigating the Population of the Ming and Qing





3 Population of Prefectures in the Hongwu Period





4 The Military Population and the Population of National Minorities in the Ming Dynasty





5 The Population Growth and Distribution in the Ming Dynasty





6 The Rapid Population Decline between the Ming and Qing Dynasties





7 The Population of the Four Southern Provinces in the Mid-Qing Dynasty





8 The Population of the Prefectures in Sichuan Province in the Mid-Qing Dynasty





9 Population by Prefecture in Northern China in the Mid-Qing Dynasty





10 The Impact of The Taiping War on the Population





11 The Urban Population in the Hongwu Period





12 The Urban Population in the Late Ming Dynasty





13 The Urban Population in Northern China in the Mid-Qing Dynasty





14 Urban Population in Southern China in the Mid-Qing Dynasty





15 Urban Population of Shandong Province at the End of the Qing Dynasty





16 Urban Population at the End of the Qing Dynasty, the Examples of Zhili and Henan





17 Conclusion


Appendix 1: Population and Population Density of Regions in the Ming Dynasty


Appendix 2: The Number of Li, the Population of Inner Cities and Fu Captials in 1393 (Hongwu’s 26th Year)


Appendix 3: The Population of the County Headquarters (excluding Fucheng and Fuguo) and the Urbanization Rate of the Individual Fu in 1393 (Hongwu 26th Year)


Appendix 4: Urban Population and Urbanization Rate of Individual Fu in 1580 (Wanli 8th Year)


Appendix 5: Changes in the Population of the Individual Fu in the Late Ming and Early Qing Dynasties


Appendix 6: Population of the Individual Fu from 1393 to 1953


Appendix 7: Population of Individual Fu from 1680 to 1953


Appendix 8: Population of Fu and Towns in the Qing Dynasty


Glossary of Chinese Characters


Bibliography


Index