Sources of “Total Population Increased” in National Gazetteer
of Qing Dynasty: a case study of Jiangsu
Zhang Xinmin
Institute of Chinese Historical Geography, Fudan University, 200433, China
Abstract
For historical demographers, Da Qing Yi Tong Zhi (National Gazetteer of Qing
Dynasty) is very famous for its complete and detailed records involved with
population data in late imperial China. Those records include three types, which are
Yuan-E Ren Ding (original ding), Zi Sheng Ren Ding (ding increased), and Zi Sheng
Nan Fu Da Xiao (total population increased). By Ho Pingti’s contribution in 1959,
scholars are familiar with ding’s essence as a fiscal unit, not real population data.
Compared with the former two types of ding, the third one, Zi Sheng Nan Fu Da Xiao,
is emphasized by historical demographers for its direct relationship to baojia
registration in Qing dynasty. However, can we put those data into population research
without any further consideration?
Based on Da Qing Yi Tong Zhi of three editions and compared with local
gazetteers, Fu-I Quan Shu (The Complete Books of Taxes and Corvee Labor), and
palace archive of Qing dynasty, this paper attempts to reveal the complicated sources
of Zi Sheng Nan Fu Da Xiao. Set Jiangsu as an example, this study puts forward a
hypothesis on how Zi Sheng Nan Fu Da Xiao being produced, indicating that Zi
Sheng Nan Fu Da Xiao is attributed to a synthesis of baojia registration in Jia-qing
period of Qing dynasty and ding assessment in the ninth year of Yong-zheng period of
Qing dynasty. The process of reconstruction also reflects compilers’ unfamiliarity
with terminologies involved.
To sum up the discussion on sources of Zi Sheng Nan Fu Da Xiao, it is certainly
not justified to regard those figures as exact measures of China’s population size or
growth rate because there is no accuracy in those figures from government
publications, and any study that applies those data directly is bound to lead to absurd
results.
No study on history is perfect. This paper just explores the possibility on
discovering the formation of population data in historical documents by providing a
hypothesis to explain how those figures being produced.
1
Introduction
Before China’s first population census held in Xuan-tong period of Qing dynasty,
there are two ways for government to collect population data, Ren Ding Bian Shen
(ding assessment) and Min Shu Hui Bao (baojia registration).
Ho Pingti (1959) makes use of local gazetteers and private writings to prove that
the number of ding in ding assessment had failed to represent the actual numbers of
tax-paying adult-males when the meaning of ding developed from its official
definition as adult-male from sixteen to sixty years old to a fiscal unit. Thus, there are
little possibilities for historical demographers to estimate the growth of population or
to reconstruct population data during early Qing times by the help of ding assessment
and its records.
Different from ding assessment as to calculate ding taxation and corvee labor,
baojia registration has nothing directly to do with taxation. Inefficient as
implementation of baojia registration is, its records, including households and mouths,
are not underestimated by modern scholars because of its merits in two aspects. One
is consistency in time. According to relevant provisions, provincial officials must send
the results of baojia registration to the emperor in the eleventh month of each year,
more frequently than quinquennial ding assessment. The other is detailed contents.
Concentrating not on ding, baojia registration focuses on de jure population,
including local Han inhabitants, army, and some minorities (Hou, 2008). Nowadays
the records of baojia registration are mainly kept in the following three types of
materials. (1) Palace archives; (2) Qing shi lu (Veritable Records of Qing Dynasty)
and Qing san tong (Three Books on Regulations of Qing Dynasty); and (3) Gazetteers,
including national ones and local ones.
For (1) and (2), an obvious defect is that there are only records about nation and
provinces. And even those national or provincial totals are full of textual errors and
counting mistakes (Skinner, 1987) (Wang, 1997), which brings great difficulties to
relevant researches. As regards local gazetteers, the records are not complete in areas
and lack of consistency in time. Some counties are within the records while other
counties are gaps, and there are data in some years while blank in other years. On the
contrary, records in national gazetteer, for example, Da Qing Yi Tong Zhi (National
Gazetteer of Qing Dynasty), are more feasible for their integrity and accuracy. In Da
Qing Yi Tong Zhi, the figures of households and mouths not only cover three
jurisdiction areas of general, eighteen provinces, and hundreds of prefectures but also
2
can be fixed to a standard time, the twenty-fifth year of Jia-qing period of Qing
dynasty. Therefore, such temporal-spatial data are frequently applied to population
researches without any further consideration.
A comparative study between records of baojia registration form 1787 to 1898
kept in palace archive and the ones in national gazetteer indicates that the data in
national gazetteer generally reflect the population data in twenty-fifth year of Jia-qing
period of Qing dynasty except the data of Jiangsu (Jiang, 1993). Focusing on the
exception, the researcher claims without any detailed explanation that the data of
Jiangsu in national gazetteer can be divided into two different types, one reflects total
population status in twenty-fifth year of Jia-qing period of Qing dynasty while the
other reflects male population status in early Jia-qing period of Qing dynasty. Later a
duplicate research tests the conclusion above by abundant materials from local
gazetteers (Cao, 1997).
However, a detail from the duplicate research catches my attention, resulting in
the core problem of this paper. When discussing numbers of Suzhou prefecture, the
researcher gets confused by such phenomenon that the sum of two numbers from
national gazetteer, Zi Sheng Nan Fu Da Xiao (total population increased) and Yuan-E
Ren Ding (original ding), equals approximately to population data from local
gazetteer (Cao, 1997). As mentioned before, ding is usually considered as fiscal unit,
and original ding is often thought to inherit from tax returns of late Ming times. With
such stereotype, the researcher just takes the phenomenon as a coincidence without
further consideration, because tax returns of Ming dynasty have nothing to do with
population data of Qing dynasty.
In fact, original ding in national gazetteer is not from tax returns of late Ming
times, but is based on ding assessment in the ninth year of Yong-zheng period of Qing
dynasty (Zhang & Hou, 2010). Under the new perspective, the unusual phenomenon
about Suzhou prefecture seems to be a key to a more complicated and interesting
issue, i.e. if the phenomenon is not coincidence, but prevails among the whole Jiangsu
area, the sources of Zi Sheng Nan Fu Da Xiao would be uncovered.
By use of palace archive, Fu-I Quan Shu and local gazetteers, this paper attempts
to carry out a case study on Jiangsu as to reveal the sources of Zi Sheng Nan Fu Da
Xiao in national gazetteer.
3
Area, Materials, and Methods
1. Area
The study area of this study is Jiangsu, one of the most prosperous areas with high
population density in Qing dynasty.
As mentioned before, the data of Jiangsu in national gazetteer are very special for
their unmatched relationship to the ones in palace archive, which is the reason why
Jiangsu is chosen as the study area. In Qing dynasty, the administrative division
consists of three main levels, province, prefecture, 1 and county. As regards Jiangsu,
there exist for a long time two provinces, Right province and Left province. Right
province is constituted by Suzhou prefecture, Songjiang prefecture, Changzhou
prefecture, Zhenjiang prefecture, Taicang prefecture, and Haimen prefecture, while
Left province is constituted by Jiangning prefecture, Huai’an prefecture, Yangzhou
prefecture, Xuzhou prefecture, Haizhou prefecture, and Tongzhou prefecture. (For
details, see figure 1)
Fig. 1. Map of Jiangsu Area
Sources: The original map is the map of Qing dynasty in 1820 from CHGIS v4.0, Institute of Chinese
Historical Geography, Fudan University.
1
Prefecture in Qing dynasty consists of three types, Fu (府), Zhi Li Zhou (直隶州), and Zhi Li Ting (直隶厅).
4
2. Materials
The historical materials used by this study include palace archive, national
gazetteer, local gazetteers, and Fu-I Quan Shu.
In spite of errors and mistakes, palace archive keeps abundant records on
regulations, provisions, and precedents of baojia registration, which are very useful to
understand how baojia registration being carried out by local magistrates. There are
three editions of national gazetteer 1 in Qing dynasty, and only the last one contains
both original ding and Zi Sheng Nan Fu Da Xiao.
In this paper, two kinds of data will be collected from local gazetteers. The first
one is data on ding. Take Jiangnan Tong Zhi (Local Gazetteer of Jiangnan Area) for
example, this book is compiled in Qian-long period of Qing dynasty and contains
detailed records about ding assessment in the ninth year of Yong-zheng period of Qing
dynasty, which consist of Yuan-E Ren Ding (original ding), Shi Zai Ren Ding (current
ding), Zi Sheng Ren Ding (ding increased), You Mei Ren Ding (exempt ding), and
Dang Cai Ren Ding (ding on duty). (For details, see table 1).
Table 1 An Excerpt of Records of Ding Assessment in Huai’an Prefecture
Year
1654
Record
Number
Year
Record
Original ding
209529.5
1696
Assessment
+55
Ding escaped
-92867.5
1701
Assessment
+14122
1701
Assessment
-11823
1711
Assessment
+10712
Assessment in
1655
those years
1657
+21560
Number
1716
Assessment
+179
1658
Assessment
+6487
1721
Assessment
+115
1662
Assessment
+8136
1721
Assessment
-6620
1664
Assessment
+2120
1726
Assessment
+170
1672
Assessment
+10852
1731
Assessment
+233
1676
Assessment
+4966
1733
1681
Assessment
+1344
1733
Current ding
234161
1686
Assessment
+253
1733
Exempt ding
30018
1691
Assessment
+103
1733
Ding on duty
175301
1691
Assessment
-14070
1733
Ding increased
Migration caused by change
of administrative division
+68605
28842
Sources: Yin Jishan, Jiangnan Tong Zhi, vol.74-75, Household & Population.
Notes: (1) The original text has been transferred into numbers in this table; (2) In spite of quinquennial
implementation, ding assessment is not carried out on time by local magistrates and the record time is also not
unified.
1
The three editions of national gazetteer are compiled respectively in early Qian-long period, late Qian-long
period, and Jia-qing period.
5
From table 1, it is very explicit that original ding plus all numbers in quinquennial
assessment equals current ding (209529.5 – 92867.5 + 21560 + … +233 + 68605 =
234161) while current ding is also the sum of ding on duty, ding increased, and
exempt ding (234161 = 30018 + 175301 + 28842).
The second one is population data from baojia registration, including number of
male, number of female, and number of total population. The big problem confronting
me is that such population data scatters both in space and in time. It is very hard to
find population data in a standard time in all prefectures or counties while there is also
little possibility to find population data of a prefecture or county in every year.
Fortunately, some population data such as the numbers of male or total population
were recorded in Fu-I Quan Shu, which could be substitute when the local gazetteers
are not available.
3. Methods
In this paper, I put forward a hypothesis on sources of Zi Sheng Nan Fu Da Xiao
based on a series of empirical study on Suzhou prefecture, Jiangning prefecture, and
Tongzhou prefecture. By the hypothesis, number of total population or male
population in a standard time can be calculated in all prefectures of Jiangsu. The best
and direct way to test the hypothesis is to compare the numbers calculated by
hypothesis and the data collected from historical records in the same year.
Unfortunately, population data in local gazetteers or Fu-I Quan Shu cannot be unified
to a standard time.
The growth rate of population is a common tool to describe changes of population
and predict its possible trend in future. A principle in inferential statistics is the
foundation of this study that samples are collected from population and statistics are
calculated from the samples as to make inferences or extrapolations of parameters of
the population. In this study, data of province can be regarded as the population while
the ones of prefectures are regarded as the samples.
By abundant provincial data from palace archive and prefectural data from local
gazetteers, a parameter and a statistics is calculated respectively to reflect the growth
rate of total population or male population. Then a comparison between parameter
and statistics will be implemented as to judge the two figures’ match degrees. The
hypothesis’s validity depends on whether or not the match degrees can be accepted
within logic.
6
Hypothesis and Test
1. Hypothesis
As mentioned in former section, the figures of Suzhou prefecture in national
gazetteer have an approximate numerical relationship with those in local gazetteers.
To be more detailed, all the relevant numbers both from national gazetteer and from
local ones have been listed on table 2.
Table 2 Suzhou Prefecture’s Figures from National and Local Gazetteers
Year
Record
Local gazetteer (A)
Local gazetteer (B)
Original ding
538888
1731
Current ding
463846
1731
Exempt ding
3743
1731
Ding on duty
435087
1731
Ding increased
1820
Male population
3387856
1820
Female population
2520579
1820
Total population increased
National gazetteer (C)
438830
25016
5473348
Sources: The figures of A are from Jiangnan Tong Zhi (Local gazetteer of Jiangnan); the figures of B are from
Suzhou Fu Zhi (Local gazetteer of Suzhou prefecture); and the figures of C are from Da Qing Yi Tong Zhi
(National gazetteer of Qing dynasty).
By use of figures from table 2, the approximate numerical relationship advocated
by former scholars can be expressed by an approximate equation, i.e. 438830 +
5473348) ≈ 3387856 + 2520579. The gap between two sides of the approximate
equation is 3743, which is hard to convince readers to accept such conclusion that
there is some relationship between the figures of (B) and those of (C). However, a fact
has been revealed by former study that original ding in national gazetteer is based on
records of ding in local gazetteers, i.e. 438830 = 3743 + 435087. If the readers are
careful enough, an interesting scene would be observed that the number 3743 appears
twice. The first time it appears as the gap between two sides of an approximate
equation while the second time it plays a role of one side of another equation. Then an
assumption is sparkled by this interesting thing that the number 3743 may be a bridge
between the former two equations.
①
438830 + 5473348 = (3387856 + 2520579) + 3743;
②
438830 = 3743 + 435087;
③
(3743 + 435087) + 5473348 = (3387856 + 2520579) + 3743;
④
435087 + 5473348 = 3387856 + 2520579.
Using the procedural steps above, a new numerical relation is uncovered between
7
national and local gazetteers, i.e. Dang Cai Ren Ding (ding on duty) plus Zi Sheng
Nan Fu Da Xiao (total population increased) equals the sum of male population and
female population. By keep tracing the origins of those numbers, I find that the figure
of ding on duty (435087) is from ding assessment in 1731 while the data of male
population (3387856) and female population (2520579) are from baojia registration in
1820. Here, total population data minus ding on duty equals Zi Sheng Nan Fu Da
Xiao (total population increased). Chances are that this is just a special case which can
not be applied into other areas. But another example from Jiangning prefecture gives
me more support.
The figures of Jiangning prefecture from national and local gazetteers are listed on
table 3.
Table 3 Jiangning Prefecture’s Figures from National and Local Gazetteers
Year
Record
Local gazetteer (A)
Original ding
198592.4
1731
Current ding
169979.3
1731
Exempt ding
2216.6
1731
Ding on duty
167273.7
1731
Ding increased
1809
Male population
1820
Total population increased
Local gazetteer (B)
National gazetteer (C)
198518
489
2041292
1874018
Sources: The figures of A are from Jiangnan Tong Zhi (Local gazetteer of Jiangnan); the figures of B are from
Jiangning Fu Zhi (Local gazetteer of Jiangning prefecture); and the figures of C are from Da Qing Yi Tong Zhi
(National gazetteer of Qing dynasty).
Based on similar procedural steps to Suzhou prefecture, I can draw a conclusion
that ding on duty (167273.7) plus total population increased (1874018) equals male
population (2041292). Here, male population data from baojia registration in 1809
minus ding on duty from ding assessment in 1731 equals Zi Sheng Nan Fu Da Xiao
(total population increased).
As regards Tongzhou prefecture, happens little change that not only current ding
but also original ding contribute to the formation of Zi Sheng Nan Fu Da Xiao (total
population increased). The figures of Tongzhou prefecture are listed on table 4.
Table 4 Tongzhou Prefecture’s Figures from National and Local Gazetteers
Year
Record
Local gazetteer (A)
Original ding
*39155
1731
Current ding
169591
1809
Male population
1820
Total population increased
Local gazetteer (B)
National gazetteer (C)
1198605
982974
8
Sources: The figures of A are from Jiangnan Tong Zhi (Local gazetteer of Jiangnan); the figures of B are
calculated by author based on data from other local gazetteers; and the figures of C are from Da Qing Yi Tong Zhi
(National gazetteer of Qing dynasty).
Notes: 39155 is original ding of Tongzhou (通州), not Tongzhou prefecture (通州直隶州).
In the case of Tongzhou prefecture, current ding (169591) and original ding (39155)
plus total population increased (982974) matches male population (1198605) very
well. Here, male population data from baojia registration in 1809 minus both current
ding from ding assessment in 1731 and original ding equals Zi Sheng Nan Fu Da Xiao
(total population increased).
From what has been discussed above, I try to put forward a hypothesis on the
sources of Zi Sheng Nan Fu Da Xiao by three equations which consist of Zi Sheng
Nan Fu Da Xiao abbreviated as Z, total population data in 1820 abbreviated as T,
male population data in 1809 abbreviated as M, ding on duty in 1731 abbreviated as D,
current ding in 1731 abbreviated as C, and original ding in Shun-zhi period of Qing
dynasty abbreviated as O.
①
Z = T – D;
②
Z = M – D;
③
Z = M – (C + O).
Whether the hypothesis can be applied into other areas in Jiangsu depends on the test
in the following section.
2. Test
The best way to judge whether the figures of all rest prefectures match the
hypothesis mentioned in former section is to test data on total population in 1820 and
male population in 1809. For there are no such data recorded in writings, the most
optimal and feasible method is to calculate predicted values of total population in
1820 and male population in 1809 firstly and then to test those substitutes. The first
step to calculate predicted values is to get a parameter to describe the growth rate of
total population and male population, which needs abundant figures of total
population and male population.
For the first time the registration of population was made to be one of the primary
functions of baojia system in the winter of 1775. Defective in size of household, sex
ratio, and age structure (Ho, 1959), the figures after 1775 is still more reliable than
other data in perspective of institutional history and should not be underestimated.
Therefore, provincial data on total population and male population from 1775 to 1820
9
are collected from palace archive and applied to calculate a parameter as to reflect the
growth rate of total population and male population respectively. By those figures of
total population and male population year after year, a parameter called annual
population growth rate can be calculated to measure the tendency of population
changes from 1775 to 1820. (For details, see figure 2).
Total Population
Male Population
45000000
40000000
Number
35000000
30000000
25000000
20000000
15000000
10000000
5000000
0
1775
1778
1781
1784
1787
1790
1793
1796
1799
1802
1805
1808
1811
1814
1817
1820
Year
Fig. 2. Linear Models of Total Population and Male Population in Jiangsu
Sources: Data on total population and male population are from palace archive reserved by the First Historical
Archives of China.
In figure 2, the round points represent values of total population and the triangular
points represent values of male population. The curves of two sets of population data
seem to be very smooth, which means there are no huge population changes and the
growth rate is available to reflect the development of population. Based on provincial
data on total population and male population year after year, the growth rate of total
population and male population can be calculated respectively and the results are two
series of numbers, i.e. the growth rate of total population is between 3.5‰ and 10.7‰
(the average is 7.1‰) while the growth rate of male population is between 3.3‰ and
10.7‰ (the average is 8.1‰). As regards prefectural data on total population and male
population, I collect some values in different years from local gazetteers and Fu-I
Quan Shu and those values are listed on table 5.
Table 5 Comparison between Values from Local Gazetteers and Hypothesis
Values
Values
Area
Year
Songjiang prefecture
1816
2482974
1820
2867934
35‰
Changzhou prefecture
1830
4567935
1820
4531852
0.8‰
Zhenjiang prefecture
1811
2498324
1820
2329862.5
7.7‰
Taicang prefecture
1797
1806038
1820
1930417
2.8‰
Haizhou prefecture
1804
504881
1820
619878
12.9‰
Huai’an prefecture
1829
1914194
1809
1905605
0.2‰
from local gazetteers
Year
based on hypothesis
Growth rate
10
Yangzhou prefecture
1808
3473633
1809
3523506.911
Xuzhou prefecture
1872
2673953
1809
2015495
14.3‰
4.5‰
Sources: Values of prefectures are from local gazetteers of prefectures concerned, and values based on
hypothesis are calculated by Zi Sheng Nan Fu Da Xiao from national gazetteer according to hypothesis (1) and (2).
Notes: Values from local gazetteers in Huai’an prefecture, Yangzhou prefecture, and Xuzhou prefecture are
male population while the rest are total population. Similarly, values based on hypothesis in Huai’an prefecture,
Yangzhou prefecture, and Xuzhou prefecture are according to hypothesis (2) while the rest are according to
hypothesis (1).
The comparison between the growth rates in table 5 and the growth rates from
figure 2 indicates that the two series of values are not matched very well, especially in
some areas like Songjiang prefecture and Yangzhou prefectures the divergences are
prominent. However, there is a very important principle in history research
concerning numbers that numbers can not speak by themselves. Although numbers are
very concise, the explanation to numbers from historical materials is more important.
Back to this study, a factor should not be ignored that the growth rates from figure 2
are concerned with values of province while the growth rates in table 5 are related to
values of prefectures, which are smaller than province. The provincial data on total
population and male population are the sum of prefectural figures, which means that
the growth rates of province smooth the divergences between prefectures. This is why
the two series of values on growth rate can not be matched very well.
Given the factor I have outlined, I believe that the test above is still effective and
the hypothesis provides a way to understand the figures of Zi Sheng Nan Fu Da Xiao.
Conclusions
From what has been discussed above, I may draw the conclusion that Zi Sheng Nan
Fu Da Xiao is not the reflection of total population or male population in Jia-qing
period in Qing dynasty, but a synthesis of ding assessment in Yong-zheng period of
Qing dynasty and baojia registration in Jia-qing period of Qing dynasty.
Specifically, Zi Sheng Nan Fu Da Xiao of Jiangsu has three sources, i.e. (1) the
figures of Haizhou prefecture and Right province except Tongzhou prefecture are
calculated by total population in 1820 minus ding on duty in 1731; (2) the figures of
Left province except Haizhou prefecture are calculated by male population in 1809
minus ding on duty in 1731; and (3) the figures of Tongzhou prefecture are calculated
by male population in 1809 minus the sum of current ding in 1731 and original ding
11
in Shun-zhi period of Qing dynasty.
During the previous study on history, scholars usually discuss a topic by collecting,
evaluating, and explaining textual records in historical documents. This paper tries
another way to explore historical truth by using abundant numbers from palace
archive and gazetteers. The merits of such method are very obvious that figures with
numerical relationships can safely reveal a phenomenon concealing in textual
materials. There is no doubt that such method also has drawbacks that the calculation
of numbers sometimes covers the divergences and leads to absurd results, which has
to be avoided by intimate knowledge of institutional history. About the sources of Zi
Sheng Nan Fu Da Xiao, there is no unique explanation and this paper just provides a
way with relatively high possibility.
References
1. Ho Pingti, Studies on the population of China, 1368-1953, Harvard University Press, 1959.
2. Hou Yangfang, “Reports on the Qianlong population census: an assessment”, Historical
Research, 2008(3), pp.34-45.
3. G. William Skinner, “Sichuan's Population in the Nineteenth Century: Lessons from
disaggregated data”, Late Imperial China, 1987(6), pp.1-76.
4. Wang Yuesheng, “Research on China’s population changes in the late 18th century”,
Population Science of China, 1997(4), pp.1-13.
5. Jiang tao, Population history of late imperial China, Zhejiang People’s Press, 1993.
6. Cao Shuji, History of Chinese Migrants (Vol.5), Fujian People’s Press, 1997.
7. Zhang Xinmin & Hou Yangfang, “Sources of ‘Yuan E Ren Ding’ in da Qing yi tong zhi: A
Case Study of Jiangnan”, The Qing History Journal, 2010(1), pp.37-46.
12