Research On The Qing Dynasty Population In Shanxi-Gansu Region

This research is about dynastic regional population, mainly researching the Qing Dynasty population problems in Shanxi-Gansu region, with the research spaces cope basing on both Shanxi-Gansu provincial areas during 25 years in Jiaqing (1820) period, and with time from the middle of the Kangxi to late Xuantong period.In the early and medium terms of the Qing dynasty, north-west territories' expansion led to Shanxi-Gansu's large-scale population moving wave westward. Till the Daoguang and Xianfeng period, after more than two hundred years' development, population of Shanxi-Gansu reached to heyday. Among the Tongzhi and Guangxu period, war and famine caused a serious population loss, since then to the demise of the Qing dynasty, Shanxi-Gansu's population never returned to the level of the heyday period. This paper mainly researches regional immigration, population management, population settlement and distribution, and population change, etc, in the change process. Firstly, this article has deeply analyzed the population management system, especially the Muslim population management system, of Shanxi-Gansu area in the Qing dynasty. Then, it has comprehensively carded the historical process of Shanxi-Gansu's population moving westward during the early and medium terms of the Qing dynasty, and systematically researched a classic case from the population moving westward, that is, the Dunhuang immigrants and immigration management system, agricultural Square (Nongfang) system in Yongzheng period. Next, it has a comprehensive discussion about the population distribution of Shanxi-Gansu during the heyday period in the Qing dynasty, and a detail research about the name and distribution of Muslim in this period, in a county accuracy level, one by one. Finally, this paper has studied part problems about population amount of Shanxi-Gansu in the Qing dynasty taking Shanxi Province an example, simultaneously, analyzed the population changes in the Tong-Guang period, researched regional population cases about the end of the Qing dynasty, basing on villages census data of Gansu during Xuantong period.Research shows, in the area of population management, there being significant differences between Muslim and the general population in the region, the Qing dynasty not only had special Muslim registration, but also recorded the Muslim demographic information in county lists (Bao Jia Ce), however, due to institutional reasons, never reflected in higher level official statistics. Population reflected in official statistics only accounts for 60 percent of the whole moving westward in the early and medium terms of the Qing dynasty. Changing as time and diverse immigration management system is the base of protecting population moving westward smoothly, strengthening immigrant population management, speeding up regional development. Population of Shanxi-Gansu in the Qing dynasty mainly distributed along the two vertical and horizontal cross-axis, that is, the longitudinal axis starting from the Hehuang valley northward, through Langong, directly to the Ningxia plain, the transverse axis starting from the Hexi corridor eastward, overstepping the Long Mountain, direct to the Guanzhong plain. After research, we added up to 1034 recovered Muslim villages before the Tongzhi period, and the peak population amount accounting for 25 percent of the total regional'. Shanxi population loss was more than 45 percent in Tong-Guang period, war leading to more than 80 percent of the loss. After analysis of the Gansu villages' census data in Xuantong period, it shows that, in Gansu Province, the census, at least in part of governments, states, counties, and offices, had been effectively carried out, population in these areas having a higher data quality.