Migration, Market, And Social Mobility:Dynamics Of The Population Expansion Of The Oing Dynasty

During the extensive reclamation of highlands beginning in the early Qing dynasty, immigrants from Fujian and Jiangxi played a crucial role, who expanded the scope of resources they could implement, drew capital from larger market by doing business, and fostered a rising force by managing marriage, engaging in commercial activities and the civil service examination system, and participating in public affairs. As a result, their descendants reached over one third of the population at the end of the Qing and people in Quzhou had to live with mixed surnames.This pattern of livelihood could be defined as the "highland-mode" and the outstanding persons living there as the "highland-elites", both of which contributed to the growth of population in highland areas. Quite strikingly, the "highland-mode" is not merely a marginal mode because its validity can be evidenced by the massive number of residents in late Qing Quzhou whose ancestors were highlanders. Besides, this mode is applicable to larger territories in that such impetuses appearing in Quzhou were commonplace across the empire as migration, the exploitation of new lands including the frontiers, long-distance trade, commercialization, and strong social mobility. Thus, a considerable portion of the expanded population of the Qing could be attributed to similar impetuses.This pattern gives the indication that the growth of population in the Qing dynasty could be realized by expanding available resources (such as lands, minerals, technology, and the market) rather than at the cost of pauperizing all its residents. Not only did these impetuses dissolve the potential population pressure, but they conduced to the erasure of the impression constructed by Thomas Malthus and his followers that the increase in population led to the poverty in the late Qing.