How the Chinese bred: the history of the emergence of the people, their resettlement throughout the country and the causes of overpopulation

2024 Author: Henry Conors | [email protected]. Last modified: 2024-02-12 02:40

China's civilization is one of the most ancient in the world, and for centuries (largely thanks to Confucianism) the country has encouraged a large number of children in families. The ethical-philosophical teaching had a great influence on how the Chinese multiplied.

Until the middle of the 20th century, the birth rate remained at a high level - 5.6 (against the norm of 2.1). Such intensive reproduction of the Chinese led to a population explosion.

Population growth in the 20th century

In 1949, the population of the country was about 540 million people. Stability was established in the life of citizens, many branches of production developed. But there was no understanding of population control in the country. Population growth has rapidly accelerated since the mid-20th century as the Chinese have multiplied.

In 1969, the country's population was already 800 million people. And already in these years, the government began to address the issue of birth planning in order to control the growth in the number of inhabitants of the Celestial Empire.

State policy "One family - one child"

For three decades, the Chinese government controlled how the Chinese reproduced: watching the most intimate details and decisions in people's lives. It issued and took away child permits, monitored women's menstrual cycles, and ordered abortions. And only in 2015 the country's government cancels its strict birth control policy.

It all started in 1953. It was then that the government began to talk about the need to control population growth. But new difficulties arose in the country - conflicts in politics and famine from 1959 to 1961. Ideas to reduce population growth have been shelved.

In 1972, the government announced the principle "Later, longer, less". This meant late weddings, a long time interval between conception of children and their minimum number. But this was only the beginning, something like the preparation of the population. In 1979, the "One family - one child" policy was introduced, which led to a rapid decline in the birth rate. Instead of 6-8 children, only one child is assigned to one family. The exception included rural residents and national minorities, who were allowed to have no more than two children. In history, there were hardly examples of such birth control and reduction in the number of citizens. This explains why the Chinese multiplied so slowly in the last years of the 20th century.

After 10 years, the birth rate was fixed somewhere at the level of 1.5. This already clearly demonstrates thatthe reproduction of the Chinese people slowed down. For comparison: the usual reproduction of the population fluctuates around 2, 1.

Did it help?

Government policy in China has limited families to one child, although many exceptions have been made. The Chinese government's current estimate is that the family policy has prevented about 400 million births since controlling how the Chinese reproduce.

History of China

There are no obvious answers to the question why the Chinese multiply so quickly in the history of the country, unfortunately. Maybe because of Confucianism, maybe for some other reason, but fate "gave" the country overpopulation and strict birth control.

Chinese civilization began along the Yellow River (Huang He) in much the same way as the civilization of Egypt and Mesopotamia.

The history of the Celestial Empire is usually divided into the following main periods: Pre-imperial, Imperial and New. Pre-imperial China includes the Xia, Shang-Yin and Zhou dynasties. There is little information about the ruler of the Xia Dynasty. In the second half of the XVII century BC. she is overthrown, and the ruler of the Shang dynasty comes in her place. But soon she was defeated, she was attacked by the Zhou tribes.

From 221 B. C. The Imperial period begins, marked by the reign of Emperor Shi Huang of the Qin Dynasty, which lasted only one decade, but many important reforms were carried out during this time. At that time, the ancient walls that served as protection were combined into the Great Wall of China.

The beginning of a new stage in the history of the country dates back to 1911. It was during that period that the first board of the country was organized, headed by Sun Yatsenbysh.

The country will become a constitutional republic in one year. In 1949, Mao Zedong announces the founding of the People's Republic of China.

Settlement and migration

China's population is unevenly distributed. 90% of the total number of people live in the east of the Celestial Empire. In the west, where the territory is much larger, only the remaining 10% live.

For many centuries, the regions of China have been very divided. In addition, since the main types of food products and durables were issued on cards, the population was characterized by low mobility throughout the country. But this problem went away after the economic reforms.

The main flows of internal migration are from rural areas to large cities. People are attracted by high salaries and good living conditions. But several types of temporary migration are also popular:

• Suburban migration - suburbanites go to work in big cities every day.
• Shuttle migration - rural residents leave to work far from home for several months.

Outward migrations were especially popular in the middle and end of the 19th century. The second wave of migration took place shortly before the First World War. The development of industry created a demand for Chinese labor, which was distinguished by its cheapness and endurance. In the foreign marketChina is an exporter of working people. The number of emigrants from China is approximately 45 million people. Most of them are located in Southeast Asia.

The country lacks children

In 2018, the number of people grew by another 7.1 million people. Considering that at the beginning of the year the population was estimated at 1.3 million, the annual increase is 0.5%.

Despite the fact that China is overpopulated, today the country does not have enough children. A recent report warns that the superpower will face new challenges in the coming years. Especially between 2021 and 2030. Accelerating population aging will increase pressure on social security and public services. At the same time, the working-age population will decline. This would deal a severe blow to economic growth and reduce the tax revenue needed to support the elderly. The report predicts that a quarter of China's population will be over 60 by 2030.