Changes

==Demographic & Economic Expansion==

==Demographic & Economic Expansion==

The population of China roughly doubled over the course of the 18th century alone, from roughly 150 million in 1700 to around 300 million by 1800;<ref>Lloyd Eastman, ''Family, Fields, and Ancestors: Constancy and Change in China's Social and Economic History, 1550-1949'', Oxford University Press (1988), 3-4.</ref> the population roughly tripled over the course of the Qing Dynasty taken as a whole, going from roughly 125-150 million at the beginning of the period in 1644, to around 400-450 million in the 19th century.<ref>Benjamin Elman, ''A Cultural History of Civil Examinations in Late Imperial China'', University of California Press (2000), 130.</ref> By the 19th century, there were roughly six times as many farming families in China as in the 14th century. This dramatic population growth was supported in large part, as it was through the Ming Dynasty, by considerable increases in the food supply. In the Qing Dynasty, this came chiefly from expansion of the amount of land under cultivation, and from improvements in fertilizer, irrigation, and strains of plants. The introduction in the late Ming of new crops from the Americas, including maize, sweet potatoes, and peanuts, also contributed to the expansion of the food supply;<ref name=craig101>Craig, 101-103.</ref> since many of these crops could be grown in places and soil types unsuitable for more traditional crops, they did not displace more traditional crops, but truly supplemented them. The expansion of the amount of land under cultivation also contributed significantly to supporting population growth.<ref>Eastman, 7-8.</ref> The implementation of a smallpox vaccine in the 16th century (during the Ming Dynasty), along with a number of other developments contributing to a decline in the mortality rate, likely also were key elements in this unprecedented demographic growth. Some scholars, noting similar demographic trends in other parts of the world simultaneously, have suggested that climactic variations, including the end of the Little Ice Age, may have played a significant role as well.<ref>Eastman, 5-6.</ref> Policies of the Kangxi Emperor, implemented in the last years of his reign, however, hampered the Court's ability to have this demographic expansion correspond to increases in tax revenues; possibly believing that population growth in and of itself constituted "prosperity," Kangxi aimed to encourage further population growth by terminating the poll tax. However, since no new land surveys had been done in a comprehensive manner since the [[Wanli Emperor|Wanli]] reign, this now meant that taxes were based on both population figures and land surveys of the past, and would not capture any growth in population or productivity, but would simply remain static. Later reigns had considerable difficulties as a result, as they sought to manage the state's finances.<ref>Spence, 73.</ref>

The population of China roughly doubled over the course of the 18th century alone, from roughly 150 million in 1700 to around 300 million by 1800;<ref>Lloyd Eastman, ''Family, Fields, and Ancestors: Constancy and Change in China's Social and Economic History, 1550-1949'', Oxford University Press (1988), 3-4.</ref> the population roughly tripled over the course of the Qing Dynasty taken as a whole, going from roughly 125-150 million at the beginning of the period in 1644, to around 400-450 million in the 19th century.<ref>Benjamin Elman, ''A Cultural History of Civil Examinations in Late Imperial China'', University of California Press (2000), 130.</ref> By the 19th century, there were roughly six times as many farming families in China as in the 14th century. However, as arable land did not expand nearly as quickly as the population, the amount of land held by an individual household shrank over the course of the period, in part due also to the practice of partible inheritance (rather than primogeniture).<ref>Spence, 79.</ref>

 

This dramatic population growth was supported in large part, as it was through the Ming Dynasty, by considerable increases in the food supply. In the Qing Dynasty, this came chiefly from expansion of the amount of land under cultivation, and from improvements in fertilizer, irrigation, and strains of plants. The introduction in the late Ming of new crops from the Americas, including maize, sweet potatoes, and peanuts, also contributed to the expansion of the food supply;<ref name=craig101>Craig, 101-103.</ref> since many of these crops could be grown in places and soil types unsuitable for more traditional crops, they did not displace more traditional crops, but truly supplemented them. The expansion of the amount of land under cultivation also contributed significantly to supporting population growth.<ref>Eastman, 7-8.</ref> The implementation of a smallpox vaccine in the 16th century (during the Ming Dynasty), along with a number of other developments contributing to a decline in the mortality rate, likely also were key elements in this unprecedented demographic growth. Some scholars, noting similar demographic trends in other parts of the world simultaneously, have suggested that climactic variations, including the end of the Little Ice Age, may have played a significant role as well.<ref>Eastman, 5-6.</ref> Policies of the Kangxi Emperor, implemented in the last years of his reign, however, hampered the Court's ability to have this demographic expansion correspond to increases in tax revenues; possibly believing that population growth in and of itself constituted "prosperity," Kangxi aimed to encourage further population growth by terminating the poll tax. However, since no new land surveys had been done in a comprehensive manner since the [[Wanli Emperor|Wanli]] reign, this now meant that taxes were based on both population figures and land surveys of the past, and would not capture any growth in population or productivity, but would simply remain static. Later reigns had considerable difficulties as a result, as they sought to manage the state's finances.<ref>Spence, 73.</ref>

By the 19th century, China was quite likely one of the most commercialized parts of the world, alongside Japan. Organizations known as ''[[Shanxi piaohao]]'', originating in [[Shanxi province]], emerged during the early Qing Dynasty, a very significant development representing the creation of an early banking system. These ''piaohao'' operated branches in various parts of China, extending lines of credit, and allowing funds to be transferred across long distances. The ''piaohao'' survived into the modern period, eventually opening branches in Japan, Russia, and Singapore.<ref name=craig101/>

By the 19th century, China was quite likely one of the most commercialized parts of the world, alongside Japan. Organizations known as ''[[Shanxi piaohao]]'', originating in [[Shanxi province]], emerged during the early Qing Dynasty, a very significant development representing the creation of an early banking system. These ''piaohao'' operated branches in various parts of China, extending lines of credit, and allowing funds to be transferred across long distances. The ''piaohao'' survived into the modern period, eventually opening branches in Japan, Russia, and Singapore.<ref name=craig101/>