During the Spring and Autumn Period and the Warring States Period, the total population of the Central Plains countries reached about 30 million by the first 230 years. In the twenty-sixth year of Qin Shihuang (the first 22 years1year), the great cause of unifying the six countries was finally completed, and then the territory continued to expand. By the thirty-seventh year of Qin Shihuang (the first 2 10 year), the total population of the country was about 30 million. During the Three Kingdoms period, the population of civilian families, armed soldiers and officials was estimated to be 8.2-8.3 million.

There were about 74.75 million to 80.5 million people in the prosperous Tang Dynasty. 1960, the population of five dynasties and ten countries was 30 million. By the seventh year of Taihe in Jin Zhangzong (1207), the total population of Song, Jin and Xixia was estimated to reach 1.36 billion. 1600 The population peaked in the Ming Dynasty, and the actual population was about16 million. In the sixty-first year of Kangxi (1722), it rose to1.500 million.

Extended data:

The increase and decrease of ancient population in China;

At the end of the Eastern Han Dynasty, it was divided into three countries, with constant disputes and natural wars, and wars always killed people. It is not surprising that the population has dropped to 23 million at this time. Then, after the Eastern, Western, Jin, Southern and Northern Dynasties, the population continued to divide north and south, and of course it dropped sharply.

Since then, the population has maintained this trend. The population increases in peacetime and decreases in wartime. The population of the Sui Dynasty recovered to about 60 million, compared with 24 million in the early Tang Dynasty. With the rule of Zhenguan and the beginning of the prosperous New Century, the population of China reached its first historical peak. Before the Anshi Rebellion, the population of China reached 90 million.

After that, the population of five dynasties and ten countries decreased, and it increased when the Song Dynasty flourished. As the most prosperous dynasty in the history of China, the population exceeded 1 100 million for the first time. Then the shame of Jingkang, the demise of the Northern Song Dynasty, the establishment of the Southern Song Dynasty, the population in the north decreased sharply, while after the demise of the Song Dynasty in the Yuan Dynasty, the population grew slowly until the Ming Dynasty, when the peak population was only 60 million.

However, since the Qing Dynasty, the population of China began to increase by spurt, from 654.38 billion in Shunzhi to 400 million in the Republic of China, and the population of China began to increase 1 100 million. The main reason is that the Qing dynasty was prosperous and peaceful, and the grain output increased greatly. In particular, high-yield food crops such as sweet potatoes and potatoes have been introduced from South America, and people will never starve to death because there is no food to eat, resulting in a population decline.

Baidu Encyclopedia-Population History of China