What were the populations in the south and north during the Sixteen Kingdoms period of the Eastern Jin Dynasty?

The Sixteen Kingdoms of the Eastern Jin Dynasty was an important period of population decline in Chinese history. Due to the constant wars in the north, a large number of Han people in the north migrated southward, which was historically known as the "Southern Crossing in Clothes". On the other hand, a large number of nomads migrated to the north, making up for the labor problem in the Central Plains. So what was the population of China during this period? Is it really as exaggerated as some people say that the Han people are almost extinct? Now, the editor will introduce it based on Lu Yu's "General Population History of China" and Ge Jianxiong's "Chinese Population History".

The Taikang period of the Western Jin Dynasty was a small peak in the population of the Wei, Jin, Southern and Northern Dynasties. After the economic recovery of the three kingdoms of Wei, Shu and Wu, the population has increased to a relatively objective number. According to the Records of Jin Geography, in the first year of Taikang (280), there were 2.45 million households and a population of 16 million in the country. This is only the registered population in the early Western Jin Dynasty. The Western Jin Dynasty also had a large hidden population, about 20 million. Combining various information, it is inferred that the peak population of the Western Jin Dynasty was 35 million.

The territory of the Western Jin Dynasty

After Taikang, the "Eight Kings Rebellion" and "Yongjia Rebellion" occurred in the Western Jin Dynasty, and the population declined rapidly. After that, the population in the north could not be counted, and only the population in the Eastern Jin Dynasty could be speculated. "Book of Jin Geography" records that during the Western Jin Dynasty, there were 800,000 households in the south. This number is only the registered household population according to the policy, and does not include the hidden population. Coupled with the southward migration of the population in the late Western Jin Dynasty, the population in the early Eastern Jin Dynasty should have exceeded 10 million. The internal environment of the Eastern Jin Dynasty was generally relatively stable, so the population continued to grow. In the late Eastern Jin Dynasty, its population reached more than 17 million.

Map of the Early Eastern Jin Dynasty

As for the Sixteen Kingdoms, since the reign of each regime was relatively short, there is a lack of population data. In the early period of the Sixteen Kingdoms, there were former Zhao, Later Zhao, Qian Liang and other regimes. "General History of Chinese Population" estimates that the population of Liu Cong's Han State was 3 million, Liu Yao's former Zhao was 2.8 million, Shi Le's later Zhao was more than 2 million, and Murong's Yan State was more than 1.3 million. , the Tuoba family had more than 1 million people in their country, the Zhang family had more than 1 million Qianliang people, the Hetao Xiongnu people had more than 200,000 people, and the Huanghuai people had more than 2 million people, with a total of more than 13 million people.

In the middle of the Sixteenth Kingdom, important household registration information was left behind. In 370, after the former Qin destroyed the former Yan, there were 2.45 million households with a population of 9.98 million in the former Yan. The former Yan's jurisdiction included Liaodong, Liaoxi, Hebei, Shanxi, Shandong, Henan, and probably North China. In this way, the population of North China at that time was more than 10 million. According to the information in the "General Population History of China", the population in the early Qin Dynasty was 3.9 million, that in Qianliang was 1 million, that in Dai was 1 million, and the total population was 15.88 million.

In the late Sixteen Kingdoms, due to the collapse of the unity of the former Qin Dynasty, the north fell into a larger-scale war and the population declined. Among them, there were about 1.5 million in Dai, 3.4 million in Later Qin, 700,000 in Western Qin, 9 million in Later Yan, and 800,000 in Liangzhou (this is debatable). Then the total population of the north is 15.4 million. But I think that the population of Houyan should be far less than 9 million, and that of Liangzhou and Hexi is far more than 800,000. According to Ge Jianxiong's speculation, the population of Liangzhou reached 2 million in the later period. Taken together, the population of the late Sixteen Kingdoms should not reach 15 million, and more than 11 million is more appropriate.

Information from "General History of Chinese Population"

Compared with the population of more than 20 million in the north during the Western Jin Dynasty, there was indeed a large-scale decline during the Sixteen Kingdoms period, but there were no people Why is it so scary as imagined? From the fall of the Western Jin Dynasty to the unification period of the former Qin Dynasty, the north did not completely reach the level of chaos, and individual regimes also took measures that were conducive to economic recovery. For example, the Murong clan of the former Yan Dynasty encouraged agricultural production and resettled refugees during the period of separatist rule in western Liaoning, causing the population here to reach 10 times that of the Western Jin Dynasty. After Qian Yan entered the Central Plains, the overall situation was relatively stable, so the population could grow slowly.

At that time, a large number of people from the Central Plains migrated to the Hexi Corridor because the political power here was relatively stable. In 439, the Northern Wei Dynasty destroyed Beiliang, and the population of Guzang City was 200,000. At that time, the population of Beiliang was about 2 million. During the Western Jin Dynasty, the household registration in Liangzhou was only 30,000 households and 200,000 people. Therefore, during the Sixteen Kingdoms period, the population of the Hexi Corridor experienced a large-scale growth. After the establishment of the Northern Wei Dynasty, 30,000 households from Hexi also moved to Pingcheng to supplement their labor force.

Materials from Ge Jianxiong's "Chinese Population History"

If you look at the Sixteen Kingdoms and the Eastern Jin Dynasty together, you will find that the country's population center of gravity was constantly changing at that time. In the early Eastern Jin Dynasty, the population of the south was about 10 million, and that of the north was about 13 million. By the middle period, the population of the south was more than 12 million, and that of the north was more than 15 million. In the late Eastern Jin Dynasty, the population of the south was 17 million, while the population of the north was only over 11 million. The population of the south exceeded that of the north. population. Overall, the national population is about 23-28 million, which is a decrease of 7-12 million compared to the peak period of the Western Jin Dynasty.

In addition, let’s talk about the number of ethnic minorities. During the Western Jin Dynasty, the number of ethnic minorities, including Saibei, was 4.75 million. During the Sixteen Kingdoms period, a large number of ethnic minorities migrated to the interior. According to estimates from the General Population History of China, in the early period of the Sixteen Kingdoms, the number of ethnic minorities in the north should have exceeded 4 million, which was equivalent to one-third of the population in the north at that time.

By the middle of the Sixteen Kingdoms, northern ethnic minorities accounted for 40% of the total population in the north, among which the ethnic minorities in the Guanzhong and Guanxi regions had an absolute advantage. Later, after the unification of the Northern Wei Dynasty, these ethnic groups basically integrated into the Han nationality.