Demographic, Political, and Social Transformations of China, 750-1550

Demographic, Political, and Social
Transformations of China, 750- 1550
ROBERT M. HARTWELL
Universip o Pennsylvania f
750 and 1550, the Chinese demographic, political, and social landscape was dramatically altered. In mid-T'ang, less than half the population lived in South China, the foci of central and local governmental organization and authority were in the 1, imperial capital and the prefectural (chou $ 1 fu R, or chiin i$) seats, and political power and high social status were shared by a hereditary elite which specialized in government service and monopolized high
(July 1956), pp. 49-64.
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TRANSFORMATIONS O F CHINA
367
progress was linear and (2) the determinative variables (economic, social, technological, political, intellectual, etc.) were identical and had similar effects throughout the empire in each historical period. But during these centuries, as in earlier and later periods of Chinese history, change was cyclical as well as linear, took place a t different rates, and sometimes moved in opposite directions in the various regions of the empire. This suggests an alternative hypothesis which views the history of Chinese economic development as the histories of regional cycles of growth during which the crucial variables are: (1) unique historical events that either inaugurated or terminated periods of development in specific regions, (2) the varying costs of interregional transfers of technology, productive factors, and surpluses, and (3) the different institutional responses that shaped the course of intraregional development as well as interregional exchanges. I n other words, an understanding of the historical process requires a systematic analysis of the internal dynamics of ecologically diverse physiocratic regions which were at different stages of development and a careful inquiry into the cumulative impact of the interrelationships between these major areas on the nature of Chinese society at various points in time. The objective of this essay is to test a few of the many propositions that can be deduced from this general hypothesis in order to provide a possible framework for further investigation. This effort will focus on an examination of the relationships between (1) intraregional development, (2) differential patterns of interregional settlement, (3) the formal organization of the government, and (4) the social and political behavior of elites during this extended period of transformations. The interrelationships between these variables can only be understood within a conceptual framework that accounts for the internal dynamics of the various regions of China during different periods in their development.
WYT Wu-ying tien &%@.
YHTC Li Chi-fu Yuan-ho chun-hsien t'u-chih f i ; $ ~ f l f $ $ H b (Chi-fu ts'ung-
shu %$$%% ed.).
YLTT Yung-lo ta-tien &@$$I& (Taipei: World Book Co., 1962).
"Lun Pei-Sung tzu-pen
History of the Orient, 3 (1960), 196-2 16; Shu Shih-ch'eng Shih-hsiieh chi-k'an R&~TIJ chu-i kuan-hsi ti ch'an-sheng" $ik%g$=$&mzE~&,
99Bi SKSL Shih-k'o shih-liao ts'ung-shu @$RH%@ (Taipei: I-wen 1966).
SS T'o T'o et al., Sung shih ;j7;& (1739 ed.).
T P H Y C Yueh Shih SR, T'ai-p'ing huanyu chi kqsqz (1803 ed.).
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This article is a revised and expanded version of a paper presented at the Symposium on Social and Economic History of China from the Sung to 1900, which was held in Beijing, People's Republic of China, October 26 to November 1, 1980. I t represents the first of a projected series of publications based on a decade of research on the transformations that took place in Chinese society and economy between 750 and 1550. Since the demographic and collective biographical data used in this study were collected from nearly one thousand sources and would reauire tens of thousands of seDarate citations, full documentation was clearly out of the question. I have, however, tried to provide representative documentation for all the important conclusions. The crude statistical techniques used in this presentation are treated in any standard textbook on statistics. I refer the reader to Hubert M. Blalock, Jr., Social Statistics (New York: McGraw Hill, 1972). I wish to express my gratitude to all the participants in the Beijing Symposium for their valuable comments as well as to Professor Joseph Fletcher and Dr. Marianqe Hartwell whose suggestions have materially contributed to the revision of this article in both substance and style of presentation. Professor G. William Skinner was kind enough to allow me access to his tables which locate the 1948 population of China in macroregions. My colleague Walter Licht reviewed my use of quantitative techniques. Part of the research and writing for this essay was done while I was supported by a grant from the National Endowment for the Humanities. I am, of course responsible for any errors.