On Several Large-scale Population Movements to the South in the Ancient History of China and Its Influence

The time and background of the first and third large-scale population migration to the south.

1, Three Kingdoms, Jin and Southern and Northern Dynasties-the first peak of population migration to the south

The period of the Three Kingdoms, the Jin Dynasty and the Southern and Northern Dynasties was a rare period of social unrest in the history of China. Warlords scuffled, causing untold suffering, especially the "Yellow Scarf Uprising" in the late Eastern Han Dynasty and the "Yongjia Uprising" in the Western Jin Dynasty. The constant wars in the Yellow River basin have caused great disasters to people's lives and seriously damaged people's economic production. People in the north are not allowed to move south to escape the war. The description of the first southward migration is called history.

2. The period of An Shi Rebellion in Tang Dynasty-the second peak of population migration to the south.

Before the Anshi Rebellion, the economic, cultural and military strength of the Tang Dynasty reached its peak after the "Zhenguan Rule" and "Kaiyuan Rule". At this peak, the land system of the Tang Dynasty-the land equalization system and the military system-the officers and men system was gradually destroyed. Due to the destruction of the land equalization system, the officers and men system lost its economic foundation and was gradually replaced by the increasingly popular recruitment system. The formation of the recruitment system made the army become a private armed force. The rapid development into a powerful local separatist force, our military envoy, led to the military situation of "emphasizing the outside and neglecting the inside" in the Tang Dynasty, which formed the conditions for the outbreak of the Anshi Rebellion. The Anshi Rebellion caused serious damage to the economy of the Yellow River Basin, forcing people to move south. In the description of post-war population migration, history says that "the world is like Yongjia running south".

3. Jingkang Rebellion in Song Dynasty-the third peak of population migration to the south.

During the Five Dynasties and Ten Kingdoms period before the Jingkang Rebellion in the Song Dynasty, the Central Plains was in melee, the south was relatively stable, and people moved south one after another, but the scale of the southward migration in this period was not as large as that after the Jingkang Rebellion. Because the rulers of Song Dynasty carried out the policy of "inner space and outer space", at the same time, the redundant officials, soldiers and expenses in Song Dynasty, and the resulting poverty and weakness, were one of the important factors that constituted the social crisis in the middle of Northern Song Dynasty, and also caused the "Jingkang Rebellion". After the "Jingkang Rebellion", the nomads from the Jin Dynasty plundered and the Central Plains war broke out again, which was followed by the third peak of population migration to the south in the history of China. The description of this southward migration is historically called "those who follow it live there".

Second, the impact of population migration to the south.

The massive migration of population from the north to the south has not only increased the labor force, but also brought advanced production technology and experience, stimulated the economic growth in the south and brought vitality to the development of agriculture, industry and commerce in the south. Accompanied by three large-scale population movements to the south, it brought about great changes in the ancient economic development of China, that is, the economic center of gravity moved to the south. The shift of the economic center of gravity to the south has gone through a long historical process, from the end of the Eastern Han Dynasty, through the Three Kingdoms, the Jin Dynasty, the Southern and Northern Dynasties, the Sui and Tang Dynasties, and finally completed in the Song Dynasty. Because there are more wars in the north than in the south, the economic characteristics of the north are generally repeated destruction and recovery, while the southern society is relatively stable, with superior production conditions and natural environment, and the economic characteristics are sustainable development.

During the Wei, Jin, Southern and Northern Dynasties, the people of the Central Plains started their first southward migration in China's history in order to escape the war. The migration of northerners to the south has increased a lot of labor force for agricultural production in South China, especially brought advanced production technology and tools. Together with the Han nationality in the south, Shanyue and other ethnic minorities, they built water conservancy projects, reclaimed large areas of fertile land, improved rice cultivation techniques, popularized wheat and popularized Niu Geng. The economy in the middle and lower reaches of the Yangtze River has developed rapidly, and Fujian has also developed to a certain extent. During the Sui, Tang and Five Dynasties, the southern economy continued to develop. After the Anshi Rebellion, with the second population migration to the south, the southern economy ushered in a second leap. Agriculture, handicrafts, commerce and foreign trade in South China all show unprecedented development momentum. Historically, it is said that "the world is the most important, depending on the southeast", and the trend of economic center moving south is more and more obvious. During the Song Dynasty, the southern economy showed a prosperous scene. After the "Jingkang Rebellion", with the arrival of the third peak of population migration to the south, the grain output, agricultural technology, handicraft technology and scale, commercial trade and the number of towns in the south surpassed those in the north. Jiangsu and Zhejiang provinces have become the granary and the largest textile business center in China, and the historical process of the economic center moving south has finally been completed.

The vast majority of immigrants from the north are working people, who come from the Yellow River valley with highly developed feudal economy and culture and have relatively advanced production technology and rich labor experience. It can be clearly seen from Lu's works such as Spring and Autumn Annals, Guanzi, Great Victory Book, Four People's Moon Order, etc. that from the Warring States, Qin and Han Dynasties to the Song Dynasty, the production technology level of the Yellow River basin has reached a considerable level, which is much backward compared with the middle and lower reaches of the Yangtze River and the southern region in the same period. The migration of northern population to the south will bring advanced production technologies and tools from the Yellow River basin to the Yangtze River basin, which will inevitably promote agriculture and handicrafts in this area. Some areas in the south began to implement regional planting method and began to adopt crop rotation and multiple cropping system. Although these advances can't be entirely attributed to the northern immigrants, the outstanding role of the cultural influence brought by the northern immigrants should be fully affirmed.

Labor is the only source of wealth production. The large-scale migration of population from the north to the south has brought a lot of productivity to the south. In the process of moving south, most of them can reach the southern region smoothly and survive. They can bear the frustrations and hardships of moving all the way south, and they are also cheap labor. At that time, the gentry and landlords in the south had a strong impulse and positive performance in land development, and they urgently demanded to develop Jiangnan and establish a strong economic foundation to enhance the military strength of the south. People who moved from the north to the south came to the south with nothing, and the government could not solve their livelihood problems. Therefore, gentry need labor to find the enthusiasm for developing mountains and forests, and people who move south need the enthusiasm for solving livelihood problems. Driven by these two passions, after a long and arduous struggle, the southern region finally took on a new look.