Human migration related to historical events

The four major population migrations in Chinese history

As early as the Warring States Period (475 BC - 221 BC), the Qin people immigrated to Bashu, the Chu people developed the southwest, and the Yan State opened up the Liaohe River The river basin has had a certain number of immigrants.

1. During the Qin and Han Dynasties (221-220 BC), the Huns, a minority group from the north, often invaded. Whenever the Huns were defeated, their captives were often moved inland. During the Western Jin Dynasty (281-318 AD), more Xiongnu, Xianbei, Shi, Qiang and other ethnic groups immigrated to the interior. During this period, a large number of Hu people went south and established many small countries in North China. A large number of Han residents moved from the Yellow River Basin to the south of the Yangtze River. At that time, the government even moved the original prefectures, counties and local governments in the north to the south, which were called Qiaozhi prefectures and counties. For example, there are the so-called South Xuzhou, Nangunzhou, South Yuzhou, etc. This is the first largest population migration in Chinese history.

2. During the Five Dynasties and Ten Kingdoms period (907-960 AD), the Khitan people from the north moved southward; and then the Jin people from the Jurchen tribe moved southward. During the Southern Song Dynasty (1133-1279 AD), various parts of North China were ruled by the Jin people, and the Southern Song government moved to Lin'an (today's Hangzhou). In this way, a large number of Jurchen people moved to the Yellow River Basin, and the Han people who originally lived in the Yellow River Basin were once again forced to move to the Yangtze River Basin and the Pearl River Basin. This is the second largest population migration in Chinese history.

The Yuan Dynasty government (1279-1368 AD) established by the Mongols ruled the whole of China, and Mongolian people moved into the interior in large numbers.

3. In 1659, the Manchus established the Qing Dynasty to rule China. Most of the Manchu residents entered the interior and were organized into the Eight Banners. They lived among the majority of Han people and gradually adopted Chinese. At the same time, Manchus and Han also intermarried with each other. At the end of the Qing Dynasty, most of the Manchus stayed in the mainland. On the other hand, Han people were originally prohibited from entering Manchuria in the Northeast. However, due to the large population in the interior and the frequent occurrence of floods and droughts, people from Shandong, Hebei, and Henan provinces in the lower reaches of the Yellow River began to privately migrate to the Northeast for cultivation. Later, due to the Russian and Japanese Imperialism attempted to occupy Manchuria, and the Qing government also rewarded Han people to go there to enrich the frontiers.

4. At the end of the Qing Dynasty (1911 AD), the population of the three northeastern provinces increased to 29 million. In just over a hundred years, the total population of Northeast China increased from less than 1 million to 29 million, an increase of nearly 30 times. Although this is only a regional population migration within the country, given the large number of people and the rapid growth, it can be regarded as a large-scale population migration.