The Qing Dynasty has a vast territory, why do people lack fields?

During the Qing Dynasty, the land area of China was 1365438+ 10,000 square kilometers, which was the second largest dynasty in ancient China, second only to the powerful Yuan Dynasty. It stands to reason that the territory of the Qing Dynasty is so vast that people everywhere should be very rich. Although it can't be said that it is enough to maintain a basic life, many peasant uprisings broke out in the Qing Dynasty, and the fundamental reason was that farmers lacked land. Why do farmers still lack land?

First, there is a restricted area. It can be seen from Qian Mu's book "Political Gains and Losses in China in Past Dynasties" that the Qing Dynasty designated Kanto, Taiwan Province, Chahar, Suiyuan and Xinjiang as forbidden areas, and Han people were not allowed to emigrate at will. Why did Emperor Kangxi carry out "Manchu-Han integration" and set up so many forbidden zones at the same time? Mainly for better governance. The three northeastern provinces were set as restricted areas mainly because it was the land of Longxing and the retreat of Manchu people.

Taiwan Province Province is set as a restricted area to stabilize order and strengthen management; Chahar and Suiyuan were set as restricted areas mainly to prevent the Han people from contacting the Mongols too much and threatening the rule; According to Master Qian Mu's understanding, Xinjiang was designated as a forbidden area because Xinjiang was still a "barren land" and the Qing government hoped that Manchu people would develop it.

Second, the population base is too large. Since the feudal dynasty used to collect taxes according to the head, since the fifty-first year of Kangxi, because "the world has been peaceful for a long time and the registered population is increasing day by day, it is really necessary to levy more money and food according to the population. Although the population has increased, the land has not expanded. "

It was decided that "the governor should be ordered to keep the number of famous people in the current money and food books unchanged", and people began to give birth without restraint, which led to a large increase in the population base. But the land area has not changed, so everyone's land has been greatly reduced.