064 



INQUIRY INTO THE POPULATION OF CHINA. 



corresponds very closely Avitli that given for 1741, Aniiot Avould add 

 493,075 individuals for unenunierated officials, 2,470,000 for the 

 literati, and 4,115,325 for the army. To this again he would add 

 some 50,000,000 for the civil emi^loyees of Government, the monks, 

 nuns, brigands, vagabonds, troglodytes, etc., with which, he says, 

 China is full. Here I think he is unquestionably wrong, for the 

 civil employees were included either in the already accounted for 

 class of officials, or in the general returns," while as for monks, nuns, 

 etc., the number was unquestionably so small that it may be omitted 

 in such a rough estimate as that we are attempting to reach. AVe 

 may adopt the number 143,000,000 individuals as a maxmuni for the 

 total population of China i:)roper in 1743. 



The various estimates of the ])02)ulation made by the Government 

 of China since 1743 are contained in the following tal)]e, in which 

 have also been included the annual rates of increase or decrease 

 between succeeding dates deducted from them : 



[Minus mark ( — ) indicates deci-ease.] 



"The figures for 1850 .and 1800 arc given on the niithority of the Tung hua lu. The 

 data from which the figure for 1885 is deduced were supplied me in 1885 h.v the Chinese 

 board of revenue Hu I'u, and supplemented and completed by figures supplied by the 

 same board to Mr. Popoft for ten provinces for the year 1879. This enumeration, as also 

 those for 17(31, ISIL', 1842, and 1882 are given in detail, infra, p. C!7C!. See also S. Weils 

 Williams, The Middle Kingdom, i, 258. 



Since the last date in the preceding tal)le a number of estimates of 

 the population of China i)roper have been made b}^ various writers, 

 but none of the estimates has any particular value, all of them being- 

 based on the data supplied Popolf for 187!) and 1882. E. H. Par- 

 ker '^ gives from Russian sources the population of the various ])rov- 



aTa Ch'ing Lti-li, 3d Div., Bk. I, Sec. LXXVI, i)rovicles for the registration 

 of persons in the civil nml military services. 

 i-Cbina, etc.. 192. 



