A Study on The Population and Socio-economic Conditions in Guangxin Prefecture in the Western Part of Jiangxi in the Qing Period

There has been much concern about the rapid population growth during the period from the 17th century to the 19th century in China. Especially, the region's unusually high male to female ratio of registered births is a very important issue. This paper mainly considered the population data described in the local gazetteer of Guangxin prefecture edited in 1873. The prefecture supervised seven counties, including Yiyang, the governor of which had insisted on stopping infanticide, especially of female children, by his opinion issued in 1683. We focused on the historical factors such as the relations among notable demographic phenomena, attitude of the administration, and socioeconomic features that led to the increasing population in this region. Although the data is not census-based and obtaining accurate population estimates is difficult, a study of the historical demography has proved that, similarly, people in the area near the western part of Jiangxi in the Ming period were also inclined to give birth to and raise baby boys selectively. As above, obviously the trend of an unequal male-to-female ratio steadily continued even in the 19th century