西汉人口数量变化考论

西汉人口数量变化大体可分为三个阶段:汉初至武帝前期(前202年—前130年),西汉人口由1300多万增长到3400万左右,是人口的快速增长时期;武帝中后期(前129年—前87年),由于战争等原因,造成大量人口非正常死亡,全国人口进入增长停滞期,甚至显著下降,武帝末年人口减少到2800多万;昭帝至平帝元始二年(前86年—公元2年),社会较为安定,西汉人口又进入增长时期,并达到5900多万的高峰。但此数字,并不是西汉末年全部实际存在的人口数,而仅仅是以郡国为基础列入政府版籍的“编户齐民”。实际人口数应加上:隐匿人口,宗室、列侯及奴婢人口,西域都护管辖地区的人口及以属国方式管辖的少数民族人口。西汉末年人口总数可达6400万。

Investigation of the Population Quantity Change of West Han Dynasty

The population quantity change of West Han dynasty generally may be divided into three periods: From the early period of West Han to the early period of Emperor Wu (202-130 BC) was the period while the population was rapidly increasing; from the middle and later period of Emperor Wu (129-87 BC) was the stagnating even decreasing period because of the abnormal death of large amount of people owing to civil war and so on. Then the population decreased to about 28 million. From Emperor Zhao to the second year of Yuanshi of Emperor Ping (86 BC-2) while the social order got quite stable, the population increased to the peak period while the population increased to over 59 million. But this number in fact was not the real one of the late period of West Han dynasty. It is only counted according to the record of'residence booklet "made by various states. The real one should be that including the hidden population, royal population, various marquises, the population of the Western regions and the minority nationalities there governed by central government. In fact the total population of the late period of West Han dynasty could reach 64 million.