The Changing Landscape in Rural South Fujian 211
Agricultural production would have better chances of yielding
enough surplus for an increasing population provided that extortion
and exploitation were still within a tolerable limit. More labor-intensive
cultivation and the introduction of advanced agricultural technology
would bring additional returns. Students of this βield often take much for
granted when they use the term “population pressure” to explain social
changes in Fujian and its people’s massive migration to Southeast Asia
in this period. The charm of such an oversimpliβication has proved so
irresistible that commentators easily ignore the basic factors without
which a simple net increase in population would not have created
pressure or led to an explosive situation. The following discussion,
therefore, attempts to establish the relative importance of “population
pressure” examined from a broader perspective.
Land Conditions and Natural Catastrophes
The discussion commences with a brief examination of the condition of
the land. In 1542, the total area of cultivated land for Fujian as a whole,
was 135,475.331 qing 顷.^11 The average holding was 6.4 mu 亩 (0.97
acres) per kou, or about 25 to 26 mu per family. The surplus, if there was
any, was severely limited by the nature of its small size. Furthermore,
the d eterioration in the quality of the soil reduced the yield. Before the
massive southward migration in the early South Song period, agrarian
problems were a minor issue. At that time, Fujian was a wilderness
with an abundance of rich land. Irrigation works were well maintained.
Therefore, famine was uncommon.^12 When the population grew, land
was no longer as abundant as it had been, even when lower quality
arable land was included.^13 During the Yuan period, people were only
just able to meet their daily needs by toiling hard ceaselessly throughout
the year.^14 Because of its southernmost location in the province, the
more intensive land exploitation in Zhangzhou occurred much later;
consequently, it was the last to feel the impact of the waves of migration
from the north. While land was fully exploited in the central and northern
parts of Fujian during the Song period, Zhangzhou still consisted of a
large amount of uncultivated land.^15 The same was true on the outskirts
- Wei Qingyuan, Mingdai huangce zhidu, p. 250. One qing = 100 mu = 15.13 acres.
- Huang Zhongzhao, Bamin tongzhi, 3: 1a.
- Ibid.
- Ibid.
- Ibid., 2: 18b.