Jilin Province of China, 1949–1979: History of Regional and Demographic Development

Introduction. The history of regional and demographic development of Jilin Province in Northeast China from 1949 to 1979 comprises a number of socioeconomic and urban/spatial changes in the demographic potential of the strategically important border territory. Goals. The paper shall consider some pe...

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Main Author: Svetlana B. Makeeva
Format: Article
Language:English
Published: Российской академии наук, Калмыцкий научный центр 2024-05-01
Series:Oriental Studies
Subjects:
Online Access:https://kigiran.elpub.ru/jour/article/view/5163
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author Svetlana B. Makeeva
author_facet Svetlana B. Makeeva
author_sort Svetlana B. Makeeva
collection DOAJ
description Introduction. The history of regional and demographic development of Jilin Province in Northeast China from 1949 to 1979 comprises a number of socioeconomic and urban/spatial changes in the demographic potential of the strategically important border territory. Goals. The paper shall consider some peculiar features of economic processes in the evolution of Jilin Province from 1949 to 1979; identify key trends in ethnic, urban/spatial, and migration processes; determine the causes and consequences of high fertility, low mortality, and a younger age population structure in Jilin Province during the period under review. Materials and methods. The article employs quite a variety of sources on China’s historical demography: population censuses, statistical collections, materials of five-year plans. The synchronous and statistical historical methods have proven most instrumental. Results. The thirty years following the founding of the People’s Republic of China (1949) witnessed an economic strengthening of the strategically important border province. The shaping of its production infrastructure dominated by automotive, petrochemical, fuel and energy, coal, and metallurgical industries did have positive impacts on the demographic situation. Over the thirty years, its population increased by 11,761 thousand people, so did the number of marriages, and the population structure was characterized by a prevalence of the younger generation. The then spatial and urban changes in Jilin would take into account some ethnic characteristics and industrial potential ― never to essentially solve the food problem (through preservation of arable lands). All these factors paved the path to the one-child policy. Conclusions. Jilin’s regional and demographic development from 1949 to 1979 was characterized by increased birth and decreased mortality rates, rapid population growth and that of urban areas, accelerated urbanization, and migrations from other provinces to industrial, forest and rural territories of Jilin.
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spelling doaj-art-d14de634ced9488bbc5c2126a479f24f2025-02-11T12:55:15ZengРоссийской академии наук, Калмыцкий научный центрOriental Studies2619-09902619-10082024-05-0117225926910.22162/2619-0990-2024-72-2-259-269Jilin Province of China, 1949–1979: History of Regional and Demographic DevelopmentSvetlana B. Makeeva0https://orcid.org/0000-0003-2953-0411Institute for Demographic Research, Federal Center of Theoretical and Applied Sociology of the RASIntroduction. The history of regional and demographic development of Jilin Province in Northeast China from 1949 to 1979 comprises a number of socioeconomic and urban/spatial changes in the demographic potential of the strategically important border territory. Goals. The paper shall consider some peculiar features of economic processes in the evolution of Jilin Province from 1949 to 1979; identify key trends in ethnic, urban/spatial, and migration processes; determine the causes and consequences of high fertility, low mortality, and a younger age population structure in Jilin Province during the period under review. Materials and methods. The article employs quite a variety of sources on China’s historical demography: population censuses, statistical collections, materials of five-year plans. The synchronous and statistical historical methods have proven most instrumental. Results. The thirty years following the founding of the People’s Republic of China (1949) witnessed an economic strengthening of the strategically important border province. The shaping of its production infrastructure dominated by automotive, petrochemical, fuel and energy, coal, and metallurgical industries did have positive impacts on the demographic situation. Over the thirty years, its population increased by 11,761 thousand people, so did the number of marriages, and the population structure was characterized by a prevalence of the younger generation. The then spatial and urban changes in Jilin would take into account some ethnic characteristics and industrial potential ― never to essentially solve the food problem (through preservation of arable lands). All these factors paved the path to the one-child policy. Conclusions. Jilin’s regional and demographic development from 1949 to 1979 was characterized by increased birth and decreased mortality rates, rapid population growth and that of urban areas, accelerated urbanization, and migrations from other provinces to industrial, forest and rural territories of Jilin. https://kigiran.elpub.ru/jour/article/view/5163history of the prcjilin provincehistorical demographyregional developmenturbanizationfive-year planningmigrationnational economyfertilitycultural revolution
spellingShingle Svetlana B. Makeeva
Jilin Province of China, 1949–1979: History of Regional and Demographic Development
Oriental Studies
history of the prc
jilin province
historical demography
regional development
urbanization
five-year planning
migration
national economy
fertility
cultural revolution
title Jilin Province of China, 1949–1979: History of Regional and Demographic Development
title_full Jilin Province of China, 1949–1979: History of Regional and Demographic Development
title_fullStr Jilin Province of China, 1949–1979: History of Regional and Demographic Development
title_full_unstemmed Jilin Province of China, 1949–1979: History of Regional and Demographic Development
title_short Jilin Province of China, 1949–1979: History of Regional and Demographic Development
title_sort jilin province of china 1949 1979 history of regional and demographic development
topic history of the prc
jilin province
historical demography
regional development
urbanization
five-year planning
migration
national economy
fertility
cultural revolution
url https://kigiran.elpub.ru/jour/article/view/5163
work_keys_str_mv AT svetlanabmakeeva jilinprovinceofchina19491979historyofregionalanddemographicdevelopment