"Why does China have so many people?"
A lot of Chinese mommies and daddies loved each other very much...
"Why does China have so many people?"
A lot of Chinese mommies and daddies loved each other very much...
Liberation Centrale wrote:
China is a empire that's why. Most of China's population is non-Han. Each captive ethnic group and nationality adds up and the aggregate makes today's China look big. When China is broken up into smaller countries it won't look so big anymore. There are 1,000 of active liberation movements presently in China to break away from Beijing. A similar situation exists in India, Russia, Israel, Tukiye, and many other countries.
these seperation movements are very weak and not majority supported within the regions (besides Tibet). Don't count on China breaking up.
Anyways China has a lot of people because it is an empire made from several civilizations, all old. Beijing for example, has been a city for over 3000 years. Over time, the empire gained a homogeneous culture.
John Pelkinen wrote:
You forget that most of the world was in the same situation for thousands of years yet you don't see Europe having billions of people when they were for most of their history with nothing to do most of the time like Africans, Chinese and Indians.
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It takes money a lot of money to rear that many people. Why you ask yourself? well for one food is not free, clothing is not free, housing is not free?
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So actually to have that many people and yet have them well is a great achievement only great nations may achieve. Yes China went down in the 19th century for not adapting to change but look how they are doing now? They are back on top and in a little less than a century they will be the richest nation in terms of GDP per capita as it was trough out most of human history.
So-- I know that it is hard to imagine, but once upon a time, children were an economic resource rather than a disadvantage.
In an agrarian society, there is always more work to do than can possibly be done. Some of that work can be done by what we consider young children. For example, by the age 10, a boy can shepherd sheep, a girl can prepare food, and they can "pay their way" in a way that children in an industrial society can't do until their late teens (at the earliest). What's more-- as they age, the children become even bigger contributors to the family fortune as they take on more economically productive tasks. Moreover, food spoils and must be constantly replenished. Without some means of storing value e.g., money), agrarians need to work in order to eat. By having more children, agrarians make it more likely that there will be someone around to feed them when they are old and infirmed.
Now-- Europe went through the industrial revolution relatively early. When that happened, children started becoming more of an economic burden than an economic benefit, and birth rates dropped. Further, money (unlike food) could be saved and working lifetime expanded, and the need for children to provide economic security dropped.
However, China was still largely an agrarian society until recently, and so parents continued to enrich and secure themselves by having large families. That has changed now-- and the population of China will soon begin dropping.
John Pelkinen wrote:
You forget that most of the world was in the same situation for thousands of years yet you don't see Europe having billions of people when they were for most of their history with nothing to do most of the time like Africans, Chinese and Indians. Oh and by the way Africa is not exactly the most populated region in the world. Maybe you can start thinking that it is not just having intercourse and bang there you go you have a new person. It takes money a lot of money to rear that many people. Why you ask yourself? well for one food is not free, clothing is not free, housing is not free? So actually to have that many people and yet have them well is a great achievement only great nations may achieve. Yes China went down in the 19th century for not adapting to change but look how they are doing now? They are back on top and in a little less than a century they will be the richest nation in terms of GDP per capita as it was trough out most of human history.
Shame on your ignorance.
What the hell was all that?
Exponential wrote:
China is...
1. a very large country
2. in a relatively fertile, stable environment
3. highly agrarian
4. family oriented
5. was not modernized until the late 20th century
I would argue that China is heavily populated because it was modernized centuries before the rest of the world. Modern agriculture, plows, seed drills, ink, paper and printing, gunpowder, fireworks, chemical weapons, the compass, alcoholic beverages, fishing reels, portable gas, spectacles, mirrors and steel, among other things that didn't become common in the west until centuries later, were in use before Marco Polo made his trip. Many western European and Middle-Eastern people emigrated to China in the early part of the last Millennium attracted by it's wealth.
Liberation Centrale wrote:
Most of China's population is non-Han. Each captive ethnic group and nationality adds up and the aggregate makes today's China look big. When China is broken up into smaller countries it won't look so big anymore.
The vast majority of China's population is Han.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Han_ChineseThere are 5 "autonomous regions" that have substantial non-Han populations and weaker cultural ties to Beijing (example: Tibet). However, the 100 million people residing in these regions "only" account for about 7.5% of China's population. Even if these provinces broke away [spoiler alert: they won't], China would still have about 1.25 billion folks left.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Autonomous_regions_of_ChinaK5 wrote:
There were apparently way more Native Peoples living in the Americas in Pre Columbian times than we like to think.
Recent studies suggest that as many of 90% of those folks were wiped out by European diseases that spread across both continents like wildfire.
The highest estimate, which was in a paper published in 1983, was 18 million. At that time the population of China was estimated to be 100 million and at that time it was 2/3 the size it is today.
Guppy wrote:
There are many other factors at play. If interested, I suggest reading "Guns, Germs, and Steal" by Jared Diamond.
Actually, though. It's a fantastic book.