Analysis on Land Development and Causes in Northeast China during Qing Dynasty

This article discusses the process, characteristics and causes of the land development in Northeast China during Qing dynasty. In this period, land development mainly happened in the Liao river valley and the west of Liaoning Province, only a little land was developed in Jilin Province and Heilongjiang Province, representing a scene of desolation in vast undeveloped interior area. After Qing government abolished an immigration ban, large area was cultivated in Fengtian, Jilin and Heilongjian one after another at a high speed rarely seen before. The authors further analyse the main factors which had influenced land use change in this area, and find that huge population pressure in central China, successive famines and land policy change of Qing government are the 3 major reasons that caused the large scale immigration and high speed land development in Northeast China during Qing dynasty, particularly in the late period.