A PRELIMINARY STUDY ON THE MIGRATIONS AND THEIR SOCIAL EFFECTS IN THE DISTRICT OF THE MIDDLE AND LOWER REACHES OF THE YELLOW RIVER DURING THE EARLY PERIOD OF THE MING DYNASTY
明朝前期黄河中下游地区的移民活动及其社会作用初探

During the years of Hong Wu and Yongle in the Ming Dynasty, there appeared several largescaled, organized migrations along the middle and lower reaches of the Yellow River. This article discusses the social background of them, the process and the social functions of such migrations. It focuses on the following points.Each migration in the early years of Ming Dynasty is the result of one of the measures taken by the rulers to prevent the economy depressed by war from decline. The removal of the country's political center (i.e. the removal of capital from Nanjing to Beijing) greatly diverts the migrations. Such changes stabilized the society then, quickeming the step of the economic blooming and flurishing, and developing the cultural intercourse among the people of the several provinces along the middle and lower reaches of the Yellow River. Especially the large scaled migrations from the area around Shanxi province into Beijing greatly balanced the population, and solidified Beijing's position in politics, economy and military superiority.