February** Dynamic Incentive Program
In most countries, the hukou system is regarded as an institutional tool for managing society, with functions such as population registration, administration and welfare distribution. In China, the hukou system has been developed and is still sticky and closely linked to various non-hukou functions. Hukou is not only a tool for recording population information, births and deaths, but also restricts population movement, provides population data, and maintains social management order. However, the rural-urban dual hukou system leads to inequality and identity discrimination, especially in housing, health care, education, and employment. Although the distinction between rural and urban hukou has been abolished, the hukou system still plays a role in the distribution of benefits, leading to urban-rural dichotomy and inequality.
It can be seen as early as the Shang Dynasty oracle bone inscriptions"Dengren"、"Ascend to the public"of the record. During the Zhou Dynasty, the household registration system, as a tool for counting the population, became the foundation of the feudal system. The Qin Dynasty further improved the household registration system and introduced"Household registration is compatible"system, which merges five households into a single unit for military management, gives the state financial and mobilization capacity. The Han Dynasty inherited and expanded the household registration system of the Qin Dynasty, including the entire people in the household registration system, which was implemented"Household Qi people", regardless of status, gender, age, all need to be registered, and the counties will conduct annual case comparisons, and the imperial court will centrally manage them. In the Song Dynasty, due to the high level of commerce and mobility, the hukou system tended to be flexible, and people could move according to their place of residence, but after the Yuan Dynasty, it became stricter, and it was eased after the middle of the Ming Dynasty. These changes reflected the evolution of feudal society and political systems.
In modern times, the hukou system has taken on multiple functions under the framework of sociological and demographic theories. It restricts the movement of people, especially between urban and rural areas. Although some regions have relaxed hukou restrictions to support urbanization and economic development, there are still high barriers to settlement in large cities, making it difficult for migrants to integrate into urban life. It provides vital population data and, through daily registrations and censuses, enables the collection and management of large amounts of demographic information, which aids in decision-making, resource allocation, and the optimization of public services. It helps to maintain social order, and through the management of resident ID cards and residence permits, it can prevent and combat illegal activities, maintain social order and public safety.
After the founding of the People's Republic of China, the hukou system was initially based on economic policies designed to support industrialization and agricultural subsidies. However, this system divides the population into rural and non-rural categories, leading to the creation of dual urban-rural household registration. Although some measures have been taken in recent years** to reduce the link between hukou and welfare, such as easing restrictions on urban hukou and providing uniform employment standards, the gap between urban and rural hukou still exists. This has led to inequality and identity discrimination in areas such as education, health care, housing, etc., and migrants who have the opportunity to live in cities are still subjected to a certain degree of deciprocity. Therefore, the reform of the hukou system needs to separate public rights and interests from the hukou system, so as to avoid its implicit breeding, so as to truly liberate the function of the hukou system.
China's household registration system has undergone profound changes from free movement to strict control, and then to semi-open and urban-rural integrated household registration construction. During the period of free movement (1949-1957), although the law explicitly protected the right of citizens to freedom of movement, at the same time, the formulation of various legal documents relating to household registration often contradicted each other, leading to a chaotic situation. This paved the way for the promulgation of the 1958 Household Registration Regulations and the establishment of a formal household registration management system. In the first half of this period, citizens were able to move freely by simply registering with the local police station, but later the state began to tighten its control over the movement of people in rural areas. The policy measures of this period reflect the continuous adjustment and intervention of ** in the area of population migration, with the aim of maintaining social stability and coordinating urban and rural development.
During the period of strict control (1958-1977), the hukou system underwent significant legal and policy adjustments, aiming to clarify the identity of urban and rural residents, limit the movement of rural population, and optimize the size of the urban population to meet the needs of the planned economic system. However,"The Great Leap Forward"with"***"Policies during this period have tightened controls on population movements, particularly restricting access from rural areas to cities. Eventually, in 1975, the state abolished citizens' right to freedom of movement, further reinforcing the restrictive nature of the hukou system. The policies and legal measures of this period had a profound impact on society, which had a significant impact on the inequality and inequity between urban and rural residents, and also provided an opportunity for reflection and improvement in the subsequent hukou reform.
In the semi-open stage (1978-early 2001), with the development of rural reform and market economy, the hukou system underwent a series of important changes. **Restrictions on the movement of some urban and rural residents have been lifted, allowing rural families to move to cities and towns, and providing food rations**. In 1984, the identity card system was introduced, replacing the cumbersome household register. The 1985 circular encouraged peasants to do business in cities and towns, implemented a relaxed settlement policy, and issued a "self-care grain household registration book". In 1992, the boundaries between urban and rural hukou were further abolished, providing more equal treatment for urban and rural residents. Between 1997 and 2001, reforms were issued to allow rural citizens and their relatives to settle in townships and townships according to their circumstances. The reforms during this period laid the foundation for a modern hukou system, provided more urbanization opportunities for farmers, and gradually narrowed the gap between urban and rural hukou.
In the stage of the construction of China's urban-rural integrated household registration (2001-present), * through the comprehensive deepening of the reform of the household registration system, the restrictions on urban household registration have been gradually relaxed, the control of household registration in county-level cities and small towns has been abolished, and a new household registration management system has been established. This reform model has expanded from regional innovation to comprehensive promotion, achieving the goal of urban-rural integration. Since 2010, through the improvement of temporary residence permits and the implementation of the residence permit system, the city has attracted talents to flow into the city and accelerated the transformation of urban and rural areas. In 2019, it was a landmark to fully relax the settlement restrictions in large cities, reduce the points settlement regulations in megacities, and further deepen the reform of the household registration system. This stage of reform marks that China's household registration system is moving towards a more open and modern direction, and gradually achieving the goal of urban-rural integration.
The key to the future reform of the hukou system is to redefine the function of hukou as a tool for population management, rather than as a basis for the distribution of social welfare. This requires a clear prohibition of identity discrimination based on household registration at the policy level, ensuring that all people have equal access to public services and social benefits regardless of the nature of their household registration, so as to better serve the needs of social management, and at the same time promote social fairness and harmony.