Hu Huanyong (, November 20, 1901 – April 30, 1998) was a Chinese

demographer Demography () is the statistical study of human populations: their size, composition (e.g., ethnic group, age), and how they change through the interplay of fertility (births), mortality (deaths), and migration. Demographic analysis examine ...

and the founder of China's

population geography Population geography is the study of the distribution, composition, migration, and growth of human populations in relation to the geographic characteristics of specific area. It focuses on how populations are distributed across space, the facto ...

Biography

He was born in

Yixing Yixing () is a county-level city administered under the prefecture-level city of Wuxi in southern Jiangsu province, China, and is part of the Yangtze Delta, Yangtze River Delta. The city is known for its traditional Yixing ware, Yixing clay ware t ...

Jiangsu Jiangsu is a coastal Provinces of the People's Republic of China, province in East China. It is one of the leading provinces in finance, education, technology, and tourism, with its capital in Nanjing. Jiangsu is the List of Chinese administra ...

Province. He studied literature, history, and geography at

Nanjing Higher Normal School Nanjing University (NJU) is a public university in Nanjing, Jiangsu, China. It is affiliated and sponsored by the Ministry of Education. The university is part of Project 211, Project 985, and the Double First-Class Construction. The university ...

. He continued his education at the

University of Paris The University of Paris (), known Metonymy, metonymically as the Sorbonne (), was the leading university in Paris, France, from 1150 to 1970, except for 1793–1806 during the French Revolution. Emerging around 1150 as a corporation associated wit ...

from 1926 to 1928. He returned to China and began teaching at

National Central University National Central University (; abbreviated NCU; ) is a public research university based in Taiwan. It was founded in 1902 in Nanjing; initially located in Miaoli after moving to Taiwan, it relocated to Zhongli in 1962 and developed into a com ...

where he was eventually appointed dean of the Department of Geography. He began teaching at

East China Normal University East China Normal University (ECNU) is a public university in Shanghai, China. It is affiliated with the Ministry of Education (China), Ministry of Education and co-funded with the Shanghai Municipal People's Government. The university is part of ...

(ECNU) in

Shanghai Shanghai, Shanghainese: , Standard Chinese pronunciation: is a direct-administered municipality and the most populous urban area in China. The city is located on the Chinese shoreline on the southern estuary of the Yangtze River, with the ...

in 1953, and in 1957 he became director of the research office of population geography at ECNU (which he helped to establish), the first demographic research institution in China. In a paper published in 1934 entitled, "Distribution of China's Population," he drew the Heihe-Tengchong Line, also called the Aihun (or Aigun, ancient name of Heihe)-Tengchong Line, which is known internationally as the "Hu Line." The line marks a striking difference in the distribution of China's population.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Hu, Huanyong 1901 births 1998 deaths Chinese demographers Educators from Wuxi People from Yixing Academic staff of the National Central University Academic staff of the East China Normal University Victims of the Cultural Revolution Mathematicians from Jiangsu Scientists from Wuxi 20th-century Chinese science writers Writers from Wuxi