Cause & Context
For millennia, the regressive head tax (Ding) incentivized peasants to conceal household members and abandon land; Kangxi's decree never to raise head taxes laid the groundwork for structural abolition.
Epochal Overview
Emperor Yongzheng mandated 'Tan Ding Ru Mu' (Merging Poll Tax into Land Tax), shifting the entire head tax quota onto land ownership so propertyless peasants paid zero poll tax.
Key Figures
Emperor Yongzheng drove the reform against elite opposition with reformist governors like Tian Wenjing and Li Wei.
Civilizational Impact
The reform emancipated commoners from restrictive population registration, stimulated labor mobility, and ignited China's historic demographic surge to over 400 million by the 19th century.