Population Research

An Exploration of the “Name” and the “Substance” of Classical Demographic Concepts and Indicators: A Case Study of “Infant Mortality Rate”

Zhai Zhenwu, Huang Zhuo

2025, 49(6): 3-16.

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Due to disparities in national realities and linguistic systems between China and the West, the introduction and application of demographic indicators borrowed from Western scholarship often suffer from problems such as mechanical adoption and inconsistencies between name and substance. These problems are mainly manifested in literal translation, conceptual over-generalization, inconsistent indicator terminology, and discrepancies between indicator names and their computational definitions. A typical example is the term “Infant Mortality Rate”, which has long been rendered in Chinese as “婴儿死亡率”. However, this translation is misleading. By tracing the historical development of “Infant Mortality Rate” and examining the original expressions in English-language demographic literature, we find that terms denoting similar mortality indicators are strictly differentiated in wording when referring to “rates” or “probabilities”, and that all major computational approaches to the “Infant Mortality Rate” adhere to the core principle of probability. However, this essential distinction has been completely obscured in its Chinese rendering. We propose that terms prone to misuse or conceptual confusion should be localized and refined in accordance with China's empirical realities. Such efforts are essential to ensuring the accuracy of classical demographic concepts and indicators in the Chinese context.

Reconstructing the Concept of Family: A Response to Low Fertility and Transitional Society

Song Jian, Chen Wenqi

2025, 49(6): 17-30.

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Reconstructing the concept of family can better respond to the challenges posed by low fertility and the transitional society in this era. The article traces the formation and evolution logic of the concept of family, reviews the efforts made by the academic community so far to reconstruct the concept, and puts forward the redefined concept. The concept of “family” in China was formed through a hybrid system and ideological framework that emerged from the dual logic of the “family” in the patriarchal system and the “household” in governance, and was shaped by the transplantation of modern concepts and the changes in contemporary society. The evolution of the Western concept of family provides a necessary historical reference for understanding the institutional dependence and cultural adaptation issues of the concept of family generally used in China. The academic community both at home and abroad are reconfiguring the family in terms of theory, methods, and policy adjustments, with focus shifting from “household” to “kinship”. The article redefines the concept of family as: “A network of resource sharing and risk allocation formed by individuals connected through kinship and quasi-kinship relationships such as marriage, blood ties, or adoption”, which can be illustrated as a nested circle that expands from the inside out, consisting of “household-shared family—functional family—kinship circle family”.

From Core Cities to Metropolitan Areas: The Evolution and Trends of China's Unique Population Concentric Ring Structure

Yin Deting, Ji Fangzhou, Zhu Xiaokun, Liu Mengchen

2025, 49(6): 31-52.

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Based on data from China's seven national population censuses (1953-2020), WorldPop, and World Population Prospects 2024, this study employs the “Five Forces” analytical framework to longitudinally examine the formation, evolution, and trends of the population concentric ring structure in China's metropolitan areas through long-term, multi-layer dynamic analysis and multi-model cross-verification. The research aims to advance the study of metropolitan population distribution toward “Developing Chinese Theory Based on Chinese Reality.” The findings reveal that the layered nature of population distribution in China's metropolitan areas has continued to intensify, with distinct typological characteristics. Early-developing and late-developing metropolitan areas exhibit differentiation both between and within types. The population center of gravity in these areas, after undergoing shifts, has gradually regressed, reflecting the spatial resilience of population distribution from a long-term perspective. Under the influence of China's unique governance approach—the sequential implementation of medium- and long-term plans—an orderly evolutionary model of the population concentric ring structure in metropolitan areas has been shaped. Based on these insights, this study identifies four critical issues that require urgent attention in the planning of China's metropolitan population layers and proposes governance strategies, providing both empirical and theoretical support for advancing spatial population governance in metropolitan areas.

Professor Zha Ruichuan: A Monument in China's Demography

Duan Chengrong

2025, 49(6): 53-58.

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A Light that Illuminates the World, a Flame that Kindles the Heart: In Memory of My Mentor, Professor Zha Ruichuan

Chen Gong

2025, 49(6): 59-73.

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An Analysis of the Progression of Marriage and Childbearing and Its Heterogeneity among Chinese Women of Reproductive Age

Feng Ting, Li Yuzhu, Zhang Cuiling, Zheng Zhenzhen

2025, 49(6): 82-99.

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This study employs data from the 2017 National Fertility Survey and applies accelerated failure time models and the generalized F distribution to analyze three sequential life-course events among Chinese women—first marriage, transition from first marriage to first birth, and transition from first to second birth—by urban-rural residence, birth cohort, and educational attainment. Results indicate that in younger cohorts, the impact of educational attainment on timing of first marriage and probabilities of remaining unmarried has become increasingly pronounced. Regarding the interval between first marriage and first birth, differences across urban-rural and educational lines have narrowed, suggesting a tightening linkage between marriage and childbearing, and a weakening heterogeneity. For the transition from first to second birth, the residential and educational gap has also substantially diminished. Overall, residential and educational heterogeneity plays its most significant role during the first marriage transition, with delayed first marriage emerging as the primary bottleneck contributing to postponed fertility and declining birth rates.

Emotional Cohesion and Cultural Endogeny: Research on the Leisure Community Day Care Model for Older Adults

Ming Yan, Li Yuehua, Yang Jie, Zhang Xianling

2025, 49(6): 100-112.

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China is experiencing rapid population ageing, with the imbalance between supply and demand for elderly care services becoming increasingly apparent. Based on field research in Y Community of Meitan County, Zun Yi City, Guizhou Province, this paper proposes an innovative day care model for older adults emerging in less developed regions-the Leisure Community. It is an informal day care model grounded in local cultural practices and neighborhood social interactions, utilizing daily leisure activities as medium while providing both emotional comfort and caregiving functions. The paper employs diverse theories to examine the formation mechanism and long-term operational logic of this model. The findings reveal that the formation of Leisure Community relies on five key mechanisms: social capital accumulation, emotional mutual nurturing, spatial embedding, health maintenance, and cultural driving forces. Its long-term sustainable operation is ensured by the cyclical reproduction of social capital, place innovation and cost control, autonomous operation and self-worth, as well as spatio-temporal reconstruction and intergenerational win-win. Finally, this paper clarifies the functional positioning and operational boundaries of Leisure Community, and puts forward the implications of this model for exploring more diversified local cultural elderly care practices.

The Impact of Subjective Social Status on Older Adults' Consumption and the Mediating Role of Internet Use

Hai Long, Cui Yanghao, Wang Rui

2025, 49(6): 113-125.

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In the era of rapid population aging, promoting older adults' consumption and vigorously developing the silver economy have become crucial strategies for expanding domestic demand. Drawing on seven-wave data from the China Family Panel Studies (CFPS) between 2010 and 2022, this study empirically investigates the impact of subjective social status on older adults' consumption. The results show that an improvement in subjective social status significantly increases overall consumption, enjoyment-oriented consumption, and the proportion of enjoyment-oriented consumption among older adults. Quantile regression results show that subjective social status has a stronger effect on the enjoyment-oriented consumption level of older adults in higher enjoyment-oriented consumption quantiles. Mediation analysis further indicates that Internet use partially mediates this relationship, with indirect effects exceeding 20% for total and enjoyment-oriented consumption levels but remaining below 10% for the share of enjoyment-oriented consumption. The study suggests enhancing older adults' subjective social status, advancing digital inclusion initiatives, and fostering an age-friendly consumption environment to fully unleash their consumption potential.

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