"The case of China is in many ways exemplary, due to both its extremely long history and the fact that the Chinese approach influenced other countries over the course of the centuries, and can thus be viewed as a model. The first ¿censuses' were intended as an administrative tool, to manage lists of those subject to the corvee. As administrative regulations evolved, these lists were made obsolete and replaced, with the change of dynasty in 1644, by fiscal records. From 1740 to 1780, in order to link economic knowledge--especially grain prices--to the demographic situation, the central government urged local authorities to produce nominative records. Genealogies, rich in information, were another source of knowledge. With certain alterations, the Chinese model spread into the surrounding region, including Japan, Vietnam and Korea." (SUMMARY IN ENG AND SPA)