Every fifth child : the population of China

Sometime in the distant past, the editors of this series inquired whether I would be interested in doing a population book-'a kind of economic and social geography of China ... rather than just another account of well-known statistics or a debate between demographers on the validity of the data'. The next year and a half went by with occasional corres pondence, much of it expressing concern that the book be not too. specialized, treating China's demography 'in the abstract and as a pure subject', and my reassurances to the editors that neither the quality and volume of data nor my style could make this a highly technical monograph. On the other hand I was not willing to do a 'popular' book on the subject. In an effort to resolve this contradition, the title 'Every Fourth Child' was suggested for those who might be scared away by a more sterile heading, plus 'The Population of China' for those who are more fact and figure oriented. It is a reasonable mix ture. That the title turned out to be 'Every Fifth Child' is incidental to this tale.

When concern over population has become universal, the implica tions of China's population are such that the interest extends far beyond the usual audience - it haunts the world leaders, frustrates the professional China-watchers, and intrigues many people who have only an understandable curiosity in the subject. Hopefully I have managed to write something that is scholarly enough, general enough, and interesting enough to make it palatable for both the professional and the lay reader.