PIP: The changes in age of marriage in ancient China can be classified into 3 periods. Around 680 B.C., the government set the age of marriage at 20 for men and at 15 for women. Even though it was written in the works of the Confucian school that men should marry at 30 and women at 20, it was never really followed. The Wei and Jin dynasties provided the longest periods of war and social instability. Large numbers of population died because of war or famine. Because heavy taxes were collected on each member of family, many families did not report marriage or childbirth. In order to encourage childbirth, the government reduced the age of marriage to 15 for men and 13 for women. Administrative and legislative regulation were introduced to force people to marry early, especially women. Incentives were given to families with more women. These policies was enforced due to the imbalance of the sex ratio and reduction of population size. As female infanticides were prevalent because of differential values placed on male and female children, it was difficult for men to find partners to marry. Shortage of women was also the result of the polygamy of the rich and the aristocracy. The imbalance of the sex ratio forced women to marry early. Nevertheless, women getting married too early were not fertile. Infant or child mortality was high among children of young mothers. From the Song to the Ching dynasties, the age of marriage was set at 16 for men and 14 for women. In the ancient times, the population of China was around 60-70 million before the Ching dynasty. Generally speaking, the population size was small. Early marriage was necessary and feasible. Even though fertility in ancient times was high, mortality has high also. Life expectancy ranged form 22 to 35. People needed to marry early and have children early to replace themselves. On the other hand, large land areas and inefficient production tools required a larger labor force. Large population size also represented resources and potential for development. From the viewpoint of both the government and the individual, it was beneficial to marry early and have children early.