--- description: The long-standing and controversial system is coming to an end title: China's One-Child Policy: How It Started in the First Place image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/bltaa428fbbee9259f8/69886ebde20a87f05da8df57/china.jpeg?branch=production&width=2400&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 ---  * [History](/section/history/) ## History Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close * [Demographics](/tag/demographics/) ## Demographics Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close # Here's How China's One-Child Policy Started in the First Place  by [Tessa Berenson](/author/tessa-berenson/)  ## Tessa Berenson Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close Oct 29, 2015 3:54 PM CUT  Pedestrians pass by a billboard extolling the virtues of China's one-child policy on April 1, 1985 Pedestrians pass by a billboard extolling the virtues of China's one-child policy on April 1, 1985Peter Charlesworth—LightRocket / Getty Images  by [Tessa Berenson](/author/tessa-berenson/)  ## Tessa Berenson Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close Oct 29, 2015 3:54 PM CUT With China’s [one-child policy ending on Thursday](http://time.com/4092453/china-one-child-rule/ "undefined") after more than three decades, looking back to when—and why—the strict policy was first implemented shows us how China’s demographics have shifted in critical ways. In the 1970s, many countries around the world were [worried about population growth](http://time.com/vault/issue/1978-12-04/page/69/ "undefined"), but China, with its combination of a particularly large population and a powerful government, took an extreme approach to the problem. The country initially ran a successful birth control campaign under the slogan “Late, Long and Few,” which cut population growth by half between 1970 and 1976\. But, as the decade came to an end, that drop leveled off and the nation was still facing food shortages and fear of a repeat of the devastating famine that killed some 30 million people by 1962. In 1979, the Chinese government introduced a policy requiring couples from China’s ethnic Han majority to limit themselves to one child. The official start of implementation came in 1980, with an open letter issued by the Central Committee of the Communist Party of China. The letter outlined the population pressure on the country and set out a goal of curbing population growth, bringing the nation’s total below 1.2 billion at the end of the 20th century. As reports from the time [noted](http://timesmachine.nytimes.com/timesmachine/1980/09/27/111295682.html?pageNumber=2 "undefined"), the nation’s 38 million Communist Party members were told to use “patient and painstaking persuasion” to teach the rest of the population how important it was to practice family planning. ### See the Official Flag Raising for China’s National Day  A paramilitary police officer adjusts another's cap as they and others wait in an underground tunnel before securing the official flag raising ceremony at Tiananmen Square to mark the 66th National Day in Beijing, early on Oct. 1, 2015. Kevin Frayer—Getty Images  Police officers hold back crowds as they gather at the official flag raising ceremony at Tiananmen Square to mark the 66th National Day in Beijing, on Oct. 1, 2015. Kevin Frayer—Getty Images  People take pictures as they gather during the official flag raising ceremony at Tiananmen Square to mark the 66th National Day in Beijing, on Oct. 1, 2015. Kevin Frayer—Getty Images  Paramilitary police officers march following the official flag raising ceremony at Tiananmen Square to mark the 66th National Day in Beijing, on Oct. 1, 2015. Kevin Frayer—Getty Images  A girl poses in front of a large decorative flower arrangement after the official flag raising ceremony at Tiananmen Square to mark the 66th National Day in Beijing, on Oct. 1, 2015. Kevin Frayer—Getty Images  A paramilitary police officer guards in an underground tunnel after securing the official flag raising ceremony at Tiananmen Square to mark the 66th National Day in Beijing, on Oct. 1, 2015. Kevin Frayer—Getty Images  A man touches a flag sticker on his cheek while attending the official flag raising ceremony at Tiananmen Square to mark the 66th National Day in Beijing, on Oct. 1, 2015. Kevin Frayer—Getty Images To enforce the law, the Chinese government could fine couples for having another child without a permit. The law also incentivized single-child homes by offering longer maternity leave and other benefits to such families. Compliance with the law was seen as a revolutionary good for society; couples who abided by the mandate were awarded a “Certificate of Honor for Single-Child Parents.” The policy was relaxed slightly in the mid-1980s, with the government allowing second children for some families in rural areas or offering exceptions for households in which both parents were themselves only children. For a while, the unprecedented policy could be considered a success, at least in terms of population goals. As [TIME’s Hannah Beech reported in 2013](http://time.com/4092497/why-china-needs-more-children/ "undefined"): --- > “” --- But still, the law has been controversial since its inception, as it contributed to concerns over forced abortions and sterilization, and a gender imbalance resulting from female infanticide. Now as China faces an aging and shrinking population rather than an exploding one, the government has decided to end the controversial policy. **_Read TIME’s take on the one-child policy’s effects from 1987, here in the TIME Vault:_** [Bringing Up Baby, One by One](http://time.com/vault/issue/1987-12-07/page/56/ "undefined") ### See China's Epic Parade Commemorating the End of World War II  A phalanx honoring heroes of the "Pingxingguan Pass Battle" during a grand military parade celebrating the 70th anniversary of the end of World War II in Beijing, on Sept. 3, 2015. Fei Maohua—Xinhua Press/Corbis  Guards of honor walk past Tiananmen Gate during the military parade celebrating the 70th anniversary of the end of World War II in Beijing, on Sept. 3, 2015. ChinaFotoPress/Getty Images  South Korean President Park Geun Hye, Russian President Vladimir Putin, Chinese President Xi Jinping, former Chinese President Jian Zemin, former Chinese President Hu Jintao, and Chinese Premier Li Keqiang stand on top of Tiananmen Gate to watch a military parade to commemorate the 70th anniversary of the end of World War II in Beijing, on Sept. 3, 2015 Andy Wong—Getty Images  Chinese president and leader of the Communist Party Xi Jinping rides in an open top car in front of Tiananmen Square and the Forbidden City during a military parade in Beijing, on Sept. 3, 2015. Kevin Frayer—Getty Images  Members of a Chinese military choir sing near Tiananmen Square and the Forbidden City during a military parade in Beijing, on Sept. 3, 2015. Kevin Frayer—Getty Images  Chinese President Xi Jinping offers a toast after delivering a speech during a reception to mark the 70th anniversary of Japan's surrender during World War II in Beijing, on Sept. 3, 2015. Lintao Zhang—AP  Military vehicles carrying shore-to-ship missiles drive past the Tiananmen Gate during a military parade to mark the 70th anniversary of the end of World War II in Beijing, on Sept. 3, 2015. Getty Images  Entertainers perform during the gala marking the 70th anniversary of the end of World War II in Beijing, on Sept. 3, 2015. Wu Hong—EPA  Military vehicles drive past Tiananmen Gate during the military parade marking the 70th anniversary of the end of World War II in Beijing, on Sept. 3, 2015. ChinaFotoPress/Getty Images  Chinese army personnel stand during a parade commemorating the 70th anniversary of the end of World War II in Beijing, on Sept. 3, 2015. Ng Han Guan—AP  Balloons are released during the commemoration activities to mark the 70th anniversary of the end of World War II in Beijing, on Sept. 3, 2015. Meng Yongmin—Xinhua Press/Corbis  People record trainer jets flying over Tiananmen Square during a military parade to mark the 70th anniversary of the end of World War II in Beijing, on Sept. 3, 2015. China Daily—Reuters ```json [{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"NewsArticle","@id":"https://time.com/4092689/china-one-child-policy-history/","mainEntityOfPage":{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https://time.com/4092689/china-one-child-policy-history/"},"headline":"Here's How China's One-Child Policy Started in the First Place","datePublished":"2015-10-29T15:54:26.000Z","dateModified":"2026-05-11T05:01:06.212Z","description":"The long-standing and controversial system is coming to an end","url":"https://time.com/4092689/china-one-child-policy-history/","keywords":["Demographics","Family","China","Population"],"thumbnailUrl":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/bltaa428fbbee9259f8/69886ebde20a87f05da8df57/china.jpeg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","author":[{"@type":"Person","name":"Tessa Berenson","jobTitle":null,"url":"https://time.com/author/tessa-berenson/"}],"articleSection":"History","image":[{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/bltaa428fbbee9259f8/69886ebde20a87f05da8df57/china.jpeg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","width":1200,"height":675,"headline":"One Child Parenting in China","caption":"One Child Parenting in China","creditText":"Peter Charlesworth—LightRocket / Getty Images","representativeOfPage":true}],"publisher":{"@type":"Organization","name":"Time","url":"https://time.com/","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://time.com/images/logo.png","width":528,"height":156},"foundingDate":"March 3, 1923","sameAs":["https://www.facebook.com/time","https://www.instagram.com/time/?hl=en","https://twitter.com/time","https://www.pinterest.com/timemagazine"]}},{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"BreadcrumbList","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"item":{"@id":"/section/history/","name":"History"}},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"item":{"@id":"/tag/demographics/","name":"Demographics"}},{"@type":"ListItem","position":3,"item":{"@id":"https://time.com/4092689/china-one-child-policy-history/","name":"Here's How China's One-Child Policy Started in the First Place"}}]}] ```