How would offcials have taken a census of China's population?

Officials in ancient China conducted censuses by sending local magistrates and officials to gather data from households. They would collect information on the number of people living in each household, their ages, genders, and occupations. This process often involved traveling to remote areas and sometimes relied on local community leaders to assist in gathering accurate counts. The collected data would then be compiled and reported to higher authorities for record-keeping and taxation purposes.