Society and Inequality in Eurasia/North Africa Carsyn, Nicolette, Audrey Chinese Society and State

Chinese Society & State Intro shaped by the actions of the state shown by political power and immense social prestige of state officials (all male) officials - bureaucrats acting in the name of the emperor in capital and provinces represented cultural and social elite of of Chinese civilization

Origins of this Class e fforts to find administrators loyal to the central state rather than to their own families or regions selected on the basis of merit and personal morality rather than birth or wealth 200 BCE - rulers required each province to send men of promise to capital to be examined and chosen for official positions based on their position

Emperor Wu Di’s Imperial Academy BCE (World’s First Professional Civil Service) potential officials were trained as scholars and immersed in texts dealing with history, literature, art, and mathematics emphasis on Confucian teaching by end of Han dynasty - 30,000 student enrolled subjected to written examinations to select officials of various grades for families wealthy enough - private schools that were interested in this examination system as well family connections to imperial court helped in gaining a position among elites sponsors

Po Chu - I (poet) After Passing the Examination F OR ten years I never left my books; I went up… and won unmerited praise. My high place I do not much prize; The joy of my parents will first make me proud. Fellow students, six or seven men, See me off as I leave the City gate. My covered couch is ready to drive away; Flutes and strings blend their parting tune. Hopes achieved dull the pains of parting; Fumes of wine shorten the long road… Shod with wings is the horse of him who rides On a Spring day the road that leads to home.

An Elite of Officials 1. For Those Who Made it in a. realm of higher privilege b. great prestige c. moved in carriages d. bedecked with robes, ribbons, seals, headdresses, appropriate to rank 2. For Those of The Lower Class a. distinguished by polished speech b. cultural sophistication c. urban manners d. political authority e. proud of their learning

Landlords ● officials came from wealthy families ● wealth = land ● Qin dynasty unified China by 210 BCE. - land was held by small-scale peasant farmers

Chinese Landlords (1st Century BCE) generated class of large landowners impoverished farmers were forced to sell their lands to more prosperous neighbors accumulation of land was persistent theme frequent not very successful opposed by state authorities landlords of large estates were able to avoid paying taxes decrease state revenue increasing the tax burden for remaining peasants

Wang Mang-high court official of Han Dynasty usurped the emperor's throne in 8 ce immediately launched reforms believer in Confucian government re-created golden age where small peasant farmers represented the backbone of of Chinese society ordered the great private estates to be nationalized and divided up among the landless reform program government loans to peasant families limits on the amount of land a family might own and an end to private slavery

Wang Mang Assassination (23 BCE) opposition from wealthy landowners nomadic invasions poor harvests floods famines overall collapse of his reforms

Life of Landowners ● benefitted from the wealth that their estates generated and from the power and prestige that accompanied their education + membership in the official elite ● fate of individual families rose and fell as the wheel of fortune raised them to great prominence pr plunged them into poverty ● scholar-gentry reflected their twin sources of privilege ○ lived in luxury ○ multistoried houses, the finest silk clothing, gleaming carriages, private orchestras, high-stakes gambling

Peasants Importance: ● peasants were oppressed in China and certainly exploited, but they were also honored and celebrated in the official ideology of the state ● vast majority of populations ● solid protective backbone of the country and their hard work and endurance in the face of difficulties were worthy of praise

Peasants Lifestyle: ● Some owned enough land to support their family ● while others could barely survive ● Nature, the state, and landlords made the peasants lives very vulnerable ○ famines floods droughts hail and pests wreak havoc without warning ○ state authorities required the payment of taxes, demanded a month's labor once a year on public projects, and young men were scripted for military service

Peasants Leading to rebellion: ● During the han dynasty, growing numbers of impoverished and desperate peasants had to sell out to large landlords and work as tenants or sharecroppers on their estates where rent was very high.

Peasants Rebellion: ● they joined forces and rebelled ○ yellow turban rebellion ■ 360,000 followers by 184 bce ■ doaism ■ goal was the great peace (golden age of equality, social harmony, common ownership of property ■ peasant upheavals devastated the economy, weakened the state, and contributed to the overthrow of the dynasty

Chinese Merchants merchants did not enjoy such a favorable reputation in the eyes of China’s cultural elite viewed as unproductive, making shameful profit from selling the work of others stereotyped as greedy, luxury-loving, and materialistic, merchants stood in contrast to the alleged frugality, altruism, and cultured tastes of the scholar-gentry. Early in the Han dynasty, merchants were forbidden to wear silk, carry firearms, or ride horses, attend civil service examinations, and to hold public office. merchants were often discriminated yet remained wealthy

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