Professional Documents
Culture Documents
Name
Class Period
Chapter 6 Title: Eurasian Social Hierarchies 500-500
I. Eurasian Social Hierarchies
Last 250 years of history have questions social structures and hierarchies that were thought
to be permanent
Suffrage confronted the Patriarchy, Abolition confronted Slavery, Mahatma Gandhi
confronted the Untouchables
Caste, Class, Patriarchy, and Slavery have not disappeared from Human Society
Millions of individual people inhabiting Eurasia lived within a political framework of states
or empires
Classical Era civilizations were divided along Class Lines Patriarchy
A. An Elite of Officials
Chinese Society was unique = shaped by actions of the state
Immense Prestige of States Officials
Officials represented cultural and Social Elite of Chinese Civilization
Origins in efforts of Chinese Rules to find Administrators
Evolved into worlds first professional civil service
124 BCE - Wu Di established imperial academy for Civil Service
Private schools funneled more aspiring candidates
System favored those who were wealthy to provide education
Proximity to Capital helped gain higher position
Later, system grew to be more elaborate and became enduring feature of Chinese
Society
Those who made it to Bureaucracy entered realm of high privilege and enormous
prestige
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C. Peasants
Vast majority of China has been peasants
Nature, the state, and landlords made life of peasants extremely vulnerable
During 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
These conditions provoked periodic peasant rebellions which punctuated Chinese
history over past 2,000 years
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D. Merchants
Peasants were honored and celebrated in the official ideology of the state
In eyes of Scholorgentry peasants were solid productive backbone of the
country
Merchants did not enjoy favorable reputation
Viewed as unproductive, shameful profit
Greedy, luxury-loving, and materialistic
Such views lay due to periodic efforts by State authorities to reign in merchant
activity
Forbidden o wear silk, ride horses, or carry arms
State monopolies on Salt, Iron, and Alcohol served to limit merchant
opportunities
II. Class and Caste in India
Inidas social organizations hared features with China
Birth determined social status
Little social mobility was available
Sharp distinctions and great inequalities characterized social lifes
Organization, flavor, and texture of India was distinctive
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A. Caste as Varna
Origin of Caste System are disputed
Social system grew out of interaction of many different people
500 BCE idea that society was divided was deeply embedded in Indian
Thinking
Everyone was born into class for life
Brahmins top class = priests whose rituals ensure proper functioning of the
world
Kshatriya Warriors protect and govern society
Vaisya Cultivated the land
Sudras native people incorporated into margins of Aryan Society
Varna Theory 4 classes formed from Body of God Purusha, eternal and
changeless
Social Flux throughout history
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B. Caste as Jati
As varna system took shape = set of social distinctions also arose
Urban based civilization gave rise to specialized occupations
Jatis specialized occupations
Primary cell of Indias social life beyond family or household
Brahmins were divided into many separate Jatis
Upper caste women covered breasts, while those from lower classes could not
Indians society was different from China and Greco-Roman World
Unique in set of ideas that explained and justified that social system
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III. Slavery in the Classical Era: The Case of the Roman Empire
Slavery has deep roots within Human History
Slave owners compare slaves to tamed animals
War, Patriarchy, and Private Property contributed to the Growth of Slavery
Wars generated numerous prisoners
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Roman Slavery was not identified with particular racial or ethnic group
Romans regarded slaves as barbarian
Slavery was entrenched in economy
Many were trained as Gladiators
Owners were supposed to provide necessities of life to slaves
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Athenian women were married in mid-teens to men ten to fifteen years older
Aspasia had a great amount of freedom
Sparta had overseas colonies
Women and Men had equal basis
In other ways Sparta became more restrictive than Athens
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