Inequalities In Classical China Essay
Inequalities in China during the Classical era
Written by: Heather Mellon
Chinese society during the classical era was largely shaped by its officials and those who held power in politics. Those appointed to power were chosen mostly on their social standing. The wealthy were put into power and decided the fate of the rest of the citizens of the state. In the beginning, most land was owned by peasants and farmers who would produce crops to harvest for trade in order to prosper. This is a direct quote from our textbook that explains The Landlord Class during classical China; “Most officials came from wealthy families, and in China wealth meant land. When the Qin dynasty unified China by 210 B.C.E., most land was held by small scale peasant farmers. …show more content…
China was introduced to Confucianism around the year 500 B.C.E. Although Confucianism is not technically a religion, as there are no Confucian deities and no teachings about the afterlife, it was established as a way of life and became a set of guidelines within Chinese culture. One of the main beliefs of Confucian followers is that women have their “natural place”. Confucius was not degrading towards women, although he did believe that women were at the bottom of the patriarchal family structure. This was transformed into a belief that women have their place and that is to serve men and take care of those around her before herself. “Confucian doctrine, however, did not accord women a status equal to that of men, because women were generally regarded as unworthy or incapable of a literary education. In fact, the Confucian classics say little about women, which shows how little they rnattered in the scheme of Confucian values. Most Confucians accepted the subservience of women to men as natural and proper. In their view, failure to maintain a proper relationship between two such obviously unequal people as a husband and wife or brother and sister would result in social disharmony and a breakdown of all the rules of propriety.” (Halsall 1999) Women in the classical era of Chinese culture did not have a good education, if any, because they were forced to marry and bear children at a young age. They were
Written by: Heather Mellon
Chinese society during the classical era was largely shaped by its officials and those who held power in politics. Those appointed to power were chosen mostly on their social standing. The wealthy were put into power and decided the fate of the rest of the citizens of the state. In the beginning, most land was owned by peasants and farmers who would produce crops to harvest for trade in order to prosper. This is a direct quote from our textbook that explains The Landlord Class during classical China; “Most officials came from wealthy families, and in China wealth meant land. When the Qin dynasty unified China by 210 B.C.E., most land was held by small scale peasant farmers. …show more content…
China was introduced to Confucianism around the year 500 B.C.E. Although Confucianism is not technically a religion, as there are no Confucian deities and no teachings about the afterlife, it was established as a way of life and became a set of guidelines within Chinese culture. One of the main beliefs of Confucian followers is that women have their “natural place”. Confucius was not degrading towards women, although he did believe that women were at the bottom of the patriarchal family structure. This was transformed into a belief that women have their place and that is to serve men and take care of those around her before herself. “Confucian doctrine, however, did not accord women a status equal to that of men, because women were generally regarded as unworthy or incapable of a literary education. In fact, the Confucian classics say little about women, which shows how little they rnattered in the scheme of Confucian values. Most Confucians accepted the subservience of women to men as natural and proper. In their view, failure to maintain a proper relationship between two such obviously unequal people as a husband and wife or brother and sister would result in social disharmony and a breakdown of all the rules of propriety.” (Halsall 1999) Women in the classical era of Chinese culture did not have a good education, if any, because they were forced to marry and bear children at a young age. They were