AP World chapter 5

What is the main idea of Chapter 5?

Classical civilizations all had social inequality, but China, India, Rome, and other societies organized it in different ways.

How was inequality mainly organized in China?

Through social class, landownership, and government officials.

How was inequality mainly organized in India?

Through the caste system.

How was inequality especially important in the Roman world?

Through large-scale slavery.

What is patriarchy?

A social system in which men generally have more authority and power than women.

Who was at the top of Chinese society?

Government officials and the scholar-gentry.

Why did Chinese government officials have high status?

They had education, political power, and social prestige.

What did Confucian ideas say about choosing officials?

Officials should be chosen for their merit, education, and morality.

What did Emperor Wu Di create in 124 B.C.E.?

An imperial academy for training future government officials.

What subjects did students at the imperial academy study?

History, literature, art, mathematics, and especially Confucian teachings.

What was China's civil service?

A professional system for selecting men to work as government officials.

Who had the biggest advantage in becoming a government official?

Wealthy families because they could afford education and time to study.

Could commoners become government officials?

Sometimes, especially if someone helped pay for their education.

What did becoming a government official give someone?

High status, political power, prestige, and special symbols of rank.

What is the connection between education and status in China?

Education could lead to government office, which brought power and prestige.

Why was land important in China?

Land was one of the main sources of wealth.

How did a powerful landlord class develop in China?

Poor farmers often lost their land, while wealthy families built large estates.

Who was Wang Mang?

A Chinese ruler from 8–23 C.E. who tried to reduce inequality and weaken wealthy landlords.

What reforms did Wang Mang try?

Redistributing land, giving loans to the poor, limiting large estates, and trying to end private slavery.

Why did Wang Mang's reforms fail?

Wealthy landowners opposed him, and China also faced invasions, floods, poor harvests, and famine.

What happened after Wang Mang's rule?

His government collapsed and wealthy landowners remained powerful.

What was the scholar-gentry?

China's wealthy, educated elite who combined landownership with government service.

What two things gave the scholar-gentry their power?

Land gave them wealth, while education and government office gave them prestige and political power.

Who made up most of China's population?

Peasants.

What responsibilities did Chinese peasants have?

They paid taxes, performed government labor, and sometimes served in the military.

What problems did Chinese peasants face?

Poverty, debt, loss of land, taxes, and natural disasters.

What was the Yellow Turban Rebellion?

A major peasant rebellion against the Han government in 184 C.E.

About how many followers did the Yellow Turban movement have?

About 360,000.

What helped cause the Yellow Turban Rebellion?

Poverty, landlessness, floods, epidemics, and other hardships.

What was the result of the Yellow Turban Rebellion?

It was defeated, but it weakened the Han Dynasty and damaged the economy.

How were merchants viewed in China?

They could be wealthy but had low social status.

Why were merchants looked down on in China?

They were seen as making money from the work of others instead of producing goods themselves.

Why were peasants respected more than merchants?

Peasants produced food and were considered productive members of society.

How did some wealthy merchants improve their family's status?

They bought land or educated their sons for government service.

What were the two main parts of India's caste system?

Varna and jati.

What is varna?

The broad social classes of Indian society.

What is jati?

Smaller social groups usually connected to occupation, family, and local community.

What were the four varnas from highest to lowest?

Brahmins, Kshatriyas, Vaisyas, Sudras.

Who were the Brahmins?

Priests and religious specialists.

Who were the Kshatriyas?

Warriors and rulers.

Who were the Vaisyas?

Commoners associated with merchants, farmers, and other productive occupations.

Who were the Sudras?

Laborers and servants who became increasingly associated with peasant work.

Who were the Untouchables?

People outside the four-varna system who performed work considered especially impure.

Were all peasants always Sudras?

No. The caste categories changed over time; Vaisyas originally included many farmers, while Sudras later became more associated with peasant labor.

How did jati affect people's lives?

It influenced occupation, marriage, social relationships, and status.

How many jatis developed in India?

Thousands.

What is dharma?

The duties and responsibilities connected to a person's place in life.

What is karma?

The consequences of a person's actions.

How did karma, dharma, and rebirth support caste?

People believed fulfilling their duties could lead to spiritual progress and a better future rebirth.

Was individual social mobility common in India?

No. People usually remained in the caste they were born into.

Could an entire jati improve its social position?

Yes, sometimes gradually over several generations.

What benefits did the caste system provide?

Identity, social support, community, and help for members in need.

How did caste help India absorb new peoples?

New groups could enter Indian society as separate caste groups while keeping parts of their identity.

What was a negative effect of caste?

It reinforced inequality and divided lower groups, making large-scale resistance harder.

How was China's social system different from India's?

China had broader social classes and some mobility through education, while India's caste system was more hereditary and rigid.

Who had the highest status in China?

Educated government officials.

Who had the highest status in India's caste system?

Brahmins.

What is an easy comparison between China and India?

China emphasized political and educational status, while India emphasized hereditary caste and religious status.

What does “social death” mean in the chapter's discussion of slavery?

Slaves were treated as property and outsiders with few recognized rights.

Was slavery equally important in every classical civilization?

No.

How important was slavery in Han China?

It existed but was small-scale, around 1% of the population.

Did China's economy depend heavily on slavery?

No.

How important was slavery in India?

It existed, but India's economy did not depend heavily on it.

Why was slavery less important to India's economy?

Much labor was already organized through the caste system.

Why was Roman slavery different from slavery in China and India?

Rome depended on slavery on a much larger scale.

About how many slaves lived in Roman Italy around the time of Christ?

About 2–3 million.

About what percentage of Italy's population was enslaved?

Roughly 33–40%.

Where did most Roman slaves come from?

People captured during Roman wars.

What were other sources of Roman slaves?

Piracy, slave trading, and children born to enslaved mothers.

Was Roman slavery based mainly on race?

No. Roman slaves came from many ethnic groups.

What kinds of jobs did Roman slaves do?

Farm work, mining, domestic work, skilled jobs, administration, entertainment, and gladiatorial fighting.

Could Roman slaves ever become free?

Yes, some could be freed.

What could freed Roman slaves gain that freed Greek slaves usually could not?

Roman citizenship.

How did Roman slaves resist slavery?

They ran away, worked slowly, damaged property, pretended to be sick, committed suicide, attacked owners, or rebelled.

What are “weapons of the weak”?

Small everyday forms of resistance used by powerless people.

Who was Spartacus?

An enslaved gladiator who led a major slave revolt against Rome.

When did the Spartacus revolt begin?

73 B.C.E.

How did the Spartacus revolt begin?

Spartacus and about 70 other slaves escaped and started a rebellion.

About how large did the Spartacus rebellion become?

Around 120,000 people.

How long did the Spartacus rebellion last?

About two years.

What happened after Rome defeated the Spartacus rebellion?

About 6,000 rebels were crucified.

Did Spartacus end Roman slavery?

No. Slavery continued.

What did yin and yang represent in Han gender ideas?

Yang was associated with men, strength, heaven, and rulers; yin with women, weakness, earth, and subjects.

What were the Three Obediences?

A woman was expected to obey her father, then her husband, then her son.

Were Chinese women completely powerless?

No. Mothers, mothers-in-law, elite wives, and some other women could gain influence.

How did women's position change after the Han Dynasty?

Some restrictions loosened as Confucianism weakened and Daoist, Buddhist, and northern nomadic influences increased.

Who was Empress Wu?

The only woman to rule China as emperor in her own name.

When did Empress Wu rule?

690–705 C.E.