Untitled Flashcard Set

• Diversity and lack of hierarchical structure 

Chapter 5 Notes

Chinese Society

• Highest position: Government officials

• Han emperor Wu Di made Imperial Academy for future bureaucrats

  • Focused on history, literature, art, math, with confucian teachings

• Exam system to enter civil service: all males 

• Social status goes up w/ civil service

• Sponsorship can occur

• Land and Agriculture

  • Peasant families were replaced with large scale farming during Han dynasty

  • Wealthy bought up economically desperate peasants

  • Government tried to control the influence of large landowners: usually failed

  • Wang Mang succeeded, set limits on land owning etc until assassination 23 CE

    • He created government loans for families, and ended private slavery, but enforcement did not succeed.

  • Sholar Gentry: wealthy landlords who were education in academy

• Peasants 

  • Many barely survived 

  • Rents, taxes, military, forced labor, failed crops and floods led to burdens on peasants 

  • Yellow Turban Rebellion

    • 360000 armed followers in 184 CE unified for equality and peace (daoist ideals), but was crushed by Han empire

• Merchants 

  • Considered dishonest and deceitful and keeping revenue from state

  • Excluded from state service 

  • Barred from economic activities 

India 

• 500BCE: society is timeless, people decided from a varna (ranks)

• Brahmins, Kshatriyas, Vaisyas, Shudra, and Untouchables 

• Jati: more local than Varna

  • Each had its own rules 

  • 1000s of sub castes  

  • Can only marry same caste level 

  • Localization, security and support 

  • Assimilation and exploitation

• Core beliefs of Hinduism: Karma, Dharma, and Samsara

Rome

• Slavery 

  • becomes a key component

  • No rights, permanent outsiders

  • Massive slave ownership, very wealthy and large landowners (latifundia)

  • Roman Republic becomes empire, prisoners of war become enslaved 

  • All levels of economy had slaves, gladiatorial sports, in land, homes etc

  • 2-3 mil slaves 33-40% of population

  • Work slowdowns and sabotage was was of rebillion 

  • Spartacus, 73 BCE 

    • 2 year rampage of revenge, burning estates, killing masters

    • Roman empire crucified 6000ish people as a result

Patriarchy

• China

  • Yin and yang, material and lowly became associated with female yin 

  • Rest was yang/male

  • Confiucian teachings were patriarchal 

    • 3 obediences

      • First to father, then husband, then oldest son

  • Elite wives influenced husbands in politics 

  • Some women even led rebellions

  • Dowry and production of textiles were incomes 

  • Peasant women found it hard to keep up with confucian ideas

  • Buddhism/Daoism/Pastoral People

  • Empress Wu

    • Gained throne for 15 years (690-705 BCE)

    • Some gender equity 

• Athens and Sparta

  • Athenian males gained rights

  • Women were not to be named or seen in public or educated 

  • Only learned household tasks, while boys went to school and learned literate education

  • No economic power, only if value was less than a bushel of barley

    • Exception: Aphasia, found her way to athens

    • Got the attention of pericles, lived together and were treated as equals

    • She learned a lot and was free although she was a woman in athens 

  • Spartan women emphasized to be fit and strong, kept to the male standard

• Main purpose was to create strong healthy children

• Women and men competed alike 

• Often married similar aged people