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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

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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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B. The Landlord Class

Most officials come from wealthy families
Wealth = land
Qin Dynasty Most land was held by small-scale peasant farmers
Most dramatic state efforts to counteract growing power of large landowners is
associated with Wang Mang High court official of Han Dynasty
Opposition from wealthy landowners and invasions led to collapse of Wang Mang
Large landowning families remained a central feature of Chinese Society
Benefited from wealth that estates generated and from the power and prestige that
accompanied their education
Scholar-gentry reflected twin sources of privilege

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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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Yellow Turban Rebellion peasant rebellion toward end of 2nd century CE

Followed a popular form of Daoism
Looked forward to Great Peace = age of complete equality
Rebellion suppressed by Han Dynasty

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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Nation of ritual purity and pollution

Brahmins who came in contact with members of lower were at high chance of
pollution
Untouchables were forbidden o used same wells or enter temples for higher
caste people
Karma, dharma, and rebirth
Being born into a particular caste was based on your deeds
Prior actions were responsible for current status
Rebirth in higher caste rested on performance of caste duties in this life
dharma
Increasingly difficult or virtually impossible for individuals to raise their social
status during their lifetimes
Differed from China in many ways
Gave priority to religious status and ritual purity, China elevated political
officials to highest of elite positions

C. The Functions of Caste

Caste system shaped India in many ways
Focused on loyalties of people on territory and weakened appeal of larger
Indian states
Localization prevented empire that encompassed entire subcontinent
Provided substitute for state as integrative mechanism for Indian Civilization
Caste represented means of accommodating many migrating people who
entered subcontinent
Facilitated exploitation of the poor by the wealthy and powerful

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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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A. Slavery and Civilization\

Slavery = Social Death
Lacked any rights or personal Identity
Slave Systems vary throughout history
In some places Slaves might be emancipated in their own lifetime through
generosity of owners
In some societies children of slaves shared same fate of parents, while in
other, they did not
In China, slavery was a minor element
Indian Slaves Criminals, debtors, or prisoners of war

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B. The Making of a Slave Society; The Case of Rome

Slavery played major role in western World
Greco-Roman World Slave Society
Attitude terrible thing to become slave, but good thing to own one
Even poor household had slaves
Slavery was defining feature of Roman Society
Wealthy Romans owned hundreds or thousands of slaves
Having slaves confirmed positions as free people

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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

C. Resistance and Rebellion

Roman Slaves responded in many ways
Some chose to survive
Some chose to commit mass suicide
Some used small-scale theft, sabotage, pretending illness, working poorly, and
placing curses on Masters
Slaves rose in rebellion on a few occasions
72 BCE Spartacus led many slaves from a school in bid for freedom
Attracted up to 120,000 people at height of the uprising
No other rebellions reached the scale of Spartacus until Haitian Revolution of
1790s

IV. Comparing Patriarchies of the Classical Era

No division of human society had greater significance than male and female
Every community has elaborated on the basic gender biological difference
In all of them, men were superior to women
Men had rights unknown to women
Public life was male domain
Gender systems evolved slowly over time

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A. A Changing Patriarchy: The Case of China

Shown in many Confucian texts
Ban Zhao Lessons for Women passivity
Some women could express political power
After Han Collapse, Centralized government vanished
Cultural influence of Nomadic people were less restricted
Another sing of weakening patriarchy was the reign of Empress Wu former
high ranking concubine
Some actions designed to elevate position of women
Daoism provided new images of Feminine and roles for women

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B. Contrasting Patriarchies in Athens and Sparta

Patriarchies fluctuated and varied
In Athens women experienced growing limitations
Greek thinkers provided set of ideas that justified womens exclusion from
Public Life
Women is an infertile male
Proper Greek Women were expected to remain inside the home

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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

V. Reflections: Arguing with Solomon and the Buddha

Solomon and Buddha focus attention on change and continuity
Collapse of Dynasties and empires must have seemed new to people of that
time

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