Politics and social class in Classical China was quite different compared to Classical India. At this time, politics in the ancient time was mostly monarchy and created a strong bureaucracy. Monarchy in Classical China were mostly based upon of the fact of the dynasties. Some famous emperors from this time was Qin Shi Huangdi from the Qin Dynasty and Wu Ti from the Han Dynasty. Qin Shi Huangdi centralized government by putting his people and the system was based on loyalty, trust.
Chinese people were not put into 4 social classes. Workers, peasants, petite bourgeoisie and capitalists. 90% of people put into classes by the Republic of China were put into the peasant class. Religion- The main religions in China are Taoism, Confucianism, Islam, Christianity and Buddhism.
Buddhism in China DBQ A little before the Tang dynasty there was the Han dynasty where Confucianism was a staple of daily life and government. When the Han dynasty dissolved and the Tang dynasty took authority. Buddhism began to spread widely all over China. Buddhism was met with all types of responses: some saw buddhism as a threat to Confucian family values, while some saw Buddhism as a way to disregard worldly pleasures and luxuries that would only bring them harm, and lastly some mixed on the concept of Buddhism had an issue with the ascetic lifestyle led by its followers. One of the responses to Buddhism in China was that it was thought that Buddhism was a threat to Confucian family values.
The scholar gentry became such a dominant force in Chinese politics and society because they held a high status and prominent role. Those who were able to pass the difficult exams and earn position in high offices were treated with reverence and achieved special social status. They were also granted access to refined pleasures the elite could enjoy and had a great influence in the revival of Confucian ideas and values. 7. In what ways did relations between Chinese and Nomadic peoples to the North shape Chinese dynasties?
The Qin and Han dynasty had the same social classes due to confucianism. It can be described as a sophisticated and vague for each class. It was a 4 tiered system that consists of Emperor/Government, Peasants, Artisans and Merchants (Higher class to lower class). The Emperor was the head of the whole pyramid, no one could address him, nor the empress by their first name or they would face punishment.
The Chinese civilization from 100 C.E. to 600 C.E. rose as one of the major unified empires. While this society grew, there were aspects of culture and politics stayed the same but many changes also occurred. As the empire developed, family units and social classes remained stagnant. Despite these continuities, changes such as the popularity of Buddhism within society due to Indian missionaries and a shift in political rule occurred. During the time period 100 C.E. to 600 C.E. the family unit system remained intact despite the intellectual advances.
Throughout Chinese history before the Tang and Song dynasties, the daily lives of women and issues from their perspective have not been adequately recorded, due to a male dominated society. However, from the Tang to the Song dynasty, visual and material sources appear which further explains the status of women in society, cultural values, but most importantly, examples of acts of courage, selflessness, and strength. The discussion of women starting with the Tang dynasty is especially important since this is the start of open-mindedness and liberal ideas resulting in women in politics, a woman as empress, and even freedom of expression through poetry and art. However, once shifting to the Song dynasty, the status of women declined further in
Thesis Confucianism is the most dominant school of philosophy of China. In result of the many contradictions in the teachings of Confucius and the Buddha, Buddhism faced many objections when trying to spread its roots in China. Many confucians strongly disagreed with Buddhism because it disagreed with the fundamentals established in the chinese way of thinking. Use of the Documents
As a child I read “To Kill a Mockingbird,” a novel separated into two parts. The first part focuses on a girl named Jean-Louise Finch who chose the nickname “Scout,” wore overalls, and played with boys, trying to find her identity while resisting the societal pressures and expectations of being and what it means to be a female: someone who dresses neatly, stays at home, and doesn’t say much. I related to Scout as I too exhibited this tomboy persona. Throughout this time, I always preferred the first part of the novel because I could never personally connect to the trial: I thought as a society we were past being blinded by unexplainable hatred and going through on accusations against an innocent man. Later on I got assigned to read the novel
Both Han China and Classical India used social structure systems as a method of political control. The caste or class a person was born into in either China or India, determined your position and status, unless under extreme circumstances would a person be lowered or raised in a caste or class. However, how people were placed into a specific social structure were very different. Han China developed a social structure based upon literacy, and Classical India introduced a caste system based on “occupation”.
Confucianism has not only affected China and Asia socially but also politically. Everyone has a role and it is their job to fulfill that role and do it as well as they can. Let the ruler be the ruler, you have your own rule and what you have to do, let the subject be the subject. Showing importance in your role is very important and can make or break the society. Document one suggests that the society will fall apart and not run successfully if the subjects don't fulfill their role.
Although Buddhism lost majority of its support when the Tang dynasty tried restoring a Confucianism system of belief to assure loyalty to Emperor Wu, beforehand Buddhism was practice by almost everyone in china during the period that fallowed the Hans fall because the fall of the Hans brought a lot of sorrow to the Chinese people making them look for a new belief that could free them from all the sorrow they were experiencing in their everyday life as evidenced by emperor Wu changing the religion to Confucianism to make sure that the Chinese people are loyal to the government and are productive members of society, Chinese people in need a of religion that could free them from the suffering in the world ,and scholars who change their point
In China, during this time period, if you were born into a poor family, but others around had good faith in you they could pay to support you in taking the bureaucrat exams. If you successfully passed these sets of exams you could become a bureaucrat and transition from the bottom of the hierarchy (merchants/peasants), toward the top (elites and scholar-gentry). In India, Hinduism, their main belief system at the time, supported and promoted the ¨caste¨ system. In the caste system, there was no room for social mobility what so ever. The caste you were born in had a specific duty, dharma.
Lower class consisted of slaves, lower gods and many more. Mesopotamia followed "Hammurabi's code of Law" and China followed "Confucius Golden rule"
Different periods throughout China’s history have different names, known as dynasties, for the diverse positions within its society. Theoretically, all of the periods are similar, with the government and military officials ranking high in the hierarchy, and the average everyday people being under regular Chinese law. Throughout China’s history, the society has been organized into a hierarchic system of socio-economic classes, known as the four occupations. The four occupations system seems to have become distorted after the commercialization of Chinese culture during the Song Dynasty. Even though the social rankings within the country are not as predominant as they once were, the people living within the country still know their “place” within the society.
