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59 Cards in this Set
- Front
- Back
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Society and the State in China |
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What did Emperor Wu Di create in China? (124 B.C.E.) |
He created the world's first professional civil service, which was an academy with emphasis on Confucius teachings. The examination provided social mobility in this hierarchical city. |
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What is the Tang Dynasty's Poet Po Chu's poem "After Passing the Examination" about? |
It shows the fame and fortune that awaits an accomplished student as well as continuing loyalty to family and home that ideally marked those who succeeded. |
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How did bureaucrats dress as? |
They dressed with great prestige, and even lower officials were distinguished by their authority and manners. |
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What did land mean in China? |
Land meant wealth in China |
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What was the main problem with the accumulation of land in China? |
Larger landowners could avoid paying taxes, putting stress on the peasants and the state. They could also mount their own military forces. |
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What did Wang Mang try to do? |
He tried to recreate a golden age of long ago in which small-scale peasant farmers represented the backbone of Chinese society. Wang Mang failed his reforms and was killed in 23 C.E. |
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What is a scholar-gentry? |
A person that had the privilege of both a scholar and a gentry Most large landowning families were scholar-gentry's. |
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A majority of the Chinese population consisted of what kind of people? |
Peasants |
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What were some hardships of Chinese peasants? |
Nature, the state, and landlords combined to make the life of most peasants extremely vulnerable. EG: Famines, tax and military, harsh landlords |
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What was the Yellow Turban Rebellion? |
The Yellow Turban Rebellion is a peasant uprising that took place in China during the Han dynasty after epidemics spread across the Yellow River. It devastated the economy and caused the overthrow of Han later. |
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How were merchants considered and treated in China? |
Merchants were generally considered unproductive and greedy. They were also seen as a social threat. |
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What are the origins of the caste system? |
The origins of the caste system may have come from the encounter between the light-skinned Aryans and the darker-hued native peoples. |
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What kind of classes were in the class system? |
At the top: Brahmins, religious leaders in charge of keeping the world functional. Next: Kshatriyas, warriors who are in charge of protecting the place Next: Vaisyas, commoners who farmed Finally: Sudras, slaves who were considered less important than dogs. Untouchables were not part of the caste system, but they were the lowest possible and did the worst jobs, such as slaughtering animals. |
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What is a jati? |
A jati is an occupationally based group
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What did the jati do for life in the caste system? |
The jati became the primary cell of India's social life beyond the family or household. Each jati was associated with particular sets of duties, rules, and obligations. For example, the Brahmins couldn't eat meat while the Kshatriyas could. |
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What was the concept of ritual purity in the Indian society? |
Higher caste people were ritually pure, and they could only stay ritually pure by not touching the lower caste members. Brahmins could not touch Sudras or the untouchables without damaging their ritual purity. |
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Why did people accept the inequality in India? |
People accepted inequality for two reasons:
Karma: People's caste are determined based on previous lives Dharma: Only devotion to that caste will get you out of that caste and into a higher caste and one day moksha. |
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What was the only way of social mobility in India? |
The only way of social mobility was to gain land or wealth and adopting the behaviors of higher caste groups. Then, the jati might be redefined in a higher category.
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What were the differences between India's caste system and China's government system? |
1. India's gave priority to religious status and ritual purity while China elevated political officials 2. The caste system's divisions were many, while China had fewer categories. 3. India's society was very rigid and had very less opportunity for social mobility than China. |
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What were some functions of the caste system? |
The four functions of the caste system are 1. Offering a distinct and socially recognized place for everyone 2. Providing most measure of social security and support 3. Accommodating people who migrate into the culture 4. Exploiting the poor by the powerful and the wealthy |
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What does slavery mean? |
Slavery generally means ownership by a master and working without getting paid. For slaves, the status of an "outsider" was usually given. |
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What were some ways that slavery systems varied around the world? |
Depending on area, slaves may be emancipated or not, slaves may be allowed to purchase their freedom or not, and the children of slaves may be considered slaves or not. |
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How did slavery impact China? |
Slavery was a very small part of China that amounted to about 1 percent of the population. Most slaves were convicted criminals.
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How did slavery impact India? |
India also had very little slaves, and slaves had more rights than other places. Slaves could inherit and own property as well as earn money. Indian slavery was more restrained than other civilizations.
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How big was slavery in the Athens? |
Slavery played a big part in Athens, as one third of the Athen's population was slaves. Aristotle even said that some people were slaves by nature for the greater good. |
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What rights did the ancient Greek's slaves NOT have? |
Even after freedom was gained, slaves did not have the right to become a citizen, gain political rights, own land, or marry. In Athens, they even had to pay a special tax. |
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How big was slavery in the Roman empire? |
The Roman empire's slavery was incredibly big, amounting to 33-40% of the population. Wealthy Romans owned thousands of slaves, and even modest people had one or two slaves. Even previous slaves that were freed could own slaves. |
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How did Romans acquire slaves? |
Romans acquired salves by capturing prisoners of war, buying them from pirates, and through natural reproduction of the slaves themselves. (their children)
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What was so unique about Roman's slavery? |
Rome's slavery was not restricted to any race or group. Rome's slaves ranged from Egyptians, Syrians, Jews, Greeks, and just about anyone. |
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What did Romans regard their slaves as, and why did slavery remain? |
Romans regarded their slaves as barbarians. Slavery remained in Rome largely due to the fact that nothing was done to stop it. Owners were encouraged to be benevolent, and even Christianity said that people should be submissive to their masters with all fear.
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What kind of jobs did slaves do in the Roman empire? |
Slaves did every job except for military service. Slaves frequently labored with free people side by side. Slaves jobs ranged from artisans to working in mines.
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What kind of relationship did the slave owner and the slave have? |
The slave owner provided the slave with the necessities of life, and in exchange, the slave gave the owner absolute subjection.
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What are some small scale ways that Roman slaves rebelled? |
Some small scale ways include suicide, doing their jobs badly, small scale theft and sabotage, and fleeing to anonymous crowds. |
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What is the most famous uprising that took place in Rome? |
The most famous uprising is the Spartacus rebellion. A slave gladiator called Spartacus led 70 other slaves to bid for freedom. 120,000 men joined in, and they set Italy ablaze for two years. Later, the Roman army took care of them and crucified around 6,000 of those men.
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What happened as the Chinese civilization took shape during the Han dynasty? |
Elite thinking about gender issues became patriarchal. The idea of Yin and Yang also put female inferiority as part of the universe. |
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How was this patriarchal ideology displayed in Confucian texts? |
"Men go out, women stay in" "Three obedience", emphasized women's subordination to father, husband, then male son. |
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Who is Ban Zhao? |
She is a Chinese woman writer and court official that observed customs when a baby girl is born. She was placed below a bed to show weakness, then she was given broken pottery because her primal duty was to be industrious, and then her birth was announced to her ancestors with an offering to indicate that she was responsible for the continuation of ancestor worship. |
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What other type of women existed in China? |
Some, a very small minority, stood up and were able to exercise political authority. Some also lead peasant rebellions. This was viewed as unnatural by some, and positively active from others. |
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What was women's place within her own family? |
A woman was subordinate as a wife, but as a mother, she had considerable honor in producing the next generation of male heirs. She could also have authority over her sons. A women could also get a considerable amount of money from her dowry. |
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Why did the patriarchal ideal loosen in China? |
Confucianism was discredited after the collapse of the Han dynasty, and it was replaced with Daoism and Buddhism, allowing loose patriarchy. |
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Why was the cultural influence of nomadic people criticized by Confucian minded male observers? |
Women had very little restrictions. In an excerpt, it even says that "he even has to put up with her insults". |
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What happened to the patriarchal ideal by the Tang dynasty? |
Writers and artists depicted elite women as capable of handling legal and business affairs on their own. Women were given a lot more rights than the Han dynasty. |
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What role did Empress Wu play in the weakening patriarchy in China? |
Empress Wu came into rule. As the only woman to ever rule China with the title of empress, her actions deliberately elevated the position of women. She commissioned biographies on women as well as made the grieving times for wives longer. |
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What role did Daoism play in the weakening patriarchy in China? |
Daoist texts referred to the "dao" as mother and urged feminine virtues instead of male oriented strivings of Confucianism. Female deities made their way into China, and Daoists often featured women as priests. |
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Which society was more restrictive to women? Athens or Sparta? |
Athens posture toward women was far more restrictive than Sparta |
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What kind of limitations did Athenian women meet? |
Athenian women had no role in the assembly, the councils, or the juries of Athens. In legal matters, they had to be accompanied by a guardian, and they were not mentioned by name but just as someone's wife or mother. |
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What did Aristotle say about females? |
Aristotle provided a set of ideas that justified women's exclusion from public life. He said that women were not able to generate sperm and compared women to tame animals that are ruled. |
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What were Athenian women expected to do most of the time? |
Athenian women were expected to remain inside the house except for festivals and funerals. Poorer women had to move around to earn money, collect water, etc, but upper class women were expected to stay inside. |
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What kind of function did women serve in the Athens? |
They married in their mid teens and managed domestic affairs and the production of sons. The sons were expected to acquire literature education while the daughters learned household tasks. Women were also forbidden to sell land. |
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What are some cases of women having freedom in the Athens? |
Aspasia, a Greek women, was born into a family that believed in educating their daughters. Because of her foreign birth, she was given a bit more freedom, and she lived together with Pericles. She was treated as an equal to Pericles and moved freely around Athens. |
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What are helots? |
Helots are conquered neighbors brainwashed to submission |
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What did Sparta do to boys at a young age? |
All boys were removed from their family at the age of seven to be trained in military camps. |
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What implications did this militaristic society have on women? |
This offered women greater freedoms and fewer restrictions. Women were encouraged to excercise in order to strengthen their bodies for childbearing. Their education was given by the state. Women were not segregated from men. |
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When did Spartan woman marry, as opposed to Athenian women? |
While Athenian women married at mid teen age to men around 15 years older than them, Spartan women married around 18 years old with similar aged men. Marriage had a trial period to make sure the couple could produce children, and divorce was available in case they could not. |
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Why were women in Sparta able to have so much authority in their households? |
Because men were so often away at war or preparing for it. |
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What did the Athenians think of Spartan women's freedom? |
Athenians were appalled by it. Aristotle said that the men were ruled by the women, and Plutarch said that the men always obeyed the wives in Sparta. |
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In what way was Sparta more restrictive than Athens? |
Sparta prohibited homosexuality. Although everywhere else, homoerotic relationships were approved and common, it was banned in Sparta. |
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How was Sparta a patriarchy? |
Sparta was clearly a patriarchy in that women were used as breeding machines. However, it was a lighter patriarchy than Athens. |
