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October 4 Society and Social Inequality

  In China, most men were the most running the government. They emphasized the officials had to be well educated and the best so they had imperial academies where men went to learn and the best were elected. Although all men were welcomed, it favored the wealthy and those who made it into bureaucracy entered a realm of high privilege and prestige. Those that owned a great amount of land were the wealthy so the government had to divide these up. The wealthy usually lived in big houses, wore the finest clothes, had private orchestras and participated in high stake gambling.
           But the majority of China's population were peasants who faced numerous hardships. Although they were at the bottom, the Scholar-gentry thought they were important and the backbone of the country. The Merchants were the ones who were disliked because they were thought of as greedy, unproductive, stealing others work, and materialistic. They were also seen as a threat and that their wealth impoverished others. Because of this, they were forbidden from doing specific things like wearing silk, riding horses and carrying arms.
           The class and caste system in India was way different. They were a total of 4 classes called "Varnas." One was born in theses castes and could not move up in status. The Brahmin class consisted of priests. Below that was the Kshatriya, which was the warriors and rulers. Then was the Vaisya, who were the commoners who cultivated the land and lastly was the Sudras, the marginalized native people. The low of the low.
           Their behavior was regulated according to the caste. The Brahmin was the head, Kshatriya, the shoulders, Vaisya, the thighs and the Sudras the feet. Being born in a caste was a reflection of the good or bad deed of a previous life and was impossible to change their social status.
            Slavery in the world was different everywhere. Slaves could be given their freedom by their owners or they could purchase it. In Aztec society, they were considered free people and their duties depended on their owners. In China, slaves were convicted criminals and them along with their families could be sold to the wealthy. The poor sometimes sold their children. In India, slaves were criminals, debtors, prisoners of war. In Greek, being a slave was bad(you don't say) and were used for domestic work or for sexual services. They couldn't own land or marry citizens. Even the modest, owned a couple. Slaves in Roman society were POWs, some were enslaved in masse, other were sold to slave traders by pirates, and considered "barbarians."
          Social inequality was embedded everywhere! In China, female inferiority was seen as permanent and embedded in the working of the universe. They believed the "Men should go out" and women should "stay in". There were "three obediences". Subornatiation to her father, then to her husband then to her son. But this was soon going to change. In Sparta, it was the same, women only served to breed but in Athens, the patriarchy was a lighter.

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