Chapters 2,3,4 & 5
Social
China
• Rural or agricultural society
▫ Urban empire ruling a rural/peasant population
▫ Small groups of people living far from each other
• The Social classes reinforced by the government
▫ Heredity and automatically passed power within
the family
 Father to Son
China: Family
• Proper behavior and obedience
• Each family kept a detailed genealogy
• Respect, honor, and family name were super
important
• Many genders lived together in one house
China: Social Classes
Three main social classes characterized Han China:
▫ The Scholar-Gentry:
 Their status was based on their control of large amounts
of land and bureaucratic positions in government.
▫ Ordinary, but free, citizens:
 The common people included a broad range, with the
majority being peasants.
 Most peasants had a decent plot of land and lived well.
 All peasants were required to work a designated number
of days each year on public works, and they also could be
forced to join the army.
▫ The Underclass:
 This category included many different groups including
non-Han Chinese on the fringes of the empire.
India
• Caste system
▫ Social class of hereditary and unchangeable status
 Aryans used the term Varna(Color)
 Refers to the social classes
▫ In the beginning 4 major Varnas
▫ During the classical era the caste system became
much more complex
 Caste further subdivided into jati, or birth groups
 Each jati had little contact with they other.
India: The castes
Four major Indian varnas:
▫ Brahmins the highest social classes were the priests and
scholars; represented intellect and knowledge
▫ Kshatriya Warriors and government officials
▫ Vaishya Land owners, merchants, and artisans
▫ Shudra Represented by common peasants and laborers
Greece
• Male Dominated society
• Hellenism
▫ Rise of a middle class
• The most important social distinction in most
city-states was between:
▫ Citizen
▫ Non-citizen
Greece: Athens
• In Athens they developed a clear urban-based
aristocracy.
• Class Distinctions
▫ Aristocrats
 lived in the city, worked in government (political rights)
▫ Farmers
 lived outside urban area (political rights)
▫ Commoners
 lived in the city but were not aristocrats (political rights)
▫ Slaves
 30 percent of the population (no political rights)
Greece: Sparta
• All Spartan citizens were theoretically equal in
status.
• Distinctions among citizens were based on
athletic prowess and military talent.
▫ Spartan educational system prepared boys to be
soldiers around the age of seven.
• Spartans maintained the system of equality
based on military values even after they became
an aristocracy.
Rome
• During Republic two main groups
▫ Patricians – wealthy landowners
▫ Plebeians – farmers and workers
• The roles of the family
▫ Men – father held power
▫ Women – mother managed household
▫ Children – education at home
• Multigenerational family
▫ Domestic slaves
▫ Oldest living male has complete authority:
paterfamilias
China
• Women very few rights
▫ BUT very well treated
▫ Controlled by all men especially Husband
▫ Left their fathers house to move into husbands
house
• Women were obedient to the control of all men,
especially their husbands.
• Women were considered weak and insignificant.
• They were used for entertainment, producing
children, and doing house hold chores.
China
• As time goes on China grew more strict toward
women
• Male sons were considered favorable
• Marriages were arranged
• Upper class
▫ Educated in writing, arts and music
• Lower class
▫ Traditional family jobs
India
• Women lost rights under the Indian Hindu caste
system
▫ Women did not have the same rights as men




Obey fathers
Obey husbands
If husband died, obey sons
Sometimes they would throw themselves on the
burning dead bodies of their husbands: Sati
▫ Polygamy was also practiced
• Hindu: Women should be respected but are
subject to the authority of men
Greece: Sparta
• Sparta: women had more power than other
places
• Were still under the control of men
• BUT were allowed to participate equally in some
aspects of public life
• Social, economic, athletic
• They were important because of their ability to
produce and raise strong Spartan men
Greece: Athens
• Strict patriarchal social system
• Women were sometimes slaves
• Greece: Marriages were often arranged
• during the Hellenistic period Women’s position
improved somewhat
• Veil outside the house
• During the women's life cycle she is controlled
by
1. Father
2. Husband
3. Son
Rome
• Women were not allowed to be citizens
• but were better off than in Greece or China
• Upper class women were given power within the
household
• It is their domain
• Had some land rights
Mesoamerica
• Women were given specific roles in society that
started from birth.
• Women were given many roles in daily life they
were to fulfill
▫ raising children
▫ grinding maze into floor
▫ preparing food, and watching after the animals.
• Women were considered lower than men
▫ were respected because they were so vital in the
running of a family.