L In Ancient China - 6th Grade Social Studies

Life inAncient ChinaHistorySocial ScienceStandardsWH6.6 Studentsanalyze the geographic,political, economic,religious, and socialstructures of the earlycivilizations of China.Looking Back, Looking AheadContent VocabularyIn Section 1, you learned aboutthe Chinese government under theZhou dynasty. This section describeswhat life was like during the Zhoudynasty.social classfilial pietyFocusing on the Chinese society had three mainsocial classes: landowning aristocrats,farmers, and merchants. (page 285) Three Chinese philosophies—Confucianism, Daoism, andLegalism—grew out of a needfor order. (page 287)Meeting PeopleConfucius (kuhn FYOO shuhs)Laozi (LOWD ZOO)Hanfeizi (HAN fay DZOO)600 B.C.284400 B.C.(FIH lee uhl PY uh tee)Confucianism(kuhn FYOO shuh NIH zuhm)Daoism (DOW IH zuhm)Legalism (LEE guh LIH zuhm)Academic Vocabularyconvince (kuhn VIHNS)promote (pruh MOHT)Reading StrategyOrganizing Information Create apyramid diagram like the one belowshowing the social classes in ancientChina from most powerful (top) toleast powerful (bottom).200 B.C.551 B.C.c. 300 B.C.c. 200 B.C.Confuciusis bornLaozi’s ideas of Daoismbecome popularHanfeizidevelopsLegalismCHAPTER 5 Early China(l)Robert Frerck/Odyssey Productions, (c)ChinaStock, (r)Dennis Cox

WH6.6 Students analyze the geographic, political, economic, religious, and social structures of the early civilizations of China.Life in Ancient ChinaChinese society had three main socialclasses: landowning aristocrats, farmers, andmerchants.Reading Connection Have you heard the terms highsociety and working class? They describe social classesin America. Read on to find out about social classes inearly China.A social class includes individuals whoshare a similar position in society. EarlyChinese society had three main social classes: landowning aristocrats peasant farmers merchantsClasses in Chinese SocietyChina’s aristocratic families owned large estates in earlyChinese VillageChina. They lived in large houses with tileroofs, courtyards, and gardens. Fine furniture and silk hangings filled their rooms, andtheir houses were surrounded by walls tokeep out bandits.The aristocratic families did not ownlarge estates for long. Each aristocrat dividedhis land among his sons. As a result, sons andgrandsons owned much less property thantheir fathers and grandfathers had owned.Aristocrats relied on farmers to grow thecrops that made them rich. About nine out often Chinese were farmers. They lived in simple houses inside village walls. The aristocrats owned the fields outside the villagewalls. In these fields, farmers in northernChina grew wheat and a grain called millet.In the south, where the climate was warmerand wetter, they were able to grow rice.Chinese farmers lived in small villages made up of severalfamilies. They farmed fields outside the village walls.How did farmers pay for the use of the land they farmed?Since horses were morevaluable as war animals,farmers used oxen andwater buffalo to pullplows and carts.Villagers built wallsthat surrounded andprotected the town.Foot-pedaledhammers were usedto remove grain andrice from their stalks.Peasants planted and cultivatedrice plants in large flooded fields.

To pay for the use of the land, the farmersgave part of their crop to the landowners.Most farmers also owned a small piece ofland where they grew food for their family.A typical family ate fish, turnips, beans,wheat or rice, and millet. The farmers had topay taxes and work one month each yearbuilding roads and helping on other big government projects. In wartime, the farmersalso served as soldiers.In Chinese society, farmers ranked abovemerchants. The merchant social classincluded shopkeepers, traders, and bankers.The merchants lived in towns and providedgoods and services to the landowners.Many merchants became quite rich, butlandowners and farmers still looked downon them. Chinese leaders believed that government officials should not be concernedwith money. As a result, merchants were notallowed to have government jobs.What Was Life Like in a Chinese Family?The family was the basic building block ofChinese society. Because farming in ancientChina required many workers, people hadbig families to help them produce more andbecome wealthier. Even the young childrenof a family worked in the fields. Older sonsraised their own crops and provided foodfor their parents. Chinese families also tookcare of people in need—the aged, theyoung, and the sick.Chinese families practiced filial piety(FIH lee uhl PY uh tee). This meant thatchildren had to respect their parents andolder relatives. Family members placed theneeds and desires of the head of the familybefore their own. The head of the familywas the oldest male, usually the father.However, a son could take on this role, andthen even his mother had to obey him.Chinese FarmingFarmers in ancient Chinahad to find ways to grow enough foodto feed their large population. It wasoften difficult because of the dry,mountainous land.Over centuries, farmers learned to cutterraces—flat areas, like a series of deepsteps—into the mountain slopes. Terracesmade more land available for farming andkept the soil from eroding, or wearingaway. Early farmers also used the terracesas a way to irrigate their crops. As rain fell,it flowed down from one terrace to theTerrace farming in China286Lawrence Manning/CORBIS

(t)Seattle Museum of Art/Laurie Platt Winfrey, (b)Asian Art & Archaeology/CORBIS, (others)Christopher Liu/ChinaStockWH6.6.3 Know about the life of Confucius and the fundamental teachings of Confucianism and Daoism.WH6.6.4 Identify the political and cultural problems prevalent in the time of Confucius and how he sought to solve them.Men and women had very differentroles in early China. Men were respectedbecause they grew the crops. They went toschool, ran the government, and foughtwars. The Chinese considered these jobsmore important than the work thatwomen did.Chinese women could not hold government posts. However, women in the royalcourt could influence government decisions. Wives of rulers or women in the royalfamily often convinced men in power to seethings their way. Although their role waslimited, women also had an importantinfluence in the home. Most women raisedchildren and saw to their education. Manywomen also managed the family finances.Explain Why did theamount of land owned by each aristocratdecrease over time?Chinese ThinkersThree Chinese philosophies—Confucianism,Daoism, and Legalism—grew out of a need for order.Reading Connection If people around you werearguing and fighting, what would you do? Read to learnabout early Chinese ideas for restoring order.As the Zhou kingdom weakened in the500s B.C., violence became common. Duringthe Period of the Warring States, rulers sentarmies to destroy enemy states. Whole villages of men, women, and children werebeheaded. Many Chinese began looking forways to restore order to society.Between 500 B.C. and 200 B.C., Chinesethinkers developed three major theoriesabout how to create a peaceful society.These theories are called Confucianism,Daoism, and Legalism.next, watering the crops. This method of farming,called terrace farming, is still used in China today.Farmers in ancient China were the first to useinsects to protect their crops from damage by otherinsects. As early as A.D. 304, Chinese farmers usedants to prevent other insects from damaging theircitrus fruit trees. They also used frogs and birds forpest control.HoePlow bladeThe ancient Chinese used bronze andiron tools like these to farm theirland and harvest crops.Connecting to the Past1. How did farmers in ancient China increase the amount ofproductive farmland?2. What three farming methods helped farmers in ancientChina grow more food?Head of a shovel287

Chinese Numbering SystemChineseNumberEnglishNumberChinese EnglishNumber Number071829310410051,000610,000Examples:(2 10)(2 100)(3 1,000)[(4 100)(5 10) (6)]The Chinese system of numbering is basedon units of 10. It uses characters torepresent 0 through 9 and the powers of10 (10, 100, 1,000, and so forth).1. How would you write the number 328using the Chinese numbering system?2. Analyze What is the English number for?Who Was Confucius?Confucius (kuhn FYOO shuhs) was ancient China’s first greatthinker and teacher. He wanted to end theproblems in China and bring peace to society.Confucius believed that people neededto have a sense of duty. Duty meant that aperson must put the needs of family andcommunity before his or her own needs.Each person owed a duty to another person. Parents owed their children love, andchildren owed their parents honor.Husbands owed their wives support, and288Chen Yixin/ChinaStockCHAPTER 5 Early ChinaAbacuses were used bythe Chinese to solve mathproblems. These ancient calculators held stones onwooden pegs. The stones would be moved up anddown to add, subtract, multiply, and divide.wives owed their husbands obedience.Above all, rulers had to set good examples.If a king ruled for the common good, hissubjects would respect him and societywould prosper.Confucius believed that if each persondid his or her duty, society as a wholewould do well. He also urged people to begood and to seek knowledge:There are those who act withoutknowing; I will have none of this.To hear a lot, choose the good,and follow it, to see a lot andlearn to recognize it: this is nextto knowledge.—Confucius, AnalectsTo Confucius, the best way to behavewas similar to an idea known as the GoldenRule: “Do unto others as you would haveothers do unto you.” Confucius urged people to “measure the feelings of others byone’s own,” for “within the four seas allmen are brothers.”Confucius traveled through China tryingto persuade government leaders to followhis ideas. Confucianism (kuhn FYOO shuh NIH zuhm) taught that all men with a talentfor governing should take part in government. Of course, this idea was not popularwith aristocrats, and few leaders listened.Over time, Confucius won many followers who honored him as a great teacher.They wrote down his sayings and carriedhis message. After Confucius died in 479 B.C.,his sayings spread throughout China.