Social Systems in China
Throughout China's history, the social structure that affected the way in which the Chinese people interacted with each other has undergone many changes. Often marked by advancements in technology, or a period of great unrest, these shifts in social structure are similar to those that would not occur in Europe until well into the Common Era, several hundred years later. During the period referred to as 'Ancient China' in particular, the shifts in social systems can be divided into three distinct eras: The nomadic and tribal structure of the pre-historic and early Xia, The Feudalistic social system of the Shang and Zhou Dynasties, and the more bureaucratic system that gained prominence towards the end of the Warring States Period, and continued throughout the Qin Dynasty. The arguably most important of these being Feudal China, and Bureaucratic China.
Feudalistic China
Feudalism is first recorded to have been established in China during the reign of the Xia Kings, however, it was not until the written records of the Shang Dynasty that it became a fully recognised system. The Chinese system was structured, like any feudal system, with an emperor (or king) at the top of a hierarchical social pyramid, with the noble class beneath, and at the bottom were the commoners, then, within each layer nobles and commoners were split into ranks and roles.
The key element to note about feudalism is that it depends heavily on delegating responsibilities, power and duties to lower ranks of the social pyramid. In this manner, instead of taking an active role in the running of a country a Chinese King would divide his country into separate fiefs (estates), and place in charge of each of these estates a noble (in the case of the Chinese, a Gong). The King would demand a certain amount of loyalty from each of his Gong in the form of money, food, resources, and an army, in return the Gong would be free to govern his land as he saw fit. The Gong would inherit the title from their father, and then delegate tasks such as manual labour, farming, and production to the commoners who lived in their fief. The key difference between the Chinese feudal system and that of medieval Europe was that commoners were free to move throughout China as they saw fit, and were not bound to a particular Gong or fief.
The last Chinese dynasty that employed the feudal system was the Zhou, who experienced what can happen when powerful nobles are left to their own devices, unchecked by a regulatory body. The Zhou Dynasty found that as their own power dwindled, the power of the once submissive Gong grew, until it reached the point where the Gong were essentially Kings of their own domain and subjects. This decline of feudalism, and rise in the power of the noble classes led to the Warring States Period, and ultimately set the stage for a new social system: Bureaucracy.
The key element to note about feudalism is that it depends heavily on delegating responsibilities, power and duties to lower ranks of the social pyramid. In this manner, instead of taking an active role in the running of a country a Chinese King would divide his country into separate fiefs (estates), and place in charge of each of these estates a noble (in the case of the Chinese, a Gong). The King would demand a certain amount of loyalty from each of his Gong in the form of money, food, resources, and an army, in return the Gong would be free to govern his land as he saw fit. The Gong would inherit the title from their father, and then delegate tasks such as manual labour, farming, and production to the commoners who lived in their fief. The key difference between the Chinese feudal system and that of medieval Europe was that commoners were free to move throughout China as they saw fit, and were not bound to a particular Gong or fief.
The last Chinese dynasty that employed the feudal system was the Zhou, who experienced what can happen when powerful nobles are left to their own devices, unchecked by a regulatory body. The Zhou Dynasty found that as their own power dwindled, the power of the once submissive Gong grew, until it reached the point where the Gong were essentially Kings of their own domain and subjects. This decline of feudalism, and rise in the power of the noble classes led to the Warring States Period, and ultimately set the stage for a new social system: Bureaucracy.
Bureaucratic China
First established during the Warring States Period as a means of reducing the risk of insubordinate nobles, bureaucracy is structured in a very similar manner to feudalism with two key differences:
This system of hierarchy is still in use today by governments all over the world, not only that, but it is a system that is prevalent in all levels of society, from communities, to towns, businesses to schools.
- Firstly, the King no longer delegated authority to lower social classes, but instead took an active role in setting laws, and running his country.
- The second, and most important difference of bureaucracy, was that instead of Gong being in charge of fiefs, government officials were instead employed to enforce the Kings laws. The difference between a government official and a Gong being that a government official was appointed by the King, and could be fired or replaced at any time, while a Gong inherited his power from his father, and could not be removed. The government officials were also held accountable by the King, whereas the Gong were mostly independent of the royal family.
This system of hierarchy is still in use today by governments all over the world, not only that, but it is a system that is prevalent in all levels of society, from communities, to towns, businesses to schools.