Chapter 6 Section 2

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Chapter 6Section 2

• Life in Ancient China

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Section Overview

• This section focuses on society in early China,
  including the great religious and philosophical
  systems that were created.

3
Terms to Know

• social class a group of people who share a
  similar position in society
• filial piety the practice of showing respect to
  parents and older relatives
• Confucianism Chinese philosophy that taught that
  people must do their duty to others to improve
  society

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Terms to Know

• Daoism Chinese philosophy that says people
  should give up worldly desires and turn to nature
  and the Dao
• Legalism Chinese philosophy that taught that
  people are evil and need harsh laws to make them
  do their duty

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Life in Ancient China

• Chinese society had three main social classes
  landowning aristocrats, farmers, and merchants.
• Three Chinese philosophies, Confucianism, Daoism,
  and Legalism, grew out of a need for order.

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Life in Ancient China

• A social class includes people who share a
  similar position in society.
• Chinese society had three main social classes
  aristocrats, farmers, and merchants.
• Aristocrats grew rich from farmers who grew crops
  on the land the aristocrats owned.

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Life in Ancient China

• Most Chinese people were farmers.
• Farmers paid aristocrats with part of their
  crops.
• Merchants were in the lowest class.
• They grew rich but were still looked down on by
  aristocrats and farmers.
• Chinese families were large, and children were
  expected to work on farms.

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Life in Ancient China

• Filial piety means children had to respect
  parents and elders.
• Men were considered more important than women in
  Chinese society.
• Men went to school, ran the government, and
  fought wars
• Women raised children and
  managed their households.

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A Chinese Village
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Life in Ancient China

How did aristocrats use farmers to grow rich?
Aristocrats allowed farmers to use their land.
In exchange, farmers gave part of their crop to
the landowners.
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Chinese Philosophers
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Chinese Thinkers

• Three major theoriesConfucianism, Daoism, and
  Legalismwere developed to reinstate peace after
  the Period of the Warring States.
• Confucius was a great thinker and teacher, who
  believed that people needed a sense of duty to be
  good.
• Confucianism taught that all men with a talent
  for government should take part in government.

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Chinese Thinkers

• Daoism teaches that people should give up worldly
  desires and encourages the importance of nature.
• Legalism is the belief that society needs a
  system of harsh laws
  and punishments.
• The scholar Hanfeizi
  developed Legalism.

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Chinese Philosophers
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Life in Ancient China

Why did the aristocrats dislike Confucianism?
According to Confucianism, any man with a talent
for government should take part in government.
This idea opened government up to the lower
classes.
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Life in Ancient China

Describe the concept of filial piety.
Family members placed the needs of the head of
the family above their own.
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Life in Ancient China

Why did many aristocrats favor the philosophy of
Legalism?
It emphasized force and power and did not require
leaders to show kindness or understanding to
their subjects.
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Life in Ancient China

Contrast How did Daoism differ from
Confucianism?
Confucianism encouraged people to work hard to
improve the world, while Daoism taught that
people should give up their concerns about the
world and seek inner peace.