Social class in China and India




200 B.C.E China Social Structure

Landlord Class- During the unification of the Qin dynasty the bulk of the land was owned by small-scale peasant farmers. Impoverished peasants had to sell their land to wealthier landowners. Due to this landowners avoided paying taxes and put tax burdens on the poorer farmers.


Peasants- Throughout China's long lasting civilization, the bulk of it's population consisted of peasants who represented two or three generations, and who lived in small households. The lives of these peasants were extremely vulnerable due to nature, landlords, and the state. During Han dynasty China many poor and desperate peasants sold their land to large landlords and were employed as tenants or sharecroppers.


Merchants- Although peasants were oppressed and exploited, they were also praised by the social elite as the backbone of the society. Merchants didn't favor this praise because they were seen as unproductive for making shameful profit from others' work. They were stereotyped as greedy, luxury loving, and materialistic.


Indian Social Structure: Caste Varna

The caste system of India is theorized to have started from an encounter between India and Aryan invaders. It is said that India's distinct social system arose from the immensely varied cultures of South Asia, and the differences of economic and social development, as civilizations' inequalities spread through the Ganges River valley and beyond. 

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