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preface
China's slave society refers to the form of Chinese society based on slavery between the 21st century BC and 221 BC. During this period, slavery was the main production relationship of Chinese society and an important foundation in China's social, political, cultural, economic, military and other aspects. The following will elaborate on China's slave society from several aspects, such as the nature of slavery, the source of slaves, slavery, the evolution of slavery, and the impact of slavery.
The nature of slavery
Slavery is a system of exploitation, and its basic feature is that slave owners rely on controlling the production and labor of slaves to obtain great wealth and power.
Slavery is divided into private ownership and state ownership, private slavery means that the slave owner is a private person, and state slavery means that the slave owner is the state. In China, slave owners were usually landowners or aristocrats, while state-based slavery was reflected in the use of slaves by the feudal dynasty officials for military, cultural and other work.
Second, the source of slaves
The main sources of slaves are as follows:
Prisoners of War: War is one of the most important sources of slavery. In ancient China, wars were frequent, and many prisoners of war were taken into slavery and became the property of slave owners.
Duan Ren: A person who has been sentenced by a court to be a slave because he owes a debt or committed a crime.
Trade: The slave trade is one of the most brutal forms of slavery, and traders treat slaves as commodities, buy them at the lowest price, and sell them at the highest price.
Born slaves: Born slaves refer to the descendants of slaves in slave-owning families who were born into slavery.
Slavery
Slavery refers to the legal and social relationship between slave owners and slaves, including the rights and duties of slaves. In China, the main contents of slavery include the following aspects:
1. Ownership of slaves by slave owners:
Slave owners had ownership of slaves and could buy, sell or give away slaves as property.
2. Labor obligations of slaves:
Slave owners had the right to perform forced labor on slaves, and slaves were required to obey the orders of slave owners and work for them without compensation. The intensity and duration of slave labor were determined by the slave owner.
3. Restrictions on the personal freedom of slaves:
Slaves could not leave the slave owner's home or farm at will, and the slave had to obey the slave owner's restraints and orders. Slaves were not allowed to marry or have children, and the private property of slaves belonged to slave owners.
4. Cruel punishment of slaves:
Slave owners had the right to inflict cruel punishment on slaves, such as whipping, cutting off ears, beheading, etc. There was absolutely no limit to the punishment of slaves by slave owners, and slaves were in extreme fear and helplessness.
The evolution of slavery
The history of China's slave society lasted for more than 2,000 years, and the slave system gradually evolved with the development of history.
The original slavery system was relatively simple, and the relationship between slave owners and slaves was mainly a private contractual relationship. With the development of society, the slave-owning class continued to grow, and the slave system began to nationalize. During the Spring and Autumn Warring States period, countries conquered each other, and slavery was widely used.
By the time of the Qin and Han dynasties, slavery had reached its peak. At that time, slavery had become the basis of politics, economy and culture, and the number of slaves and the depth of social contradictions were unprecedented. This also laid the foundation for the unification of Qin Shi Huang and the founding of Emperor Wudi of Han.
By the Three Kingdoms period, slavery had begun to decline, the population decreased, and the number of slaves gradually decreased. With the establishment of feudalism, slavery was completely eliminated, and China also entered feudal society.
The impact of slavery
The existence of slavery has a far-reaching impact on Chinese society, mainly in the following aspects:
1. Sharp social contradictions:
Slavery was a system of exploitation, and there were sharp contradictions between slaves and slave owners. This contradiction affects the whole society and makes it unstable
2. Limited economic development:
Slavery made slaves the means of production, and slave owners obtained a lot of wealth by exploiting slaves, but this wealth was not widely used for economic development, limiting the economic development of society.
3. Limited development of culture and art:
In the slave system, slaves did not have the opportunity to receive education, and culture and art were also restricted to the slave-owning class, which led to the limitation of the development of culture and art.
4. Moral decline in society:
In slavery, slaves were cruelly exploited and punished, and the cruel and inhumane acts of slave owners towards slaves also caused the decline of social morality.
5. The demise of slavery:
The demise of slavery was a great advance in human society, which provided the basis for the establishment of feudalism. The demise of slavery, which made slaves free and gained individual freedom and human rights, was an important turning point in the history of human society.
6. Conclusion
In short, Chinese slave society is an important stage in the history of human society, and the existence of slavery has a far-reaching impact on Chinese society. The demise of slavery is a great progress in human society, and the freedom of slaves and the acquisition of human rights have brought human society to a more civilized and progressive direction.
bibliography
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