Lesson 2: Society and Culture in Ancient China

Key Idea

For hundreds of years, China was torn apart by conflict. This time of disorder and constant fighting is known as the Warring States period. Rival kingdoms battled for control, and there was no strong central government to keep the peace.

In response to this chaos, Chinese thinkers developed new philosophies to create a peaceful, orderly society. The three most important schools of thought to emerge were Confucianism, Daoism, and Legalism. Each offered a different path to restoring order.

Key Idea

During the chaos of the late Zhou dynasty, the philosopher Confucius developed a system to restore order. He believed a peaceful society began with people behaving correctly toward one another.

Confucius created a code of conduct based on five basic relationships, such as father and son or ruler and subject. Each person had a clear role and a duty to respect those above them and be fair to those below them.

Key Idea

Other thinkers offered different paths to peace. The philosophy of Daoism taught that people should give up worldly desires and live simply. Its followers believed that people should turn to nature and the "Way," or Dao, to find harmony and inner peace.

A very different philosophy was Legalism. Legalists believed that all humans were naturally selfish. They argued that society needed strict laws and harsh punishments to force people to do their duty. This required a strong ruler to maintain order and control.

Key Idea

Ancient Chinese society was organized into four main social classes. This structure placed people into different groups based on their jobs and their value to the community.

At the top were wealthy aristocrats who owned large plots of land. Below them were the farmers, who made up the largest part of the population. Farmers were respected because they produced the food that everyone needed to survive.