Chinese Life Groups

1. Chinese Life Groups • Today you will be working in groups to discover what life was like in China if you were an aristocrat, a farmer, an artisan or merchant, a man or a women and part of a family. • With your group, you will first need to read aloud your assigned section. • Group 1: Lives of Aristocrats – page 289 • Group 2: Lives of Farmers – pages 289-290 • Group 3: Lives of Artisans and Merchants – pages 290-291 • Group 4: Chinese families – page 291 • Group 5: Roles of Men and Women – page 291 • Next discuss what you learned, what you found interesting, what questions you still have by completing the Reflective Journal as a group. • After you have finished, decide which section each member is going to present (you will all need to present something)

2. Lives of the Aristocrats • Aristocratic families were wealthy. • Aristocrats owned large estates on large amounts of land with walls around their homes for protection. • After the head male died, the land was divided equally among all the male heirs.

3. Lives of Farmers • Nine out of ten Chinese farmed for a living. • Farmers lived in rural villages surrounded by mud walls. • Farmers rentedfields from aristocrats and turned over part of their crops to the owners. • Wheat, millet and rice were grown in China. • The government required farmers to pay taxesand to work one month each year on projects. • In wartime, farmers were forced to serve as soldiers.

4. Lives of Artisans and Merchants • Most artisans learned their skills from their fathers, and passed them on to their sons. • Artisans crafted iron tools and weapons, silk cloth, bronze and jade vessels. Many were architects, artists and woodworkers. • Merchants were mostly shopkeepers, traders and bankers. • People believed that merchants worked only for their owngain – farmers grew food for all, artisans made useful goods and merchants made money for themselves.

5. Chinese Families • The family was at the center of early Chinese society. • Farming required many workers, so parents had many children. • A household in ancient China might contain as many asfivegenerations living together. • Chinese families practiced filial piety – respect and obey their parents. Take care of parents as they grow older. • Family members placed the needs of their family before their own. • In Chinese society, the family names comes first. (Ex: Washington George not George Washington)

6. Roles of Men and Women • Men – grew crops, attended school, ran the government, fought wars. • Women – raised and educated their children, managed the household and family finances. • Men’s jobs were considered more important than women’s work.