Figure 1.--

All of the great early river valley civilizations developed in contact with each other, except for China. Even so we see many of the same human instititions developing in China and the West. One of those institutions is slavery. Slavery does not seem to have been as important in China, however, as it was in Western societies like Greece and Rome or the ante-Nellum South in America. Slavery in China dates back to the Shang dynasty in China (18th-12th century BC). One estimate suggests that about 5 percent of Shang China's population was enslaved. This relatively small proprtion appears to have been the case is subsequent Chinese civilizations. People became slaves through the same mechanisms as in the West, through slave raiding and militry captives and debtors. Impoverished individuals could sell themselves or their wives and children into debt. China never develop into a slave society largely because of its large population which offered ampel labor which could be exploited through serfdom. Affluent Chinese families may have slaves to do menial labor, both field work and house servants. The Emperor and his nobels would the largest slave holders. The Emperor's slaves might be castrated to become court eunuchs. The Republic of China abolished slavery (March 10, 1910). The practice, however, continued in China, especially in remote areas. We note captives being turned into slaves by Lolo tribesmen. Traditional slavery was ended by the Communists after the Revolution (1948). Even after the Revolution tere is concer about forced labor in modern Chinese prison camps.

Created: 7:29 PM 3/15/2007
Last updated: 7:29 PM 3/15/2007