Figure 1.--Many Chinese children had to work. Child labor was also a problem in America and Europe, but it was an especally severe problem in China because of the crushing poverty. Relatively few children were able to attend school and a vast paprt of the population was illiterate. Children in China worked as virtual slaves in terrible conditions. Norice how young these children were.

Like the other early River Valley civilizations, with the Neolithic Revolution, agriculture led to huge changes in the human condition. Aguculture may have began with indivuduals tilling their own land, butwhat soon developed all over the globe was the land falling into the hannds of the military elite whobecame kings and emperors. Often priests also obtain land ownership. The land became tilled by aand less peasantry--a form of fiorced labor. As in Mesopotamia and Egypt, slavery was a small percentage of the population. Therevwas no real need for it. The great bulk of the popuation was a landless peasantry with few rights or life prospects. Into the 20th century, the land continued to be tilled by a landless peasntry. This was a situation little different from ancienr times, except the land ownin class was alrger and more diverse. Chiese children like children in other countries over time have had to work. This was mostly peasant children in rural China, but cities had begin to grow and siome children worked in shops and factories. China only began to develop a public school system with the foundation of the Republic of China (1912). We notice Chinese cildren working under various conditiions. Sometimes for wages and sometimes as slaves. Often the separation between the two were blurred. Child labor until after Workd War II was a fact of life in China and almost universal. Slavery has been more limited, but varied from dynasty to dynasty. The Republic of China was begiining to change this, but conflict with colonial powers, the war lords, the Communists, and finally theJapanesev made this impossible. It was finally the Communists who came to power (1949) that created a public educationn system. The actual benefits, however, were margnal. Because of market reforms (capitalism), China began its rise as an economic poweer and wages began to rise.

Work

Like the other early River Valley civilizations, with the Neolithic Revolution, agriculture led to huge changes in the human condition. Aguculture may have began with indivuduals tilling their own land, butwhat soon developed all over the globe was the land falling into the hannds of the military elite whobecame kings and emperors. Often priests also obtain land ownership. The land became tilled by aand less peasantry--a form of fiorced labor. As in Mesopotamia and Egypt, slavery was a small percentage of the population. There vwas no real need for it. The great bulk of the popuation was a landless peasantry with few rights or life prospects. Child labor was also a problem in America and Europe, but it was an especally severe problem in China because of the crushing poverty. Relatively few children were able to attend school and a vast part of the population was illiterate. Children in China worked as virtual slaves in terrible conditions. This included very young children. For girls that did not work, there was the horrors of food binding that were inflected upon girls from affluent families that did not have to work. Most of the available images show Chinese child laborers in traditional clothing. Thev situatiin was so depressing that many Chinese signed on forb indenturedv servitus in foewign countries--becoming coolies. Once the Republic was established in 1911, there was increasing interest in launching a national educational system. Many schools were founded, but still most chgildren had to work. The Government energies were focused on cvonfronting the colobial powers over the treaty ports, first conflict with the colonial opoes, war lords, and Communists (1910s-20s) and then the Japanese (1930s and early-40s). It was finally the Communists who came to power (1949) that created a public educationn system and ended the abuses of child labor. HBC has relatively little information on the issue of child labor in historical terms. An internet search on Chimese child labor turns up numerous sites addressing the contemporary issue of child labor in China. The actual benefits, however, were margnal. Because of market reforms (capitalism), China began its rise as an economic poweer and wages began to rise. The issue today is the large number of univrsity graduatesvand thev lackpf positionsfor them--especially because of President's Xi's wolf diplomacy and declining foreign investment.

Slavery

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 other great civilizations from earliest times. One of those institutions is slavery. Slavery seems similar in China and the other great river valley civilizations Mesopotamia and Egypt). It was a relatively minor institution in these early civilizations , in part because the rural peasantry, the great bulk of the population, was reduced to a status close to slavery, often working land thedy id not own. Slavery may have been more important in China, but only marginally so. This vaied somewhat from dynasty to dynasty. It certainly was much less important than in the classical Western societies like Greece and Rome. It never took a racial turn as in the ante-Bellum South in America or a religious turn as in the Islamic world. The nature and extent of slavery has varied over time through the various dynasties. Chinese slaves came to be viewed as objects, kind of 'half-man, half-thing' (半人, 半物). [Hallet] Slavery in China dates back at least 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 military 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. Slavery was repeatedly abolished as a legally-established. An abolition law was passed (1909) and fully enacted (1910), The practice continued on aimited scale until the Communist Revolution (1949). While the Communists ended traditional slavery, they initiated a slave system of their own, setting up slave labor camps. Even after the free market reforms (1980s), forced labor has been reported in modern China, both in prison camps and emplyers paying bribes to local officials.

Related Style Pages in the Boys' Historical Web Site
[Long pants suits] [Knicker suits] [Short pants suits] [Socks] [Eton suits] [Jacket and trousers] [Blazer] [School sandals] [School smocks] [Sailor suits] [Pinafores] [Long stockings]

Navigate the Boys' Historical Clothing Web Page
[Return to the Main Chinese activities page]
[Introduction] [Activities] [Biographies] [Chronology] [Clothing styles] [Countries]
[Bibliographies] [Contributions] [FAQs] [Glossaries] [Images] [Links] [Registration] [Tools]
[Boys' Clothing Home]

Created: September 5, 2002
Last updated: 11:09 PM 10/7/2012