East Asian societies during Qing, Choson and Tokugawa dynasties. Article-2

 East Asian societies during Qing dynasty, Choson dynasty, Tokugawa dynasty had been very much stratified and discriminatory in nature towards women and commoners. These stratified class divisions had sub-divisions in them. They were patriarchal in nature and women had very little or no social exposure. However, with some later developments they got very minimum exposure to the society and families also had a hierarchical structure between themselves.

                                            The Qing dynasty or Manchu dynasty ruled china from 1644 to 1912. Since, they were considered as outsiders by the Chinese population, they adopted ways to potentialize and strengthen their rule in china. They used a ‘Banner system’ to separate themselves from the Chinese population and later as the time went, they developed as a hereditary occupational caste, who were ranked above others in society and expected to serve the state. The government took care of all their needs, refrained them from doing labor and financed their ceremonies and processions, in all they supported them from cradle to their deathbed. But after the conquest over the Chinese territory was complete by Qing, these ‘Bannermen’ became a burden on the government as they included Chinese as well; and when emperor Qianlong came to the throne, he removed the Chinese Bannermen, making it a Manchu domain. The Manchus became an ethnic group supported by the emperor.

                                            The Chinese society consisted the emperor and his family at the topmost level, the highest-ranking officials, scholars, military heads, farmers and artisans, at last the merchants and traders because Chinese society respected labor and found merchants as parasites who fed on others labor. The Chinese society didn’t have slavery and outcastes’ groups but in certain localities specified groups might be treated as lower than commoners such as Boat people in Guangdong and the Duomin in Zhejiang who worked as musicians, funeral managers etc. in south china indigenous people called- Miao, Yao and Zhuang etc. were often exploited. On the other hand, Korea had a slavery system where the Yangban class and wealthy elites had right to owe them. Korea during Choson dynasty (1392-1800) was also very stratified having outcastes and untouchability. On the apex of the society were the emperor and his family, then the aristocrats called as Yangban, the intermediate class known as Chungin, commoners called as Sangmin- upper class commoners consisting farmers, artisans and merchants, Yangmin class consisting landless farmers, low skilled craftsmen etc. and at the lowest rung were the Chonin people who belonged to lowly birth. These people included bonded slaves, female entertainers and butchers. Paekchong were the outcastes including criminals, scavengers and leather workers etc. Slaves were hereditary but they could earn their freedom from bondage on payment and gain a Yangmin status but Paekchong could not. The Paekchong people were denied from any occupation and mainly depended on hunting, robbery and other unlawful activities. The Japanese society under Tokugawa rule (1603-1800) also had a structure somehow similar to Korea where after the emperor and his family were the Shoguns (military rulers), Daimyo (warrior class), chonin the commoners (farmers, artisans, merchants etc.), and the outcastes were at the lowest called as Burakumin. The Daimyo class had a further division with ‘Vassal Daimyo’ called as Fudai. According to a decree of 1634, only vassals whose domains contained over 10000 koku enjoyed status of a daimyo. All these ranks of Daimyos and Shoguns were hereditary in nature. Since, clanship and family lineage were an important factor in East Asian societies, we can assume that how power was restricted to some family lines like Matsudaira who descended from Minamoto clan, the Matsumae clan of Hokkaido were two prominent families in Japan with others. The Mir yang and pannam pak; guwalgiya and arisin gioro were some of the prominent clans of Korea and china respectively. Clanship and lineage were an important part of a person’s identity. Part from its social implications it had political and heirchical benefits as well, like Edward W. Wagner in his article ‘The Ladder of success in Yi dynasty’ mentions about that every lineage or family had only some amount of successful candidates across centuries in civil service examinations but they did not lose their Yangban titles and enjoyed all the benefits like exemption from tax and military service, which helped them in maintaining their status in society. Emperor Sejong (1418-1450) of Choson dynasty tried to brought changes in Korean society to break stronghold of Yangban class by spreading knowledge beyond the yangbans but he was unsuccessful in his attempt. During early Qing rule, it was possible for a peasant boy to become the first scholar of his land. An ethic that stressed on education and hard work motivated many households to invest their surplus in the preparation of their sons for civil service examinations although being a scholar-official remained most prestigious career in Qing society. The examples of early Qing and emperor Sejong shows that social mobility was possible during early rule but became difficult later due to elite class.

                                                       One more aspect of East Asian societies is literature, art and culture. For instance, the Genroku era (1688-1704) of Japan which witnessed growth and affluence in literature and fine arts like, Ihara Saikaku’s ‘Women who loved love’ and Matsuo Basho who raised seventeen-syllable Haiku to fine art.

                                                        Imperial orders were also issued by the kings and Shoguns to curb the frugality by Daimyo, Shogun and Chonin shows an attempt to maintain distinction in society and satisfy the ethical-religious system. For this they assigned dress material, clothing pattern and color etc. to be followed by classes like in a 1648 order Chonin were warned that their servants could not wear ordinary silk clothes. Another example comes from 1536 where a manager of a puppet troupe was jailed as a punishment to show lord of Satsume (Daimyo) in rich costumes. The Qing government also stressed on the frugality to be maintained by Bannermen as a Manchu characteristic to conserve their ethnicity.

                                                        So, from here we can see how maintaining frugality was essential for upper classes in order to preserve their distinction between classes, simplicity and elegance depicted through their lifestyle. The family structure in East Asian societies was patriarchal in nature during Qing, Choson, Tokugawa period but they were not always like that for example- during Hein Japan (784-1180) women had property rights and, men can go and live with their maternal parents, during Mind dynasty (1368-1644) china, made a rule that husband’s family could not take Dowry. In Korea during Koryo dynasty (935-1392) women can divorce her husband virtually at her will and can go back to her natal family or support herself on her inherited property. However, it doesn’t mean that women were in a privileged condition but she had some rights. After the coming up of Qing, choson and tokugawa dynasties families became patrichal, notion of women chastity started becoming popular. Shrines and arches were constructed in memory of virtuous widows, inscriptions were issued by royal court describing stories of widows and women who did suicide resisting rape, in Korea a law was issued in 1474 barring sons of married widows from taking civil services examinations. The Qing rule was also very harsh with the homosexuals with worst penalties for them. 

                                                     Though Confucianism did not say anything about women’s role but it mentions about mandatory presence during filial piety rites. The head of the family was the eldest male and if he died then women look after the family until her sons become capable for responsibilities and if a woman was not able to give birth to a son then a husband can leave her wife which generally led women to prostitution because she didn’t have any other way to survive. Women was bounded to household boundaries, denied from education and not allowed to be much social which could pollute her chastity. The foot binding practice made women more dependent physically but this practice was much prominent among elites who can hire servants but in rural, EastStaunton mentioned during his visit to China. Men can do multiple marriages but sons from his concubines were not allowed to take civil service examination and inherit property rights. However, with the coming up of foreign colonists and Jesuit missions to China, Korea and Japan women got some social exposure, they get right to formal education, anti-foot binding societies started emerging from 1820’s including men, call for women to take part in the Taiping Rebellion of China in 1850 where its leader Hong Xiuqan asked women to take up arms to fight the demons (Qing army) etc.

                                                 So, the societies of east Asia were stratified and male dominated and became conservative during Qing, Choson, Tokugawa periods with some commonalities and differences like the foot-binding was not much prominent in Japanese society. Rigidity in them was a major factor in the downfall of these dynasties. But they changed with their encounter with foreign invasions and colonialists.  

References: -

1.      Book- East Asia a cultural, social and political history by- Patricia Ebrey, Annie Walthall and James Palias.

2.      Websites: -

Brtannica.org, History 18, asiasociety.org

3.      Articles: -

A)     Status in Early Tokugawa Japan by- Donald H. Shivley

B)      The Ladder of success in Yi dynasty by- Edward W. Wagner

C)     Political ferment in China by- Earl H. Pritchard

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