EVERYDAY LIFE
ANCIENT CHINA
Daily Life
DAILY LIFE
Daily life of the people in Ancient China depended on their class and wealth. There was a great divide between peasants living countryside and the town dwellers in the cities.
Everyday Life
Daily life can be split into two experiences. People that lived on the land and people that lived in towns.
Everyday Life
The Land
The Land
Peasants (90%)
- lived in small houses made from wood or mud, with straw roofs.
- would have four or five people living in these houses.
- Villages would have 1 large house where three generations lived together and had 1 temple.
- Community to decide new local projects.
The City
The City
- Emperor, Artisans, Scholar-gentry, merchants, and traders lived in towns, and these consisted of 10% of total population.
- Rich people lived close to emperor’s building.
- Poor people lived far away from palaces or major buildings.
RURAL LIFE
- The main group of people who lived in the country were the peasants.
- Main occupation was to grow food for the nation.
- Day to day life was very hard and involved long hours of hard labour.
Taxes
Taxes
Peasants had to pay a 20% tax from the production of crops to the Emperor and if renting land then 30%.
In hard times the emperor would raise taxes rather than lower them. This made them very poor.
Every year, they were also expected to work on the emperors land, as well as join the army.
Food
- The staple food for peasant meals were rice or noodles and vegetables.
- Kept animals in villages.
- Didn't eat meat as they couldn't afford it.
- Used to hunt small animals or fish.
- Grew fruit trees close to their houses like peaches or apricots.
Women and Children
Women & Children
- Women and children were forced to work on the family farm and women were mainly responsible to prepare meals for family at home.
- In times of hardship, Peasent would often kill their daughters if they could not support them.
- Sons were safe because they could work on the farm and they had an obligation to support their parents in their old age.
- Women were under the control of their husband, father or brothers.
City Life
CITY LIFE
The emperor,artisans,nobels and merchants all lived in or around cities. The emperors palace would be the central point of the city.
Rich people lived closer to the palace or central biulding. Poor people lived far away from the palace or major buildings.
Housing
Housing
- Cities were surrounded by large walls to provide protection and the town was separated into wards.
- Each ward was restricted to people that were of the same occuparion eg) metal workers or butchers.
- Markets were inside near the gates of town for traders to sell their products to people.
- Houses varied in size depending on the wealth of people. They were generally larger than those of peasants and were built from stone or timber. They had tiled roofs and most were built around a central courtyard.
Food
The wealthy enjoyed a more varied diet than the poor. They could afford to buy meat but would eat more exotic foods like snakes and snails.
Clothing
Clothing
Clothing for the rich indicated their rank. Only the rich could afford to wear silk, and jewellery was also a sign of wealth and status.
Interesting Facts about Daily Life in Ancient China
ACTIVITY
ACTIVITY
Students use the information they have learnt and pick a role to write a diary entry.
In this entry pretend you are a person living in ancient china. What would your life be like and why?
Write a short paragraph for this task (8-10 sentences).