Social groups of ancient China. Lecture: Socio-Political Structure of Ancient China

The history of the state and law of foreign countries is one of those social sciences that are commonly called historical and legal, since they are directly related to both the science of history and the science of state and law. The history of the state and law of foreign countries is a legal (legal) science that studies the historical processes of development of the system of state and legal institutions, reveals the historical patterns of development of the state and law in chronological sequence and manifested in a certain historical space. It aims to identify the historical patterns of development of the state and law.

The history of the state and law of foreign countries distinguishes four periods of history:

Story Ancient World(until 5-6 century BC) - slavery.

Middle Ages (up to 17-18 centuries BC) - feudalism.

The history of the New Time (until the beginning of the 20th century) is capitalism.

Newest Time.

The history of state and law studies the state and law of individual (foreign) countries of the world in the process of their emergence and development within those historical eras that are the most important steps in the development of specific societies.

FEATURES OF THE DEVELOPMENT OF THE STATE AND LAW IN THE COUNTRIES OF THE ANCIENT EAST

The concept of the East in historical science is used not so much as a geographical one, but as a historical, cultural, civilizational one. The fundamental differences between the Eastern and Western civilizational paths of development were that in the East, unlike the West, where private property played a dominant role, private property relations, relations of private commodity production did not occupy a significant place.

Here, for the first time in the history of the development of human society, those social and political institutions, the state, law, world religions, which gave birth since the emergence of ancient states ( Ancient Greece and Rome) in the 1st millennium BC

This affected the stagnant nature of the oriental role in the evolution of ancient oriental societies, was the rural community, social structures and freedoms. One of the main social forms, playing a decisive role, retaining in many respects the features of a patriarchal-clan organization. It determined the nature of political power in these societies, the role and regulatory and control functions of the ancient Eastern state, and the features of legal systems.

The absence of the dominant role of private property, the stagnant nature of development were the main defining features of their typological similarity, in contrast to the dynamically developing ancient countries, and then the countries of Western Europe, the successor to ancient civilization.

Persistent diversity, historical continuity of social, political, legal forms and institutions, the dominant religious ideology give grounds to define as the main distinguishing feature ancient Eastern societies - their traditional character. In ancient China, a system of exploitation by the administrative nobility of communal peasants early developed by collecting rent - a tax, first in the form of working off in public fields, and then by appropriating part of the crop from the peasant allotment by the ruling elite. In ancient Confucian China, both religion and law initially rejected the idea of ​​equality of people, proceeded from the recognition of differences between members of Chinese society depending on gender, age, place in the system of kinship relations and social hierarchy. Here, the creation of prerequisites was excluded not only for the development of civil society, private property, subjective rights and freedoms, but also for private law as such. Chinese traditional law is primarily criminal law, including the norms of marriage and family, civil law, the violation of which entailed criminal punishment.

At present, throughout the long history of Chinese traditional society (from the second half of the 5th century BC to the second half of the 19th century AD), there has been only one radical qualitative change in the development of productive forces and social production - in the 5th -IV centuries. BC. This period was accompanied by the destruction of communal land ownership, the growth of large-scale private land ownership, and the spread of rental forms of exploitation of land-poor and landless peasant sharecroppers sitting both on privately owned and state lands.

In the East, there was no clarity of social class boundaries, for example, there were various categories of the dependent population, occupying intermediate positions between the free and slaves, or some transitional categories of the free (from small landowners to the ruling stratum, in particular to the small merchants and bureaucracy). The estate-legal status of an individual in society, as a rule, did not coincide, diverged from his socio-economic position.

Thus, the main features of the state and law of the Ancient East are highlighted.

1. Class inequality - unequal political and legal status of a person from birth.

2. The presence of the institution of slavery i.e. the presence in society of objects of law, elements of patriarchal slavery, collective slavery, slaves in the household.

3. The greatest economic value is land, the main subjects of land ownership are temples, communities.

4. Inextricably linked law and morality with religion. Priests participated in the development of legal norms, they were the first ancient Eastern lawyers (ancient Indian Brahmins).

5. Features of the forms of law, there were no branches, division of law into private and public. Legal norms are casuistic, detailed, which was due to low legal technique.

In the Ancient East, there were three main social class formations:

2. Free small producers - communal peasants and artisans who live by their own labor.

3. The dominant social stratum, which included the court and service aristocracy, the commanding staff of the army.

The general patterns of development of ancient Eastern multi-structural societies cannot cross out the specific features of each of them, associated both with the dominant position of one or another way of life and various forms their interaction, and with the peculiarities of their social and political institutions, with the specific features of their cultural and civilizational development, the peculiarities of life, the worldview of people, their ways of religious orientation.

ANCIENT CHINA

The Chinese state arose in the 2nd millennium BC. The Chinese call their country Zhongguo - the Middle State. The emergence of the state in ancient China is usually associated with the fact that in the XVIII century. BC e. an alliance of tribes known as Shan or Yin completed the conquest of another tribal alliance. The head of the victors became "king". Archaeological data Evidence that in the Yin state, all types of agricultural equipment of that era were widely used: a plow and a plow (with a metal coulter), a harrow, a hoe, etc. Agriculture became the main branch of activity. There are crafts, trade and money circulation. The creation of the initial primitive state formation in Shang (Yin) was associated with the need to organize production, irrigate lands, prevent the harmful effects of river floods, and protect territories. This was expressed, firstly, in the transformation of the tribal leader into the deified ruler of the Yin kingdom - the wang, who had significant power, and secondly, in the formation of an administrative apparatus consisting of numerous rulers, military leaders, priests and others, opposing the mass of community members. In the Yin era, the supreme ownership of the tsar-wang on the earth was affirmed, this was facilitated by the idea of ​​van as an earthly deity.

The social and political development of the peoples of the entire Yellow River basin was significantly accelerated by the conquest of the Yin kingdom at the end of the 12th century. BC. the Chou tribes who came from the west, who established dominance over the population of all of Northern China, over a multitude of disparate tribal groups that were at various stages of the decomposition of tribal relations. The Zhou van was faced with the need to organize the administration of a vast territory. To this end, he transferred the conquered lands into hereditary possessions to his relatives and close associates, who, along with the land, received the corresponding titles.

Story Ancient China usually divided into four periods, designated in the historical literature by the name of the reigning dynasties: the Shang (Yin) period (XV-XI centuries BC), the Zhou period (XI-III centuries BC). During the Zhou period, special periods are distinguished:

Chunqiu (VIII - V centuries BC) and Zhangguo - "warring kingdoms" (V-III centuries BC), the latter ended with the creation of centralized empires in the Qin and Han periods (III century BC). BC - III century AD).

The creation of the initial primitive state formation in Shang (Yin) was associated with the need to organize production, irrigate lands, prevent the harmful effects of river floods, and protect territories. This was expressed, firstly, in the transformation of the tribal leader into the deified ruler of the Yin kingdom - the wang, who had significant power, and secondly, in the formation of an administrative apparatus consisting of numerous rulers, military leaders, priests and others, opposing the mass of community members. In the Yin era, the supreme ownership of the tsar-wang on the earth was affirmed, this was facilitated by the idea of ​​van as an earthly deity.

The Zhou van was faced with the need to organize the administration of a vast territory. To this end, he transferred the conquered lands into hereditary possessions to his relatives and close associates, who, along with the land, received the corresponding titles.

A feature of this period is the presence for many years of two unchanging social institutions: the traditional peasant community and the extremely developed bureaucratic hierarchy.

Highest level social hierarchy - the king. State system Eastern despotism. "King-son of heaven." The throne was inherited. The power of the king (Van) was deified. The power of the ruler is absolute, for disobedience - execution along with the family. The tsar and his apparatus performed the following functions: taking care of irrigation and irrigation, collecting taxes, waging wars. Then the slave-owning aristocracy and the priesthood. Further, the slave-owning aristocracy of the conquered tribes. Depending on the proximity to the king, the aristocracy had titles that gave them the right to certain privileges. Officials subdivided into senior civil officials, military officials, and advisers. Close advisers are the commander, the judge, the chief priest, the great fortuneteller. Senior scribes wrote down the speeches of the monarch, the younger ones wrote down his decrees, decisions on court cases. Office positions were hereditary. In the spirit of Confucian principles, in order to govern the country, candidates for officials had to pass competitive examinations. Tradition held that the top always ruled the bottom. The rulers had a staff of spies, informers, spies. The state had a police force. The core of the management system was Confucian and Taoist norms. The ideal of a ruler is passivity and inactivity. The main part of the population of freedoms are community members. There were also slaves owned by private individuals and the state. The sources of slavery were military captivity, sale for debts, enslavement for certain crimes, receiving slaves as tribute. Slaves could not have families or property.

Initially, the power of the titled owners of destinies was restrained by the power of the central government. However, in the eighth century BC. specific rulers, former loyal subjects of the van, begin to acquire virtually complete independence. The power of the van is limited to the boundaries of his domain-domain. Becoming local kings, specific rulers themselves begin to grant lands for their service, acquiring their own vassals, their own administrative apparatus. Thus, in Zhou China, disunity prevails with its characteristic internecine strife, leading to the seizure of the position of hegemon by one or another local kingdom, to the absorption of smaller kingdoms.

Long-term continuous wars led to economic decline, to the destruction of irrigation facilities and, finally, to the realization of the need for peace, the rapprochement of the peoples of China. The preachers of the Confucian religion, calling for the unification of the country "without partiality and the destruction of people," became an expression of the new sentiments. Despite the wars, during the Zhangguo period, economic and cultural contacts between different regions and peoples intensified, which led to their rapprochement, to the "gathering" of lands around the seven large Chinese kingdoms.

The turning point in the history of ancient China was the 5th century. BC. At this time, the action of those factors that lead to the unification of the kingdoms into a single empire, where Confucianism became the dominant political ideology, is born. Thanks to the introduction of iron tools, there is a sharp rise in the economy. The development of new lands, the improvement of irrigation facilities, the growth of agricultural and handicraft production contribute to the development of commodity-money relations, the formation of a market, and the emergence of merchants. Under these conditions, there is an intensive decomposition of communal and the establishment of private ownership of land, the creation of large private land ownership.

All this leads to the fact that in the last centuries BC. In China, the confrontation of two tendencies in the development of society is manifested. On the one hand, large-scale private ownership of land is developing, based on the exploitation of peasant tenants, hired workers, and slaves; on the other hand, a broad stratum of tax-paying peasantry is being formed, directly subordinate to the state. These were two possible development paths:

1. through the victory of large-scale private ownership of land - the path of fragmentation, civil strife.

2. through the strengthening of state ownership of land and the creation of a single centralized state. The second way is approved, the carrier of which is the kingdom of Qin. In 221 BC. it triumphantly ended the struggle for the unification of the country.

At present, according to the unanimous opinion of all domestic Sinologists, throughout the long history of Chinese traditional society (from the second half of the 2nd millennium BC to the second half of the 19th century AD), there has been only one radical qualitative change in the development of productive forces and social production - in the V-IV centuries. BC. This period was accompanied by the destruction of communal land ownership, the growth of large-scale private land ownership, and the spread of rental forms of exploitation of land-poor and landless peasant sharecroppers sitting both on privately owned and state lands. In the last centuries BC. in China ends in the centralized Qin-Han empires (3rd century BC - 3rd century AD) traditional system exploitation by the state of taxable small peasant landowners by levying a rent-tax calculated on the amount of cultivated land

The foundations of social orders, the state machine created in Qin China, turned out to be so adapted to the needs of the empire that they were without any changes during the revolutions of 1911-1913. This system was preserved in imperial China until the beginning of the 20th century.

Shang Yang's reforms

Neither Egyptian nor Babylonian history did not retain information about government measures that persecute the communal order or stimulate their termination. Examples of this kind are provided by the history of ancient China.

During the period of state fragmentation in China, reforms begin. Shang Yang (390-338) B.C. divide people by mutual denunciation and surveillance. The goal of the system is to establish state order and forcibly unify China. The reforms affected many aspects of life: the free purchase and sale of land dealt a blow to the community's land ownership. The same reform eliminated the old districts and introduced a new division everywhere - into counties. In the interests of government control over the population, mutual responsibility was preserved and strengthened: every five peasant families constituted the original five-yard cell; at the head of it was the headman, responsible to the state for the behavior of each of his people. Five five yards constituted a "village", five "villages" - a clan, etc., up to districts and regions.

Shang Yang transferred the principle of "fives" to the army: all five were responsible for the fault of one. The army introduced 18 degrees of distinction. Courage in battle was taken into account.

The tax system has been changed.

In Chinese criminal law, the principle of group responsibility was finally established: the punishment was extended to the innocent.

Shang Yang's reforms were successful. The disintegration of the community was inevitable and natural. The state helped this process.

THE BOOK OF THE RULER OF THE REGION OF SHANG (SHANG JUN SHU)

Shang jun shu - "The Book of the Governor of the Shang Region" - is a philosophical and political treatise that belongs to the most ancient monuments of Chinese literature. Tradition attributes the authorship of this treatise to the statesman and reformer of ancient China Guns un Yang (390-338 BC), known in history under the name of Shang Yang, the ruler of the Shang region, granted to him by the Qin Xiao Gong (361-338 BC). BC.).

Scroll One Agriculture and War

Usually the ruler encourages people (by two means): government posts and ranks of nobility; the state achieves prosperity: by agriculture and war. Nowadays, all people achieve government positions and ranks of nobility, not engaging in agriculture and war, but with the help of clever reasoning and empty teachings. This is called making people lazy. The one who makes people lazy, the state will certainly weaken, and the one whose (state) is weakened, it will certainly be dismembered.

Eliminate the strong

If the state is (governed) by virtuous methods, there will certainly appear a mass of criminals. If the state is rich, and they manage it as if it were poor, this is called doubling the wealth, and the doubly rich (state) is strong.

If the state is poor, but they manage it as if it were rich, this is called doubling poverty, and doubly poor (the state) is weak.

It is usually important for a ruler that there are many changes; it is important for the state that there are few changes. A state that has many (various) affairs will be dismembered. A ruler with little to do will be powerful.

Agriculture, trade and administration are the three main (functions) of the state.

If (the ruler) achieves good government by law, (his state) will become strong; if the ruler seeks good government, relying on virtuous officials, (his state) will be dismembered. (If the ruler) skillfully directs the three main functions (states), he can (painlessly) force people to change their occupations. When you lead big state, rule it like a small country; and when you stand at the head of a small state, govern it as if big country.

In a state where punishments get rid of (new) punishments, order reigns; in a state where punishments cause (new) punishments, confusion reigns. That is why they say: "If you punish, then punish severely for minor offenses," and then punishments will disappear, things will be crowned with success, and the state will be strengthened. A country in which there are no disaffected is called powerful. :

Scroll two. Discourse about the people

Cohesion (of people) and mutual support (results from being) governed as virtuous; the disunity of people and mutual surveillance (due to the fact that they) are controlled as if vicious. Where (people are treated) as virtuous, offenses are hidden; where (people are treated) as vicious, crimes are severely punished. When transgressions are hidden, the people have conquered the law; when crimes are severely punished, the law has conquered the people. When the people overcome the law, disorder reigns in the country; when the law conquers the people, the army is strengthened. That is why it is said: "If you control people as virtuous, then confusion is inevitable, and the country will perish; if you control people as vicious, then (exemplary) order is always established, and the country reaches power."

Punishment breeds strength, strength breeds power, power breeds greatness that inspires awe, and greatness that inspires awe breeds virtue. So virtue has its origin in punishment.

Scroll three. Reasoning about the one

When a state is established, the system of government must be adjusted to the (needs) of the time; when the laws of government are introduced, care must be taken; when one seeks to direct all efforts towards the One, one must act with caution; when they are engaged in the main business, it is necessary to concentrate it in one hand. When the system of government suits the (needs) of the time, the customs of the state can be changed and the people will follow established order. If the laws of government are clear, officials will not violate (them). If all the efforts of the state are aimed at the One, then people are (easier) to use.

Introduction of laws

I have heard that when the wise rulers of old made laws, the people did not commit transgressions; when put forward for deeds, the abilities of the people were developed; when incentives were introduced, the army was formidable. These three (principles) are the foundation of good governance. :

Introduction of ground rules

The law must become custom; (when it becomes a custom), (the state) will have everything it needs in abundance.

Fourth scroll. Rewards and punishments

What is called "to establish uniform (rules) of punishments" means: the ranks of nobility do not save from punishments.

On the basics of policy

It is called fair (such a position) when dignitaries are devoted, when sons are respectful with their parents, when younger ones observe whether in relation to elders, when a distinction is established between men and women; (but all this is achieved) not by justice, but by immutable laws.

Scroll fifth. Ruler and dignitaries

The method by which an intelligent ruler governs the Celestial Empire is as follows: it is necessary to follow the law in all matters, and reward according to personal merits.

After some time, the government, which remained in the hands of the aristocracy, shouldered the former burden on the peasants with the help of poll, land and a number of other taxes - direct and indirect.

Two centuries later, new popular uprisings were the cause of the reform activities of Emperor Wang Mang (I century AD).

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• 1. Traditional Chinese society(class structure, religious beliefs, centers of social integration).
• 2. Modern society and culture (the structure of society in communist China, the position of women, public education, art, healthcare).

Traditional Chinese society

Consideration of the issue of persons as subjects of law in traditional society is closely connected with the identification of legal differences between individual social strata, estates, and population groups. Chinese traditional law did not know the European concept of the subjective rights of a person, citizen, individual, originating in the ancient world. In Chinese codes and official documents, the legal status of a person was defined by the term "se" (color), indicating the individual's belonging to a particular social group, whose members had certain rights and strictly fixed duties.

Class differences in medieval China were more visible than class differences. They were sacredly protected by law and tradition, which fixed the scope of the rights and obligations of representatives not only of individual estates, but also of various categories of titled ranked officials. There were also strict and petty regulation of their behavior in everyday life, differences in clothing, rituals, etc.

Despite certain changes, in the social structure of traditional China at all times there were mainly three estate-class groups: "noble", "kind" and "mean" people.

The first estate-class group included privileged, "noble" persons - secular and spiritual nobility, military and civil officials. They were exempted from labor duties and corporal punishment, and some from taxes. Representatives of this estate were not only large private landowners, they also appropriated a significant part of the sums received by the treasury. For example, by the end of the reign of the Ming Dynasty (1368-1644), the total number of "relatives" of the emperor with high titles, ranks, honorary titles, exceeded 100 thousand people. A significant part of tax revenues was spent on their maintenance in the form of salaries.

In a special position was the unprivileged layer of wealthy merchants, usurers, large landowners, the rich, who replenished the ranks of the ruling class. Class partitions separating them from the "noble" could be overcome, since in China, at the beginning of the new era, the official practice of buying honorary titles and academic degrees was established. It was the easiest way for the rich to acquire the right to move into the category of non-service officials. They also enjoyed certain privileges, for example, the right to pay off corporal punishment, the right to mitigate punishment for a crime committed by offsetting rank, etc.

In medieval China, the old tribal aristocracy largely lost its positions to the new service aristocracy - the bureaucracy. The educated class group - shenshi became a powerful conservative force, a pillar of the central government, which traditionally exploited tax-paying peasants. Shenshi were divided into two categories. The first was made up of a relatively small stratum of people directly involved in power - the ruler's entourage, his dignitaries and the entire hierarchical bureaucratic state apparatus, the second - a huge army of candidates for this stratum who received a Confucian education but did not have positions. They were not directly vested with state powers, but played a huge role locally, in communal administration, which greatly contributed to the centralization of China's state power.

Formally, the path to a bureaucratic position was open to everyone who received an education according to the canons of Confucian science and passed the exams. In fact, only the children of the rich, the officials themselves, could get an education and especially a bureaucratic rank. This arrangement continued until the 8th century. a system of recommendations by local rulers for the official position of "worthy people".

The division into nine official ranks, which was based on the system of payment for the service of an official in grain (in the amount of 200 to 10 thousand tributes *), developed back in the period of the Warring States. These nine ranks, each of which consisted of two classes, were invariably preserved along with the division into higher, middle and lower officials. Not only the post, a place in the official hierarchy, but also the prestige and salary of an official depended on the rank. At the end of the III century. the salaries of officials in grain and money were replaced by allotments of land plots of various sizes, which were transferred to tenants for processing. The rent thus replaced the salary. From the 8th century until the revolution of 1911-1913. officials received a salary in grain and money. Service allotments and "feeding" could only serve as an addition to their remuneration. It was equated to the status of an official in China and the status of Taoist and Buddhist monks.

Tribute - 103.5 liters of grain.

Representatives of the second unprivileged estate-class group belonged to the common people, "petty people." These are mainly small farmers and artisans, on whom the main burden of tax payments and labor duties lay. In the III-VIII centuries, during the existence of the state allotment system, the bulk of the peasants actually turned into tenants of state lands.

The third estate-class group of "mean people" included the free and deprived of rights - public and private slaves. The collapse of the allotment system, the development of large-scale land ownership led to an increase in the number of landless and land-poor tenant farmers, who were often attached to the land.

The incomplete estate group consisted until the 13th century. from persons who were dependent on "strong houses". They were used as armed forces, semi-serf tenants, farm laborers, domestic servants. Tenants of private lands and laborers, like slaves, had to unquestioningly obey the orders of the owner. They were beaten with sticks, put in private prisons, and sometimes killed with impunity. They did not have the right to go to court with a complaint against the owner. State bodies stood guard over the interests of landowners, assisted them in the search for and return of fugitive tenants and farm laborers who did not pay rent on time or did not work out the terms specified in the contract. It was only in 1727 that arbitrary punishment by the owners of workers dependent on them was formally prohibited.

Characteristics of China as a Modern State

China (Chinese People's Republic, PRC) is a modern state located in the southeastern part of the Eurasian continent. For a long time, China has been called one of the greatest and leading world powers, which combines world civilization, historical values ​​and high technology, which are spread all over the world.

Remark 1

On the this moment China is recognized as the most populated country in the world. According to the results of the national census, which was carried out in 2000, the population of the country amounted to more than 1 billion and 200 million people, and it is constantly growing. The population includes 56 nationalities, among which 90% of the population is of Chinese nationality (Han, Han). At the same time, it should be noted that the urban population is 2 times less than the rural population (36% urban and 64% rural).

Researchers note that the position of the People's Republic of China in terms of economic and geographical location very beneficial. China is located along the Pacific coast, has access to the sea even in the most remote corners of the country (through the Yangtze River). China arose in the 14th century BC, which makes it one of the oldest states in the world with its complex and incredibly interesting history. The Republic of China was formed in 1912, and in 1949, after some military and political events (1945 - the defeat with the help of troops Soviet Union Japanese invaders), the People's Republic of China was proclaimed.

The social structure of Chinese society

Of course, since the founding of the People's Republic of China in 1949, there have been many changes in the social structure of Chinese society. Initially, the social structure of China had a pyramidal shape. The basis was a large number of the peasant population, and the rest of the classes together made up only 12% of the population. This social structure points to the fact that the People's Republic of China has a rather weak development in its national industry, and at the same time, small-scale peasant farming dominates.

But in the period from 1985 to 1991 in China, the pyramidal model of social structure was replaced by a new stratification structure. Now completely new social strata are emerging in society, there is a gap in the level of income between them. A fairly large social shift occurred after some changes were made by the state. For example, a change in the administrative system and the subsequent life registration to the place of residence. Also coming out new law about the labor contract, which changed the position of the management of enterprises and workers. Now managers have received much more rights and powers than before, and workers have become hired, receiving wages for their work activities.

As a result of many years of changes in Chinese society, as many as ten social strata have developed, differing in specific characteristics and having their own unique features. This includes the following strata:

1. Public leaders and civil servants in leadership positions;
2. Managerial employees who have certain powers, power, but at the same time they themselves are subordinate to higher authorities and leaders;
3. Private entrepreneurs who are engaged in certain activities for the production and further distribution of goods and services;
4. Specialists and technical personnel who are engaged in information technology and activities close to this field;
5. Office workers, office workers, the so-called "collars";
6. Individual manufacturers and traders who produce goods and services for their own production and sale to the wider population;
7. Trade and service workers (cashiers, sellers, waiters and others);
8. Production workers in the manufacturing sector;
9. Employees Agriculture(peasants, who make up almost 90% of the total population);
10. Unemployed, unemployed or semi-unemployed citizens who live in villages and cities.

Features of the modern stratification of China

Remark 2

As we have already noted, the modern population of China is divided into ten key strata. Slightly more than 40% are agricultural workers, as well as peasants, who are the descendants of the peasants who made up the bulk of the entire population of the country.

But the composition of other strata, whose number is much less than the peasant one, is also interesting. The first stratum includes government leaders, party organizers and workers. In their hands remains all the power that they use to achieve certain goals, as well as to improve the lives of the population. Social policy in China defines this stratum as the highest in the entire structure, as the basis of market relations and social economy.

The remaining strata are formed thanks to top and middle managers who are engaged in entrepreneurial activities, and are also employed in the industrial sector. These may include former government employees, as well as founders or former owners of the largest corporations and organizations that operate in China and beyond. Private entrepreneurs occupy another stratum in the social system. They receive the main profit from investments, due to which they can exist and carry out their activities. It is very important that their activities are supported by the state, thereby receiving additional funding.

As we can note, leadership positions play an important role in the stratification structure, since it is on them and their decisions that activities in other areas of the social, political, economic and cultural life of the Chinese people depend. An important role is also played by representatives of the middle stratum, employees of state-owned enterprises.

73. Transformation of the social structure of modern Chinese society.

Prior to the reform period, the PRC introduced a residence regime, which has been preserved in a weak form to the present day. By registration, people were attached to one place of residence and at the same time it was almost impossible to move to another place. Before the start of the reform, the urban population was divided into cadres, workers and the intelligentsia. Personnel workers were divided into 30 job grades and for each grade a salary and privileges rate was established.

During the reform period, purchase prices for agricultural products were increased, and the volume of fixed purchases was reduced. prices, the scope of market trade has been expanded. In 1984, only 18% of families had incomes in excess of 500 yu. in year. According to Chinese statistics, in 2002 the annual income per person in peasant families was 2,478 yu. The incomes of the peasants in the east and center of the provinces are higher than the incomes of the peasants in the western regions. The most common approach, where the population of rural areas is divided into social groups according to the nature and content of labor: several groups

Peasants, occupying only agriculture (63%). - Seasonal workers (12%) - Managers of rural collective enterprises (0.9%) - Individual traders and industrialists doing business on a joint-stock basis (6.5%) - owners of rural and settlement parts of enterprises (0.8%) - hired workers (3%) - rural ganbu (cadre workers 7%) - villages workers in science, culture and technology, health care (1%) - housewives (8%) -other workers (3.3%)

Working class

Changes are also taking place in the structure of workers under the influence of economic transformations: the share of workers in state-owned enterprises is changing and the share of workers in enterprises of a different form of ownership is increasing.

Highest salary rates:

Tourism; tobacco industry; mining and development of ferrous metals; air transport, etc.

The difference between the highest and lowest incomes is 3 times.

As part of the working section, the next group:

1 post slave, who are employed at state and collective enterprises 2 contract workers 3 peasant workers who come to town for seasonal work 4 workers of rural and settlement enterprises 5 workers of private enterprises

Intelligentsia

In China, intel means people who have received higher and secondary special education and are engaged in mental work. In 2002, China had 28 million professionals and technicians of all specialties working in state-owned enterprises and institutions. In 2002, there were 531,000 teachers in the universities, among which there were 50,000 professors and 161,000 associate professors. In 2002, the average per capita salary of all workers in universities was 18,000 yu, and the average salary of teachers was 10,000 yu. In all universities in China, commercial activity takes the 1st place. The essence of the enterprise, organized by students and teachers. The scope of activities is from entertainment to high-tech products.

Personnel workers

continue to play an important role in social structure whale obsh. Ganbu is any employee who has the right to make administrative decisions

1) workers of state and administrative bodies

2) personnel workers at enterprises

The workers of the first category have a post job, fixed wage rates and social insurance benefits. Personnel workers of enterprises can invest their own funds in the funds of enterprises and be responsible for the results of their work, they can receive bonuses and allowances depending on the results of their work.

Entrepreneurs

The incomes of the owners of the pre-th are differentiated in the head of the form of undertaking activities, but the wages of workers and employees have increased by at least 11 times.

Social groups that receive high incomes: 1 owners of private enterprises 2 people who received a contract or rented enterprises 3 top management workers of joint ventures or foreign enterprises 4 brokers 5 realtors 6 lawyers 7 highly qualified cooks 8 pop and movie stars

In China, a layer of new rich has emerged. Whale sociologists include all persons whose incomes are 3 times higher than the average level, but they have not yet formed a single group of interests and do not commit collective action with the same requirements.

At present, in the social structure of society, several groups have been distinguished by income: 1) the upper class - the political party elite and large businessmen and scientific and technical elite 2) the middle-upper class - the main mass of cadre workers, middle managers, managers of medium and small state enterprises, specialists and technical workers " middle class» 3) middle-middle class: owners of small enterprises, employees, individual industrialists and merchants 4) middle-lower class - service and trade workers, workers and peasants 5) lower class - the poorest part of the workers, peasants and the unemployed population .

The social security system in China. Social politics.

The state in the social sphere takes upon itself the creation of working conditions, the improvement of labor protection and working conditions, and, on the basis of the development of production, an increase in wages. In recent years, employment channels have improved, incl. and through a non-goss organ.

By const. The state is obliged: - to improve the conditions of protection for workers and establish working hours; - the procedure for the retirement of workers and employees; - since 2004, creates an appropriate social insurance system.

At enterprises in state institutions, men retire at the age of 60, women at 55, having at least 10 years of work experience. The pension is calculated in the amount of 60-75% of the salary. Since 2006, payments to the social sphere have been a priority, and the volume of the social insurance fund has been increasing.

Types of social insurance: - for old age, - for disability, - in the field of health care, - industrial injury, - childbearing.

The biggest problem is unemployment.

The main direction in the development of employment is the expansion of the service sector (full or partial exemption from taxes, low-interest loans and subsidies for social insurance are approved). The structure of employment of the population: primary sphere -44.8%, secondary - 23.8%, tertiary - 31%.

The pension system is based on a multi-stage insurance scheme. Since 2005, pensioners have been receiving pensions through financial institutions. the number of pensions in cities is 50 million people. The average size pensions in cities - 600yu per year. The number of rural pensioners receiving pensions from insurance funds has increased. Social security in the health sector is the most weak link in the system of social guarantees. Medical care for most of the population is too expensive. One of the points of the social program is the provision of a living wage. Families with incomes below this level may be eligible for subsidies.

AT rural districts the state guarantees material assistance in the field of "5 guarantees": providing food, clothing, fuel at the level of mines of vital needs, funds for the education of children and funds for funerals.

Act-t public programs to help children: Hope (free images of children of the poor), Happiness (help to poor mothers), Pond (providing water to western paradises).

Back to article CHINA

class structure. Like other Eastern societies, traditional China for centuries, a political structure has functioned with extraordinary power. The only source of power was the emperor, who exercised his rule according to the will of heaven. Gradually, however, institutions developed to ensure the smooth functioning of the state apparatus and to prevent the development of forces that could oppose imperial power.

The mechanisms of formation of the apparatus of officials played a primary role. The skill level of officials was tested through a series of different examinations. Holders of academic degrees and officials elected from among them occupied prestigious positions in society. In addition to scholar-officials, or shenshi, in accordance with Chinese social theory, three more classes were distinguished: peasants, artisans, and merchants. Generally speaking, representatives of all these classes were called commoners. Below these classes on the hierarchical ladder were "mean people". This category included persons who performed duties despised by society. Children and descendants of these people were not allowed to take state exams. Slavery also existed in China, but rarely played a prominent role.

Centers for social integration. Family and clan. Big family and the family clan included wide range relatives, some of whom might even belong to other classes. In the ideal case, and sometimes it happened in real life, the clan was a solid community that cared for its members, including even the most distant relatives, and making sure that the most gifted children of clan members received an education. The clan was held together by observance of the obligatory ceremonies of honoring the ancestors and a sense of pride in their ancestry. The family often held together due to the common ownership of the land and the presence of ancestral temples on this land, in which memorial tablets were kept that praised the dead and served as an object of worship for relatives.

The problem of marriage was solved in the family circle. The marriage union was arranged with the help of matchmakers. Traditionally, the consent of the children was not asked, and marriage was almost mandatory for everyone. Only Buddhist monks, some Taoist priests, and a few extremely poor men remained single.

Village and city. The village community represented the lowest form of social integration. The cities where the administration was located were usually the site of trade bazaars and fairs that united the population of the area for both social and economic purposes. The city's entertainment establishments, including restaurants, tea houses, and liquor stores, also served as centers of social life. Tea shop owners often hired professional storytellers to attract customers. The theater was very popular, as well as a variety of gambling.

Associations and associations. The guilds played the most important role, since until 1911 they organized and regulated all entrepreneurial activity in the field of industry and trade. They were divided into two types: by crafts and by provinces. The former regulated the teaching of crafts, set standards and quality levels, and determined prices. The provincial guilds represented merchants from one province or one city doing their business in another province or city. There were also many secret societies. Some of them were formed for mutual assistance, others pursued political goals.

religious beliefs. Folk religion included elements of animism and polytheism. People believed that the world was inhabited by many spirits. So, the spirits of evil - "gui" - were considered to bring illness and disaster. These evil spirits could be protected from or warded off in a variety of ways, including spells and special ceremonies. The universe was considered a combination of two elements - "yin" and "yang". "Yin" meant darkness, evil, feminine. The embodiment of these qualities was evil spirit"gui". "Yan" meant warmth, light, goodness, masculinity; things that embodied these qualities could be used to protect against "gui". In general, in the view of the Chinese, the world of spirits and gods was a copy of the world of people and the state with the same hierarchy of authority and power. Each city had its own god, to some extent corresponding to the local magistrate. Above the whole universe towered "tian" - "heaven", corresponding to the emperor on earth.

In addition to this widespread religion with its spirits and numerous gods, there were five major religious doctrines: Confucianism, Taoism, Buddhism, Islam, and Christianity. Confucianism, which was more of an ethical and political doctrine than a religion, for a long time - starting from the end of the 3rd century. BC. and before the formation of the republic in 1912 - enjoyed the support of the state. Confucian philosophy contained the main provisions of the family and moral code. Rejected after the formation of the republic, in the 20th century. Confucianism came to its end. Classical Confucian works in the list of required literature for schools were moved from first to second or third place. Taoism as a religion had Chinese roots, but was influenced by Buddhism. Some of the Taoist writings, written with a philosophical bent, are of great intellectual significance. Taoism also has its temples, its pantheon of gods, and its doctrine of a future life with rewards and punishments for the past. Buddhism came from India and became widespread in China; hundreds of Buddhist temples and monasteries with thousands of monks were built here. Muslims live everywhere in China, especially in the northwestern and southwestern regions. Christianity, introduced to the Chinese by missionaries from Europe and America, became widespread in the 19th and early 20th centuries, but the number of Christian believers is only 1% of the country's population.

china: traditional chinese society

Back to the article CHINA Class structure. Like other Eastern societies, traditional China has had a political structure with extraordinary power for centuries. The only source of power was the emperor, who exercised his rule according to the will of heaven. Gradually, however, institutions developed to ensure the smooth functioning of the state apparatus and to prevent the development of forces that could oppose imperial power. The mechanisms of formation of the apparatus of officials played a primary role. The skill level of officials was tested through a series of different examinations. Holders of academic degrees and officials elected from among them occupied prestigious positions in society. In addition to scholar-officials, or shenshi, in accordance with Chinese social theory, three more classes were distinguished: peasants, artisans, and merchants. Generally speaking, representatives of all these classes were called commoners. Below these classes on the hierarchical ladder were "mean people". This category included persons who performed duties despised by society. Children and descendants of these people were not allowed to take state exams. Slavery also existed in China, but rarely played a prominent role. Centers for social integration. Family and clan. The extended family and family clan included a wide range of relatives, some of whom might even belong to other classes. In the ideal case, and sometimes it happened in real life, the clan was a solid community that cared for its members, including even the most distant relatives, and made sure that the most gifted children of the clan members received an education. The clan was held together by observance of the obligatory ceremonies of honoring the ancestors and a sense of pride in their ancestry. The family often held together due to the common ownership of the land and the presence of ancestral temples on this land, in which memorial tablets were kept that praised the dead and served as an object of worship for relatives. The problem of marriage was solved in the family circle. The marriage union was arranged with the help of matchmakers. Traditionally, the consent of the children was not asked, and marriage was almost mandatory for everyone. Only Buddhist monks, some Taoist priests, and a few extremely poor men remained single. Village and city. The village community represented the lowest form of social integration. The cities where the administration was located were usually the site of trade bazaars and fairs that united the population of the area for both social and economic purposes. The city's entertainment establishments, including restaurants, tea houses, and liquor stores, also served as centers of social life. Tea shop owners often hired professional storytellers to attract customers. The theater was very popular, as well as a variety of gambling. Associations and associations. The guilds played the most important role, since until 1911 they organized and regulated all entrepreneurial activity in the field of industry and trade. They were divided into two types: by crafts and by provinces. The former regulated the teaching of crafts, set standards and quality levels, and determined prices. The provincial guilds represented merchants from one province or one city doing their business in another province or city. There were also many secret societies. Some of them were formed for mutual assistance, others pursued political goals. religious beliefs. Folk religion included elements of animism and polytheism. People believed that the world was inhabited by many spirits. So, the spirits of evil - "gui" - were considered to bring illness and disaster. These evil spirits could be protected from or warded off in a variety of ways, including spells and special ceremonies. The universe was considered a combination of two elements - "yin" and "yang". "Yin" meant darkness, evil, feminine. The embodiment of these qualities was the evil spirit "gui". "Yan" meant warmth, light, goodness, masculinity; things that embodied these qualities could be used to protect against "gui". In general, in the view of the Chinese, the world of spirits and gods was a copy of the world of people and the state with the same hierarchy of authority and power. Each city had its own god, to some extent corresponding to the local magistrate. Above the whole universe towered "tian" - "heaven", corresponding to the emperor on earth. In addition to this widespread religion with its spirits and numerous gods, there were five major religious doctrines: Confucianism, Taoism, Buddhism, Islam, and Christianity. Confucianism, which was more of an ethical and political doctrine than a religion, for a long time - starting from the end of the 3rd century. BC. and before the formation of the republic in 1912 - enjoyed the support of the state. Confucian philosophy contained the main provisions of the family and moral code. Rejected after the formation of the republic, in the 20th century. Confucianism came to its end. Classical Confucian works in the list of required literature for schools were moved from first to second or third place. Taoism as a religion had Chinese roots, but was influenced by Buddhism. Some of the Taoist writings, written with a philosophical bent, are of great intellectual significance. Taoism also has its temples, its pantheon of gods, and its doctrine of a future life with rewards and punishments for the past. Buddhism came from India and became widespread in China; hundreds of Buddhist temples and monasteries with thousands of monks were built here. Muslims live everywhere in China, especially in the northwestern and southwestern regions. Christianity, introduced to the Chinese by missionaries from Europe and America, became widespread in the 19th and early 20th centuries, but the number of Christian believers is only 1% of the country's population.