Life as a farmer
Life as a farmer was very tough. Normally a farmer would live in a village of about 100 and would have Oxen or dogs to do the work but most of it had to be done by hand. Farmers had to also pay a tax by giving the government a percentage of their crops.
Food
The type of food that people ate depended on where they were, so the south side of China would normally eat a grain called millet, on the north side people would normally eat rice and people who lived near a river or stream would normally eat fish or water creatures.
Life in the City
City life was much different to the way farmers lived. In the city there were many different jobs like merchants, craftsman, Government officials and scholars. There were many more people that lived in the city compare to villages, there were 100 000 people that lived in the city.
Family Life
The Chinese family was ruled by the farther. The mother would have to look after the house and the children. Respect was a big part of Chinese families. They would respect their elders even after death. Chinese families would pray to their ancestors and offer sacrifices to them. Respect for their elders was also part of the religion, Confucianism.
School
Only rich
boys went to school and those who did learnt about the teachings of Confucius, learnt poetry and learnt how to write using calligraphy. Girls were also not
allowed to go to school.
Life as a Woman
Life of women in Ancient China was very difficult. They were considered less valuable than men and sometimes when a baby girl was born they would leave them outside to die if the family didn’t want her and this was considered OK. The women also didn’t have a choice on who she married.