After reading the descriptions of the social background in the first volume of Chinese ancient history about Emperor Yuan of Han and the subsequent periods, as well as the part in the draft of the history of Confucianism and Legalism struggles regarding Wang Mang’s restoration of Confucianism and the attempt to implement slavery and the well-field system, I have the following questions:
After a large number of farmers went bankrupt, some became dependent on powerful landlords and landowners, becoming dependent farmers, while others became hired serfs. Is the former referring to tenant farmers and the latter to slaves?
If hired serfs are not slaves, then what are slaves, and what is the difference between slaves and serfs?
It should be said that the unstable feudal exploitation relationship is what matters. After all, agricultural production is seasonal, and sometimes during busy farming periods, a large amount of labor is needed for agricultural production, so short-term laborers are hired. However, this is still feudal exploitation because it is not engaged in commodity production, and the peasants are not only selling labor power (they may also establish feudal personal dependency relationships during work).
In the Nanjing University version of the Chinese Ancient History (middle volume), it is stated that only by achieving national unification can the unity of all ethnic groups be realized. My own understanding is as follows: the unification of a feudal state also means that the feudal landlord class exploits and oppresses the working masses of all ethnic groups, including minorities, through political power. This often leads the working masses of various ethnic groups to unite in struggle against the exploitation and oppression by the landlord class. Moreover, under the condition of a unified feudal state, it is more conducive to the exchange and promotion of production techniques among the working masses of different ethnic groups, deepening the connections and solidarity among all peoples.
In the lectures on ancient Chinese history, it is mentioned that during the patriarchal clan commune period, the emergence of the potter’s wheel and bronze-making industry led to the gradual separation of handicrafts and agriculture, making them independent production sectors. My own understanding is that the improvement of production technology and the development of social production made handicraft production more complex and specialized, requiring laborers to engage in handicraft labor for a long time. This corresponds to the large-scale social division of labor, where the sectors producing means of production and those producing means of consumption differentiated, further advancing the level of social development.
