7. Chinese slaves were subjected to barbarous conditions both during their master’s life and after his death
Slavery was a widespread practice in China, with unwanted children sold to wealthy families as slaves. Males sold as slaves were first made eunuchs. Some slaves were captive enemies or prisoners of war. The slaves worked in both the fields under the hands of masters and in the homes and businesses of the wealthy. When in a home, a slave was subject to severe discipline up to and including summary execution for such trespasses as entering a room unbidden, or failing to enter quickly enough in the event he or she was bidden. Slaves had no rights, no legal protections, and no social standing, though the number of slaves held by a given master enhanced his social standing.
During the time of the earliest recorded histories of ancient China, more than 1,000 years BCE, slaves followed their master into the afterlife, where they were believed to continue in his service. Following the master’s funeral rites his slaves were buried alive, as were his concubines. During the possibly most famous of all the ancient Chinese dynasties – the Ming Dynasty – efforts to control and limit slavery began. More than another thousand years later it continued to be practiced in China, both in cities and in the remote areas of the sprawling nation. Slavery continued to be practiced in China with relative openness up until the Second World War, and there were reports of slavery practiced on the black market in the late twentieth century.