Social Structure of the Wu Empire at the beginning of the Bronze Age:
The royal family had just divested itself of merely being kings and become emperors. The ruling Sun family was said to be descended from the dragons that made the land of the Twin Rivers and they wielded absolute power over the land and its people.
Below them were the nobility, families who all had ties through marriage at some point to the royal family. They were all offshoots, but also they were not of the Sun family itself. None of these families would consider assassination, as it would bring the wrath of the gods, and more importantly the peasantry, down on them. They were however not at all above controlling from behind the scenes. The high noble families are Zhou, Ji, Hua, and Qian. The lower nobility were the Tian, Nan, Wei, Po, Chin, Chan, Zi, and Huang* families.
At the same level as the nobility but for another purpose were the scribes and guilds. During this time period the craftsmen and the literate became much more powerful as their products and knowledge impressed and assisted the Emperor in consolidating his rule. The scribes were all taught by the Huang, family that was lower nobility but gained prominence due to their teaching methods and thus became a school of thought in the Wu Empire. The Huang family name became synonymous with the word scribe and teacher after the Bronze age due to this. The primary guilds were the Farmer and Blacksmith guilds as they represented the food and the tools for defending and expanding the Empire.
Also at the same level as the Nobility, Huang, and Guilds was the Military. The leaders of the army and the navy grew in importance as the Wu Empire encountered other nations of significant size, skill, and proximity to be an issue.
Next came the Artisan class which was made up of skilled craftsmen of any type other than farmer and blacksmiths as those two were valued higher.
Below that was the final class, the peasantry. The peasantry were allowed to move freely through the Empire, but were limited in the jobs they could take. The only real chance for a peasant to move up was to either apprentice to an artisan, join the military, or get very lucky and be noticed by a Huang and sent to school.
*The Huang are mentioned as lower nobility and scholars at the same time as this is when they transitioned from lower nobility to the Huang class. The exact point where this became recognized by the Imperial family is unknown.
The royal family had just divested itself of merely being kings and become emperors. The ruling Sun family was said to be descended from the dragons that made the land of the Twin Rivers and they wielded absolute power over the land and its people.
Below them were the nobility, families who all had ties through marriage at some point to the royal family. They were all offshoots, but also they were not of the Sun family itself. None of these families would consider assassination, as it would bring the wrath of the gods, and more importantly the peasantry, down on them. They were however not at all above controlling from behind the scenes. The high noble families are Zhou, Ji, Hua, and Qian. The lower nobility were the Tian, Nan, Wei, Po, Chin, Chan, Zi, and Huang* families.
At the same level as the nobility but for another purpose were the scribes and guilds. During this time period the craftsmen and the literate became much more powerful as their products and knowledge impressed and assisted the Emperor in consolidating his rule. The scribes were all taught by the Huang, family that was lower nobility but gained prominence due to their teaching methods and thus became a school of thought in the Wu Empire. The Huang family name became synonymous with the word scribe and teacher after the Bronze age due to this. The primary guilds were the Farmer and Blacksmith guilds as they represented the food and the tools for defending and expanding the Empire.
Also at the same level as the Nobility, Huang, and Guilds was the Military. The leaders of the army and the navy grew in importance as the Wu Empire encountered other nations of significant size, skill, and proximity to be an issue.
Next came the Artisan class which was made up of skilled craftsmen of any type other than farmer and blacksmiths as those two were valued higher.
Below that was the final class, the peasantry. The peasantry were allowed to move freely through the Empire, but were limited in the jobs they could take. The only real chance for a peasant to move up was to either apprentice to an artisan, join the military, or get very lucky and be noticed by a Huang and sent to school.
*The Huang are mentioned as lower nobility and scholars at the same time as this is when they transitioned from lower nobility to the Huang class. The exact point where this became recognized by the Imperial family is unknown.
