Slavery in China

In this episode, we explore the long and complex history of slavery in China, tracing its evolution from ancient systems built on war captives and punished criminals to hereditary servitude under imperial rule. We examine how enslaved people were often classified as “base people,” forced to endure severe hardship, abuse, and legal exclusion, while gender and age shaped their roles in the slave market, with young women pushed into domestic labor or concubinage and men sometimes bought to continue family lines. The episode also looks at how slavery, though never as economically central as it was in Greece or Rome, remained a persistent feature across dynasties, officially ending in 1910 but continuing in practice well into the 20th century through poverty and trafficking. Finally, we connect this history to modern concerns about forced labor, political repression, and the exploitation of vulnerable groups in contemporary China.