Historical Culture.

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Chinese commentators say that Indian netizens' claim that China has a "caste system" is based on ignorance of Chinese historical culture.


Some Indian social media users recently asserted that they had "discovered" that China, like India, allegedly has "a caste system." By comparing them to India's hereditary jati system, they circulated memes about ancient China's "four occupations" (Shi-Nong-Gong-Shang: scholars, farmers, artisans, and merchants). Chinese commentators believe that the claim shows that some Indian internet users are unaware of Chinese historical culture. Some Indian internet users shared memes and posts on social media platforms like X about China's ancient concept of "four occupations," comparing them to India's caste system.

The discussion started in the middle of June. Under this framework, under the emperor, society was divided into four distinct commoner classes: the Shi, which included scholars and gentry, the Nong, which included peasant farmers, the Gong, which included artisans and craftsmen, and the Shang. The Jianmin, a group that was historically regarded as belonging to the bottom rung of society, were outside of this social order. Indian internet users attempted to portray the traditional idea of "four occupations" as a rigid caste system in some of their posts.

 TanyaaDave, a netizen whose profile indicates that she is from Mumbai, claimed on X on June 15 while sharing an infographic illustrating the social strata, "I didn't know there was a caste system in China too." On June 16, a pro-Indian user named HaryanviCA wrote, "Born rural? Poor luck. You are, in essence, a second-class citizen denied access to quality education, healthcare, housing subsidies, and decent employment opportunities... A caste system keeps hundreds of millions of people in poverty. 

The Global Times discovered that the relevant debates began on June 11 when user Isotope_239 posted a picture of the "four occupations" and referred to it as the "Chinese caste system." The post sparked a lot of discussion in the comments. One Chinese-speaking commenter commented on Isotope_239's post, "Everything the Indian Dalia sees is about caste - even the food pyramid is about caste." "They are completely different ideas. 

According to Zhang Yiwu, a professor at Peking University's Department of Chinese Language and Literature, "It is hilarious to see the arguments as if they've discovered some devastating secret." Zhang Yiwu made this statement to the Global Times. "The ancient concept of Shi, Nong, Gong, and Shang was not a caste system based on ancestry but rather an occupational order. It appears that some Indian internet users lack a fundamental understanding of China's historical culture." Or they are intentionally trying to deflect from the reality that their own caste system is so suffocating that it prevents people from moving up, Zhang argued.

 Long Xingchun, a professor from the School of International Relations at Sichuan International Studies University, offered a sharper take: "The caste system is one of those deeply rooted, super toxic things in Indian history that's been screwing them over for centuries.  Even though they have laws that say everyone is equal on paper, caste still rules in marriage, friendships, and everyday life. With their diaspora, they've even spread this mess to other countries." That explains why some Indian internet users are fervently asserting that China also has a "caste system." "If we drag everyone else down to our level, our own mess doesn't look so bad!" is a classic coping strategy. The comparison was deemed by some Internet users to be a satirical projection. "This is a division into occupational classes, which include workers, farmers, officials, merchants, and rulers.

 Farmers' children can become officials, merchants, or workers through their own efforts because this is not a caste system. These occupational divisions exist in all nations. "Netizen ZhangLinHK wrote, "Indians, with your level of understanding, it's better not to come out and embarrass yourself." "India's caste system is a civilizational birth prison built around hierarchy, ritual purity, exclusion, and inherited social status," OopsGuess, a netizen, added. Indian projection is trying to rebrand every inequality in the world as "caste." The discussion was deemed "hilarious" by Netizen Slatzism, who noted that some Indians were "trying to use these ancient occupational titles as insults."


   Writer: Binod Kumar Simkhada
 binodkumarsimkhada315@gmail.com

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