SOCIAL HISTORY / HUMAN RIGHTS

CHINA FIRSTS IN SOCIAL HISTORY/HUMAN RIGHTS
Non-aristocratic, bureaucratic administration	2nd c. B.C.
Formal channels for citizen appeal to the central government.	2nd/1rst c. B.C.
Formal checks on abuses of power.	2nd–1st c. B.C.
State-sponsored universities and public schools.	2nd–1st c. B.C.
Legal protection for slaves.	35 AD.
Requirement that capital punishment cases be reviewed by a higher court.	1st c. A.D.
Student demonstrations.	153 A.D.
Foreign nationals permitted to hold high office.	7th c.
Social criticism a major literary genre	8th c. onward
Decline of aristocracy and inherited status	9th c.
Liberation of large numbers of serfs	9th c.
Formal, open, blindly-graded examinations/egalitarian civil service.	10th c.
Tax breaks for disaster areas.	10th c.
Independent branch of govt. to check abuses of power	11th c.
Formal citizen appeals system.	11th c.
Print culture	11th c.
Public opinion mentioned in policy debates	11th c.
Public schools	11th c.
Private trusts	11th c.
Higher education fellowships for the poor	11th c.
	11th c.
Government loans for small entrepreneurs	11th c.
Public orphanages	11th c.
>Major, successful student demonstrations	(2nd c.) 12th c.