Page "Caste" Paragraph 40

Beyond these castes, China had its pariah caste, who were the untouchables and who passed on this status to their descendants automatically.

The untouchables were considered impure by birth, and had to live in isolation away from rest of the community.

Within this outcastes, there were hierarchies, such as dan boat people, bandang people, beggar households, and hereditary servant people.

Their state was fixed for life ; they were frequently despised wherever they went, and there was no legal way for them to escape from their inferior status.

The outcastes married within their caste and status level, and taught their offsprings their occupations.

Some of the outcast occupations involved human and animal waste, dead carcasses, leather work, human corpse rituals, postpartum blood rituals, and such work ; for this, the Chinese outcasts were considered a polluted and irreversibly impure segment of the society.

The untouchables were different and below the so-called lowly, mean people castes.

The treatment of untouchables was fluid and less harsh in some parts of China, and very rigid in others.

All of these Chinese castes belonged to the same race, same religion and same culture prevalent in their community.

In the Chinese system of law, the outcastes were unequal, had limited or no rights, and in social matters judged accordingly.

The social status of outcastes mirrored their legal status, both reflected their sense of social identity.

The outcasts were shunned and ostracized by the upper castes, and the sub-castes excluded, shunned and mutually repulsed the other.