Editing Feudalism (section)

===Minor Variants===

====[[File:Eastern Feudalism.png]] Eastern Feudalism====
In China a system of feudalism named Fēngjiàn（封建）developed during the Zhou Dynasty. Sharing many similarities with the European model, the Zhou kings ruled through the allocation of land to the nobles, legitimized by their nominal allegiance to the central authority. Each of the noble houses ruled their land without the interference of the Zhou, only providing troops for the campaigns and paying regular homage to the imperial court. The system however led to a great amount of internal instability, culminating in the Spring and Autumn period and the collapse of the Zhou. The subsequent Qin dynasty did not continue the policy of Fēngjiàn, deciding instead to [[File:Abmon.png]] [[Absolute Monarchism|centralize all power within the imperial court]] , which became the basic ruling models of every Chinese dynasty. However, in modern times, the term Fēngjiàn turned into a pejorative term among left-leaning Chinese to refer individuals with [[File:Reactcross.png]] [[Reactionaryism|reactionary]] beliefs, usually those who do not support gender equality, despite Imperial China being a unitary absolutist state apart from the Empire of Korea (1897-1910) which also heavily influenced by Confucianism.

====[[File:Muslim 2.png]] Iqta====
Though sharing many similarities with European feudalism, the system of Iqta, practiced in the Muslim world was unmistakably distinct. The basis for the Iqta system was the allocation of land to the muqti for the purpose of collecting taxes. Unlike a European feudal lord, muqti didn't own the land and was only given a right to collect the revenue from it. Iqta was not inheritable and could be revoked.

====[[File:Caste.png]] Caste====
Similarly to the European estates, Indian caste system divides the population into four distinct social classes with a set of rights and responsibilities - the varnas:

# Brahmins - priests, scholars and teachers.
# Kshatriyas - warriors, rulers, administrators.
# Vaishyas - farmers, traders, merchants.
# Shudras - labourers.

By properly fulfilling one's purpose in life, one may have a chance to be reincarnated into a higher varna. However, failing to do so or interacting with untouchables may lead one to become an untouchable (the very bottom, supposed to consist of janitors and other "impure" occupations).

====Sakdina====
'''''Sakdina''''' (Thai: ศักดินา) was a system of social hierarchy in use from the Ayutthaya to early Rattanakosin periods of Thai history. It assigned a numerical rank to each person depending on their status, and served to determine their precedence in society, and especially among the nobility. The numbers represented the number of ''rai'' of land a person was entitled to own—''sakdina'' literally translates as "field prestige"—although there is no evidence that it was employed literally. The Three Seals Law, for example, specifies a ''sakdina'' of 100,000 for the ''Maha Uparat'', 10,000 for the Chao Phraya Chakri, 600 for learned Buddhist monks, 20 for commoners and 5 for slaves.

The term is also used to refer to the feudal-like social system of the period, where common freemen or '''''phrai''''' (ไพร่) were subject to conscription or corvée labour in service of the kingdom for half of the months of the year, under the control of an overseer or '''''munnai''''' (มูลนาย).

Since 1945, the term "sakdina" has been used frequently as a critique of Thai political authority, including demonstrators in large demonstrations in 2020-2021 Thai protests also criticized the persistence of authoritarian "sakdina" values in the administration of the Thai government, despite Thailand being centralized since 1870s.