were frequently slaughtered by the thousands by victorious
armies; in India and southern Asia poor families oft en sold
their children into slavery.
Lives for children in China, at least, began to change sig-
nifi cantly for the better in 415 b.c.e., when one Confucian
Chinese governor introduced a moral code to govern social
behavior. At the beginning of the Han Dynasty in 202 b.c.e.
Confucianism became offi cial state policy, and in 145 b.c.e.
Governor Wen Weng of Shu, where modern Sichuan is, set
up schools for boys from throughout the province; so eff ec-
tive were his graduates that the Han government established
an educational system that encouraged the most able boys to
attend school and better their lives by competing for govern-
ment jobs.
As another way for children to escape the grinding pov-
erty of peasant life, beginning in the fi rst century c.e. girls
and boys could be given to Buddhist monasteries or convents
at about fi ve to eight years of age. Th ey would be given simple
robes and have their heads shaved, symbolizing their renun-
ciation of worldly desires. Such children would have worked
hard, but they probably ate regularly and, in many cases, were
taught to read; as adults, they could even gain community
infl uence and help their families.
In India religious and secular education were combined.
When boys were initiated into manhood, a symbolic rebirth
of the spirit, they would be sent to gurus, or spiritual teachers,
to study sacred Hindu texts, mathematics, and medicine and
other sciences. Th is would happen at age eight for boys born
into the priestly caste, at age 11 for those born into the ruler
and warrior caste, and at age 12 for those of the worker and
farmer caste. However, those of the laboring caste and the
untouchables were excluded. Some boys were sent to schools
at Buddhist monasteries; these were so popular during the
Gupta Dynasty of 240–550 c.e. in what is now India that one
in Nalanda had more than 10,000 students. Girls were taught
at home, usua l ly by tutors a nd most ly in ar ts such as pa inting,
singing, and literature as well as in home economic skills, in-
cluding weaving and supervising servants. Girls were usually
married by age 16, but boys did not fi nish their studies until
age 18 and typically married later.
EUROPE
BY AMY HACKNEY BLACKWELL
Not much is known about childhood in ancient Europe aside
from what was recorded by Greek and Roman authors. Child-
birth was dangerous; many women died giving birth, and
many infants died during or soon aft er birth. A newborn who
survived birth but whose mother died stood a fair chance of
dying as well from lack of a mother’s care. Even if baby and
mother both survived the birth, the baby’s parents might not
keep her. Parents frequently abandoned unwanted infants,
leaving them in the countryside to die; they were especially
likely to abandon illegitimate children, deformed children,
and girls.
In ancient Europe most children were illiterate. For
entertainment they listened to stories. On long win-
ter nights everyone in a community would gather
around a fi re in the woods or in a lodge and listen to
a poet creating scenes from history and myth. These
stories were about the things that interested Euro-
pean peoples: the gods who controlled the weather
and human events, heroes fi ghting battles, dwarfs
and dragons, kings and lovers. The stories gave
people a sense of identity and continuity. The plots
and characters were usually familiar, but the actual
words varied from telling to telling, as the poet chose
episodes to embellish in the moment. Poets worked
entirely from memory. No one wrote down European
folktales and poems until the eighth century C.E. at
the earliest, and even then stories appeared in many
different versions, making it impossible to identify
“defi nitive” tales.
Many of these stories still exist today, some as
a result of an oral tradition that continued through
the medieval and modern period and some because
they were written down by medieval monks. The
Tain Bo Cuailnge (pronounced “toyn bo cooley”),
or “Cattle Raid of Cooley,” is an Irish epic telling
of the rivalry between a king and queen based in
part on the size and quality of their respective herds
of cattle. This story introduces the fearsome Irish
hero Cúchulainn (pronounced “coo-hoo-lin”). The
people of Germany told stories of their gods, such
as the fi erce war god, Thor, and the wise father of
gods, Wodin. The Gauls’ stories also featured a large
cast of deities, some of them borrowed from their
Roman neighbors. Like the ancient Greeks, other
Europeans also honored poets who could tell long
tales of adventure, heroism, and love. Poets could
visit any community with impunity; though many
Europeans were warlike and violent, they welcomed
those who offered them entertainment.ENTERTAINMENT, EUROPEAN STYLE
children: Europe 193Most mothers breast-fed their infants. Women who
could aff ord to do so, such as the nobility, would sometimes
hire wet nurses to feed their babies. Women in ancient times
typically nursed babies for about two years, a practice that
had the eff ect of spacing births because nursing can decrease
fertility. Rates of infant mortality were high. Children less
than two years of age were vulnerable to numerous sick-
nesses, and ancient Europeans had no reliable remedies for
them. Many babies died of diarrhea or respiratory ailments.
Scholars estimate that more than one-quarter of all babies
died before they were a year old. Of those children who