Xi is a concept corresponding to the term slavery in ancient China .
Value
It is first found during the Shang (Yin) dynasty , in the XIV-XI centuries BC. e., in fortune-telling inscriptions , as the name of a tribe living in the north of the state of Yin. In the same inscriptions, the term "si" is used to refer to persons captured. Apparently, even then, by "si" they meant captive slaves. Later, already in the Zhou era, in the XI-III centuries BC. e., the concept of "si" was widely used to mean slavery.
Literature
Duman L. I. "On the role of slavery in the Yin era", in the collection "China, Japan", Moscow, 1961.
Guo Mo-jo, “A Study of the Ancient Society of China,” Beijing, 1954.