In terms of social class, the civilizations of Mesopotamia and Egypt were somewhat close. They both featured a class system where it was possible to perhaps rise from the position that one was born in. Usually this could be done through marriage, or great financial gain. The only problem was, it might have been difficult to marry someone from a higher class because their family might not have approved. Also, to gain great financial gain requires a good business, and most people in that time were too busy just trying to get bread on the table rather than to think about money making schemes. However, while it might have been difficult to do, it was at least possible to rise or fall in social class.
The greatest difference between Mesopotamia and Egypt were in the central figures. While they both had a main figurehead (king/Pharaoh), there was a small difference. The King kept himself separated from the religious duties by sharing power with priests directly. In Egypt, the priests for the most part were lower than the Pharaoh, who played both a king and a spiritual leader; at least until the New Kingdom when power somewhat shifted more onto the Priest’s hands.
In ancient India, things were a tad bit different. The people were born into what is known as a caste system. Unlike the Meso/Egypt social orders, a caste system was all but impossible in gaining a higher social status, when people were born into a social order, or caste, that’s where they stayed for life. Now, it was possible to be dropped down a step in the caste, but the people’s dependency on their social classes aid was so great that to lose a level of a caste could mean death, as no one from any class would dare to take care of you. In a way there was only one way to really rise in a caste system, and that was to be so virtuous that you would be reborn into that higher system (Hinduism).
Ancient China was another class-related state in the ancient world. The people were led by central figureheads, followed by a small class of social elites, just like the other previous civilizations. For the early part of its life, however, there was one thing that distinguished it from other cultures. From the Xia times through the late Shang era, women were actually more recognized in their societies. Though still not as prominent as men, they were at least honored with temples dedicated to them. Also, while men in the patriarchal society were seen as leaders and important figures, they usually earned these rights through “virtue of the female line of their decent.” In this way, at least women were treated a little better than in other civilizations. However, from the Shang dynasty on, women slowly began to lose any power they might have had as men of militaristic minds began taking center stage.
One other important part of Chinese class culture was ancestor veneration. While Egyptians built cities to honor their dead, those dead were stilled considered in another world and out of reach of the living. In China, the ancestors were a vital link between heaven and the people. Please them, and good fortune will come. Anger them, and lord oh lordy, heaven may smite you down with a fierce storm of retribution. It was because of this that the family focused so much on pleasing their ancestors and treating the dead with great respect.
I have seen little evidence in the book describing whether the Chinese class system had the possibility of climbing ranks, so I’m going to go with my own intuition. I think the lower class of peasants were similar to later Surfs of Russia, that is they were to work the lands of wealthier men and probably were looked down upon if they tried to rise to a higher position. The smaller elites however, could probably rise to higher and higher positions, if they were well educated and from influential families with ties to higher officials.