Glossary · Term
Sumptuary law
A sumptuary law is a law that restricts consumption, such as clothing or luxury goods, often according to social rank. Merchants were subject to sumptuary restrictions. These reflected the Confucian view that merchants ranked below farmers.
Mentioned in 1 profile
See also
Cite this entry
- APA
- The Epoch Institute. (2026). Sumptuary law. In The Epoch Institute Encyclopedia. https://the-epoch-institute.org/encyclopedia/sumptuary-law
- MLA
- “Sumptuary law.” The Epoch Institute Encyclopedia, The Epoch Institute, 2026, https://the-epoch-institute.org/encyclopedia/sumptuary-law. Accessed .
- Chicago
- The Epoch Institute. “Sumptuary law.” The Epoch Institute Encyclopedia. 2026. https://the-epoch-institute.org/encyclopedia/sumptuary-law.
- Harvard
- The Epoch Institute (2026) ‘Sumptuary law’, The Epoch Institute Encyclopedia. Available at: https://the-epoch-institute.org/encyclopedia/sumptuary-law (Accessed: ).
Last reviewed October 2026Random entry ↻