What was the name given to the category of gentlemen in ancient China

The status of a gentleman in ancient China was gained through the attainment of meritorious titles, academic titles, academic ranks and official positions. The whole class of gentlemen could be divided into upper and lower layers. The upper class of gentlemen consisted of those with higher academic or official titles, while the lower class of gentlemen consisted mainly of those with lower academic titles or those who had acquired lower meritorious titles through donations. The upper gentry were clearly superior to the lower gentry in terms of conditions and privileges, but because of the difference in numbers as well as in the level of management, the lower gentry's power touched a much wider area, and they had more communities to manage than the upper gentry.

"The gentry is the prestige of a county, and the scholar is the head of the four peoples." Gentlemen were the leading social group in ancient Chinese society, and gentlemen were usually seen as being able to sit on an equal footing with local officials. Their privileges were mainly reflected in the three aspects of etiquette, law and economy.

Gentlemen have their special name, ornaments, tops and clothing, are different from the ordinary people, but also provides for some special ceremonies and etiquette to highlight the lofty status; only gentlemen can participate in certain ceremonies, such as the official ceremony of the Temple of Literature, the family ancestor worship, the local festivals and ceremonies, and so on.

Gentlemen have privileges in the law, "criminal not doctor" this tradition is widely spread in China. Qing law provides that gentlemen do not have to be punished or convicted of a crime, if they must be sentenced, they need to be removed from the gentleman's status, indicating that it has nothing to do with the gentleman class; due to the status of the gentleman and the general status of the local officials, often the gentleman chastisement from the superior instructor, which can be exempted from the general administrative disposition of the gentleman; in addition, the law is also special to protect the gentleman from the civilian offense to maintain its social status.

The gentry also enjoyed very important economic privileges. Gentlemen were exempted from corvée service, from paying taxes, and from paying taxes on fields up to a certain limit. At the time when the tax is spread into the field tax, the gentleman still has the privilege of exemption from this tax, in addition, this exemption from corvée service, the privilege of exemption from tax also applies to the gentleman's family, but the gentleman is still required to pay a certain amount of field tax and other real estate taxes; some of the gentleman can also get the government's monthly silver.

The gentlemen, as a social group in a leading position and enjoying various privileges, have assumed a number of social responsibilities. They saw it as their duty to promote the welfare and protect the interests of their home towns. They represented local interests to government officials. They undertook many affairs such as public welfare activities, settlement of disputes, construction of public **** projects, and in some cases, organization of regiments and collection of taxes. Their role as cultural leaders included the promotion of all the values of Confucian society and the maintenance of temples, schools and tributes. The influence of the gentry lay more in their administrative districts, and the influence and activities of the upper class gentry would radiate over a larger area. The level of merit of a gentleman also largely implies the extent of his duties.

What the officials did was often very limited, and what the gentlemen did was often a substitute for government affairs. Although the gentlemen were appointed by the government, or assisted the government to do things, to a large extent, the gentlemen acted as an intermediary between the government officials and the local people. Although the gentleman can not be called the agent of the government, but the gentleman undertakes the affairs, especially in the maintenance of the governance of a party, many of the local government is useful; the gentleman group behavior is fundamental to the maintenance of local interests, on behalf of the local interests of the gentleman often disputes with the local officials; as the spokesman for the local community, the gentleman often persuade the local community to listen to their views, in some cases, the gentleman will make use of their own official government influence on the government, and in some cases, gentlemen would use their influence on the government to impose their will on the local government. From the above, it seems that a great deal of local affairs are essentially in the hands of the gentlemen.

(Zhang Zhongli, A Study of the Chinese Gentleman)

1. The following expressions about "gentleman" do not conform to the meaning of the original text ( )

A. In ancient China, the gentleman's status was gained through the attainment of merit, scholarship, academic title and official position, and he was a social group in a leading position.

B．Because of the difference in numbers and in the level of management, the power of the gentlemen of the lower class was much wider, and they had more power to manage the community than the gentlemen of the upper class.

C．The privileges enjoyed by gentlemen in ancient Chinese society were mainly in the areas of etiquette, law and economy.

D．The things that gentlemen did were often substitutes for official government affairs, and to a large extent, they acted as intermediaries between government officials and local people.

2．The following understandings and analyses are in line with the meaning of the original text ( )

A．Gentlemen were leaders and enjoyed various privileges because of their social responsibilities.

B．Because the status of a gentleman was the same as that of a local official, the punishment of a gentleman often came from the superior instructor, and thus the gentleman was exempted from administrative treatment.

C. In ancient China, gentlemen of leading social groups were usually equal to local officials.

D．Only gentlemen were allowed to participate in certain ceremonies, such as the official ceremonies of the Temple of Literature, family ancestor worship, and various local festivals and ceremonies.

3. According to the original text, the following understanding and analysis is incorrect ( )

A．Gentlemen and their families were exempted from corvée service, taxes on ding (丁税), fields and other real estate.

B．In ancient China, the tradition of "not being able to punish the great masters" was passed down as a sign of the legitimacy and continuity of the legal privileges enjoyed by gentlemen.

C．The level of a gentleman's honor meant to a large extent the size of his duties, responsibilities and management rights.

D．Officials were often extremely limited in what they could do, and a great deal of local affairs were essentially in the hands of the gentlemen.

Answer: D. A, the imposition of causality, the two do not constitute a causal relationship. B, the scope of the original text is "gentlemen are exempted from the general administrative disposition". C, the forced conclusion, "seen as" is not the same as a fact. The original text is " >c oo co .ne t.cn group volume d

Gentlemen are usually regarded as equal to local officials".

Analyze: A. It does not match the original text, which reads, "But the gentlemen still had to pay a certain amount of taxes on their fields and other real estate".