What are "scholars" and "scholar class"?

Scholars refer to scholars in ancient times, and are also the collective name for ancient Chinese literati and intellectuals.

The scholar class is a class formed by this group of intellectuals. As the elite class of society, it pursues the goals of "cultivating oneself, managing one's family, governing the country, and bringing peace to the world." At the end of the Spring and Autumn Period, the scholar class was rising and reached its peak during the Warring States Period. Scholars used their skills to serve the nobles.

Their social occupations are therefore diverse. They may serve as warriors, as governors or retainers of ministers, or as general officials in the courts of emperors and princes and in grassroots administrative agencies. In the middle and late Spring and Autumn Period, scholars as a social class gradually disintegrated.

Extended information:

Scholars learn knowledge, spread culture, respect the king politically, follow the Tao academically, and deal with the relationship between Tao and the king. They participate in national politics and are the creators and inheritors of traditional Chinese culture. As a special identity unique to ancient China, scholars are an elite social group unique to Chinese civilization.

The ancient Chinese scholars regarded "ruling the country and bringing peace to the world" as their life ideals and ambitions. However, the realization of their ideals was by no means easy. The troubled times and the increasingly powerful autocratic centralization after the Song Dynasty caused huge spiritual oppression on them. They have to escape the pressure of the outside world by developing increasingly refined tastes in life. Therefore, the taste of literati is aesthetic, escapist, and non-utilitarian.