Information about the "Shi" class in ancient China: hierarchy, social status, feudal system, representative figures, etc.

Shi - Shidafu is a collective term for the bureaucratic humanistic intellectuals of ancient China. It was an elite social group, and the Chinese system of selecting officials (referred to as the "imperial examination system") was the institutional guarantee for its formation. They were not only direct participants in national politics, but also creators and inheritors of Chinese culture and art. This is a social group unique to Chinese civilization.

History

Origin: Spiritual Sources

The class of "Shishi" appeared at a very early stage, and referred to people with a certain degree of talent. They often came from poor families or fallen nobles, and relied on their own skills to attach themselves to the nobles and provide them with various services.

The Spring and Autumn period and the Warring States period were characterized by frequent wars. The famous and rich lords and nobles of various countries, such as Chun Shen Jun and Meng Chang Jun, were all in the fashion of "keeping soldiers", up to thousands of people, and they also compared each other to show off. The allusion to "Mao Sui's self-recommendation" shows that there was no special standard for a "scholar" at that time, and even a person who claimed to be talented could persuade the nobles to become a "scholar".

Confucius was the one who put forward the theoretical standard of "scholar". In the Analects of Confucius, Zilu, Zigong asked, "How can I call myself a scholar? Confucius replied: "line his own shame, so that in the four directions do not dishonor the king's order, can be called Shi carry on." That is to say, as long as the strict self-discipline, loyalty to the emperor and love of the country can be called "Shi". Confucius' concepts of "scholar" and "gentleman" basically overlap.

This spirit of the "scholar" was practiced more as a "warrior". For example, Jing Ke, who failed to assassinate the king of Qin, made a bold statement before he set out: "The wind is swift and the water is cold, and the brave man will never return." This boldness and purity of character, who would pay the price of his life for the mission entrusted to him by the king, has been taken as a model of spirituality. This is also consistent with Confucius' claim.

Formation: Institutional safeguards

Dong Zhongshu of the Han Dynasty persuaded the then Emperor Wu to implement the policy of "dismissing the hundred schools of thought and honoring only the Confucians". From then on, Confucianism, as practiced by Confucius and his disciples, began to become the dominant philosophy of the subsequent dynasties. (Note: The status and importance of Confucianism varied from generation to generation.)

Confucius' doctrine encouraged intellectuals to "enter the world", i.e., to serve the king and the state by directly participating in politics as officials. In the Han Dynasty, the system of selecting officials was not yet perfect, and it was mainly for the royal nobles to recommend talents of high moral character to enter the government. For example, it was common for people who were famous for their filial piety to be selected as officials. Examinations were not mandatory.

The famous "Seven Sages of the Bamboo Grove" emerged during the Wei, Jin and North-South Dynasties. They had both high literary and artistic attainments, as well as high moral integrity, but on the one hand, they were wild and unrestrained. Many of them would rather die drunk than work in the corrupt court. This kind of spirituality is a kind of useful supplement to Confucius' "scholar", that is, if the politics is dark, then because they do not want to be part of the dirt and stay away from politics, and get drunk on literature and art, which is also in line with the conduct of "scholar", that is, "hidden". "This spirit can also be found in the philosophy of Lao Zhuang. This spirit can also be found in the philosophy of Laozhuang.

While the imperial examination system existed during the Sui and Tang dynasties, it became known as the only way to select government officials after the Song dynasty. The development of Cheng-Zhu rationalization in the Song Dynasty further strengthened and developed Confucianism and took the mainstream of the philosophy. The improvement of the imperial examination system made the cultural examination the only legitimate way to become an official. The mottos "to be a scholar is to be an official" and "to be a scholar is to be superior" began to be known as the maxims believed in by the scholarly people. On the other hand, a government official had to be a cultured person who had studied the Confucian classics. This political system ensures that the "scholar-official" group is necessarily an elite class of intellectuals.

In this way, the inheritance of the spirit of philosophy was guaranteed by the system, and the class of "scholars" should be said to have been formally formed in the Song Dynasty.

Development: two ways forward and two ways back

The vast majority of the "scholars" had the lofty moral mission of "worrying about the world first, and rejoicing after the world's happiness" (Fan Zhongyan). Therefore, politics is their first priority in life; but at the same time, their cultural literacy also determines that they are the inheritors and creators of traditional Chinese culture, such as literature, calligraphy, painting, seal carving, antique collection, etc.

Politics is a very important part of the Chinese culture.

A typical example is "literati painting", which was vigorously promoted by Emperor Huizong of the Song Dynasty due to his personal hobby. This further enhanced the cultural taste and artistry of painting.

After the Song Dynasty, most of the great poets, painters and calligraphers of the past dynasties were also officials who had held important positions in the government. Such as Su Shi, Mi Fu, Cai Jing and so on. Like Li Bai in the Tang Dynasty, not much political experience, all based on poetry and literature famous "free intellectuals" is almost extinct. This situation continued until the end of the Qing Dynasty.

Decline: the demise of the imperial examination

Since the scholarly class and the "imperial examination system" go hand in hand, then the demise of the imperial examination system also means that the scholarly class political system to protect the lack of.

Politics in the late Qing Dynasty (late 19th century, early 20th century) was already facing a total collapse amidst internal and external problems. The imperial examination system became more and more backward in the trend of western learning, and became a "bottleneck" that bound the talents. The forced opening up of the country opened the eyes of Chinese readers to new knowledge and new ways of acquiring it.

September 2, 1905, Cixi Oracle expressly advised: "Since the beginning of the C Wu Section, all the township exams are stopped. The yearly examinations in all provinces will also be stopped. This not only marks the imperial examination system of a thousand years of extinction, but also on China's education, culture has produced significant changes. "Shidafu" from now on also became an empty "Shidafu complex", and no longer have the actual status of the historical term. The monopoly of knowledge, culture, and art by the "scholar" no longer exists.