Shi as a social group in ancient China

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The word Shi (Chinese 士; Pinyin: shì ) describes one of the politically most influential social classes of early China . Different translations shed light on the different aspects that characterized this group: literati, scholar-officials, gentlemen. In certain contexts, the term can also refer to knights, warriors, officials, aristocrats, etc. Over time, the term developed into a generic term for Chinese intellectuals .

Pre-emperor time

Before the period of springs and autumns

Before the spring and autumn period (i.e. before 770 BC) the society was organized according to strict inheritance or tribal law (Chinese 宗法, pinyin zōngfǎ ). After the royal clan, the feudal lord clan and the clans of the Qing or Dafu dignitaries, the Shi followed at the lowest level in the hierarchy. The Shi were thus at the lowest level of the aristocracy. They were recruited from the descendants of the dignitary clans who were not entitled to inheritance and often served as followers of the Daifu clans, officers of the lower category or warriors. Economically, they were dependent on the rewards of their employers or lived on the rent that was earned with the farmland (Chinese 食 田, Pinyin shítián ).

In general, the Shi were long after the six skills (Chinese 六藝, Pinyin liùyì ), d. H. Rite ( li ), music ( yue ), archery ( she ), chariot driving ( yu ), calligraphy ( shu ) and mathematics ( shu ) educated and trained. That is why the Shi were the carriers of the intellectual foundations for cultural and political development.

Period of springs and autumns

When the royal rights were claimed by the stronger feudal lords from the period of spring and autumn (770–481 BC) and the inheritance or tribal law was undermined, a social downgrading, social downward mobility in the aristocracy and upward mobility found below instead of ordinary citizens. Both types of mobility led to a rapid increase in the number of Shi . The line between the Shi and the common people became indistinct.

Because of the increasing complexity of social organization and the development of bureaucracy, the areas of responsibility of the Shi who were in the service of princes and dignitaries were expanded. So among the Shi there were not only district administrators, officers, political and economic advisers, but increasingly also scholars and even those who served their masters as spies and assassins.

Apart from that, there were Shi who sold their allegiance for protection and maintenance and who also contributed to the prestige of their master through their presence. There was also a strict hierarchical order among the followers (Chinese 賓客, Pinyin bīnkè ). At the end of this period, a few officials from the Shi class moved into the upper positions of the bureaucracy and the nobility, which had become more and more a nobility of merit.

Confucius , who came from a Shi family, formulated the self- image of the newly formed elite in Lunyu , which mainly focused on character formation and moral principles (Chinese 道, Pinyin dào ) as the basic framework of the moral and political order. At around the same time, Master Mo made detailed suggestions for improving the status of the Shi as well as for more and more active political involvement and assumption of political responsibility .

Warring States Period

Since the Warring States period (481 BC − 221 BC), the so-called Hundred Schools had a decisive influence on the character of the Shi class. In contrast to Confucius, Menzius emphasized that although the Shi were politically subordinate to the ruler, they were still morally superior. According to his theory, the relationship between the ruler and the Shi should be based on mutual respect. Xunzi divided the elite of that time into three levels, from bottom to top: scholars ( shì ), rulers (Chinese 君子, pinyin jūnzǐ ) and saints (Chinese 聖人, pinyin shèngrén ).

At the end of this period the number of Shi increased again strongly, while the gradations within the Shi group became more complicated because generalists and specialists coexisted. Compared to the Shi group of the previous period of spring and autumn, however , the Shi now increasingly lacked political, economic and military power. Even so, it was much easier for them to find better employers and a suitable position. The borders between the princely states became more permeable and the so-called wandering Shi (Chinese 遊士, Pinyin yóushì ) emerged, who did not have a permanent or regular position at certain royal courts, but often changed employers. Apart from officials at royal courts, the Shi also hired themselves as tutors, craftsmen, traders or even farmers. In this respect, the “wandering” state characterizes the life and career circumstances of the Shi during this period.

Early imperial times

Qin time

With the unification of the empire by the Qin (221-207 BC) and the establishment of a state system of scholars (Chinese 博士 制度, Pinyin bóshì zhìdù ), the time of the wandering Shi ended. Only the scholars enrolled in state schools could dare to come out with political criticism (Chinese 處 士 橫 議, Pinyin chǔshì héngyì ). Nationalization of training and centralization of employment led to intellectual conformity.

Hanzeit

During the Hanzeit (206 BC −220 AD), the term Shi mainly referred to the highest of the so-called four (professional) classes: public servants (Chinese 士, Pinyin shì ), farmers (Chinese 農, Pinyin nóng ), Craftsmen (Chinese 工, pinyin gōng ) and merchants (Chinese 商, pinyin shāng ). Thus , apart from the imperial hereditary nobility, the Shi formed the highest level of society. With the establishment of the state examination system and the imperial academy, intellectual pluralism was restricted under the warlike Han emperor (Han Wudi, 156–87 BC). The proposal by Dong Zhongshu (179–104 BC) to ban private academies played an important role. This established a new suitable relationship between the Shi and the central state.

There were many opportunities for scholars to join the bureaucracy. For example, one could be accepted as a student by passing staggered exams in the imperial academy. However, scholars could also be recommended by central and local officials. After the candidates in the capital had successfully answered the questions put by the emperor, they were distributed to different positions of the bureaucracy depending on the result of the examination.

Scholars could be rich or poor, descendants of the aristocracy or ordinary citizens. They could be students of well-known scholars, protégés of influential officials, or self-taught. Apart from bureaucracy, Shi still found a livelihood in agriculture, as wage laborers, painters, in bookshops or as merchants.

Towards the end of the Hanzeit and beyond, the influence of individual families and clans became more and more important for social advancement and connected with large estates as an economic basis. The figure and ideal of the learned public servant, however, survived and was reflected centuries later in the term Shi - dafu or Mandarin , the figure of the political elite of the late Empire.

See also

literature

  • Patricia Ebrey: Toward a Better Understanding of the Later Han Upper Class. In: Albert E. Dien [Hrsg]: State and Society in Early Medieval China. Stanford University Press, Stanford, 1990.
  • Robert H. Gassmann: Kinship and Society in Ancient China: Terms. Structures and Process, Lang, Bern; Berlin; Frankfurt am Main; Vienna [u. a.], 2006.
  • Dieter Kuhn: Status and Rite: The China of the Aristocrats from the Beginnings to the 10th Century AD. Heidelberg: Ed. Forum, 1991.
  • Yuri Pines: Envisioning eternal empire: Chinese political thought of the Warring States era. University of Hawaii Press, Honolulu, 2009.
  • Yuri Pines: The everlasting empire: the political culture of ancient China and its imperial legacy. Princeton Univ. Press, Princeton, NJ [et. a.], 2012.
  • T'ung-tsu Ch'ü: Han Social Structure. University of Washington Press, Seattle and London, 1972.
  • Yu Yingshi 余英時: Shi yu Zhongguo wenhua, Shanghai renmin chubanshe 士 與 中國 文化. Shanghai renmin chubanshe, Shanghai, 1987.
  • Zhongguo dabaike quanshu zongbianji weiyuanhui [Ed] 中國 大 百科全書 總編輯 委員會: Zhongguo dabaike quanshu: Zhongguo lishi 中國 大 百科全書 ： 中國 歷史. Zhongguo dabaike quanshu chubanshe, Beijing, 1997, pp. 941-942.

Individual evidence

  1. ^ Yuri Pines: The everlasting empire: the political culture of ancient China and its imperial legacy. Princeton Univ. Press, Princeton, NJ [et. a.], 2012, p. 76.
  2. ↑ Zhongguo dabaike quanshu zongbianji weiyuanhui 中國 大 百科全書 總編輯 委員會 [Ed]: Zhongguo dabaike quanshu: Zhongguo lishi 中國 大 百科全書: 中國 歷史. Zhongguo dabaike quanshu chubanshe, Beijing, 1997, p. 941.
  3. ↑ Zhongguo dabaike quanshu zongbianji weiyuanhui [eds]: Zhongguo dabaike quanshu: Zhongguo lishi, Zhongguo dabaike quanshu chubanshe: Zhongguo lishi 中國 大 百科全書: 中國 歷史. Beijing, 1997, p. 941.
  4. ^ Robert H. Gassmann: Kinship and Society in Ancient China: Concepts, Structures and Process, Lang, Bern [u. a.], 2006, p. 136.
  5. ↑ Yu Yingshi: Shi yu Zhongguo wenhua 士 與 中國 文化. Shanghai renmin chubanshe, Shanghai, 1987, p. 9.
  6. ↑ Dieter Kuhn: Status and Rite: The China of the Aristocrats from the beginning to the 10th century after Christ. Ed. Forum, Heidelberg, 1991, p. 187.
  7. ↑ Zhongguo dabaike quanshu zongbianji weiyuanhui 中國 大 百科全書 總編輯 委員會 [Ed]: Zhongguo dabaike quanshu: Zhongguo lishi: Zhongguo lishi 中國 大 百科全書: 中國 歷史. Zhongguo dabaike quanshu chubanshe, Beijing, 1997, p. 941.
  8. ↑ Yu Yingshi 余英時: Shi yu Zhongguo wenhua 士 與 中國 文化, Shanghai renmin chubanshe. Shanghai, 1987, p. 89.
  9. ^ Robert H. Gassmann: Kinship and Society in Ancient China: Concepts, Structures and Process. Lang, Bern; Berlin ; Frankfurt am Main ; Vienna [u. a.], 2006, p. 136.
  10. ↑ Yu Yingshi 余英時: Shi yu Zhongguo wenhua 士 與 中國 文化. Shanghai renmin chubanshe, Shanghai, 1987, pp. 9-13.
  11. ↑ Dieter Kuhn: Status and Rite: The China of the Aristocrats from the beginning to the 10th century after Christ. Ed. Forum, Heidelberg, 1991, pp. 229-230.
  12. ^ Yuri Pines: Envisioning eternal empire: Chinese political thought of the Warring States era. University of Hawaii Press, Honolulu, 2009, p. 118.
  13. ^ Yuri Pines: Envisioning eternal empire: Chinese political thought of the Warring States era. University of Hawaii Press, Honolulu, 2009, p. 121.
  14. ↑ Yu Yingshi 余英時: Shi yu Zhongguo wenhua 士 與 中國 文化. Shanghai renmin chubanshe, Shanghai, 1987, p. 44.
  15. ^ Yuri Pines: Envisioning eternal empire: Chinese political thought of the Warring States era. University of Hawaii Press, Honolulu, 2009, p. 126.
  16. ↑ Yu Yingshi 余英時: Shi yu Zhongguo wenhua 士 與 中國 文化. Shanghai renmin chubanshe, Shanghai, 1987, pp. 35-44.
  17. ↑ Yu Yingshi 余英時: Shi yu Zhongguo wenhua 士 與 中國 文化. Shanghai renmin chubanshe, Shanghai, 1987, p. 72.
  18. ^ Yuri Pines: The everlasting empire: the political culture of ancient China and its imperial legacy. Princeton Univ. Press, Princeton, NJ [et. a.], 2012, pp. 168–172.
  19. ↑ Yu Yingshi 余英時: Shi yu Zhongguo wenhua 士 與 中國 文化. Shanghai renmin chubanshe, Shanghai, 1987, p. 86.
  20. ^ Yuri Pines: Envisioning eternal empire: Chinese political thought of the Warring States era. University of Hawaii Press, Honolulu, 2009, p. 137.
  21. ↑ Yu Yingshi 余英時: Shi yu Zhongguo wenhua 士 與 中國 文化. Shanghai renmin chubanshe, Shanghai, 1987, p. 78.
  22. ↑ Yu Yingshi 余英時: Shi yu Zhongguo wenhua 士 與 中國 文化. Shanghai renmin chubanshe, Shanghai, 1987, p. 66.
  23. ^ Yuri Pines: The everlasting empire: the political culture of ancient China and its imperial legacy. Princeton Univ. Press, Princeton, NJ [et. a.], 2012, p. 86.
  24. ↑ Patricia Ebrey: Toward a Better Understanding of the Later Han Upper Class. In: Albert E. Dien [Ed]: State and Society in Early Medieval China, Stanford University Press, Stanford, 1990, pp. 50-51.
  25. ↑ T'ung-tsu Ch'ü: Han Social Structure. University of Washington Press, Seattle and London, 1972, pp. 101-105.
  26. ↑ Yu Yingshi 余英時: Shi yu Zhongguo wenhua 士 與 中國 文化. Shanghai renmin chubanshe, Shanghai, 1987, p. 77.