The idea of broadly classifying social classes into the simin “Four Occupations” of the shi (gentry scholars/bureaucrats), nong (peasant farmers), gong (artisans), and shang (merchants) first appeared in China during the spring and autumn periods. Subsequently, the system of state bureaucracy emerged under the unified empire of the Qing and Han dynasties after the Warring States period. In this context, the policy of Fuguo Qiangbing (“enrich the country, strengthen the military”) was adopted, and the Four Occupations came to be ranked in a manner that discriminated between the different occupations; that is, with the merchants and artisans, who were viewed as inferior, being subject to heavier taxes, as well as being conscripted for military service and excluded from becoming bureaucrats. Thus, discrimination became firmly entrenched in the national attitude of the Han dynasty. (View PDF for the rest of the abstract.)

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