How many social classes were in china?

Answer 1

Social classes are divisions of people in society in accordance with their economic status. Ancient China was divided into six social classes.

Rulers:

The Emperor, leaders or other kinds of rulers

Nobles:

The nobles made up the highest-ranking class after the ruling family. They fought in emperor's army, provided weapons, foot soldiers, and chariots. Shang nobles enjoyed life of luxury. They lived in great palaces and spent time on hunting. From hunting they had the oracle bones.

Farmers:

Farmers were the largest social class in Shang society. They worked small plots of land, growing millet, wheat, barley, rice, fruit, vegetables, and nuts. The land was under the control of either the emperor or the nobles. The farmers didn't even get to keep most of their crops. They kept only enough to feed themselves and their families.

Craftspeople:

They formed a small social class. This class included bronze and jade workers, potters, and stonemasons. Bronze workers made the weapons and decorated containers for the emperor and nobles to use in religious ceremonies or simply as symbols of their wealth.

Traders:

Technically, traders ranked below nobles, but above farmers in Shang Society. However, they were always looked down upon as they didn't actually produce goods themselves, merely bought and sold what everyone else made. So naturally, the commoners were angered when they saw merchants and traders extremely rich despite their laziness, when they themselves had nothing. Scholars believe that the Shang traded extensively because the modern Chinese word for merchant is shang ren, which could also mean Shang Men. During the dynasty people mostly traded goods. But they also used cowrie shells, a type of seashell as money.

Slaves:

They were working for some rulers or other people who had a lot of money. For example, they were working in some factory.

Answer 2

China was not an industrial society although there was industry there. This is an important factor in what determined the four socialclasses of China. The social classes were ranked by their importance to society. We will begin with the low end of the totem pole and work our way to the top.

The lowest and poorest class was that of the merchants. These were people who conned people into buying goods they did not need. They were considered to be like parasites as they made their living off other people. It was believed that it took no skill to be a merchants so they had little value in society as they were easily replaces.
The third class was the artisans. These are the people who crafted things with their hands. They are considered skilled which gives them more value than the merchants. Artisans often formed guilds and were respected for belonging to these organizations. Most artisans lived near cities.

The second class was the farmers and peasants. Seven out of ten people belonged to this category. Peasants were considered to be the economic base of the country and were valued as such. This is not to say that they were not taken advantage of and charged high rents and exorbitant taxes. The farmers worked in family agricultural groups. Grains was the chief crop. Farmers owned land and land was highly valued as it was split between sons.

The highest class of people were the scholars and officials. This group of people was given examinations to determine government positions. There were three levels of exams and they were for men only. They were district, provincial, and national. The exams were based of Master Kong's texts. Passing the exams opened the door to the government, a highly respected place. This provided wealth, power, and prestige. Though one could move into this class it was often that it passed on down family lines and these men could afford the best education for their sons which resulted in better exam scores. No more than one out of ten people qualified to be in this class.

Answer 3

Merchants, artisan's, farmers and peasants, and scholars and afficals. The affiacals were top and merchants were bottom. Though farmers were greatly praised at that time.

Answer 4

There were four social classes in Ming society. They were the Shi (gentry Scholars), the Nong (peasant farmers), the Gong (artisans and craftsman), and the Shang (merchants and traders).

Answer 5

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