During the Warring States Period, scholars could be seen everywhere from the royal court to the bottom of society. Exploring the activities of this class is very helpful for a deeper understanding of the social life of the Warring States Period, especially politics and culture. .

1. Classification of scholars

In the Warring States literature, there are more than a hundred types of titles and special nouns centered on "shi". The complexity of the class also shows that their activities cover all corners of society. In order to distinguish different scholars, people at that time began to classify scholars into "strategists" and "warriors". , "Skillful Scholars" and "Envoys". "Shang Jun Shu·Suan Di" divides scholars into "Talk-talking Scholars", "Character Scholars", "Warrior Scholars", "Skilled Scholars" and "Merchant Scholars". "Zhuangzi·Xu Wugui" divides scholars into "knowledge scholars", "arguers", "investigators", "recruiters", "people-centered scholars", "strength scholars", and "brave scholars" , "Scholars of war", "Scholars of haggard", "Scholars of law", "Scholars of ethics", "Scholars of benevolence and righteousness", etc. According to the characteristics, social status and other circumstances of scholars, they can be roughly divided into three parts: < /p>

(1) Warriors are divided into different categories. The first category is the country’s armed forces, which have various titles due to their different skills, duties, arms, and nationalities: "Scholar", "trainer", "smart man", "elite man", "good man", "man with a halberd", "man who shoots and controls", "man with skill", "man with strong skills", "Swordsmen", "Dead warriors", "Armor warriors", "Priests", "Common warriors", "Legal warriors", etc. are called chivalrous warriors in classics. ", "Jiushi", "Ranger". The characteristics of these people are that they act bravely when they see justice and die for those who know their friends. The third category is "Hercules", which refers to those who are strong and brave.

(2) Scholars. Volume 7 of "Han Shi Wai Zhuan" says: "A gentleman should avoid three things: the writing skills of scribes, the cutting edge of warriors, and the tongue of debaters. "Those who operate the pen are called scribes here. In fact, all educated people, including debaters, can be called scribes. As early as the beginning of the Warring States Period, Mozi had divided the characteristics of scribes and the different types of scribes. He said that virtuous people Scholars are "those who are rich in virtue, good in speech, and knowledgeable in Taoism" [1]. Virtue, speech, and Taoism should be said to be the classification of scribes. There are no less than thirty or forty kinds of titles for scribes in the historical records of the Warring States Period. These dozens of titles can generally be classified into the following categories: The first category can be called the moral type. This type of scholar regarded moral cultivation as the goal. Therefore, many people at that time defined the scholar in terms of moral character. Or to summarize the characteristics and essence of a scholar. For example, Confucius said: “A scholar is determined to follow the Tao. "[2] "Lu's Spring and Autumn Annals: Correcting Names" records the dialogue between Yin Wen and the King of Qi: "Yin Wen said: 'There is someone here today. When you serve your relatives, you are filial, you are loyal when you serve your emperor, you are trustworthy when you make friends, and you are estranged when you live in your hometown. Can a person with these four practices be called a scholar?’ King Qi said, ‘This is really what we call a scholar. '" The titles of moral people include: "tongshi", "gongshi", "straight man", "lofty man", "monk", "good man", "believer", "honest man", "strong man" , "gentlemen". The second category can be said to be intelligent. These people focus on knowledge and application, and have the following titles: "literary people", "magic people", and "wisdom people". ”, “a wise man”, “a man of law”, “a man of public debate”, “a man of lobbying”, “a man of wandering eunuchs”, “a scholar”, “a skillful man”, “doctor”, “ Wise men", "virtuous men", "strategists", "people who can do anything", "people who are in danger", etc. Hermits can be said to be an appendix or a combination of the above two categories. This type of scholar does not do anything for various reasons. Not being an official does not mean that all hermits do not care about the national economy, people's livelihood, and social and political affairs; on the contrary, some hermits have made many comments on the pros and cons of current affairs, and even put forward systematic theories, and have become the talk of the family. Some hermits have a high reputation in society, and they are nobles. There are also some hermits who are employed by envoys repeatedly but refuse to accept them. Their seclusion is just a matter of waiting and watching. There are also the following titles that are the same as or similar to "hermits": "lay scholar", "virgin scholar", and "recluse". People from valleys, people from rivers and seas, people from caves, people from noble lives, people from high places, people who live in idleness, etc. The third category can be called skill type. This group of people can be divided into skills There are three parts: the scholar, the merchant, and the alchemist. The craftsman refers to a person who has a skill and special skills. "Shang Jun Shu·Shu Di" says: "The talent of a craftsman lies in his hands." "Han Fei Zi Xian Xue" said: "Today's business officials and skilled people also eat without cultivating land." "Merchant refers to those engaged in industry and commerce.

For example, Guan Zhong and Bao Shu did business in their early years. Fan Li is a typical example of scholars who became rich through business. Zigong was both a scholar and a big businessman. Bai Gui during the Warring States Period was also a famous taxi and businessman. In the Warring States Period, there was a saying of "merchants". "Shang Jun Shu·Shu Di" said: "The qualifications of merchants lie in the body." Alchemy refers to divination, witchcraft, fortune telling, feng shui, and seeking elixirs. Taxi people. For example, "Xunzi · Fei Xiang": "There was a Tang Ju in Liang Dynasty. He could tell the good or bad luck and auspiciousness of a person by looking at his shape and color." During the Warring States Period, this type of scholars were quite active, and some participated in state affairs. "There was a man in Jing who was good at looking at people, and he had nothing left to say. When he heard about it in the country, King Zhuang saw it and asked him." [3] After the unification of Qin Shihuang, "he summoned many literary scholars in order to bring peace. Alchemists wanted to practice in order to find strange medicines." "[4].

(3) Low-level officials. Some low-level officials are called "scholars". Specifically, there are the following situations: One is that the subordinate officials of judicial officers are called "Shi". "Mencius: King Hui of Liang II" contains: "Judges cannot govern scholars, so what?" "Shishi" refers to high-level judicial officials. Officials and "shi" refer to officials at a higher paper level. The second type refers to the grassroots officials who are close to the people. This kind of scholar has his own place of governance. For example, "Fei Qiao" says: "The scholar has no time to govern his government." "Guanzi·Eight Views" calls "Liwei" "shi". The third type is generally referred to as various genus officials. "Book of Rites·Sacrifice": "Common people have no temples." Note: "Common people belong to government officials."

There are also some that are difficult to classify. Such as "warrior", "national scholar", "excellent scholar", "junshi", "martyr", "hero", "car scholar", "capital scholar", etc. Through the above classification, we can see the complexity of the composition of scholars and their wide distribution in society, which shows that scholars are the most active class in society.

2. The status of scholars in society

Since the composition of scholars is very complex, their social status cannot be the same. Therefore, the social status of scholars can only be examined from different levels.

(1) The relationship between scholars and hierarchy

In the Spring and Autumn Period, scholars were basically a level in the hierarchy. By the Warring States Period, major changes had taken place in the hierarchy. The Qin Dynasty established twenty ranks of military nobles on the basis of the old hierarchy, making the hierarchy more complex and thorough. The situation of the six countries in Shandong is not very clear, but generally it is developing in a complicated and sophisticated direction. Another feature of the hierarchy during the Warring States Period was the inclusion of the people, and the emergence of civilian nobility. In the hierarchy of the Warring States Period, shi was not entirely a hierarchical concept, but was related to rank.

In the government regulations and orders, except for the 20th rank of the Qin Dynasty, which regarded "gongshi" as the first level, there is no explicit provision of "gongshi" as a level in various countries in Shandong. However, in many writings at that time, scholars were often treated as a specific level.

The sequence of common people - scholars - officials - princes - three princes - emperor described in many chapters of "Mozi" can be regarded as both an administrative system and a hierarchical system.

When discussing etiquette and customs such as weddings, funerals, clothing, and food, more works regard scholars as a specific level between officials and common people [5] (). Mencius buried his mother differently from his father. He used three tripods for his mother's funeral and five tripods for his father's funeral. The reason is that "a scholar was used in the front and a doctor was used in the back" [6]. This example shows that there is a clear distinction between scholars and officials.

In social living habits, people also regard scholars as a specific class. "Xunzi King System": "Farmers, scholars, workers, and merchants." "Mencius Li Louxia": "If you kill the people without guilt, the officials can go; if you kill the people without guilt, the officials can move . ”

In addition, in the books of scholars, there are also records of the subdivision of scholars. "Mozi·Jie Burial" records: "Shangshi is buried." The so-called "shangshi" is obviously different from corporal. In "Xunzi Zhenglun", scholars are divided into two categories: Yuanshi and common people. Before the Spring and Autumn Period, scholars were divided into different ranks; the records of the Warring States Period are probably just relics of history.

From the perspective of the historical development of the Warring States Period, shi was a period of transformation from rank to social class. Classes are regulations explicitly decreed by the government or established by common law. Social class is different from rank. It is formed by many factors, the most important of which is the way of social activities. However, in a hierarchical society, classes cannot but be affected and restricted by class. Therefore, customarily, people still regarded scholars as a higher level than civilians. This was a phenomenon that occurred during the period of transition.

(2) Scholar-officials

“Scholar-officials” is a new concept that emerged during the Warring States Period. [7] Prior to this, scholars were ranked behind the officials. In the classics of the Warring States Period, "dafushi" is still used to express the rank sequence.

"Xunzi·Lun on Rites" records: "The great officials have Chang Zong." "Lu's Spring and Autumn Annals·Shang Nong" contains: "Therefore, the emperor personally led the princes to cultivate the emperor's land, and the great officials all had meritorious deeds." The appearance of the official and the scholar-bureaucrat It seems that it is just reversed, but it actually reflects a major change: dafushi emphasizes rank; scholar-officials refers to class, which is characterized by a mixture of intellectuals and bureaucrats. In other words, whether before the Spring and Autumn Period or the Warring States Period, a doctor refers to a person with a certain official position and title, and his social status is higher than that of a scholar. Why have scholars often been crowned before officials since the Warring States Period? This is the result of the rise of the bureaucracy and the rise of scholar-officials. Some people who were born as scholars relied on their talents to rise to the top, and a number of civilian ministers emerged. On the other hand, the officials in the Warring States Period were also different from those in the Spring and Autumn Period. Most of the officials in the Spring and Autumn Period were entrusted by clans and were hereditary. During the Warring States Period, the doctor was evolving into a position and title in the bureaucracy. Most of the officials were no longer entrusted by clan members, nor were they hereditary. Most of them were promoted by scholars. "Scholar-bureaucrat" is the conceptual reflection of the above situation. Judging from the times, this concept only became popular after the middle of the Warring States Period. From a connotation perspective, scholar-bureaucrats mainly include the following two aspects:

First, it refers to officials and people with positions. "Book of Zhou Li Kao Gong Ji" says: "Those who sit down and talk about Taoism are called princes. Those who do things are called scholar-bureaucrats." In modern terms, scholar-bureaucrats are functional officials. "Mo·Zi··Three Bian" criticizes "the scholar-bureaucrats are tired of listening to and governing". This refers to all officials in general. "Warring States Policy: Qin Policy II" records: "All the scholars and officials congratulate you." The scholar-officials here refer to the ministers of the Chu court and the king's right and left. "Xunzi·Wang Ba" says: "Farmers divide their fields and cultivate, businessmen divide their goods and sell them, laborers divide their duties and advise, scholar-bureaucrats divide their duties and listen." The scholar-bureaucrat here refers to all those who are in office. "The Way of the King" also said: "Determine the order according to virtue, assign officials according to their abilities, and make people carry out their duties and do what they are suitable for. The superior virtuous makes them the three princes, the inferior virtuous makes them princes, and the inferior virtuous makes them Being a scholar-bureaucrat is why he is a prominent official. "Scholar-bureaucrats refer to officials below the princes. Civil servants are called scholar-bureaucrats, and military officers are also called scholar-bureaucrats. "Xunzi·Yi Bing" records: "The drum will die, the emperor will die in the bridle, hundreds of officials will die in their duties, and the scholar-bureaucrats will die in the ranks." "Wu Zi·Li Shi": "So (Wei) Wuhou There is a temple and court for the three lines to cater to the scholar-bureaucrats."

There is no clear definition of which level of officials are called scholar-bureaucrats. According to some materials, they are mostly middle- and upper-level bureaucrats. "Xunzi·Junzi" said: "The sage king is at the top, and he distinguishes righteousness and conducts it at the bottom. Then the scholar-bureaucrats will not engage in prostitution, the officials will not be negligent, and the common people will not have treacherous habits." Here, the scholar-officials are placed. Above hundreds of officials. "The Way of the King" lists scholar-bureaucrats before "officials and teachers". Officials and teachers are the leader of hundreds of officials. The chapter "Strengthening the Country" says: "When great achievements have been made, the king will enjoy the achievements, and the ministers will enjoy the achievements. The scholar-bureaucrats will benefit from their titles, the officials will benefit from their rank, and the common people will benefit from their wealth." "Zheng Lun" says: "The nobles and nobles will be honored and tribute will be paid. The salary is high and the situation is favorable. The top is the emperor and princes, and the bottom is the ministers and scholar-bureaucrats. "The above materials all show that scholar-bureaucrats are relatively high in the bureaucratic hierarchy. Because scholar-bureaucrats were relatively senior officials, they enjoyed different landownerships. "Xunzi · Honor and Disgrace" said: "Aspirations, practice, and official governance can help the superiors to obey the superiors and the inferiors to maintain their positions. This is the reason why scholar-bureaucrats take land." "On Rites" records that scholar-bureaucrats occupy land. The number of fields and towns is different, "those who have the land of five vehicles" and "those who have the land of three vehicles". Some scholar-officials seemed to have private soldiers. "Warring States Policy·Qi Ce Five": "The equipment of armor and soldiers is the private place of officials, and the hiding place of scholar-bureaucrats..."

Second, it refers to literati with a certain social status.

After Qi Mengchangjun lost power, his disciples left one after another. These disciples were called "Shi" in "Historical Records·Biography of Mengchangjun", and in "Warring States Ce·Qi Ce IV" when describing the same event, they were called "Shi" "Scholar-bureaucrat". "Han Feizi·Gui Shi" records: "Today's scholar-bureaucrats are not ashamed of dirt and ugliness and become official officials." This means that scholar-bureaucrats are appointed as officials without virtue. Here, scholar-officials and officials have two different meanings. Scholar-officials refer to educated people. It can be seen that scholar-bureaucrats can refer to bureaucrats who are in office, intellectuals who are not in office, or both. From this time on, scholar-bureaucrats formed a special group in Chinese history. They are the product of a combination of intellectuals and bureaucracy, a glue of the two.

(3) Scholars and common people.

"Guoyu Qiyu" records that Guan Zhong governed Qi and implemented the separation of the four peoples, namely scholars, farmers, industry and merchants. "Gu Liang Zhuan" also has the theory of the Four People in the AD AD: "In ancient times, there were four people: scholars, merchants, farmers, and workers." But in general, there is a difference between scholars and people. Belong to different levels.

There are still many examples of the distinction between scholars and people in the records of the Warring States Period. For example, "Xunzi·Chen Dao" says: "The people are close to the people, and the scholars believe in them." "Guanzi·Five Assistants" says: "Those who are good at politics...the scholars and the people The nobles value martial arts and are cheap for profit. The common people like farming but hate food, so they have enough money." Here, the scholars and the common people are divided into two groups. The former refers to warriors and is brave in martial arts; the latter is devoted to farming. However, during the Warring States Period, "scholars and common people" and "scholars and common people" became two generally popular concepts. In some old annotations, scholars and common people are often divided into scholars and common people, and scholars and common people. This division is not unreasonable, but judging from a large number of records, scholars and common people have become fixed phrases. There are some people in society who are both scholars and citizens. "Mencius Li Lou Shang" said: "The emperor is unkind and cannot protect the world; the princes are unkind and cannot protect the country; the ministers and officials are unkind and cannot protect the ancestral temple; the scholars and common people are unkind and cannot protect the four bodies." "Guanzi Da Kuang" contains : "If you have a fault and the official does not admonish him, if a scholar or common man does good deeds but the official does not make progress, you can be punished." From these records, it can be seen that the scholar and common people are regarded as the same level.

The main occupations of the scholars and the people were farming and fighting. "Lü's Spring and Autumn Annals: A Review of Filial Piety" records: "If the scholars and the people are filial, the plowing will be diseased and the war will be strong." "Han Feizi: First Meeting with the Qin Dynasty" records Zhao Changping's During the war, Qin "learned that its soldiers and people were under Changping". "Mozi Ci Guo" says: "If the military revolution is not stopped and the soldiers and the people do not work, they will not be conquered." In the article, the soldiers and the people actually refer to the same thing, and they are both engaged in farming and warfare. Scholars and people are the majority of the country's residents, so "Xunzi Zhishi" summarizes: "The country is where the scholars and people live... When the country loses power, the scholars and people will leave."

There are two types of scholars and common people. The popularity of the concept reflects the integration of scholars and people. In the changes in society, a considerable number of scholars fell to a status no different from that of the common people, namely the so-called "civilians in common clothes" and "civilians."

(4) The relationship between scholar-gentlemen and learning and morality

Scholar-officials are the upper echelons of scholars and those who have entered official careers; scholar-miners are the lower class of scholars, and their status is the same as or different from that of the people. Not much. Between the upper and lower levels, there is an intermediate level. This group of scholars are not as high as officials and are not serving the people. They take learning and advocating morality as their own responsibility. Confucianism has discussed this issue the most. Zilu asked Confucius: "How can we call him a scholar?" Confucius said: "To be honest? If you are happy, you can be called a scholar. If you are a friend, you can be a brother." [8] Confucius also said: "A scholar cannot be without great perseverance. , The responsibilities are heavy and the road is long.” [9] “It is not enough for a scholar to live in his heart.” [10] Zi Zhang said: “When a scholar sees danger, he thinks of righteousness, sacrifices, and mourning. "[11] The basic requirements for scholars in these discussions can be summarized as follows: first, scholars should take academic and moral cultivation as their own responsibility; second, they should have lofty ambitions and ambitions; third, they should regard being an official as their future. Be loyal to your duties. Mencius' requirements for scholars were roughly the same as Confucius's. The prince asked Mencius: "What is the matter with a scholar?" Mencius said: "Shangzhi." He also said: "A scholar does not lose his righteousness when he is poor, and he does not deviate from the Tao when he achieves it. He does not lose his righteousness when he is poor, just like a man has achieved what he has achieved; when he achieves his level, he does not deviate from the Tao, so the people do not lose his righteousness. Disappointed." [12] He also said: "Those who have no permanent property but have perseverance are the only ones who can do it." [13] Xunzi's requirements for scholars are to obey etiquette and justice. "Cultivation of the Body" says: "If you practice the Dharma well, you are a scholar." The Dharma here refers to etiquette. Xunzi believed that the duty of a scholar is to be upright. “A person with upright character will give up his dignity to be humble, his wealth to be poor, his wealth to be poor, his color will be black and white, but he will not lose his place, so that the order of the world will not end. The article is not useless!" [14] Other scholars also closely connected scholars with morality.

The gentleman is an important concept that expresses the morality of a scholar. Judging from the existing literature, the first person to use this concept was Mozi. In "Mozi", the term "gentleman" has two meanings. One of them refers to middle- and lower-level officials. As "Mozi·Shang Tongzhong" says: "Today, the kings, nobles and gentlemen of the world, please make your country rich. To unite its people, govern its punishment and administration, and determine its country..." The second one refers to intellectuals. "Mozi Tianzhi 1" contains: "Today, there are countless books written by scholars and gentlemen, and words cannot be used to describe everything. The superiors speak of princes, and the inferiors speak of scholars. They are far from each other in terms of benevolence and righteousness." In the hands of Xunzi, scholars Gentleman has completely become a term indicating the degree of morality and knowledge. "Xunzi·Zidao" contains a dialogue between Confucius and his disciples. Zilu said: "A wise man makes others know themselves, and a benevolent man makes others love themselves." Confucius said: "It can be called a scholar." Zigong said: "A wise man knows others, and a benevolent man loves others. "The Confucius said: "The scholar is a gentleman." Yan Hui said: "The wise know themselves, and the benevolent are self-loving. . "Evil Nature" says: "There are people who know like saints, there are people who know like scholars and gentlemen, there are people who know like villains, and there are people who know like servants.

"Cultivation" said: "A gentleman does not neglect the Tao because of poverty." "Honor and Disgrace" said: "The place of righteousness is not to give in to power, not to care about its benefits, to be respected by the whole country and not to change it, to value death, to uphold righteousness and not to be disrespectful. This is the courage of a gentleman." ”

In summary, as mentioned above, scholars are distributed in every corner of society. They can be ministers at the top, or civilians or commoners at the bottom. The social status and occupation of scholars vary widely, but there is unity in the differences, that is, Knowledge, morality and courage. These things are intangible, but they are ubiquitous and necessary in social activities. Scholars rely on these intangible things to travel in every corner of society.

Is this okay?

Zhang Yi, Shang Yang, Han Fei

Shi is an aristocratic class since the Zhou Dynasty and is the lowest level of the nobility

The enfeoffment system of the Zhou Dynasty stipulates that there are four levels of nobility: The emperor, princes, officials and scholars

The above three levels all have certain land. The land of the whole country belongs to the emperor. The emperor grants vassal states to the princes, and the princes grant towns to the officials. However, the scholars cannot occupy the land. This is what Mencius calls "no permanent property"

But the scholar class also has its own noble dignity. Wearing a sword is a symbol of nobility, so no matter how poor a scholar is, he must wear a sword because it represents his nobility. Dignity is what Mencius calls "perseverance"

During the Warring States Period, the status of the scholar class improved. During the Spring and Autumn Period, some officials and retainers who lived in the scholar class held great power, such as those in the Confucius era. Yang Hu, in the Warring States Period, scholars were mainly divided into several types: scribes, warriors, scholars and counselors. You can guess their expertise based on their names

These scholars were attached to the officials and princes , advise them, which is what we call disciples. The master provides them with food and accommodation, and they must be loyal to the master. But they are definitely not slaves, because they enjoy personal freedom. If the master loses power or treats him badly, he will You can choose to leave

The four young masters of the Warring States Period all had the habit of keeping customers, and they often had three thousand customers. Anyone who steals amulets from Xinling County to save Zhao Zhong's chickens, dogs, and thieves is a scholar. As long as he has a skill, he is a scholar

Scholars later developed into farmers and small landowners

In Confucius’ teachings, scholars were given the important task of managing the country. Confucius believed that scholars at that time were the hope of the Zhou Dynasty

The gentry that emerged after the Eastern Han Dynasty were very different from the gentry in the Zhou Dynasty

The gentry class lasted until the Western Han Dynasty. Han Xin’s counselor Kuai Tong was a gentry