page_title: Four occupations
section_title: Military
hierarchical_section_title: Four occupations / Unclassified occupations / Military
context_page_description: The four occupations or "four categories of the people" was an occupation classification used in ancient China by either Confucian or Legalist scholars as far back as the late Zhou dynasty and is considered a central part of the fengjian social structure. These were the shi, the nong, the gong, and the shang.
  The four occupations were not always arranged in this order. The four categories were not socioeconomic classes; wealth and standing did not correspond to these categories, nor were they hereditary.
  The system did not factor in all social groups present in premodern Chinese society, and its broad categories were more an idealization than a practical reality. The commercialization of Chinese society in the Song and Ming periods further blurred the lines between these four occupations. The definition of the identity of the shi class changed over time—from warriors, to aristocratic scholars, and finally to scholar-bureaucrats. There was also a gradual fusion of the wealthy merchant and landholding gentry classes, culminating in the late Ming Dynasty.
  In some manner this system of social order was adopted throughout the Chinese cultural sphere.
context_section_description: The social category of the soldier was left out of the social hierarchy due to the gentry scholars' embracing of intellectual cultivation (文 wén) and detest for violence (武 wǔ). The scholars did not want to legitimize those whose professions centered chiefly around violence, so to leave them out of the social hierarchy altogether was a means to keep them in an unrecognized and undistinguished social tier.
  Soldiers were not highly respected members of society, specifically from the Song dynasty onward, due to the newly instituted policy of "Emphasizing the civil and downgrading the military" (Chinese: 重文輕武). Soldiers traditionally came from farming families, while some were simply debtors who fled their land (whether owned or rented) to escape lawsuits by creditors or imprisonment for failing to pay taxes. Peasants were encouraged to join militias such as the Baojia (保甲) or Tuanlian (團練), but full-time soldiers were usually hired from amnestied bandits or vagabonds, and peasant militia were generally regarded as the more reliable.
  From the 2nd century B.C. onward, soldiers along China's frontiers were also encouraged by the state to settle down on their own farm lots in order for the food supply of the military to become self-sufficient, under the Tuntian system (屯田), the Weisuo system (衛所) and the Fubing system (府兵). Under these schemes, multiple dynasties attempted to create a hereditary military  caste by exchanging border farmland or other privileges for service. However, in every instance, the policy would fail due to rampant desertion caused by the extremely low regard for violent occupations, and subsequently these armies had to replaced with hired mercenaries or even peasant militia. 
  However, for those without formal education, the quickest way to power and the upper echelons of society was to join the military.  Although the soldier was looked upon with a bit of disdain by scholar-officials and cultured people, military officers with successful careers could gain a considerable amount of prestige. Despite the claim of moral high ground, scholar-officials often commanded troops and wielded military power.
caption: Ming Dynasty troops in formation
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