page_title: Four occupations
section_title: Entertainers
hierarchical_section_title: Four occupations / Unclassified occupations / Entertainers
caption_attribution_description: English: The Dahuting Tomb (Chinese: 打虎亭汉墓, Pinyin: Dahuting Han mu; Wade-Giles: Tahut'ing Han mu) of the late Eastern Han Dynasty (25-220 AD), located in Zhengzhou, Henan province, China, was excavated in 1960-1961 and contains vault-arched burial chambers decorated with murals showing scenes of daily life. For further information, see the Baidu article (in Chinese): 打虎亭汉墓. Click here for more pictures and a step-by-step walkthrough of the tomb, from the outside, down a stairwell, and through the vaulted burial chambers.
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: Entertaining was considered to be of little use to society and was usually performed by the underclass known as the "mean people" (Chinese: 賤民).
  Entertainers and courtiers were often dependents upon the wealthy or were associated with the often-perceived immoral pleasure grounds of urban entertainment districts. Musicians who played music as full-time work were of low status. To give them official recognition would have given them more prestige.
  "Proper" music was considered a fundamental aspect of nurturing of character and good government, but vernacular music, as defined as having "irregular movements" was criticised as corrupting for listeners. In spite of this, Chinese society idolized many musicians, even women musicians (who were seen as seductive) such as Cai Yan (ca. 177) and Wang Zhaojun (40-30 B.C). Musical abilities were a prime consideration in marriage desirability. During the Ming dynasty, female musicians were so common that they even played for imperial rituals.
  Private theatre troupes in the homes of wealthy families were a common practice.
  Professional dancers of the period were of low social status and many entered the profession through poverty, although some such as Zhao Feiyan achieved higher status by becoming concubines. Another dancer was Wang Wengxu (王翁須) who was forced to become a domestic singer-dancer but who later bore the future Emperor Xuan of Han.
  Institutions were set up to oversee the training and performances of music and dances in the imperial court, such as the Great Music Bureau (太樂署) and the Drums and Pipes Bureau (鼓吹署) responsible for ceremonial music. Emperor Gaozu set up the Royal Academy, while Emperor Xuanzong established the Pear Garden Academy for the training of musicians, dancers and actors. There were around 30,000 musicians and dancers at the imperial court during the reign of Emperor Xuanzong, with most specialising in yanyue. All were under the administration of the Drums and Pipes Bureau and an umbrella organization called the Taichang Temple (太常寺).
  Professional artists had similarly low status.
caption: Depiction of a dancer from the Eastern Han dynasty, Dahuting tomb mural
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