The four divisions of society refers to the model of society in ancient China and was a meritocratic social class system in China, and other subsequently influenced Confucian societies. The four castes—gentry, farmers, artisans and merchants—are combined to form the term Shìnónggōngshāng (士農工商). The concept was first brought up in the Confucian classic Spring and Autumn Annals, and was influential in countries with Confucian influence. It has been adapted into Japanese as "Shi, nō, kō, shō" (士農工商 shinōkōshō), in Korean as "Sa, nong, gong, sang" (사농공상), and in Vietnamese as "Sĩ, nông, công, thương (士農工商).
The ranking of the divisions was influenced by confucianist thinking: The wise ruler was at the top, followed by the farmer who produces the wealth of the society. The artisan only reuses the wealth created, while the merchant only distributes the goods.
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The four divisions are usually given in the following order: gentry, farmers, artisans, merchants; but this does not necessarily imply hierarchy. Different sources have cited the divisions in different order.
Gentry means different things in different countries.
In China, Korea, and Vietnam, this meant that the Confucian scholar gentry that would- for the most part- make up most of the bureaucracy. This caste would contain both the more-or-less hereditary aristocracy as well as the meritocratic scholars that rise through the rank by public service and, later, by imperial exams.
In Japan, this caste essentially equates to the samurai class. In Edo period, with the creation of the Domains (han) under the rule of Toyotomi Hideyoshi, all land was confiscated and reissued as fiefdoms to the daimyo. The small lords, the samurai (武士 bushi), were ordered to either give up their swords and rights and remain on their lands as peasants, or move to the castle cities to become paid retainers of the daimyo. Only a few samurai were allowed to remain in the countryside; the landed samurai (郷士 gōshi). Some 5% of the population were samurai. Only the samurai could have proper surnames, which after the Meiji Restoration became compulsory to all inhabitants (see Japanese name)
Farmers in a largely agrarian society, the farmers occupy a high position in Chinese, Japanese, Korean, and Vietnamese society, at least in theory. Some sources, such as Xunzi, list them before the gentry, based on the Confucian view that they directly contributed to the welfare of the state. In China, the farmer lifestyle is also closely linked with the ideals of Confucian gentlemen, and aging scholars and bureaucrats often retire to a life of farming—again, at least in theory. In Japan's Edo period, the peasants, around 80% to 90% of the population, had to carry the burden of the economy. Taxes were paid in rice, 40% to 50% of the harvest, collected from the village as a community.
The artisans were ranked below farmers, for they only create products from other products.
In Japan, artisans typically lived within larger towns, thus, below the castles towns were divided into four parts: the samurai quarter, the merchant quarter, the artisans quarter, and the hanamachi, where theaters, brothels and gambling dens were located. In the towns, different ways of life developed, with the chōnindō of the artisans and merchants and the bushidō of the samurai.
The merchants were ranked the lowest due to the fact that they do not produce anything, only profit from others' creations. Ironically, the merchant class were more affluent than farmers and artisans and held influence above and beyond their supposed social standing. As early as Spring and Autumn period in China, wealthy merchants have influenced state politics.
The imperial household and the highest hereditary nobility were typically considered separate from the four divisions, whether they held ultimate power, as in much of imperial China, or were mere ceremonial figureheads as in feudal Japan.
In Japan, there were groups that did not even rank amongst the castes. The Burakumin were effectively outcasts, because their occupations were taboo under Buddhism and Shinto. They were undertakers, butchers, and tanners, among other "unclean" trades. The hinin, literally "Non-people", were the second group: travelling minstrels and convicted criminals. Ronin were former members of the samurai class who had lost a master, and therefore their purpose as samurai. In some cases their master died without an heir or the ronin had committed a crime and had been banished from his home domain. As social outcasts with no trade skills, many became drifters, bandits, or joined crime organizations.