Scholar-officials - Shitaifu

Generally, this term refers to the upper class in old Chinese society. It is said that in ancient times there were five classes: the son of heaven, the lords, the nobles, the scholars, and the commoners. However, excluding the son of heaven and the nobles, who were both large and small rulers and were special, the nobles and scholars were the ruling class, and were in conflict with the commoners, who were the ruled class. Under the unified state of the Han dynasty, the distinction between scholars and commoners disappeared, but a new distinction was made between officials and the people, and the position of official became hereditary, and they were called the warrior class, and an era of aristocratic politics centered on the Six Dynasties emerged. After the Song dynasty, the hereditary aristocracy fell into decline, and instead a bureaucratic class was formed through the imperial examination system, and they were called scholar-officials, readers, etc. Among them, both learning and refined hobbies were valued, and for example, the paintings they painted as a hobby were called scholar-officials paintings (literati paintings) and were more highly esteemed than paintings by professional artists. This situation continued until the end of the Qing dynasty.

[Miyazaki City]

Source: Shogakukan Encyclopedia Nipponica About Encyclopedia Nipponica Information | Legend

一般に、旧中国社会で上流階級をさす語。古代には天子、諸侯、大夫、士、庶民の5階級があったと伝えるが、天子、諸侯は大小の君主で特別なものであるから除外すると、大夫と士が支配階級であり、被支配階級の庶民と対立した。統一国家、漢の下で士と庶民の別がなくなったが、新たに官吏と人民との別が生じ、官吏の地位が世襲的となり、士族と称せられ、六朝(りくちょう)を中心とする貴族政治の時代が出現した。宋(そう)代以後になると世襲貴族が没落し、かわって科挙による官僚階級が形成され、士大夫、読書人などと称せられた。彼らの間では学問とともに高雅な趣味が尊ばれ、たとえば彼らが余技として描く絵画は士大夫画（文人画）とよばれ、職業画家の絵よりも高く評価された。この形勢は清(しん)末まで続いた。

［宮崎市定］

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