The ancient Chinese terms "Three Teachings" and "Nine Schools" refer to those
who care about you.
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This is a very complex issue. There are "Three Teachings and Nine Schools," "Nine Schools and Ten Families," and even different classification methods. I'll just start with the "Three
Teachings and Nine Schools." We often see the term "Three Teachings and Nine Schools" in ancient novels, usually with a derogatory connotation. However, the original meaning of "Three Teachings and Nine Schools" refers to various schools of thought in religion and academia, encompassing all walks of life in ancient China. It represents a vast and diverse world, full of wonders, and is not intended to be positive or negative.
The Three Teachings
refer to the traditional Confucianism, Buddhism, and Taoism.
"Shi" refers to Buddhism, and "Dao" refers to Taoism, which is self-explanatory. As for Confucianism, it's generally considered a school of thought. During the reign of Emperor Wu of Han, Dong Zhongshu proposed "dismissing all other schools of thought and exclusively honoring Confucianism." Later, to distinguish it from Huang-Lao Taoism, Confucianism was formalized as a religion, becoming Confucianism as a religion. During the Northern and Southern Dynasties, Confucianism was called the "Sacred Religion," and Confucius was revered as its founder. The term
"
Nine Schools" originates from the "Treatise on Literature" in the Book of Han. It's called "schools" because social forms are like water, changing and branching—a natural law and a manifestation of one's own will. Ban Gu, in the Book of Han, divided the various schools of thought during the Spring and Autumn Period into nine schools:
Confucianism, Taoism, Mohism, Legalism, School of Names, Miscellaneous School, Agricultural School, School of Diplomacy, and Yin-Yang School.
Therefore, "Nine Schools" also broadly refers to various schools of thought.
Furthermore, "Nine Schools" has two meanings: one is a general term for academic schools, as mentioned above; the other is a division of social groups, which I will discuss later.
The Ten Schools:
The Ten Schools are based on the Nine Schools, adding "novelists" to the existing system. Novelists are listed separately because writing novels often caters to readers' tastes, contradicting the core principle of "expressing one's own will."
The Upper Nine Schools, Middle Nine Schools, and Lower Nine Schools: We know that in ancient society, people were generally divided into four classes: scholars, farmers, artisans, and merchants. Later, as occupations became more specialized, four classes were insufficient, leading to nine classes, the "Nine Schools." Still, nine classes were inadequate, resulting in 27 sub-classes, forming the Upper, Middle, and Lower Nine Schools. This is the social division of the Nine Schools.
The Upper Nine Schools are the highest level of people, and the Lower Nine Schools are the lowest. Each branch has various interpretations; here, we only adopt one interpretation. It should be noted that this division is a historical specificity and does not represent my personal opinion.
The Upper Nine Classes: Emperors, Sages, Hermits, Immortals, Scholars, Warriors, Farmers, Artisans, and Merchants.
These are the elite at the top of the social pyramid. Whether in ancient or modern times, you needed either an exceptionally powerful family background, to succeed through the imperial examinations, or exceptional talent coupled with a disdain for worldly affairs, leading you to become a hermit.
There's another classification of the Upper Nine Classes, adding Buddha and Immortals before Emperors, with some reductions and variations in the later categories—too complex to elaborate on here.
The Middle Nine Classes: Scholars, Doctors, Fortune Tellers, Painters, Scholars, Musicians, Chess Players, Monks, Taoists, and Nuns.
These are professions with specialized skills and refined tastes, but not quite reaching the highest levels of officialdom. Scholars like those who passed the county-level imperial examinations have a promising future; with effort, reaching the Upper Nine Classes is not impossible.
Other classifications of the Middle Nine Classes are not significantly different and will not be discussed further here.
The lowest of the low: witchcraft, prostitution, shamanism, clapper talk, barber, wind instrument player, actor, street vendor, candy seller.
These professions are truly not fit for respectable social standing. Only people at the bottom of society would do them. They had no choice but to do them to survive. What else could they ask for?
First-rate shaman: refers to a sorcerer; superstitious people would invite him to their homes to draw a talisman and prepare holy water to exorcise ghosts if their homes were considered unclean.
Second-rate prostitute: refers to both overt and covert prostitutes; prostitutes were often associated with courtesans, and romantic scholars often enjoyed spending time with these young women.
Third-rate shaman: refers to a charlatan who performed rituals to heal people, not the same as a highly respected figure in a particular profession today.
Fourth-rate night watchman: refers to a night watchman, the one in TV dramas who bangs a gong and shouts "Dry weather, be careful of fire!"
Fifth-rate barber: in ancient times, barbers carried their tools around, and can still be seen in rural areas today.
Sixth-rate musician: these were people hired to play musical instruments and sing for weddings and funerals.
Seventh-rate actor: refers to a performer on stage; in ancient times, regardless of the type of opera one sang, anyone who performed on stage was considered a lower-class person.
Eighth-rate street vendor: these were members of the Beggars' Gang.
Ninth-rate candy seller: refers to someone who makes sugar figurines; candy is a favorite among children.
Look, these people from the lowest rungs of society, like night watchmen, barbers, and musicians, are truly indispensable in life. As for prostitutes, actors, and beggars, who does it willingly?
Of course, from today's perspective, professions aren't divided into different classes, but people should have a sense of propriety and shame. Some become prostitutes or beggars out of necessity, but others are simply lazy, and that's why they deserve to be stuck in the lowest rungs of society their whole lives.
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