WORLD HISTORY

Detailed explanation-1: -The poorest class in Shang society were the peasants, who were mostly farmers. Some scholars believe they functioned as slaves; others believe they were more like serfs.

Detailed explanation-2: -China under the Shang dynasty (about 1750 . . to 1045 . .) was mostly a farming society ruled by an aristocracy whose major concern was war. An aristocracy is an upper class whose wealth is land-based and who passes power from one generation to the next.

Detailed explanation-3: -Merchants were ranked lower because they were seen as unproductive leeches by the Confucians. Merchants could include anyone from street peddlers to entrepreneurs with high influence and wealth. They were assumed to thrive by unethical business practices.

Detailed explanation-4: -Beginning about the fourth century B.C., ancient texts describe Chinese society as divided into four classes: the scholar elite, the landowners and farmers, the craftsmen and artisans, and the merchants and tradesmen.