The Religion of China: Confucianism and Taoism - Patrimonialism, Officialdom and Literati

Patrimonialism, Officialdom and Literati

Unlike eternally divided Europe, China saw early unification and establishment of imperial government with a centralized officialdom. Relatively peaceful centuries in the first centuries of Chinese history meant that military never gained significant authority when the power structure was being formed. This meant that the focus of struggle for political power turned from the distribution of land to the distribution of offices, which with their fees and taxes were the most prominent source of income for the holder. The state depended on the services of those freely removable and non-hereditary officials, rather than on the service of military (knights), like in Europe. The officialdom nonetheless had significant powers, and its vested interests were in preserving the status quo, opposing any reforms or changes, particularly on a governmental level.

For the members of the officialdom, it was their rank, or status, which was of prime importance. The 'superior' man (literati) should stay away from the pursuit of wealth (though not from the wealth itself). Therefore, becoming a civil servant was preferred to becoming a businessman and granted a much higher status class. Literati did not care about the wealth, although they could and did care about their status. As Weber wrote: