As a unique and important social class in the Middle Ages in China, the rise and fall of the scholar can be analyzed from three key levels: the disappearance of the system, the disappearance of the body, and the transformation of concepts.
From an institutional point of view, the scholars prospered before the Tang Dynasty with the soil of the Jiupin Zhongzheng system and the large manor economy, and they had strong control over the land and the township, on which the political and economic power of the family was built. However, with the development of the commodity economy in the Tang Dynasty and the collapse of the equalization system, land annexation was serious, and the land system on which the scholars relied for their survival underwent fundamental changes. At the same time,The implementation of the imperial examination system broke the traditional bureaucratic system based on family lineage as the selection criterionAlthough it did not immediately disintegrate the status of the scholars at first, its openness and mobility gradually weakened the monopoly of political resources by the scholars, and made the members of the scholars begin to attach themselves to the imperial power, accelerating the disintegration of the internal structure of the scholars.
The demise of the flesh was also an important manifestation of the decline of the nobles. After historical turmoil such as the Hou Jing Rebellion, the Destruction of Jiangling, the Heyin Change, and the Huangchao Uprising, the core figures of the Shi clan encountered a large number of **, and the family fault and social relationship chain were broken, resulting in the loss of the original power and influence of the Shi clan. These large-scale social upheavals directly destroyed the physical existence of the scholars, making it difficult for them to maintain the huge social network and interest pattern that had been established for a long time.
The disappearance of ideas marked the end of the era of the scholars. From the Han and Wei dynasties to the Sui and Tang dynasties, the scholars were highly respected for their profound cultural heritage and family style inherited from generation to generation, and the marriage was a symbol of the nobility of the family. However, with the chaos of social order after the Anshi Rebellion, the genealogy of the scholars was confused, the general improvement of the level of culture and education, and the popularization of culture brought about by scientific and technological progress, especiallyThe further improvement of the imperial examination system has made "taking scholars regardless of family background, and marriage without asking about reading" a new social trend. When the way to enter the government and the choice of marriage are no longer restricted by the family, the door style and etiquette advocated by the scholars gradually lose their special value and are integrated into the whole society, and the concept of the scholars is in decline.
The three major elements of the change of the system, the elimination of the body and the dilution of the concept interact with each other, and together constitute the historical picture of the decline and fall of the scholars. By the Song Dynasty, the once prominent scholar families such as Cui Lu, Li Zheng, Wei Du, Pei Liuyang, etc., had fallen silent, and a new era of more emphasis on individual talent and ability had opened, marking the development of Chinese society from a closed aristocratic system to a more flat and open direction.