From the Qin Dynasty to the late Qing Dynasty, the Chinese government divided Chinese people into four classes: landlord, peasant, craftsman and merchant. Landlords and peasants constituted the two major classes, while merchants and craftsmen were collected into the two minor ones. Theoretically, except for the position of the Emperor, nothing was hereditary. There was a partial restoration of feudalism when eminent families with large amounts of land and huge number of semi-serfs emerged. These families dominated important civilian and military positions of the government, making the positions available to members of their own families and clans. Since the Tang dynasty, the government reformed the imperial examination system as an attempt to root out this phenomenon.
從秦朝到晚清，朝廷將人民分為四個階級：地主、農(nóng)民、工匠和商人。地主和農(nóng)民構(gòu)成了兩個主要的階級，而商人和工匠們則歸到兩個較小的階級。從理論上講，除了帝位，其他身份都不能世襲（hereditary）。當擁有大量土地和半農(nóng)奴（semi-serfs）的顯赫家族出現(xiàn)時，封建主義（feudalism）就會局部復辟。他們控制著朝廷重要的民事和軍事職位，并將任職這些職位的機會對本宗族的成員敞開。自唐代開始，朝廷改革了科舉制度（imperial examination system），試圖根除這種現(xiàn)象。
