Confucianism's four-class system established a hierarchy of occupational classification and was considered a central part of the social structure. The four classes were the "shi" (gentry scholars), the "nong" (peasant farmers), the "gong" (artisans and craftsmen) and the "shang" (merchants and traders), but the four classes were not always arranged in that order.
Anyways, the shi (gentry scholars) were a knightly social order on top of the hierarchy, pretty similar to european lower nobility. They were distinguished by the right to ride chariots and comand battles from them while they served civil functions.
