Page:Brinkley - China - Volume 3.djvu/74

previous dynasty of sovereigns, who had shown themselves incompetent to discharge the task, and thus he became the "Son of Heaven" in the sense of being "the one man whom Heaven delighted to honour as if he were its first-born son, and to whom was delegated the duty of ruling the myriads of the people for their good in harmony with the divine will." Dr. Legge, discussing this part of the subject, says:—

The distinction of all the Chinese community into four classes is very ancient. It is named in one of the books of the Shu as an existing division in the twelfth century, B. C. The four classes were the official or cultured class, the husbandmen, the mechanics or workers, and the traders or merchants. This was a social and a religious distribution of the community; and owing to it there never appeared in China anything like the castes of Brahmanism. The official or cultured class have, all along the line of Chinese history, borne some resemblance to a clerical body. While the feudal system lasted, the members of this class were scions of the princely families of the different States, who had been educated in the schools set apart for them, and the shadowy forms of which we can dimly discern nearly four thousand years ago. When the element of rank disappeared from the community, that of education was developed and took its place. The literati generally became the ruling class, or the class from which, as a rule, the governors of the people should be chosen. They come nearest to our idea of a clerical body; but they are far enough from being priests, or even in any sense ministers of religion, unless when they are exercising some function in connection with State worship. The Emperor himself presides at the highest services