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Generally the merchant class was viewed with disdain while peasants were viewed with more respect as they were the producers. Scholars were perhaps most expected, and many important posts were held by them. The core of my question is were scholars who did not hold posts considered elites? What about men who failed the civil service exams?

I used ancient China to mean roughly the later half of the imperial era but any answer that applies to pre-20th century China is good.

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There is a lot of relevant material e.g. in Frank Ching's Ancestors: The Story of China Told through the Lives of an Extraordinary Family. I get the sense that failing in the (esp. entry level) civil service exams bore a heavy stigma (as well as loss of important privileges), and many students tried and retried sometimes into their forties. Those who could not make it could still be highly respected in their local communities or become wandering minor scholars. – Drux Feb 17 at 8:50
The scholarly class were looked upon with respect from the Confucianists, but I suppose it depends on how you define elites. Merchant families often tried to have their children take the civil service exams, since it was a point of pride to have a relative who took and passed them. Those who passed and were in civil service had their children take the exams as well, that is how meritocracies are built. – MichaelF Feb 20 at 13:10

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