Question

In Confucianism's four-class system, which group sat at the top of the hierarchy?

Answer 1

Hello there,
The 4 classes were:
gentry and scholars (shi)
peasant farmers (nong)
craftsmen (gong)
shang (merchants)

The top of the hierarchy was occupied by the shi

Hope this helps :))

~Top

Answer 2

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.