Final answer:
To apply the universal concept of status and/or control to Zhang's argument, one can examine the transition from rank to class power in Han society and how the clans used reimagined Confucianism to maintain their status and control. Similarly, Shigenobu's points on Western influence relate to the control of thought and status in societal hierarchies.
Step-by-step explanation:
To apply the universal concept of status and/or control to Zhang's argument, we can look into how these concepts are integral to the power dynamics described. Zhang discusses a new kind of power during the Latter Han times, which was class power based on the ownership and control of capital, land, and labor.
This shift from rank power, which was based on birth, signifies a transition in what constituted status within the society. The clans, in order to maintain and justify their elevated status and control, turned to ideology and organization. They reimagined Confucianism to support their new social structure, underpinning their economic and social control with philosophical and moral legitimacy.
Similarly, Okuma Shigenobu's view on Western influences suggests a nuanced control of people's thoughts and evolution in thinking, pointing toward an intellectual control which influences status within society. In both cases, whether it is through the manipulation of ideology or the ownership of resources, the ability to control is closely linked to the status of an individual or a group within society.