Four occupations

The four occupations or "four categories of the people" (simplified Chinese: 士农工商; traditional Chinese: 士農工商 ) was a hierarchic social class structure developed in ancient China by either Confucian or Legalist scholars as far back as the late Zhou Dynasty and is considered a central part of the Fengjian social structure (c. 1046–256 BC). In descending order, these were the shi (gentry scholars), the nong (peasant farmers), the gong (artisans and craftsmen), and the shang (merchants and traders). In some manner this system of social order was adopted throughout the Chinese cultural sphere. In Japanese it is called mibunsei (身分制) and is sometimes stated as "Shi, nō, kō, shō" (士農工商,, shinōkōshō), in Korean as "Sa, nong, gong, sang" (사농공상), and in Vietnamese as "Sĩ, nông, công, thương (士農工商). The main difference in adaptation was the definition of the shi (士).

The system did not figure in all other social groups present in premodern Chinese society, and its broad categories were more an idealization than a practical reality. The commercialization of Chinese society in the Song and Ming periods further blurred the lines between these four hierarchic social distinctions. The definition of the identity of the shi class changed over time, from an ancient warrior caste, to an aristocratic scholarly elite, and finally to a bureaucratic scholarly elite with less emphasis on archaic noble lineage. There was also a gradual fusion of the wealthy merchant and landholding gentry classes, culminating in the late Ming Dynasty.

Shi (surname)

Shi ([ʂɨ])) is the romanization of several Chinese surnames, including 石, 史, 師, 時, 士, and 施. Several of these are common Chinese surnames. Five other variations are listed as variations in the Hundred Family Surnames - 張 唐 傅 崔 師 - but these are written in traditional Chinese, a character set no longer used in mainland China. As with other family names in Asian cultures, the surname is written before the given name.

士

Shì in Pinyin.

石

Shí in Pinyin.

Shi (poetry)

Shi and shih are romanizations of the character 詩 or 诗, the Chinese word for all poetry generally and across all languages.

In Western analysis of the styles of Chinese poetry, shi is also used as a term of art for a specific poetic tradition, modeled after the Old Chinese works collected in the Confucian Classic of Poetry. This anthology included both aristocratic poems (the "Hymns" and "Eulogies") and more rustic works believed to have derived from Huaxia folk songs (the "Odes"). They are composed in ancient Chinese, mostly in four-character lines. In such analysis, "shi" poetry is contrasted with other forms such as the Chu-derived "ci" and the Han-era "fu". This use is not common within Chinese literature, however, which instead classifies these poems into other categories such as "classical Chinese poetry", "Field and Garden" poetry, and "curtailed" poetry.

Forms

Gushi

Gushi, literally "Ancient Poetry", may be used in either of two senses. It may be used broadly to refer to the ancient poetry of China, chiefly the mostly anonymous works collected in the Confucian Classic of Poetry, the separate tradition exemplified by Qu Yuan and Song Yu's Songs of Chu, and the works collected by the Han "Music Bureau".

Class (education)

A class in education has a variety of related meanings.

It can be the group of students which attends a specific course or lesson at a university, school, or other educational institution, see Form (education).

It can refer to a course itself, e.g., a class in Shakespearean drama.

It can be the group of students at the same level in an institution: the freshman class; or the group of students which graduates from the institution at the same time: the Class of 2005 (cf. alumnus/a). The term can be used in a slightly more general context, such as "the graduating class."

It can also refer to the classroom, in the building or venue where such a lesson is conducted.

In some countries' educational systems (such as Taiwan's), it can refer to a subdivision of the students in an academic department, consisting of a cohort of students of the same academic level. For example, a department's sophomores may be divided into three classes.

In countries such as the Republic of Ireland, India, Germany, and in the past Sweden, the word can mean a grade: 1st class is ages 4–5, 2nd class is ages 6–7, 3rd class is ages 8–9, 4th class is ages 9–10, 5th class is ages 10–11, 6th class is ages 11–12, and 9th class is ages 14–15.

Social class

Social class (or simply "class"), as in a class society, is a set of concepts in the social sciences and political theory centered on models of social stratification in which people are grouped into a set of hierarchical social categories, the most common being the upper, middle, and lower classes.

Class is an essential object of analysis for sociologists, political scientists, anthropologists, and social historians. However, there is not a consensus on the best definition of the "class," and the term has different contextual meanings. In common parlance, the term "social class" is usually synonymous with "socio-economic class," defined as "people having the same social, economic, or educational status," e.g., "the working class"; "an emerging professional class." However, academics distinguish social class and socioeconomic status, with the former referring to one’s relatively stable sociocultural background and the latter referring to one’s current social and economic situation and, consequently, being more changeable over time.

New South Wales 85 class locomotive

The New South Wales 85 class were a class of 10 electric locomotives built by Comeng, Granville between May 1979 and July 1980 for the Public Transport Commission.

When introduced they were the most powerful locomotives in Australia with a rating of 2,880 kW. Based at Lithgow depot they were purchased principally to haul coal trains over the Blue Mountains line. They also hauled other freight trains and on occasions passenger services including the Indian Pacific.

Following the Illawarra line being electrified in 1986, 85s began to operate coal trains from Lithgow through to Port Kembla. They also occasionally hauled coal services from Glenlee Colliery on the Main South line to Port Kembla and Rozelle. They did not operate on the Main North line although in 1993 all were hauled to Taree for repainting at Landsdowne Engineering.

A combination of National Rail electing to use diesel locomotives on electrified lines and a move to an open access model in New South Wales resulting in electric traction being priced out of the market saw the need for electric traction drop. In April 1998, the 85 class were withdrawn and stored at Lithgow.