The gentry, or landed gentry in China was the elite who also held additional privileged status through passing the Imperial exams, which made them eligible to hold government office. These literati, or scholar-officials, (shenshi 紳士 or jinshen 縉紳), also called 士紳 shishen "scholar gentry" or 鄉紳 xiangshen "local gentry", held a virtual monopoly on office holding, and overlapped with an unofficial elite of the wealthy.
The gentry, or landed gentry in China was the elite who also held additional privileged status through passing the Imperial exams, which made them eligible to hold government office. These literati, or scholar-officials, (shenshi 紳士 or jinshen 縉紳), also called 士紳 shishen "scholar gentry" or 鄉紳 xiangshen "local gentry", held a virtual monopoly on office holding, and overlapped with an unofficial elite of the wealthy.
Source: Wikipedia "Landed gentry in China" · CC BY-SA 4.0
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