HIST 270 Primary Source Analysis: The Rise of the Shi

Directions

Work individually. Read both primary sources, answer Questions 1 through 3, and then write the final causal claim. Use specific words or ideas from the sources as evidence. Complete sentences are expected. Allow about 10 minutes.

Read the historical context and both excerpts.
Identify what each source values and what it reveals about the changing position of the shi.
Support each answer with evidence from the source. Short quotations are permitted, but explain what the evidence means.
Export your completed work as a TXT file and submit that file as instructed.

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Student Information

Name

Date

Historical Context

During the Eastern Zhou period, warfare weakened the old political order based on hereditary land and office. The shi had originally occupied the lower ranks of the aristocracy, serving as warriors, retainers, minor officials, and advisers. As states expanded, rulers increasingly needed literate administrators, diplomats, strategists, and teachers. The meaning of shi therefore began to shift toward an educated person whose standing could rest on cultivated character and useful ability.

Both excerpts below come from the Confucian tradition. They are arguments about how people and rulers should behave, not neutral descriptions of everything that happened. Nevertheless, they provide evidence about the values and political opportunities emerging in this period.

Primary Sources

Source A: Confucius, Analects 4.9

About the source: The Analects preserves sayings attributed to Confucius and material transmitted by his followers. In this passage, the translated word “scholar” represents shi.

“A scholar (shi), whose mind is set on truth, and who is ashamed of bad clothes and bad food, is not fit to be discoursed with.”

Confucius, Analects 4.9, translated by James Legge.

Source B: Mencius, Gong Sun Chou I 2A.5

About the source: Mencius was a traveling Confucian teacher and adviser during the Warring States period. Here he tells rulers how to attract talented people to their courts.

“If a ruler give honour to men of talents and virtue and employ the able, so that offices shall all be filled by individuals of distinction and mark, then all the scholars (shi) of the kingdom will be pleased, and wish to stand in his court.”

Mencius, Gong Sun Chou I 2A.5, translated by James Legge.

Analyze the Evidence

1According to Source A, what qualities should define a worthy shi, and how does this challenge an understanding of nobility based primarily on birth and wealth?

Explain what Confucius’s contrast between commitment to truth and concern for clothing or food suggests about the basis of respect.

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2According to Source B, what should a ruler do, and what political advantage would this create?

Identify both the action Mencius recommends and its likely effect on educated advisers.

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3What important limitation should historians remember when using these passages as evidence?

Consider who produced these sources and whether they describe reality or advocate an ideal.

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Final Causal Claim

Using evidence from both sources, answer in 3 to 5 sentences: How did the changing political landscape allow the shi to gain influence in statecraft?

A strong answer should connect the decline of inherited security, the shi’s cultivated abilities, and rulers’ competition for talented advisers.

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Export Your Work

Review your responses, enter your name, and select Export to TXT. Save the downloaded file somewhere you can find it, then submit it as instructed.