When it comes to Sinology, one cannot avoid discussing the “Three Teachings,” and when speaking of the “Three Teachings,” it naturally leads to the “Nine Schools” or “Nine Streams,” collectively known as the “Three Teachings and Nine Streams.” The initial origin of the term “Three Teachings and Nine Streams” was very positive. The earliest record of the “Three Teachings” originates from a conversation between Sun Quan of the Three Kingdoms period and the scholar Gan Ze, mentioning Confucianism, Daoism, and Buddhism. The earliest mention of the nine schools or streams can be found in the “Han Shu: Catalogue of Arts and Literature,” where 189 schools of thought are included, but the most important were nine: Confucianism, Daoism, Mohism, Legalism, the School of Names, Yin-Yang School, the School of Diplomacy, Eclecticism, and Agrarianism. This was actually a general reference to China's major religions and various academic schools after the Han Dynasty.
In the minds of ordinary people, “Three Teachings and Nine Streams” has actually become a euphemism for different social roles of varying status. Influenced by vernacular novels of the Ming and Qing dynasties or current TV dramas, when people speak of the three teachings and nine streams today, they understand it as those who wander through society and engage in various less reputable or lowly professions, often with a pejorative connotation. However, this is not entirely accurate. The division of people in Chinese history began during the Shang and Zhou dynasties, with the four occupations of scholars, farmers, artisans, and merchants, which continued for thousands of years. Later, as the classifications became more detailed, the categorization of “Three Teachings and Nine Streams” emerged. Aside from the three teachings being uncontroversial, there is no consensus on the nine streams, and later, nine streams were insufficient for classification, evolving into 27 types of professions, divided into upper, middle, and lower categories. This is referred to as the upper nine streams, middle nine streams, and lower nine streams, but there is no unified explanation, and various versions exist.
So what do the upper, middle, and lower twenty-seven strata of the popular “Three Teachings and Nine Streams” refer to?
Let's start with the upper nine streams: “First-class is the Buddha, second-class is Heaven, third-class is the Emperor, fourth-class is the official, fifth-class is the chancellor, sixth-class is the prime minister, seventh-class is the scholar, eighth-class is the imperial examination candidate, ninth-class is the provincial examination champion.” First-class refers to the Buddha of Buddhism; second-class Heaven refers to the Jade Emperor, a rank higher than the earthly emperor; below the emperor are the grand counselors, senior officials with long service, such as teachers to the emperor; the prime minister is the head of the cabinet officials who assist the emperor in handling daily state affairs; then it is divided down level by level, and finally, the provincial examination champion is the first-place winner in the provincial imperial examinations. In folk memory, the most well-known is Tang Yin (also known as Tang Bohu), who at the age of 29 placed first in the Nanjing provincial examination – provincial examination champion. The following year, he was implicated in the case of exam fraud involving the Jinyin Xu family during the capital examination, was imprisoned by imperial decree, and demoted to a minor official position. After suffering this severe setback, he became dissolute and unrestrained. Only under the advice of Zhu Yunming did he strive to study, specialize in painting and calligraphy, and become one of the “Four Masters of Wu” in the Ming dynasty.
Now let's discuss the middle nine streams: “First-class scholar, second-class physician, third-class painter, fourth-class puppeteer, fifth-class singer, sixth-class fortune-teller, seventh-class monk, eighth-class Taoist, ninth-class chess player and musician.” This section mostly comprises ancient literary and artistic workers and scientific and engineering technical personnel: scholars must at least understand literature, doctors are medical experts, and other painters, puppeteers, singers, and chess players are now categorized as culture and sports, all relatively legitimate professions for earning a living.
Finally, let's talk about the lower nine streams: “First-class stage performer, second-class musician, third-class acrobat, fourth-class barber, fifth-class bathhouse worker, sixth-class masseur, seventh-class tailor, eighth-class animal breeder, ninth-class prostitute.” These are essentially service industries, including bathhouse workers, masseurs, foot massage therapists, knife grinders, umbrella repairers, and pickled vegetable sellers… all self-sustaining people from the lower class.
There is another version of the lower nine streams that deserves attention, called “First-class scribe, second-class bailiff, third-class weigher, fourth-class matchmaker, fifth-class soldier, sixth-class charlatan (swindlers and witches), seventh-class thief, eighth-class burglar, ninth-class prostitute.” A scribe is a counselor or aide to an official; a bailiff does specific tasks for the official; a weigher manages logistics and measurement standards, which can be quite lucrative; soldiers are security personnel or errand runners. In ancient times, there was a significant difference between “official” and “bureaucrat.” Only those who passed the imperial examinations were considered officials, while bureaucrats were hired, assembled by the principal officials themselves on a financial package basis, so scribes are ranked among the lower nine streams; matchmakers, who often exaggerate facts, are perceived as lacking honesty; “charlatans” engage in various swindles, making fake goods, setting up traps like “fairy jumps,” or other fraudulent activities. This version has a humorous tone, expressing dissatisfaction with those professions that have large profits but often abuse their power, thus placing them alongside illegal individuals, such as charlatans, thieves, and prostitutes.
One point to explain here is why the “robber” is ranked higher than the “thief,” despite the former being brazen and the latter sneaky. Petty theft is not classified within any stream because it lacks a “way,” is rascally, and disregards right and wrong, much like a nuisance; however, robbers are different. “Robbers also have their code,” and major robbers have their own set of rules, for example, they would not flirt with their friends' wives, would repay debts, and might even plunder the rich to help the poor. Chinese culture is very interesting, and the classification of robbers and thieves is just one example.
During the Yuan Dynasty, the government categorized its conquered subjects into ten detailed levels based on their professions, known as the “ten streams”: First, officials; Second, bureaucrats; Third, monks; Fourth, Daoists; Fifth, physicians; Sixth, craftsmen; Seventh, artisans; Eighth, prostitutes; Ninth, scholars; Tenth, beggars. The Yuan rulers, conquerors on horseback, despised intellectuals, ranking scholars below prostitutes, similar to how intellectuals were “stinking old nines” and Confucianism was the main target of criticism during the “Cultural Revolution.”
The study of “Three Teachings and Nine Streams” can be seen as “folklore Sinology,” reflecting the common people's concepts of right and wrong, and the knowledge contained therein is actually quite profound.