Social Stratification. Chinese society was stratified during the Tang dynasty, as it had been in previous dynasties. The shi (scholar-official class), which derived its social prestige and economic wealth not only from family inheritances but also from the academic degrees earned by men who passed the civil service examinations and obtained subsequent official appointments, was the top stratum of society. The nong (peasantry), which was the primary taxpaying body and bulk of the Chinese population, came next in the social strata. Occupying the level just below that of the nong were the gong (artisans). They were the secondary taxpayers and producers of goods. On the bottom of the social structure was the shang (merchant class), whose members were condemned as social parasites. Discriminated against and restricted by imperial policies, they had been despised by the general public...