Analysis of Doubts in the Artificers' Record

...thermore, there is nothing in this world that is not bought and sold. Is it not so? If these goods offer no benefit to the people’s practical needs but instead fuel wasteful extravagance, then the bounty of the land will not be distributed widely, the people’s livelihood will not be prosperous, and social customs will inevitably fall into ruin and decay. Trade is a resource; it is a means of aid. One relies on commerceThe original term mao-qian (懋遷) refers to the exchange of goods to balance supply and demand, literally "striving to move" goods from where they are plentiful to where they are scarce. to remedy those areas where the people’s daily necessities are insufficient.

Zhang Zichao says: "Earlier scholars claimed that the author of this RecordThe Kao Gong Ji (Record of Trades), which serves as the "Office of Winter" in the Rites of Zhou. intended to show that the work of artisans was not a lowly or menial pursuit, and for this reason, he included them among the Six OfficesThe liu-zhi (六職) or six administrative branches of the Zhou government. Artisans were classified under the "Office of Winter.". I say this is incorrect.

A state possesses Four Classes of PeopleThe si-min (四民): scholars, farmers, artisans, and merchants. This was the traditional social hierarchy of Confucian thought.; this is the creation of Heaven itself, not something established by human design. Without the farmers, artisans, and merchants, there would be no means to sustain and nourish the population. Without the scholars, there would be no means to provide governance and education—and without governance and education, the work of sustaining and nourishing life could never be successfully fulfilled.

In the era of the Ancient Kings, there were no people who existed outside these four classes, and no affairs that existed outside the Six Offices. This was the reason why no single task was left unmanaged, and no single person failed to find their proper place in society.

Once there are people outside the four classes, and affairs outside the six offices...