There are eight types of intellectuals, as follows:

Ideal Personality School

This school of intellectuals appeared in the pre-Qin Dynasty, represented by Confucius and Mencius, and could stick to Perfect morals and noble beliefs, serious elitism. For example, Confucius said: "Those who behave themselves with shame, serve in all directions, and do not disgrace the king's orders can be called a scholar." (The Analects of Confucius? Zilu) This means that intellectuals must shoulder the mission of the world and serve the country.

High-ranking and powerful factions

Just like today's famous scholars go to give lectures in various countries around the world, during the Spring and Autumn Period and the Warring States Period, intellectuals also traveled among the monarchs and nobles of various countries. Li Kui first went to the State of Wei and then to the State of Qin; Wu Qi first went to the State of Wei and then to the State of Chu; Su Qin first went to the State of Zhou and then to the State of Yan. Their official positions are getting bigger and bigger, their treatment is getting better and better, and their role in history is also extraordinary.

The faction that participates in and discusses politics

Intellectuals in the Han Dynasty were the most daring to participate in and discuss politics. This may be related to the national policy of "deposing all schools of thought and respecting Confucianism alone" at that time, and also to the Han Dynasty's opposition to empty theories. , It is related to advocating a good academic atmosphere of applying knowledge to the world.

The Qing Tan Wuwei School

The Wei, Jin, Southern and Northern Dynasties were an era of political darkness, social chaos, and economic depression. At this time, people in the intellectual circles were divided into two groups. One group advocated famous religions. , is to play noble, but actually to help those in power. The other group respected the thoughts of Lao and Zhuang, advocating being free and willful, advocating staying away from government affairs and being pure and inactive. The representatives were Ji Kang and Ruan Ji.

The school of fame and wealth

The selection of state cadres through the imperial examination to promote the circulation of personnel and the sharing of benefits among the upper and lower classes of society has been one of the Chinese political systems since the Sui Dynasty. Intellectuals in the Tang Dynasty became The earliest beneficiary of the imperial examination system.

The profound simplicity school

"Be worried about the world first, and be happy after the world is happy" is a famous saying of Fan Zhongyan, a scholar in the Song Dynasty. This sentence reflects the style of that era. Intellectuals in the Song Dynasty could consciously assume political and social responsibilities and made contributions in politics, literature and philosophy.

The Wild and Intemperate School

The Ming Dynasty was a period of deterioration of traditional Chinese autocracy. Many intellectuals were afraid of political persecution and embarked on the path of empty talk; Started a life of laissez-faire.

The school of textual criticism

The "textual criticism" that arose to annotate ancient books was the greatest academic achievement of the Qing Dynasty. Liang Qichao called it a "non-ism movement" (China's nearly three hundred years of academic history), which meant that academic research during this period focused on technology and lacked ideological quality.

The identity, status, and functions of Chinese intellectuals today and in the future are different from those in ancient times. Everyone relies on technology or becomes "technocrats". This is the new generation of intellectuals that meets the needs of modernization. .