Four occupations

The system did not factor in all social groups present in premodern Chinese society, and its broad categories were more an idealization than a practical reality. The commercialization of Chinese society in the Song and Ming periods further blurred the lines between these four occupations. The definition of the identity of the shi class changed over time—from warriors to aristocratic scholars, and finally to scholar-bureaucrats. There was also a gradual fusion of the wealthy merchant and landholding gentry classes, culminating in the late Ming dynasty.

In some manner, this system of social order was adopted throughout the Chinese cultural sphere. In Japanese it is called "Shi, nō, kō, shō" (士農工商, shinōkōshō), and the three under the samurai class were equal social and occupational classifications, while the shi was modified into a hereditary class, the samurai. In Korean it is called "Sa, nong, gong, sang" (사농공상; 士農工商), and in Vietnamese is called "Sĩ, nông, công, thương" (士農工商). The main difference in adaptation was the definition of the shi (士).