Emperor and his advisors (Royal Court)
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Qin Shi Huangdi had total power and control over everyone because he was protected by the aspects of legalism. He would control what the generals did in battle and had every right to start or stop a war at any time. He would treat astronomers the same way he treated musicians and jesters, treated as extra people who were just there for the sake of entertainment. There were no previous titles before the Qin Dynasty Astronomers were treated the same as musicians and jesters. (Sima Qian’s Letters)
Generals, nobles, and workers
The generals would each lead thousands of people in to battle. They followed the orders of the emperors, and only attacked when he game them the go ahead. The emperor picked the generals, and also called upon anyone he saw fit to preform any task necessary at any given moment. Generals lead thousands of people at once in battle. The emperor could call upon laborers to complete any task necessary at any point in time. (http://www.san.beck.org/EC16-Legalism.html)
Artists and Peasants
The musicians, farmers, and peasants were very low on the social ladder. The farmers and peasants were assigned the job of either farming or silk making, which were considered dirty or unhealthy jobs. Farmers needed other higher ranking people to help them retain their farm, because they couldn't get certain materials because they were not allowed to, or didn't have enough money. Musicians were low on the social ladder. They were assigned either the job of farming or silk making.Farmers needed other higher ranking people to help them with their land (Legalism and Huang-Lao Thought)
Slaves and Servitude
The emperor had the ability to take someone who had displeased them and give them the choice of either becoming a eunuch or dying. Most people chose death, because of the utter humiliation that would shame them for the rest of their lives making life seem not worth it anyways. He could also take a person who had committed a crime and castrate them and force them into slavery. A lot of slaves were sent to do long and difficult tasks like building the great wall. If the person displeased the emperor, they can either become a eunuch or chose death. (Sima Qian’s Letters) Slaves could be regular people who had been accused of a crime and were castrated and enslaved. Slaves were sent to do long hard tasks like build the great wall