AP US History

Answer - B - Merchants were at the bottom of the Confucian social hierarchy because they did not produce anything.
Key Takeaway: Because merchants were not part of the traditional scholar elite, they were not valued in Confucian society. Artists had a higher status because they produced things of value for the growing population, but merchants were considered to be nonproductive members of society, only buying and selling goods. As such, merchants did not interact with the Mandarin elite or have any say in the imperial court.