Retainers in early China (social group)

Retainers in China from pre-Qin through Han times were a special social group, who lived as dependents under a noble, an officeholder, or a powerful landlord. They were designated binke, (simplified Chinese: 宾客; traditional Chinese: 賓客; pinyin: bīnkè), shike (Chinese: 食客; pinyin: shíkè), menke (simplified Chinese: 门客; traditional Chinese: 门客; pinyin: ménkè). Retainers stayed long-term at the house of their host, were fed by him, and obtained also many other benefits through him, such as money, reputation, social position, appreciation, and so on. In return, a retainer would have rendered certain services to his host. But he was free to come and go, and he could leave when he was not treated politely or when he disapproved of the behavior of his host.

The practice of keeping retainers can be traced back to the Warring States period (ca. 476-221 BCE). Ancient Chinese social structure was changing during this time, the system of feudal states created by the Western Zhou dynasty underwent enormous changes after 771 BCE with the flight of the Zhou court to Chengzhou (modern-day Luoyang) and the diminution of the court's relevance and power. The sovereign (king of Zhou) was merely a figurehead and the social hierarchy which formerly had depended on blood-relationship to the king of the Zhou was severely impacted by the move. The Spring and Autumn period led to a few states gaining power at the expense of many others, the latter no longer able to depend on central authority for legitimacy or protection. During the Warring States period, many rulers claimed the Mandate of Heaven to justify their conquest of other states and spread their influence. The number of retainers one was able to keep seems to have been a status symbol, and keeping retainers also served as a means to augment political power. A retainer could with his own ability and efforts acquire benefits and improve his social status. Therefore, there were lots of noblemen keeping retainers, and some of them kept a maximum of about three thousand retainers.

This pre-Qin practice of keeping retainers was continued in Qin times (BCE 221-207). Li Si 李斯 (BCE 280-208), the imperial chancellor, and Zhao Gao 赵高, the powerful eunuch, each kept a number of retainers.

Having retainers was still very popular in Han times, the largest number of retainers reported for the Han was ca. one thousand. Under the protection of a powerful master a retainer usually was able to avoid the payment of taxes. Furthermore, the government had difficulty in levying labor and military service from the retainers of powerful person. Under the protection of a master some guests engaged I robbery, murder, and other unlawful activities. It seems that there developed a sort of patron-client relationship. The host became more demanding and arrogant, while the retainers became more subservient.

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