The Global Conundrum of Caste or Economic Segregation: Chapter 11.
In the traditional Chinese hierarchy, the Shang (merchants) occupied the lowest tier. They were the equivalent of India’s Vaiśya or Baniya castes. Confucian philosophy viewed trade with deep suspicion. Merchants did not produce physical goods. Instead, they accumulated wealth by moving items made by others.
Therefore, the state systematically blocked them from converting economic wealth into political power. This subjection was codified through dress codes, travel bans, and civil service exclusions. A wealthy merchant could buy land. However, they could never purchase political sovereignty.
This relationship has remained unchanged for over two thousand years. In China, wealth generation earns no independent standing. It stays legitimate only while serving state priorities. The moment a merchant’s power threatens state authority, subordination follows. This is true whether the tool is an imperial edict or a regulatory review.
The Silicon Shang
In the early twenty-first century, China’s tech entrepreneurs created massive global empires. Western observers assumed this wealth would lead to political liberalization. However, the Chinese Communist Party quickly reasserted its traditional authority.
The modern tech sector represents the new Silicon Shang class. Like their ancestors, they remain strictly subordinate to the state.
The crackdown on Didi Global in 2021 illustrates this dynamic.1 Didi was listed on the New York Stock Exchange on June 30, 2021. Within days, the Cyberspace Administration of China opened a cybersecurity review. Regulators ordered Didi’s application pulled from Chinese app stores. They cited violations of personal information laws.
Twenty-five more of Didi’s apps were removed shortly after. Regulators had supported the initial listing process. However, listing abroad without state clearance triggered the swift penalty.
Preemptive Retirement
Other tech founders chose to retreat rather than face the state’s wrath. Pinduoduo’s Colin Huang and ByteDance’s Zhang Yiming abruptly retired in 2021.2 Real estate billionaires like Pan Shiyi and Zhang Xin did the same.
Stepping back from active leadership became a survival strategy. They absorbed their subordination in advance to protect their companies.
Antitrust penalties also targeted market dominance itself. Alibaba received a record 2.75 billion dollar fine for monopoly violations.3 Authorities planned similar actions against food delivery giant Meituan.
Regulators summoned top executives for public “self-examination” sessions. This ritual of submission is built directly into state procedures.
In 2023, Evergrande’s founder Xu Jiayin was placed under police surveillance.4 This occurred as his massive property development company collapsed under debt. The state has since moved to dismantle his remaining holdings.
The Case of Jack Ma
The most famous example of merchant subordination is Alibaba’s founder, Jack Ma.5 Ma founded Alibaba in 1999 and became China’s richest man. His fall began in October 2020 at a Shanghai summit. He publicly criticized Chinese financial regulators as outdated and risk-averse.
Days later, Beijing suspended the $37 billion IPO of Ant Group, his fintech company, which would have been the largest public offering in history.
Ant Group was forced to restructure under central bank oversight. It eventually paid close to a billion dollars in penalties. Ma stepped down from Alibaba’s board in 2020 and largely vanished from public view. He spent over two years absent from public life, traveling abroad during this period.
Ma returned to mainland China in 2023. This coincided with the government softening its tech sector stance. His rehabilitation was gradual and controlled. By early 2026, he took an informal strategic role at Alibaba again.6 He advised on the company’s artificial intelligence initiatives. In March 2026, he appeared alongside Alibaba’s current leadership at an education event in Hangzhou.
Pop Mart and Realigned Wealth
Ma’s wealth did not return to its previous peak. In 2025, Pop Mart founder Wang Ning overtook him.5 This shift occurred during the global Labubu doll craze.
Ma’s net worth remains restricted to a smaller stake in Alibaba. He holds roughly three to four percent of Alibaba directly, while his larger 9.9 percent stake belongs to Ant Group.78 He is no longer allowed to act as the public face of Chinese wealth.
Wealth without Power
The lesson of the modern tech sector is clear. In China, wealth does not translate into sovereign power or even corporate power. The Communist Party maintains the ancient Confucian order. The Shi (state officials) govern the state. The Shang (merchants) must remain submissive. This structural logic defines the Chinese state, society, and economics.
From China, the focus proceeds to Arabia. The next chapter explores the tribal and clerical hierarchies of Arab societies, which represent another form of caste hierarchy.
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