During the Han dynasty, Confucius' ideas had a great influence on daily life as well as the political procedures of the state. The social hierarchy was largely based on these beliefs. “Confucians imagined that learned officials worked hard so that the ruler would reinforce a moral economy in which the profits of greedy merchants would be minimal. » It was believed that the inhabitants of the empire would not be selfish by attempting to achieve personal profit most of the time. However, the Han dynasty was not actually ruled this way. The early Han dynasty “perpetuated powerful elites.” Educated civil servants did not have the social rank necessary to establish a morally correct economic system. The elite class of imperials and nobles constituted the top of the social hierarchy, followed by high-ranking officials and scholars. The social rank of the people of the Han dynasty did not correspond to that considered ideal by the Confucians. People's ideas about social structure varied from the reality of