The second half of
上品无寒门，
下品无势族, from the memorial in which
刘毅 asked the Western Jin court to abolish the Nine-Rank system, kept in his biography in the
晋书. The
中正 officials who graded candidates came from great families themselves and graded by birth, so the top grades held no poor families and the bottom grades no powerful clans.
势族 are powerful clans,
寒门 humble families.
