In imperial China, the legal population was divided into
良 ('good / free') and
贱 ('mean / unfree'):
良民 were free commoners with full legal rights, while
贱民 (jiànmín) were entertainers, slaves, government servants, and others stripped of normal civil status. The Yongzheng Emperor (1723) issued the famous edicts abolishing the
贱籍 (jiànjí, 'mean register'), formally lifting the lowest classes into
良民 status.
