How did ancient literati make money?

There are many ways for ancient literati to make money, but in the final analysis, they all live by skill. Although they couldn't carry their hands on their shoulders, there were many occupations in society at that time.

In the Qin dynasty, there were literati who made a living by writing and painting. They often set up stalls in the street and work for families with spare money. Very talented people don't have to show their faces like this. There will be people who come to see them specially. At the beginning, Sima Xiangru wrote an article "Long Men Fu" for Chen Ajiao, earning 100 Jin of gold, which was spent by the poor for many years.

There are still many people who make a living by writing inscriptions for aristocratic families and temples, and they can make a lot of money by writing well. A great poet like Han Yu once made a lot of money from this. Because of his good writing, many distinguished people specially invited him. And many famous calligraphers in ancient times were rich. For example, Liu Gongquan's business is so good that even foreign envoys will buy his works specially.

In ancient times, many scholars chose to be teachers. After all, no matter when and where, the education industry will not be abandoned. However, this teacher is also graded, and different students have different identities. If you educate a commoner's son in a rural private school, he is an ordinary gentleman. But if you go to the palace to educate the prince and princess, your status will be great.

In fact, the most common way for ancient literati is the imperial examination, and they all want to change their destiny through knowledge. If you can enter the officialdom after being admitted, that is the real career success, so those occupations above are part-time jobs for most literati.