Editing Intellectual (section)

== Historical uses ==
In [[Latin language|Latin]], at least starting from the [[Carolingian Empire]], intellectuals could be called ''litterati'', a term which is sometimes applied today.{{citation needed|date=March 2021}}

The word intellectual is found in Indian scripture [[Mahabharata]] in the Bachelorette meeting (Swayamvara Sava) of [[Draupadi]]. Immediately after [[Arjuna]] and Raja-Maharaja (kings-emperors) came to the meeting, ''Nipuna Buddhijibina (perfect intellectuals)'' appeared at the meeting.{{citation needed|date=March 2021}}

In [[Imperial China]] in the period from 206&nbsp;BC until AD&nbsp;1912, the intellectuals were the ''[[Scholar-official]]s'' ("Scholar-gentlemen"), who were civil servants appointed by the [[Emperor of China]] to perform the tasks of daily governance. Such civil servants earned academic degrees by means of [[imperial examination]], and were often also skilled [[calligraphy|calligraphers]] or [[Confucianism|Confucian]] philosophers. Historian Wing-Tsit Chan concludes that:

{{Blockquote|text=Generally speaking, the record of these scholar-gentlemen has been a worthy one. It was good enough to be praised and imitated in 18th century Europe. Nevertheless, it has given China a tremendous handicap in their transition from government by men to government by law, and personal considerations in Chinese government have been a curse.<ref>{{cite book|editor=Charles Alexander Moore|title=The Chinese Mind: Essentials of Chinese Philosophy and Culture|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=_DoyN2h56ucC&pg=PA22|year=1967|publisher=U of Hawaii Press|isbn=978-0824800758}}</ref>{{rp|22}}}}

In [[Joseon|Joseon Korea]] (1392–1910), the intellectuals were the ''literati'', who knew how to read and write, and had been designated, as the [[chungin]] (the "middle people"), in accordance with the Confucian system. Socially, they constituted the  [[petite bourgeoisie]], composed of scholar-bureaucrats (scholars, professionals, and technicians) who administered the dynastic rule of the Joseon dynasty.<ref>{{cite book|author=The Korea Foundation|title=Koreana – Winter 2015|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=WkmOCwAAQBAJ&pg=PT73|date=2016|publisher=한국국제교류재단 |isbn=979-1156041573}}</ref>{{rp|73–4}}