Retainers, also known as house guests (門客; 门客; ménkè; men-k'o), invited guests (traditional Chinese: 賓客; simplified Chinese: 宾客; pinyin: bīnkè; Wade–Giles: pin-k'o) or catered guests (Chinese: 食客; pinyin: shíkè; Wade–Giles: shih-k'o), were a special social group in Ancient China from pre-Qin period to Han dynasty, who lived as dependent employees under a nobleman, an officeholder, or a powerful landlord.
[1] Retainers typically stayed long-term at the residence of the employer, catered and provisioned by the host,[2] and also obtained through him other benefits such as administrative power, reputation, upward mobility and social status.
[3] In return, a retainer would serve and provide personal services to his host, usually as advisors, clerks and bodyguards, but sometimes as dedicated lieutenants or mercenaries for more dangerous tasks such as espionage, assassination and warfare.
Although the bond is one of social contract, a retainer was often free to come and go outside of duty without needing permission, and he could leave the service without noticing if he felt mistreated or disapproved of the behavior of his host.
[4] The practice of elites keeping retainers as private aids can be traced back at least to the Warring States period (ca.
Ancient Chinese social structure was changing during this time, the system of feudal states created by the Western Zhou dynasty underwent enormous changes after 771 BCE with the flight of the Zhou court to Chengzhou (modern-day Luoyang) and the diminution of the court's relevance and power.
[6] The Spring and Autumn period led to a few states gaining power at the expense of many others, the latter no longer able to depend on central authority for legitimacy or protection.
Li Si 李斯 (BCE 280–208), the imperial chancellor, and Zhao Gao 赵高, the powerful eunuch, each kept a number of retainers.
The family derived a profit worth several thousand rolls of silk from the produce yearly and became wealthy.
[15] The host was expected to provide lodging, food, clothing and even carriages for his retainers and to treat them generously.
[18] While the number of retainers kept by a master could be enormous, they must have varied greatly in personality and qualification; and of course their selection depended heavily on the attitudes and disposition of the patron.
When Prince Tian Wen 田文 wanted to send someone to collect his debts, he inquired of his retainers whether one of them was versed in accounting and competent for his job.
[30] Sun Bin 孫臏, the famous retainer in the residence of Tian Ji 田忌 in the Warring States period.