2. Long fingernails became a sign of the idle rich, who did not have to work with their hands
The majority of the Chinese population lived in rural areas, and were viewed as existing to support the wealthy minority who lived in cities and towns. Often the daughters of the rural poor, with their families unable to feed and clothe them, were sold into slavery to the wealthy, to serve as house servants, concubines, and other roles. The wealthy males of Chinese society often grew their fingernails to outrageous lengths, as depicted in much of ancient Chinese art, as a sign that their life did not require them to use their hands for the demeaning practice of labor. The poorer classes of rural farmers were regarded with the respect due them as providers of food for the table, but they had little to no chance of elevating themselves out of the circumstances into which they were born.
The working of farms was back breaking labor, with nearly all of the work accomplished by hand, as animal power for labor was scarce. In southern China the most common crop was rice, and long days of work in the rice paddies was the basis of life from the earliest days of childhood through the last days of old age. Those no longer able to work were treated with the reverence due them in respect to their seniority, but all capable of labor were required to perform their duties. In northern China the primary crop was wheat, also planted and harvested largely by hand. Families which grew too large to support themselves often sold younger male children to the wealthy as well, after they were made eunuchs, to serve as personal slaves in the houses of the often idle rich.