Yeah, many trading cultures never had this injunction: for example Malay sultans rise and fall with the prosperity of their entrepots, exporting spices and rice

Yeah, many trading cultures never had this injunction: for example Malay sultans rise and fall with the prosperity of their entrepots, exporting spices and rice and importing chinaware and Indian riches. * On the other hand... Confucianism puts merchants as one of the lower members of society, because they do not add value as artisans. Edo Japan famously had caste of samurai on the top, farmers on the middle, and merchants on the lowest.