Prior to the modern era, the Chinese actor, whether rural amateur or urban professional, rarely enjoyed the respect that society pays him or her today. Until recently, in fact, a theater practitioner could hardly earn his living with one stationary troupe. He often became an itinerant performer, traveling among small towns and rural villages to perform during festivals or to celebrate important occasions in the lives of the local gentry. Most individual actors were at least part-time itinerants, contributing to the image of the vagabond good-for-nothing that afflicted his profession for centuries. In the imperial period, entire urban troupes might tour the countryside at harvest, New Year, and other festival times.