The Government of Ancient ChinaAncient China had a government ruled by dynasties, sometimes united under one dynasty, but often competing dynasties in controlling different regions. Ancient china’s resources, large areas, and large populations required a strong central government. When one of these regional dynasties became dominant, their king would become the emperor. The government these dynasties created tended to be very autocratic and even despotic, ruthlessly enforcing their rule and drafting massive armies and labor forces. Perhaps, this was a necessary evil considering the threat of barbarian invasion, potential internal rivals, and massive rebellions. Confucianism was developed in ancient china, a philosophy stressing virtue, good governance and merit based promotion for government offices. Emperors and officials were to be virtues and effective, models for their subjects. However, even when practicing an enlightened confusion form of government, a virtues example for the people, the ancient Chinese dynasties tended to be bureaucratic and very strict.
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Ancient Chinese Warlord Dynasties
Warlord kings ruled different states and were always attempting to dominate the rival states, and dynasties around them. The governments were all monarchies, lead by the patriarch of a ruling dynasty, and warfare was endemic. The heads of the dynasties believed they had a “mandate of heaven” to rule their people if they ruled well. This mandate was given to them by their pagan celestial gods. It was given to dynastic rulers who had success, but those dynasties that lost wars or were plagued by natural disasters would lose the mandate, and be overthrown, then replaced by a new dynasty. The governments were undoubted, meaning they even sacrificed people at funerals and other rituals in honor of ancestral kings, servants, concubines, and men at arms were sacrificed at royal funerals at times, numbering in the hundreds. Over the centuries, from 2100 BC to 220 BC, the dynasties were able to control more and more territory.
The First Chinese Empire
China was eventually united under one of the regional kings, the first emperor Qin Shi Huang, in 221 BC. During the Qin Dynasty he founded only lfor 12 years, but the emperor wielded autocratic power over all of China. The emperor was despotic, ordering the burning of books to remove all evidence of any earlier dynasties, and burying many scholars alive by trapping them in a room. His tight control of China allowed him to draft massive labor forces, allowing him to construct ambitious projects like the Great Wall of China. The workers died by the thousands in harsh conditions, but the nomadic tribes they protected the population from where skilled horse archers and ruthless invaders normally attacked from. These nomads also, killed thousands of Chinese soldiers in massive bloody battles, the Qin generals using massed levies like pawns. The Qin Dynasty had gained control over the mass of peasants by destroying the regional lords who they had formerly served. The destruction also, created agricultural output, and allowed for larger military forces. The Qin also standardized weights and measures, and even standardized axel lengths for carts to ensure their roads were the right width. This increased all had the effect of increasing trade.