A Brief History of the Chinese State and its Politics

The Zhou dynasty overthrew the Shang in the first of China’s many coups. In order to control so vast a region, the empire was divided up and put under the regional control of local lords, creating an almost feudal aristocracy of tangled alliances. In 771 BCE, the invasion of the Chuanrong in the middle of a succession dispute disrupted the power of the Zhou kings, leaving the local lords to do whatever they pleased.

After hundreds of years of chaos, the semi-Chinese province of Qin, structured on strict authoritarian government, overran the Zhou countries by 220 BCE and began a new dynasty with Zheng, the first emperor. While the dynasty fell apart by 202 BCE, the title and position of emperor remained.

The new Han dynasty, created by Liu Bang, further changed the government with the creation of a civil service made up of the middle class gentry. During this prosperous period, the Han family sucked up all power in payment for the security received. Trade and immigration moved westward into central Asia. China spread to northern Korea and Vietnam under the strong Han family. Yet, ineffectual monarchs arose, monarchs unable to tackle the difficult problems at the heart of China’s government and religions. Conflicts with Confucians led to civil war. Wars freed up land and ended the economic pressures on the Chinese populace for a while. The Hans held on into the second century CE, a weak family in command of the richest and most advanced nation in the world.