REORG - Globalizing Government (Lesson)
Globalizing Government
In 1958, a science-fiction thriller called The Blob hit American theaters. It was the story of an alien Blob (that looked a lot like grape jelly) landing on the planet. Upon its arrival on the planet, The Blob was about the size of a grape jelly jar. However, every time The Blob encountered a life force, it would absorb it and grow larger- by the end of the movie, it was the size of a building. Now that you've got that image in your head, you can easily imagine a globalizing empire- everywhere it went, it absorbed whomever and whatever it encountered into that empire, but in a more sophisticated way than The Blob did.
A globalizing empire was an empire that spanned massive amounts of territory, included a large, diverse population and spread its impact beyond its own boundaries. Through its laws, religions, colonization, government and trade systems, a globalizing empire merged conquered neighbors and former rivals into the empire as citizens. With each new encounter, the empire grew and gained strength eventually becoming "a blob" that was almost unstoppable and extremely threatening to anyone in its path.
As the world entered the Common Era (from the year 0 on,) there were basically two globalizing empires already in existence. One was located in China—the Han Dynasty. The other was based in Europe, but had already spread to two other continents—the Roman Empire. Both acquired their vast lands through violence; both exerted great imperial control over their lands; both offered their people a level of standardization in money, language, religion and culture not seen before; and both changed the world forever. But each left behind a somewhat different legacy—for the Han Dynasty, it was the experiment into a globalizing government.
The Han Dynasty
As you already know, the Han Dynasty can be divided into two parts- the Western Han or Earlier Han and the Eastern Han or Later Han. The Western Han Dynasty lasted from 206 BCE to 9 CE. During this period, the Han Dynasty started as a "second-generation society" and grew into a true globalizing empire. Under the emperors of the Western Han Dynasty, the empire incorporated Confucian principles within its government and established a university to train potential government officials. There, students studied the Chinese Classics, science, and medicine. These students went on to make great medical discoveries about the spread of germs and invented the magnetic compass, along with paper—which would assist a growing empire. But most importantly, these students came out of the university highly skilled in government bureaucracy and were able to add to the stability of the Chinese government. Serving as government officials and imperial inspectors, the bureaucrats ran the thirteen provinces of the Han Dynasty so successfully that the time period was called Pax Sinica ("Chinese Peace") by the Romans. The Han Dynasty reached far beyond modern-day China into modern-day Korea and Vietnam—which meant that the Han Dynasty ruled over a large and diverse population. They were able to maintain their control over these varied peoples through bureaucratic efforts towards keeping daily life organized, the social order stabilized, the economy growing and the state-centered religion flourishing. Throughout the Han Dynasty, the private and the public lived in a symbiotic relationship. Personal success led to government perks which increased personal wealth. Increased personal wealth led to higher tax revenues and improved public works and projects.
The Han maintained their peace and prosperity through a booming military and economy.
But as the 1st Century BCE came to a close, a couple of things happened to destabilize this globalizing empire. First, the cost of running such an empire exceeded what the government could raise through taxes and business. So, when second, a series of natural disasters led to crop failures there were not many options available to keep the empire thriving.
As you can see, without the constant production of agriculture, the agrarian-based economy of China started to break down as people sold off their land in order to attend to rising personal debt.
Naturally, when social order breaks down, someone will rise up to take advantage of the situation. In this case, that someone came in the form of a former Han minister, Wang Mang, who declared that the Han Dynasty had lost its "Mandate with Heaven" and usurped the thrown in 9 CE. That should have been the end for the Han Dynasty, except that once again a couple of things happened to destabilize Wang Mang's government. First, he attempted to redistribute the wealth and land in China—which, as you can imagine, didn't sit well with those who still had any wealth or land. So, when second, a series of natural disasters happened again, he didn't have much support for his regime. This time the Yellow River—one of the most important sources of water and fertile ground in China—changed its course and brought extensive flooding. This particular natural disaster affected about half of China's population and was taken as a bad sign regarding Wang Mang. By the mid-20s CE, Wang Mang was out and the Han Dynasty was back! (Which is why there is an "Eastern" or "Later" Han Dynasty written about in history books.)
The Eastern Han Dynasty lasted from 25 to 220 CE and was markedly different from its predecessor in that the emperors allowed the wealthy landowners and merchants to direct the economy, and the emperor and the capital moved farther east. But to be Han Chinese still embodied the same certain characteristics as before—a shared common language, a shared belief system, an accepted social order that stratified classes, and a sense that to not be Han Chinese was to be uncivilized, all of which were rooted in Confucianism and still taught at the Imperial University. In essentials, the government was the same as during the Western Han Dynasty—the difference was the approach used by the Eastern Han Dynasty emperors in managing local affairs which was decidedly "hands-off."
The Eastern Han Dynasty's decentralized style was very profitable for local businesses and trade- so the economy boomed and the Silk Road flourished. But it wasn't such a great strategy for the peasants of China. Left to their own devices, the aristocrats of China took over local control and bled the peasants dry in search of tax money. This, of course, led to greater social inequality and caused many to begin questioning the social and financial structure of China as rooted in Confucianism.
Roughly forty years before the official and permanent demise of the Han Dynasty, a rebellious movement got underway. Led by the "Yellow Turbans," so named for the yellow scarves worn on their heads, China experienced the first Millenarian Movement of history. Using Daoist principles that argued against the rigid social structure established by Confucianism, the "Yellow Turbans" incited a rebellion based on the demand for fairer treatment by the government (who had not been doing much on the peoples' behalf lately) and a more equitable distribution of farm lands (which were very consolidated in the hands of the wealthy.) The cost in subduing the rebellion, combined with another natural disaster of famine, ultimately ended the Han Dynasty. Their globalizing empire dissolved into three competing kingdoms—the Wei in the northwest of China, the Shu in the southwest of China, and the Wu in the south. Hundreds of years would pass before China reunited again as a single nation. But during the time of the Han, it was a globalizing empire based on this criteria:
The Han Dynasty's legacy was the establishment (even though it ultimately ended) of a globalizing government.
Recap Section
Chinese Imperial Timeline Highlights:
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