Dynasties: The Role Of The Government In Ancient China

Ancient china’s large areas and large populations demanded a strong central government. China had a government that was once ruled by dynasties, sometimes people would be united under one dynasty but there were often competing dynasties in the controlling of different regions. When one of the dynasties became dominant the king of that particular dynasty would become the emperor. The government these dynasties created tended to be very autocratic. Chinese governments were monarchies; they are lead by the head male of a ruling dynasty. The heads of the dynasties believed they had a “mandate of heaven”, which is their definition of a blessing to rule their people, but only if they ruled well. This mandate was given to them by what they call their, celestial gods. It was only given to the dynastic rulers who had success, but as for those dynasties that lost wars or were hit by natural disasters they would loss the

The Qin Dynasty he founded only lasted for 12 years but the emperor gained absolute power over all of China. The emperor was very dictatorial, ordering the burning of many books to remove all evidence of any former dynasties and burying many scholars alive by ceiling them in a room. The tight control he had of China allowed him to conduct labor forces, allowing him to construct projects like the Great Wall of China. The workers died by the thousands in harsh conditions, but the nomadic tribes they protected the population. These nomads also killed thousands of Chinese soldiers in massive bloody battles. The Qin Dynasty had gained control over the mass of peasants by getting rid of the lords who they had formerly served. This abolishing also allowed for larger military forces. The Qin also standardized weights and measures, and also standardized axel lengths for carts to ensure their roads were the right width. This had the effect of increasing trade a great