Han Dynasty Bureaucracy

Bureaucracy, a political system where appointed officials govern over areas of land in a larger territory, was first instituted in China during the Qin dynasty, with Shi Huangdi as the emperor in charge of the system. However, under Shi Huangdi’s rule, China’s bureaucracy had several problems. These problems remained unsolved until the Han dynasty, which ruled after the downfall of Shi Huangdi’s government. Once the Han dynasty took charge in China, the issues surrounding the bureaucracy began the process of being solved. Among the problems that the development of bureaucracy meant to solve in China’s Han dynasty were the practically limitless powers of the emperor, the difficulty of ruling such large territories, and the rejection of more …show more content…
Because the territories within the Chinese empire were so large during the Han dynasty, information spread slowly. News could take weeks to travel across the region, which made it very difficult for one emperor to rule all of China. With the introduction of bureaucracy, however, governing every district and province of the empire became easier. With thousands of bureaucratic officials spread throughout China, the will of the government could be shared with all of the citizens. This helped the Han dynasty maintain order and peace throughout the empire, while still remaining in charge. Without bureaucracy, the Han dynasty never would have been able to keep control over the entirety of …show more content…
Confucius believed that the government should be ruled by a strong educated class that cared for the welfare of its subjects. Earlier dynasties rejected Confucian teachings, with emperors such as Shi Huangdi saying that such political views opposed his rule. By introducing a political system that corresponded with the well-known Confucian beliefs, the Han dynasty was able to incorporate Confucianism into the rest of the government and into lives of its subjects. These newly-accepted Confucian teachings helped to improve the overall behavior of Chinese civilians. For example, the Confucian views regarding respect to both other people and the political hierarchy helped bring more peace and order to the empire. Meanwhile, Confucius’s beliefs about how the government should treat its citizens were adopted by the ruling class, which led to a strong, yet fair, administration that made China even more powerful. By introducing bureaucracy based off of Confucian teachings, the Han dynasty was able incorporate the philosophy into everyday Chinese life, which resulted in a stronger, more fair