Rise and Fall: Two Thousand Years of Chinese Governance

Why did Confucian thought become the core set of values in the development and evolution of ancient China's system of governance? Which eight emperors played decisive roles? Which institutions shaped the control and mobilization of social resources?

This fresh take on the political history of ancient China reveals how the imperial power system operated after the Qin unification. It seeks to identify patterns of change, explain the dynastic cycle, and draw lessons from history. Combining the stories of dozens of emperors with a broad historical perspective, the book is both a collection of assessments of emperors throughout Chinese history and an overview of two thousand years of Chinese political history. It helps readers quickly understand the forces behind the rise and fall of imperial China over those two millennia.