The Fall of Qin and Rise of Han: From the Crisis of the Qin System to the Triumph of the Han

From Qin Shi Huang to Emperor Wu of Han, generations of emperors carved out a new path through a century of hardship. Together, they brought about a dramatic transformation in China’s political system: from a realm united under a shared sovereign, divided into fiefdoms and states, to a unified empire under centralized rule and supreme imperial authority. Their achievements profoundly influenced the politics and history of the next two thousand years.

Focusing on the transformation of state policy as the Han inherited the institutions of Qin, this book traces the story from the collapse of the Zhou system and the founding of the Qin system, through the Han’s adoption of Qin institutions, to the evolution of a mature Han system. It unfolds a sweeping panorama of institutional change during the Qin and Han dynasties.

Approaching the subject through four dimensions: the era, its people, its factions, and its culture, the book analyzes the personalities and decision-making psychology of celebrated rulers and ministers from Qin Shi Huang to Emperor Wu of Han. Combining these close-up portraits with a broader analysis of historical trends, it uses pivotal events to examine the reasoning behind the choices historical figures made. It reveals both the exceptional abilities that allowed them to “make history” and the limitations imposed by the times that “make their heroes.” In doing so, it shows how familiar historical figures rose to prominence in an age of great change, and why their merits and failings are so difficult to judge.