Legend has it that the Zhou Dynasty, in its early years, had three wise monarchs who established a legal system, set up a five-tiered nobility system, and granted land to over eight hundred vassal states, with more than fifty states ruled by members of the Zhou royal family. The Duke of Zhou and the Duke of Kang established powerful states in Lu and Wei, respectively, each controlling vast territories; Jiang Taigong was in the state of Qi, as large as five vassal states and nine earldoms combined. The Book of Songs emphasizes the importance of strong family ties, promoting talented people, and linking their success to the nation's prosperity—a foundation for lasting strength. This means that one should be close to relatives, promote talented individuals, commend their merits, and link all of this to the rise and fall of the country in order to be firmly rooted and unshakable. Therefore, during the peak of the Zhou Dynasty, King Wen of Zhou and Duke of Shao were able to govern the country well, and punishments were fairly and effectively meted out; during times of weakness, the Five Hegemons helped shore up the Zhou Dynasty. After King You of Zhou and King Ping of Zhou, the Zhou Dynasty began to decline. In the end, the Zhou kings were reduced to ruling a small area around Luoyang, and the Zhou Dynasty split into Eastern Zhou and Western Zhou, with scandals like the "Platform of Escape from Responsibility" and the "Stealing Iron" affair. However, people still looked to the Zhou kings as their rightful rulers, and even powerful vassals dared not easily overthrow them. The Zhou Dynasty lasted over eight hundred years, but eventually its power and moral authority waned, and King Nan of Zhou died a commoner. The Zhou royal line was extinct, but its descendants remained unified, preventing any power grab and leaving the world leaderless for over thirty years.
The state of Qin occupied key strategic locations, using deceitful military tactics to slowly chip away at the lands of the eastern vassal states, ultimately achieving victory. Qin Shi Huang thought himself incredibly clever and scoffed at the systems of the Xia, Shang, and Zhou dynasties. He abolished the ancient legal system entirely, declaring himself emperor. His descendants, however, would be mere commoners. The empire lost both internal cohesion, lacking the support of kinship and clan, and external protection, having lost the buffer of the vassal states. As a result, Chen Sheng and Wu Guang launched a rebellion, soon joined by Liu Bang and Xiang Yu in their fight to topple the Qin. So, the Zhou lasted way too long, and the Qin, way too short. That's just how empires rise and fall, I guess!
When the Han Dynasty was just established, the country had just settled down, and there were very few members of the royal family. In order to learn from the lesson of the isolated and ultimately doomed Qin Dynasty, the territory was divided, and two levels of noble titles were established. Those who were rewarded for their merits were made marquises, owning hundreds of towns and cities; the imperial family's offspring were highly respected, and nine principalities were established on a large scale. From Yanmen Pass to the east, extending all the way to Liaoyang, comprising the Yan and Dai principalities; south of Changshan, the Taihang Mountains turned left, crossed the Yellow River and the Ji River, extending all the way to the seaside, were the Qi and Zhao principalities; the Liang and Chu principalities encompassed the Si River valley, including Guizi and Mengdi; to the east, near the Yangtze River and lakes, extending all the way to Kuaiji (Kuaiji is an ancient city in present-day Zhejiang Province), were the Jing and Wu principalities; north, near the coast of the Huai River, encompassing roughly Lujiang and Hengshan, was the Huainan principality; north of the Han River, extending all the way to Jiuyi Mountain, was the Changsha principality. These principalities were connected to each other, surrounding the area where the emperor resided in three layers, and also bordered the Xiongnu and Yue tribes. The imperial domain included Sanhe, Dong, Yingchuan, and Nanyang counties, extending west from Jiangling to Bashu and north from Yunzhong to Longxi, plus the capital region, totaling fifteen counties, with the princesses and marquises' fiefs scattered among them. These larger principalities controlled multiple states and counties, comprising dozens of cities, and their palaces and administrative systems mirrored those of the capital, a degree of autonomy that some considered excessive. Despite this, during the reign of Emperor Gaozu, he handled numerous affairs, Emperor Xiaohui's reign was brief, Empress Dowager Lü ruled as regent, and yet the empire remained stable, without major upheavals. The eventual suppression of the Lü Clan Rebellion and the subsequent flourishing under Emperor Wen were, in part, facilitated by the existing structure of the principalities.
But these vassal states, initially powerful, got a bit too big for their britches. The smaller ones got all decadent and lawless, while the big shots got cocky and bossy – and it all came crashing down on them. So Emperor Wen took Jia Yi's advice and split up Qi and Zhao; Emperor Jing followed Chao Cuo's plan and took down Wu and Chu. Emperor Wu went with Zhu Fu Yan's idea and passed the Enfeoffment Decree, letting the vassal kings split their land and cities among their kids – no more getting promoted or demoted. So the vassal states just crumbled. The new vassal kingdoms? The biggest one only had about a dozen cities. Changsha, Yan, and Dai kept their names, but they'd lost their northern and southern borders. Emperor Jing had the Rebellion of Seven States on his hands, so he cracked down on the vassals, cutting their power and positions. Then, under Emperor Wu, the Kings of Hengshan and Huainan tried to rebel, leading to the Left Officer Law and the Beneficiary Law – the vassals were left with just their food, clothes, and rent, and no say in politics.
Basically, Emperors Ai, Ping, and others of that era were all relatives of the Han dynasty, ranging from close to distant relatives. They grew up in the deep palace from a young age, and they were no more respected by the common folk than any rich family. Plus, Han emperors didn’t live long; the dynasty was shaky three times. Therefore, Wang Mang took advantage of the weakness inside and outside the Han dynasty, with its foundation rotten, and was up to no good. He used his mother's power, hid behind the names of Yi Yin and the Duke of Zhou, bullied his way through the court, ignoring all the rules, and seized control. Once his plot worked, he became emperor, sent five big shots riding post-haste to spread the word across the land. The Han princes scrambled to hand over their seals, terrified of being too slow. Some even showered Wang Mang with praise, desperate to win his favor—pathetic! So, we gotta learn from the Han's rise and fall.
