Imperial China was a superpower in the ancient world. China was governed by dynasties who gained power through warfare and maintained its superpower status through diplomacy. In China, governmental power was given to the emperor, who was thought to be chosen by the heavens, they were the top of the power hierarchy. Additionally, the emperor passed down power through their family. The chain of rulers from the same family came to be known as a dynasty and the history of imperial China is organized as so. (5)
Before the first emperor, China was ruled by confederate dynasties. These confederate dynasties only had direct control over an area surrounding the capital. The provinces outside of power operated as independent states. The heads of these dynasties generally did not call themselves emperor or 王 (wang). However, during the period of Warring States, many
…show more content…
(10) It wasn’t until the Qin state merged victorious from the war did the first ruler (Shi Huang Di) officially took the title of emperor. It was also during the Qin dynasty that China was first unified under an emperor. In addition, this dynasty was the start of Imperial government from 215 BCE to 1912 CE. Furthermore, the Qin dynasty was the first dynasty to have a complete centralized control over all provinces under the emperor by using a system of bureaucracy. The following dynasties also used a bureaucracy of government officials to help govern China. (15) It was during the Han dynasty that imperial bureaucracy was fully cemented. The emperors of the Han dynasty had three councilors of state, the Chancellor over the Masses, the Imperial Counselor and the Grand Commandant. Each of the