Читать книгу Asia Past and Present - Peter P. Wan - Страница 39

When the sage rules the state, he does not count on people doing good of themselves, but employs such measures that will keep them from doing any evil. ¹

Historians sometimes join the Qin and Han Dynasties in a continuum, calling it “China’s First Empire.” There is good reason for doing so: The Qin Dynasty initiated an unprecedented form of centralized bureaucratic government, but was unable to sustain it. The successor Han Dynasty improved on the Qin prototype, making it not only powerful but also sustainable. All succeeding dynasties in the next 20 centuries would adopt the amalgam of the Qin and Han models of imperial government.