How did the Han Dynasty govern China?
The Han Dynasty governed through a centralized bureaucracy staffed by officials selected through Confucian-based examinations, provincial administration with appointed governors, a state monopoly on key industries (salt, iron), and the integration of Confucian ethical principles with Legalist administrative methods.
The Han Dynasty (206 BCE – 220 CE) created a system of governance that would serve as the template for Chinese imperial administration for the next two millennia. The Han achievement was finding a sustainable balance between the Qin Dynasty's effective but brutally authoritarian centralization and the need for a system that commanded genuine legitimacy.
The key innovation was the adoption of Confucianism as the state ideology under Emperor Wu (r. 141–87 BCE). The civil service examination system tested candidates on Confucian classics — the Five Classics and eventually the Four Books — creating a class of educated officials whose authority rested on demonstrated knowledge and moral cultivation rather than birth or military prowess. This meritocratic principle was revolutionary and, despite many imperfections in practice, gave the Chinese state a remarkably competent administrative class.
The empire was divided into commanderies and kingdoms, each administered by centrally appointed officials who served limited terms and were regularly rotated to prevent them from building local power bases. A sophisticated system of inspection, reporting, and accountability monitored officials' performance. The Han inherited and refined the Qin's standardized systems of weights, measures, currency, and law.
Economically, the Han state was actively interventionist. Government monopolies on salt, iron, and liquor generated revenue and prevented private individuals from accumulating dangerous economic power. The state managed granary reserves to stabilize food prices, and invested heavily in infrastructure — roads, canals, and irrigation systems.
The system worked because it combined Legalist administrative methods (clear laws, systematic bureaucracy, centralized control) with Confucian moral legitimacy (the ruler governs through virtue, officials serve through merit). This synthesis — sometimes called 'Confucianized Legalism' — proved remarkably durable. Its fundamental principles survived the Han's fall and shaped Chinese governance through the Tang, Song, Ming, and Qing dynasties.