Government of the Han dynasty
The Han dynasty was the second imperial dynasty of China, following the Qin dynasty. It was divided into the periods of Western Han and Eastern Han, briefly interrupted by the Xin dynasty of Wang Mang. The capital of Western Han was Chang'an, and the capital of Eastern Han was Luoyang. The emperor headed the government, promulgating all written laws, serving as commander-in-chief of the armed forces, and presiding as the chief executive official. He appointed all government officials who earned a salary of 600 bushels of grain or more with the help of advisors who reviewed each nominee. The empress dowager could either be the emperor's actual or symbolic mother, and was in practice more respected than the emperor, as she could override his decisions; she could even make decisions on behalf of the emperor in dilemma matters of the country or for the order and continuation of the dynasty. If necessary, with the support of the courtiers, she would decide on his successor or his dismissal, although such a challenge was only raised by the empress dowager to the emperor during the emperor's youth or incapacity. The emperor's executive powers could also be practiced by any official upon whom he bestowed the Staff of Authority. These powers included the right to execute criminals without the imperial court's permission.
Near the beginning of the dynasty, semi-autonomous regional kings rivaled the emperor's authority. This autonomy was greatly diminished when the imperial court enacted reforms following the threats to central control like the Rebellion of the Seven States. The end of the Han dynasty came about during a time of civil, military and religious upheaval, which resulted in the period of Three Kingdoms.
The highest officials in the central bureaucracy, who provided advisory, censorial, executive, and judicial roles in governing the empire, consisted of cabinet members known as the Excellencies, heads of large specialized ministries known as the Nine Ministers, and various metropolitan officials of the capital region. Distinguished salary-ranks were granted to officials in the bureaucracy, nobles of the imperial family, concubines of the harem, and military officers of the armed forces.
Local government divisions, in descending order by size, were the province, commandery, county, and district. Local fiefs of the nobility included the kingdom, which was modeled largely upon the regular commandery, as well as the marquessate, modelled largely upon the regular county. Although the central government's monopolies on salt, iron, and liquor eventually failed and were relinquished back to private production, the government successfully nationalized the issuing of coin currency through its imperial mint, which lasted from 113 BC until the end of the dynasty. The conscription system for commoners as non-professional soldiers was reduced in size in favor of a volunteer army and a substitution tax by Eastern Han. A small professional standing army existed throughout Western and Eastern Han. During times of crisis, the volunteer army increased in size, but large militias were raised and certain officer titles were revived for temporary use.
Salaries
During the Han dynasty, the power a government official exercised was determined by his annual salary-rank, measured in grain units known as dan, shi or shih. However, approximately half an official's salary in grain was made in payments of cash coins, the standard of which, after 119 BC, was the wushu coin measuring 3.2 g. The other half of an official's salary consisted of unhusked grain and husked grain measured in hu ; since one hu of unhusked grain was equal to 100 coins and one hu of husked grain was equal to 160 coins, the conversion ratio for unhusked grain to husked grain was 10 to 6. The most senior officials in central government earned a 10,000-dan salary. The officials who oversaw nine specialized ministries each earned the Fully 2,000-dan rank, while the magistrate of a county earned a 600-dan rank. Occasionally, emperors bestowed luxurious gifts of wine, foodstuffs, and silk clothes upon high officials. These gifts, in some generous cases, could equal as much as half the value of the officials' standard annual salary. Aged officials were often retired from service and given a pension. Below is a table outlining salaries measured in coin cash, unhusked grain, and husked grain for the highest to lowest-paid officials in Han officialdom:Central government
Emperor
Qin's imperial model
, the first ruler of the Qin dynasty, established China's imperial system of government in 221 BC after unifying the Seven Warring States through conquest, bringing to an end the Warring States period. For a time, the rulers of the warring states claimed nominal allegiance to an overlord king of the Zhou dynasty, yet the Zhou kings' political power and prestige was less than that of later Chinese emperors. The imperial system fell apart after the fall of Qin in 206 BC. However, following Han's victory over Chu, the King of Han reestablished the imperial system and is known posthumously as Emperor Gaozu.The Han system of imperial government borrowed many of its core features from the regime established by the Qin dynasty. For example, Gaozu's Chancellor Xiao He integrated much of the statutes of the Qin law code into the newly compiled Han law code. Yet Gaozu's establishment of central control over only a third of the empire—the other two-thirds of territory was controlled by semi-autonomous kingdoms—strayed from Qin's imperial model which gave the emperor direct control over all of China. However, a series of reforms eventually stripped away any vestiges of the kingdoms' independence. Han emperors thereafter enjoyed full and direct control over China, as had the first Qin emperor. The Han court's gradual move towards reestablishing central control can also be seen in its monetary policy. While the Qin regime installed a nationwide standard currency, the early Western Han regime oscillated between abolishing and legalizing private mints, commandery-level mints, and kingdom-level mints issuing various coins. In 113 BC the Han court finally established the central government's monopoly control over the issuance of a standard, nationwide currency.
Roles, rights, and responsibilities
The emperor, who enjoyed paramount social status, was the head of the government administration. His rule was virtually absolute, although civil officials, representing the competing interests of different state organs, scrutinized his decisions. Although the Grand Commandant had a nominal role as commander-in-chief, the emperor served as the commander-in-chief of the armed forces. The emperor had the sole right to appoint central government officials whose salary-rank was 600-dan or higher. The emperor also appointed the leading officials at the provincial, commandery, and county levels of government. Appointees to office were usually recommended men from the commanderies, family relatives of high officials, or student graduates of the Imperial University. This institution was established in 124 BC, and provided a Confucian-based education for those entering civil service.The emperor had the exclusive right to modify the law code and issue new laws in the form of imperial edicts and decrees. However, he often accepted the decisions and reforms suggested by his chief judicial minister, the Commandant of Justice. The emperor also acted as the supreme judge. Any lawsuits which a county administration, then commandery administration, and then Minister of Justice could not resolve were deferred to the emperor.
The emperor's role as supreme judge could be temporarily duplicated by any official he designated in times of emergency or in distant borderlands where central government had little influence. This entailed a symbolic conferral of power, which was embodied in the Staff of Authority. Roughly 2 m in height and decorated with ribbons, the Staff of Authority was often granted to an official with a specific errand, such as acting on behalf of the emperor as ambassador to a foreign country, appointing civilians to office, or immediately promoting a deserving military officer on the field of battle. Moreover, it granted its bearer the authority to sentence criminals and political rebels with execution without notifying the court first.
During the Qin dynasty, the first Qin emperor's legitimacy to rule was ultimately decided by his ability to conquer others. However, by the time of Wang Mang's reign, the Mandate of Heaven was considered the only legitimate source of imperial authority. This concept was given greater prominence after the state officially sponsored the worship of Heaven over that of the Five Powers in 31 BC. Moreover, the philosophy of the scholar Dong Zhongshu, which held that a dynasty's rule on earth was bound to greater cosmological cycles in the universe, was officially sponsored by the Han court from Emperor Wu's reign onward. The emperor was expected to behave according to proper ritual, ethics, and morals, lest he incur the wrath of Heaven and bring an end to his reign. He became the highest priest in the land. By performing certain religious rites and rituals, the emperor acted as a sacred link between Heaven and Earth.