The Bungled Operation: Emperor Wu And The Implosion Of The Han

The Han Dynasty was established on the back of a rebellion against the authoritarian Qin in 202 BCE and ultimately fell in 220 CE. The early Han flourished due to their Confucian philosophy, which promoted benevolence, righteousness, and filial piety. So much so that they outlawed all other philosophies and endorsed Confucianism officially. The seventh emperor, Emperor Wu, had misplaced priorities caused the agrarian crisis, corruption, and poor leadership that led to high crime and low morale. The efforts of his successors to restore prosperity, using cynical Legalist measures that emphasized law and order, were ultimately in vain. The last of the Han ruled on a tightrope until their inevitable downfall. Although the Han Emperors intended to utilize Confucian principles, they were forced by the predicament in which they found themselves to exercise Legalist policy.

Emperor Wu’s poor judgment incited the crisis that forced his successors to transition to Legalist policy. Ban Gu wrote that the country was rebuilding when nomadic tribes began to jeopardize national security (de Bary and Bloom 14). To neutralize the threat, Emperor Wu “set up defense stations...and garrisoned the outlying areas to ensure their protection” (Salt and Iron 43). To fund the military, Wu imposed high taxes and introduced government monopolies that suffocated local revenue generation. After squashing the invaders, Wu imprudently embarked on new conquests instead of focusing on economic reconstruction. As a result, Wu’s policies became “merely plans for securing increased government revenues” (Ban Gu 47), and temporary measures taken for national security became permanent lifelines of the government that put the state in a difficult position.

De Bary and Bloom write that following the death of Emperor Wu, the next few emperors struggled with a state of economic turmoil as the government and private sector were fraught with corruption, the wealth distribution had become entirely unbalanced, and the poor, out of desperation, turned to lives of crime (20). The hardships of the people are illuminated by Emperor Wen who wrote, “There have been no good harvests, and our people have suffered the calamities of flood, drought, and pestilence” (40). Wu’s successors were ill-equipped to address these issues and turned instead to tighten their grip on the economy. This only further destabilized the region. Ban Gu writes that the Han “followed the ways of the Qin without change [in their policies regarding]...ownership of land...the rights of salt and iron...slavery...poll taxes...and labor services” (41). Despite the Han’s preference for Confucianism, the statewide crisis forced them to adopt extreme institutional alterations that adhered more closely to Legalism.

The final emperors could neither dismantle existing policies nor institute new ones without the risk of total collapse. De Bary and Bloom suggest that some of the last Han Emperors were incapable of addressing the issues at hand (20) and instead furthered restrictions so that “The people could not turn a hand without violating some prohibition” (Ban Gu 47). The Han imposed these strict laws to limit the people and consolidate power for the government, attempting to keep the country from falling apart. Ban Gu noted the unpopularity of these legalist measures stating that “The furious activity of Wang’s brief reign served to antagonize all…[and] cost him the backing of the Confucian bureaucracy” (47). His malfunction as a ruler typified the last of the Han, who were completely out of their depth and attempted to use Legalism as a method to maintain authority.

Thus, while the Han fundamentally believed in Confucianism, they had no choice but to employ Legalist policy. The agrarian crisis and corruption that left the state in economic disaster were initially brought about by the poor judgment of Emperor Wu. His successors were unable to mitigate the damage, and by the late Han, the empire had reached a point of no return. In times of imbalance and unrest, true leadership is required. Both the Qin and the Han lacked decisive and charismatic leaders, able to lead the state in the right direction. It is only under such leaders that Legalism can be successful as a political philosophy. The Song were able to successfully mend the divide in their society, and that was down to the leadership of the Emperors, who ultimately fulfilled their imperial obligation to support a faltering economy. By imposing a wealth-based tax system, they remained sensitive to the hardships of the farmers while collecting the necessary funds to alleviate their suffering.