Throughout history, there have been many forms of government. Ancient Asia had many

too, but the Han dynasty started something different from all of the rest that would continue on

for over a thousand years. The Qin dynasty, before the Han began, had caused terrible education,

high taxes, and harsh laws that made it hard to live in China. The Han dynasty wanted to change

that, for no one could live under such circumstances. They combined Legalism, a philosophy that

order came before everything else, and Confucianism, which changed major aspects of how

government should be. Gao Zu, the first emperor of the Han dynasty, created a new sect of

advisors who were Confucian scholars. He created this new form because “he believed the

government …show more content…
Wudi made it the official religion of the Han Dynasty, and he also

started the examination system. 2 Confucianism shaped the Han Dynasty more than the Qin

through education and government.

Confucian Education was one of the many successful programs during the Han dynasty.

The Qin dynasty did not have much of an education for children because they forbid people from

reading books such as the Confucian Classics, and they sometimes burned the books. In 206

BCE, the Han dynasty started to change the country from the Qin dynasty’s unpleasant rule. The

education of Confucian thoughts started to get incorporated when one addressed Wudi to make a

college for Confucian scripture. 3 Wudi knew that Confucian teaching had some effect …show more content…
Although the Confucian education affected the Han dynasty’s growth, their Confucian-

based government led the leaders to be intelligent instead of inheriting or buying to the top such

as past Chinese dynasties. Government was controlled by people who passed the examination

system. The Han Dynasty “used the rigorous civil service examinations to select officials to fill

the most important positions within the dynastic government,” 7 because they wanted the

government to succeed. They learned to not trust the Qin’s form of government, for they made

harsh laws and high taxes which caused a quick termination. The Han started with the

examination then took away those harsh laws and taxes, so the government would be respected.

This is another reason why they succeeded for over four centuries. The civil service examination

was based off of the Five Confucian Classics. Although rich people in China still had a greater

chance at high official jobs due to buying help, the system helped the dynasty and more to come

because the Five Classics enlightened them on how to be kind yet just. For the next 2,000