The First Phase: The Han Variant

This chapter introduces the first phase of the Imperial Mode, namely the Han variant. Although the Imperial Mode emerged in the Pre-Qin era, its three components, i.e., the peasant economypeasantry economy, the bureaucratic system and the central authority, and their connections did not become entrenched. Around from the Han to Sui dynasty, while peasantspeasants consistently existed as basic social units, the manorial economymanorial economy backed by aristocratic families occupied a large share of the economy. The bureaucratic system was gradually controlled by aristocratic families and bureaucracybureaucracy degraded into aristocracyaristocracy during the “Age of DisunionAge of Disunion”. The central authority was hugely restrained by aristocratic families. The imperial characteristics of the Han variant are typical but precocious: the peasant economy was eroded by the manorial economy; bureaucracy was eroded by the aristocracy, and the central authority lost power. The first phase ended up re-establishing the imperial system in the Sui and Tang dynasties.