• Using the power struggles within the high echelons of Chang’an as the overt narrative thread, and the evolution of state-founding strategies as the underlying thread, the book balances intellectual depth with readability.
• Combines rich detailed depictions with precise macro-level analysis, presenting a Western Han Dynasty that is both familiar and strange to readers.
• Starting from the dilemmas and desires of each emperor, it illustrates the relationship between the waxing and waning of imperial power and the well-being (or suffering) of the common people.
• Profoundly reveals the ‘Knight-errant Ethos’ characteristic of the Western Han’s founding path.
• Acutely identifies the existence of a ‘Transformation during the Wen-Jing Era’ rather than merely the conventionally praised ‘Rule of Wen and Jing’.
• Argues that Emperor Wu’s promotion of Confucianism was, in essence, a means to suppress it.
• Posits that the era of Emperor Cheng was a rare period of relative good fortune for the Han Empire's populace.
• Re-evaluates the truth behind the ‘Rebellion of the Lü Clan’.
• Comprehensively restores the reality of the ‘Calamity of Excessive Taxation’ and the ‘Disaster of Harsh Officials’ during Emperor Wu’s reign.
• Meticulously outlines the reform trajectories and their limitations during the reigns of Emperors Xuan and Yuan.
• Clarifies the essence of Wang Mang's reforms as having the ‘outer appearance of the Zhou System but the inner core of the Qin System’.
--Editor’s Recommendations

★ Why did the Western Han regime completely revert to, and even surpass, the Qin system? Why did the dragon-slayers repeatedly become evil dragons themselves?
★ A major new work by Chen Xubin, author of the bestseller “Qin System: Two Thousand Years”! Reinterprets the prolonged downward trajectory of the “Two Hundred Years of the Western Han” and deciphers the operational logic of the “Formative Era of Chinese Imperial Autocracy”!
★ This book offers a fresh focus on the ruling logic during the two centuries of the Western Han Dynasty, revealing the successes and costs of the imperial system’s formative period, from the founding of the dynasty by Liu Bang to the reforms of Wang Mang.

This book is a historical work focusing on the Western Han Dynasty. Centering on how the Western Han emperors designed the state structure and formulated governing policies, it delineates the multiple shifts in the “Founding Principles” occurring from Liu Bang to Emperor Guangwu, i.e., throughout the entire Western Han period. It offers a profound analysis of the Western Han as a highly successful imperial dynasty in Chinese history. Using the political struggles in Chang’an as the overt narrative thread and starting from the dilemmas faced by each emperor, the book integrates over two hundred years of Western Han history. With solid research, abundant historical details, and nuanced macro-level discussion, it presents a Western Han Dynasty that is both familiar and strange to readers.

Key Points:
• How did the Knight-errant spirit profoundly influence the political operations of the early Han?
• How did Emperors Wen and Jing handle the threat posed by the founding meritorious veterans?
• What methods did Emperor Wu employ to eliminate all entities capable of organized action?
• After the registered population halved, how did Emperor Xuan initiate reforms?
• Why can the reigns of Emperors Yuan and Cheng be considered a relatively good era for the common people?
• Why were Wang Mang’s reforms a step backward in history?

Chen Xubin

Pen name: Yan Jiulin. A historical researcher and former chief editor of Tencent's History Channel. Published works include the bestseller “Qin System: Two Thousand Years: The Power Rules of Feudal Emperors”, “Living in the Hongwu Era: The Fate of Commoners under Zhu Yuanzhang’s Rule”, “Great Transformation: Fifty Years of Late Qing Reform”, and “Song Dynasty Prosperity: The Facets of an Apex Era”.