历史小径·世界史英语30篇（2）

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从分封诸侯到郡县一统：秦汉中央集权制度

After unifying China in 221 BCE, the Qin Dynasty abolished hereditary feudal states and installed centrally appointed prefectural governors.
Each commandery (jun) and county (xian) reported directly to the imperial court through standardized laws and written records.
The Han Dynasty retained this system while softening its harshness and incorporating Confucian ethics into official conduct.
Civil service appointments gradually replaced noble birth as the path to administrative power, laying groundwork for later examination systems.
Uniform weights, measures, script, and coinage strengthened economic integration across vast distances.
Censors traveled regularly to inspect local officials and report corruption or inefficiency to the emperor.
This bureaucratic structure enabled rapid tax collection, large-scale infrastructure projects, and consistent legal enforcement.
Rebellions like the Yellow Turban Uprising later tested the system’s responsiveness to regional hardship.
Nonetheless, the郡县 system endured for over two millennia as China’s foundational administrative model.
Its legacy reveals how institutional innovation can sustain empire across dynastic change.