>>17743346
>a strong bureaucracy
Often corrupted by eunuchs or degraded due to general corruption.

>meritocracy through examinations
Wasn't present for most of the early Chinese Dynasties. And frankly, kind of a meme. Most of the top posts are political appointments.

>a large and centralized government
Not always. Early Han Dynasty was more feudal (nobles conquering various vassal states) than imperial. And the Later Han Dynasty devolved power back to the regional governors in order to better respond and suppress rebels. Prior, regional governors couldn't raise or command armies. The Tang Dynasty's An Lushan Rebellion only happened because they handed the guy like 3 frontier provinces from which to form a base to rebel.

>arable land and abundant other resources
Flooding, disease, and other natural disasters with a huge population meant minor disturbances can cause mass famine. Dying from flooding was a major cause of death throughout Chinese History until the Three Gorges Dam.

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Why did all those Chinese dynasties collapse? They were super far ahead of the rest of the world. They had a strong bureaucracy with meritocracy…