ABSTRACT
Unjust exactions from the Chinese peasantry have been a driving force of China’s history. Most dynasties were founded on the pledge to improve the lot of China’s farmers, and began with good relations between those governing and those governed. Gradually, however, the administrative apparatus grew, and corruption set in. In order to satisfy their ever-increasing needs, the bureaucrats extracted more and more resources from the Chinese peasantry. Eventually, a tipping point was reached. Infuriated peasants led by disgruntled bureaucrats either brought down the regime themselves, or destabilized it just enough for contenders to the throne to take over. The new emperor drastically simplified the fiscal system, and the process started all over again.
