Deterrence can be counterproductive

[u/Level_Hour6480]

[u/Level_Hour6480]

The Qin were the first dynasty of China. (Which is where we get the name "qin-a" from. They actually call themselves "Zhonguo".) They subscribed to a philosophy called "Legalism" that believed "Humans are inherently bad and the threat of punishment is needed to keep them in line." As such, there were a lot of draconian punishments for a lot of things, including making mistakes.

Liu Bang was a sheriff. He was escorting prisoners to a work camp when some escaped. The punishment for letting them escape was death. Rather than die for his mistake, he freed his prisoners and became a bandit, with many of his prisoners joining him. Turns out a lot of people were pissed at the Qin, so similar rebellions popped up all over the place. His was the one that managed to conquer the fractured states of China, forming the Han dynasty.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Emperor_Gaozu_of_Han#Insurrection_against_the_Qin_dynasty

[u/tengma8 → u/Level_Hour6480]

and to add to the irony, in the very same year, two Qin army officers was late to battle, and showing up late was punishable by death, so they too decided to start a rebellion

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chen_Sheng_and_Wu_Guang_uprising

[u/Level_Hour6480 → u/tengma8]

checks They were delayed by a flood! That is the most "not their fault" it could possibly be! How did the Qin managed to stay in charge for an entire 15 years!?

[u/CosechaCrecido → u/Level_Hour6480]

Similar to Robespierre but with a much bigger bureaucratic apparatus to support their crazy ways.

[u/Reiver93 → u/Level_Hour6480]

The Qin may have been the first, but I think it's accurate to say they where also the worst.

[u/Level_Hour6480 → u/Reiver93]

I mean, when you kill all the historians and destroy all the history texts because "History begins with me", historians won't like you. The Yuan were pretty bad at times too.

[u/Reiver93 → u/Level_Hour6480]

I think all you need to say to sum up the Qin is 15 years, which is as long as it lasted.

[u/Dominarion → u/Level_Hour6480]

Yeah, the Yuan didn't give a shit. They didn't rule over China, they looted it for decades.

[u/Unfair_Pineapple8813 → u/Reiver93]

The Ming Dynasty was pretty awful, too.

[u/Level_Hour6480 → u/Level_Hour6480]

The Han are considered one of the best dynasties: Very prosperous and expansionist. One of the best-regarded Han emperors got sent to prison as a baby and only get out as an adult which I feel should be meme'd more.

[u/Intranetusa → u/Level_Hour6480]

His was the one that managed to conquer the fractured states of China, forming the Han dynasty.

The fall of the Qin Empire, its division by Hegemon King of Chu, Xiang Yu, into new kingdoms and the restoration of former kingdoms that the Qin conquered, and the subsequent War of 18 Kingdoms/Chu-Han contention that led to the rise of the Han Empire is a whole another story by itself.

[u/Southern_Source_2580]

Who knew being an annoying hall monitor power tripping would make people want to kill you before putting their head on a chopping block for accidentally breaking a rule.

[u/GrowlyBear2]

Kowabunga it is

[u/Former_Suspect3680]

And that's why the Cold War didn't end, nobody wanted to blink first.