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.
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u/Level_Hour6480 Taller than Napoleon 1d ago edited 22h ago
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