For 500 years, ancient China tried every fiscal system — from brutal control under Shang Yang to desperate reforms under the Han. This is how taxation built, ruled, and nearly destroyed empires.Ancient China tried everything—from Shang Yang's iron-fisted control to the Han Dynasty's desperate tax relief. This is the story of how empires learn the hard way that fiscal policy isn't just about collecting money—it's about survival.⚔️ WHAT YOU'LL LEARN:Part 1 - Shang Yang's System The "founding engineer" of Chinese empire built more than just tax laws—he designed an entire social control system that lasted 2,000 years. Household registration. Joint liability. Military meritocracy. This wasn't reform—it was total institutional redesign.Part 2 - Han Dynasty's Tax Relief Disaster They cut taxes to almost nothing. Sounds great, right? Wrong. When you can't collect land taxes properly, you tax people's heads instead—and suddenly, the rich get richer while farmers become serfs or rebels. The empire nearly collapsed from "benevolence."Part 3 - Sang Hongyang's State Monopolies A child prodigy turned finance minister who asked: What if the state controlled ALL strategic industries? Salt. Iron. Everything. His answer became the blueprint for Chinese imperial economics for two millennia—and sparked one of history's greatest economic debates.🎯 KEY QUESTIONS ANSWERED:- Why did Shang Yang's brutal system work (until it didn't)?- How can tax cuts destroy an empire?- Why did ancient China invent state monopolies 1,700 years before Europe?- What's the real cost of "squeezing" vs "breathing"?📊 THE HISTORICAL IMPACT:- Shang Yang: Transformed Qin from weak state to superpower (then Qin collapsed in 15 years)- Han Tax Relief: Cut rates to 1/30th of harvest (created landlord oligarchy crisis)- Sang Hongyang: State monopolies generated 50%+ of imperial revenue (and endless controversy)🔗 RELATED VIDEOS:https://youtu.be/9DWm_kDgDo0
