Could there be a scenario in China where the institution of the Emperor is severely weakened, without disrupting the traditional Confucian structure? Something like:
1. The scholar-gentry getting the support of the military and expelling/executing the imperials, turning China into a giant Singapore ruled by bureaucrats of merit.
2. The scholar-gentry not doing away with the emperor but basically turning him into a figurehead. This has probably happened de facto in the past, whether by other members of the imperial family, or by the scholars, or by the eunuchs.
Basically, I know emperors have their place, to serve as the Sons of Heaven and to start dynasties and to lead military campaigns and do all of the things that a despot does. But seeing as how China was usually administered by scholar-bureaucrats, why couldn't those guys rule instead? Though I guess this is like saying "in medieval Europe the Catholic Church did much of the administration in the Holy Roman Empire, why don't the monks and bishops get rid of the kings?" But the difference there is that in post-Zhou China the class structure wasn't based on military strength like feudalism was.