What if China was never unified under a single dynasty? I think the POD would be in the Warring States period.
What if China was never unified under a single dynasty? I think the POD would be in the Warring States period.
That's going to be moderately hard. There's really next to nothing keeping china geographically separated.
As a fan of the Three Kingdoms period, it would be interesting if Wei, Shu and Wu all managed to survive and form their own national identities. All three kingdoms collapse were essentially their own doing anyway so have some competent leadership and the three kingdoms period can drag on and on until theres no desire left to restore a unified China.
the best bet is have Qin Shihuang never unite China in the first place...so all the future "Chinese" will regard united China as ASB
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That's going to be moderately hard. There's really next to nothing keeping china geographically separated.
Also if China never unites the constant competition and waring between the various kingdoms would encourage and foster technological development so maybe China won't be caught in a high-level equilibrium trap and stagnate but instead progress to a Chinese industrial-revolution.
Perhaps a divided China would create diversity in the Chinese academics, unlike Confucianism being the major thought in OTL?I'm not sure about technological development, to be honest. After all, India was in constant military competition as well but it similarly fell behind the West. I do think technological adaptation would be much faster, but that doesn't necessarily mean that the Chinese will develop more technology.
Perhaps a divided China would create diversity in the Chinese academics, unlike Confucianism being the major thought in OTL?
It was not really bound to happen, but I get the impression that the Warring States sort of intended to reunify the country already (except probably the Yue, which do not matter in this context).
Mohism (the larger school during the Warring States), for example, argues that 'aggressive wars' should not be fought... which seems to indicate that he really didn't see Chinese unification as an ideal.