Could balance of power be viable in China

What you are really looking for is he North and South dynasties, this period of history has a more established and strong South controling all of Jiangnan+ parts of the Yangtze to long river in between, and 2, or even 3 Northern states ruled by foreign powers. However, the South always seems to become too comfortable in its position with fertile land and many resources, eventually leading to decadence and destruction.

Uhm yes. That's what I meant by writing N-S dynasties. North and South. Hence the reference to the mid-sixth century.

Meh. I don't see much evidence that the South was the problem. Did a northern state ever conquer the south without first unifying the core of the north?

Decadence strikes me as an excuse. Amount and type of arable farmland, along with the taxes, labor, and soldiers it provides - that's what determines the fate of empires.
 
What you are really looking for is he North and South dynasties, this period of history has a more established and strong South controling all of Jiangnan+ parts of the Yangtze to long river in between, and 2, or even 3 Northern states ruled by foreign powers. However, the South always seems to become too comfortable in its position with fertile land and many resources, eventually leading to decadence and destruction.

Depends on which period you are talking about.The South until the Tang Dynasty was regarded as a barbaric,God-forsaken land you exile people to.

Uhm yes. That's what I meant by writing N-S dynasties. North and South. Hence the reference to the mid-sixth century.

Meh. I don't see much evidence that the South was the problem. Did a northern state ever conquer the south without first unifying the core of the north?

Decadence strikes me as an excuse. Amount and type of arable farmland, along with the taxes, labor, and soldiers it provides - that's what determines the fate of empires.

In terms of taxation,the south is definitely extremely wealthy from the Tang Dynasty onwards--so wealthy that the South was the main source of revenue for the Ming while the north was mainly a net-loss during the little Ice Age.Personally,I think that if the Southern Ming regime wasn't such a wreck politically,and they actually taxed the wealthy,they would have been able to mount a fairly effective defense and perhaps even overwhelm the Qing eventually.

As for your question of whether a regime that only partially controlled the North overcoming the entirety of the South? No.
 
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Hm. So maybe if Sichuan is not conquered by Qin, and Qin/Zhao and Yan dominate the north (maybe Yan conquers Korea), would that be a possible balance of powers?

Why exclude Sichuan? Without it the Qin are greatly diminished. A determined opponent could work them loose from the Yellow River, at which point they'd be too small a state to survive.

The key part of the scenario is each significant state having its own Sichuan - a source of taxes and recruits that the other states couldn't get at. That kind of security renders it almost impossible for another state to repeat the feat the Qin did in unifying China - rapid defeat and annexation of opponents one-by-one in a period of weakness.

Think of the last two really large states to survive: Qin and Chu.

The Chu lasted the longest because they were on the rivers, and - Wu and Yue aside - none of their opponents habitually fought war in that kind of environment. All of the river valleys south from the Yangtze plus Zhejiang represented a secure flank for the late Chu. A lot else to the north and west could be overrun without breaking the Chu as a player.

Or imagine if Qin suffered some big setback in 230 BC, just before they ran rampant over everything. Imagine their entire military is destroyed in the field. Even then, it's hard to imagine one of their rivals annexing the Qin state. Sichuan was inaccessible to the other states, the Wei valley nearly so, and the upper Yellow River a tough nut to crack. In the face of incredible disaster, they would retain a very strong chance of surviving. A power controlling the whole core of the Chinese plains could squash the Qin as in OTL the Qin did the Chu, but a divided field they could survive.

That is a model of the kind of state I could imagine surviving the Warring States period: One with some territory in the center, but enough territory behind geographic barriers to be secure, and not facing a power that controls the Central Plains.

I think you could have three of those, perhaps four somehow (Qin, Zhao, Yan, and Chu? Zhao, Chu, Wu/Yue, and Yan?). But it's easier if someone annexes Sichuan. And given the inherent weaknesses of the south, it's probably more likely to happen if the south is unified between Wuhan and Zhejiang/Yue.
 
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The thing that's special about Sichuan was that it was a natural breadbasket that's completely sheltered from attack due to it's numerous mountain passes.Qin will definitely be weaker without Sichuan.
 
Why exclude Sichuan? Without it the Qin are greatly diminished. A determined opponent could work them loose from the Yellow River, at which point they'd be too small a state to survive.

The key part of the scenario is each significant state having its own Sichuan - a source of taxes and recruits that the other states couldn't get at. That kind of security renders it almost impossible for another state to repeat the feat the Qin did in unifying China - rapid defeat and annexation of opponents one-by-one in a period of weakness.

Think of the last two really large states to survive: Qin and Chu.

The Chu lasted the longest because they were on the rivers, and - Wu and Yue aside - none of their opponents habitually fought war in that kind of environment. All of the river valleys south from the Yangtze plus Zhejiang represented a secure flank for the late Chu. A lot else to the north and west could be overrun without breaking the Chu as a player.

Or imagine if Qin suffered some big setback in 230 BC, just before they ran rampant over everything. Imagine their entire military is destroyed in the field. Even then, it's hard to imagine one of their rivals annexing the Qin state. Sichuan was inaccessible to the other states, the Wei valley nearly so, and the upper Yellow River a tough nut to crack. In the face of incredible disaster, they would retain a very strong chance of surviving. A power controlling the whole core of the Chinese plains could squash the Qin as in OTL the Qin did the Chu, but a divided field they could survive.

That is a model of the kind of state I could imagine surviving the Warring States period: One with some territory in the center, but enough territory behind geographic barriers to be secure, and not facing a power that controls the Central Plains.

I think you could have three of those, perhaps four somehow (Qin, Zhao, Yan, and Chu? Zhao, Chu, Wu/Yue, and Yan?). But it's easier if someone annexes Sichuan. And given the inherent weaknesses of the south, it's probably more likely to happen if the south is unified between Wuhan and Zhejiang/Yue.

Hm, I was thinking of Chu getting it instead while Qin gets some other defensible heartland, but since you mentioned Chu having one for itself already, hm.
 
What about a surviving Jin instead of having it being partitioned into Wei,Han and Zhao?How will this affect things?If the Duke of Jin can regain full control from the aristocratic clans then Jin might be able to be balance Qin?
 
Seems the appropriate place so I ask: in case you want to create more countries/kingdoms out of China Proper where would the most likely border be to make sure that the various country take advantage of geographical barrier to survive independent?
 
What about a surviving Jin instead of having it being partitioned into Wei,Han and Zhao?How will this affect things?If the Duke of Jin can regain full control from the aristocratic clans then Jin might be able to be balance Qin?

Jin seems to be this decentralized and fractious feudal state where the others were becoming more centralized and bureaucratic, which is why it divided into three in the first place.

That said, the situation is convenient for a balance of power. Qin and Chu and an expanded Yan can serve as the three main great powers, with the three Jins as their proxies. As for Qi, it could be a neutral power that keeps Yan and Chu from attacking it by virtue of a possible alliance with Qin.
 
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