History, Imperial China

Despite the reality of interstate strife throughout the Eastern Zhou period, people retained the idea that “all under Heaven” should be ruled by the Son of Heaven. Unification was achieved through force of arms in the 3rd century bc, and from then until modern times, the norm for China was a unified, centralized government ruled by a monarch. No dynasty lasted for more than a few centuries, and disorder and disunity marked the decades or centuries between dynasties; each time, however, military strongmen eventually regained control and imposed centralized rule.