The rise and fall of dynasties is a multiplication and division of the empire's three pillars: the fiscal code (economic extraction, corresponding to E), the military code (geography and the monopoly on violence, corresponding to the security order of S), and the philosophical code (ideology, corresponding to the legitimacy and continuity of T). When the three pillars stand together, the empire multiplies upward; when any one pillar is overworked or pulled out early, multiplication turns into division, and the empire collapses.
The remedy lies in a new connotation of money: let currency carry economic value, social value, and time value at once, transforming the empire's "extraction, monopoly, and control" into "creation, trust, and continuity." When the three values are measured on one unified yardstick, a self-regulating virtuous cycle begins — and nation, enterprise, and individual all win.
One Formula to Understand It
E fiscal extraction (resources available) · S military order (strength to keep peace) · T ideology (a creed to follow)
When all three pillars exceed 1 together, the empire enters its golden age; if any one falls to zero, the whole collapses.
When an empire answers only to fiscal E, treating the army as a private weapon and ideology as a tool of indoctrination —
the foundation is drained, the skeleton rusted, the soul hollowed; no amount of extraction can hold the realm.
What the Trilogy Is
— Guo Jianlong · The Central Empire Trilogy
Origin: Author Guo Jianlong decodes more than two thousand years of Chinese dynastic history through a trilogy: The Fiscal Code of Central Empires (2017) on economic extraction — land, money, and state-run enterprise, the foundation of imperial operation; The Military Code of Central Empires (2019) on geography and the monopoly on violence — passes, frontiers, and military systems, the skeleton of survival; The Philosophical Code of Central Empires (2018) on ideology — honoring Confucianism alone, the civil-service examinations — the soul of rule.
Guo's question: why does every dynasty repeat the cycle of "rise → zenith → decay → collapse"? Because the moment any pillar turns from support into a drain, multiplication becomes division.
The Three Pillars: How They Form
The Fiscal Code · Economic Extraction
FoundationFormation: a new dynasty taxes lightly and lets the people rest, so E, S and T grow together; in the middle and late periods, finance fixes its eyes on revenue alone — crushing levies, reckless printing, land grabbing. Extraction slides from "taking with measure" to "draining the pond", the people's hearts are drained, and the foundation caves in.
The Military Code · Monopoly on Violence
SkeletonFormation: an empire is built on strategic geography and force, yet once its armaments decay and command slips into the hands of warlords and fiefs, the skeleton rusts; conversely, if the army is used only to crush the people within, it loses the frontier without and the heart within — the twin functions of S collapse together.
The Philosophical Code · Ideology
SoulFormation: an orthodox creed answers "why should I obey you" (the legitimacy of T); but once ideology hardens into rigid essay templates and literary inquisition, thought is left with obedience alone and no future to offer — the soul dies, and the dynasty loses its capacity for self-repair over time.
Dynasties Replayed in History
When the Foundation Crushes Skeleton and Soul
Fiscal extraction (levies and corvée) peaked, the army (against the Xiongnu) was strong, but the philosophy (Legalism) spoke only of coercion — the three pillars fell out of balance.
Unifying currency and weights was a multiplication of E; but "collecting half the harvest" and grand construction pushed the people's strength (S) to its breaking point, and Legalist ideology (T) allowed no buffer. The revolt of Chen Sheng and Wu Guang was no accident — once S falls below 1, no amount of E can hold the realm.
The Han inherited Qin's system but changed its way: light levies (repair E), letting the people rest (repair S), and ruling by non-action before honoring Confucianism (repair T) — three pillars together brought the Wen-Jing reigns and the Han zenith.
Over-Extraction and a Rusted Skeleton, in Duet
The salt-and-iron monopolies drained the people (Han); the equal-field system collapsed and warlords grew strong (Tang) — E and S fell together.
Emperor Wu's salt-and-iron monopolies left the treasury full while the vitality of private commerce (S) was drained; in the mid-Tang, land grabbing and the decay of the militia system allowed the An Lushan Rebellion and then warlord fiefs, sliding the monopoly on violence (S) from the center to the regions — the empire's skeleton fell apart.
Let profit breed profit rather than wresting it from the people: take from the people with measure (E), keep force protective rather than oppressive (S), and let thought be inclusive and renewing (T) — pillars in their proper places outlast the cycle.
Prizing the Pen over the Sword, and Rigid Thought
The Song weakened the military skeleton on purpose; the Ming hardened the soul with eight-legged essays and literary inquisition — the failure of T is the most hidden and the most fatal.
The Song was rich in fiscal terms (high E) yet "prosperous on paper, weak in fact": the military skeleton was deliberately weakened (S fell to zero), prizing the pen over the sword until "ruling by scholars" became rigid; the Ming selected officials by eight-legged essays and silenced dissent through literary inquisition, turning thought into a template — the soul (T) withered, and with it the capacity for innovation and response, systematically removed.
Prosper without weakness, civil yet capable of arms, unified yet not rigid: E has wealth, S has strength, T has a creed — force guards wealth, wealth nourishes culture, and culture gives birth to the future.
Mirrors in Today's World
Chasing performance (E) alone while ignoring culture (S) and continuity (T) — the faster it grows, the more brittle it becomes: a dynastic cycle in miniature.
Pursuing income f(m) while draining health and relationships f(h) and giving up long-term accumulation f(t) — the personal version of "draining the pond."
Maintaining order through suppression (S turned inward) and loyalty through slogans (T reduced to obedience) — a hollow soul is the most hidden decay.
In history, the peak of taxation often borders the point of collapse — the stronger the extraction, the more we must ask: what is it creating, and for whom?
What the Books Confirm
The three fiscal pillars of land, money and state-run enterprise: when finance wrests profit from the people, the dynasty walks toward collapse — economic extraction is the empire's lifeline, and its noose.
Strategic geography, mountain passes, and the evolution of military systems: once the monopoly on violence slips out of balance, the imperial skeleton comes apart — guarding the frontier and keeping peace at home are two duties that cannot be separated.
From the Hundred Schools to honoring Confucianism alone and the eight-legged essay: the day ideology turns from forging consensus into training obedience is the day the dynasty loses its future.
The Remedy: A New Connotation of Money
— The Law of Value Conservation · The Way Out
Escaping the dynastic cycle is not about discarding the pillars, but about changing how they are used: finance shifts from "wresting profit from the people" to "from the people, for the people" (multiplication of E); the military shifts from "suppressing within" to "reassuring within, defending without" (multiplication of S); ideology shifts from "training obedience" to "forging consensus and admitting renewal" (multiplication of T).
The new connotation of money — let currency carry three values at once:
· Economic value E: every yuan corresponds to real goods and services created, ending "printing without producing";
· Social value S: currency circulates on trust — a stable currency is the people's confidence, rewarding those who create jobs and keep wealth with the people;
· Time value T: money is a promise across generations — education, innovation, green growth and continuity are measured, so that we never "eat our children's rice."
When money measures E, S and T at once, the empire's "extraction, monopoly and control" lose their ground, replaced by the virtuous cycle of "creation, trust and continuity" — the division formula yields by itself, and the multiplication formula self-regulates.
The Virtuous Cycle: Three-Way Win
| Player | The Virtuous Cycle under the New Connotation of Money | Values |
|---|---|---|
| Nation | Fiscal investment in the people's trust and the future → stable currency, wealth kept with the people → enduring peace | S + T |
| Enterprise | Creating real output and jobs → earning trust and long-term returns → a lasting business | E + S + T |
| Individual | Income that buys happiness and growth → creating with confidence, accumulating with peace → a multiplied life | All three |
Twin-Blossom Insights
Do not mistake "extractive capacity" for "health." The peak of taxation often borders the point of collapse — how much you can take matters less than what you create with it, and for whom.
The soul of an empire is the people's heart. Force keeps order for a while (S); only trust keeps order for the long run — obedience won by suppression is repaid at a far higher price.
The individual's f(m)×f(h)×f(t) and the nation's E×S×T are one and the same thing: only when the three values grow together is the growth real. Pillars are not fed by bleeding each other, but by nourishing each other.
History does not repeat, but the law of the pillars never sleeps.
Finance with wealth, force with strength, philosophy with a creed — three pillars standing, and the formula of an age of splendor;
creation, trust, continuity — three values above 1 at once,
this is the underlying code for escaping the cycle and winning for nation, enterprise and individual alike.
Frequently Asked Questions
Q: What is the core argument of Guo Jianlong's trilogy?
A: Imperial rise and fall is decided by three pillars — finance (economic extraction), the military (the monopoly on violence), and philosophy (ideology). When the three stand together there is an age of splendor; when any one falls out of balance, the empire collapses.
Q: Why is the failure of the "philosophical code" the most hidden?
A: Fiscal exhaustion and military defeat both show clear signs, but the hardening of ideology is slow and silent — when thought slides from "forging consensus" to "training obedience," innovation and response are systematically removed; by the time it shows, the dynasty has already lost its capacity for self-repair over time (T).
Q: What does the "new connotation of money" mean for ordinary people?
A: It lets money measure economic, social and time value at once. At the personal level this is the micro formula — do not let the chase for income drain your health, your relationships, or your long-term accumulation; keep f(h) and f(t), and your life earns compound interest.