Chinese Dynastic Cycles of Corruption and Power

Heng-Fu Zou (hzoucema@gmail.com)

No 747, CEMA Working Papers from China Economics and Management Academy, Central University of Finance and Economics

Abstract: This study models the cyclical rise and fall of Chinese dynasties through the interplay of power and corruption using the Van der Pol equation. It captures the historical pattern where dynasties emerge with low corruption and rising power, reach a peak, and collapse as corruption undermines authority. The Van der Pol model, known for generating self-sustaining cycles, reflects how early dynastic reforms drive rapid power growth, while increasing corruption accelerates decline and collapse. The system then resets, mirroring the continuous rise and fall observed in Chinese history. Additionally, the study analyzes the evolution of the system's total energy, revealing how power and corruption interact to drive cycles of expansion, instability, and collapse. Simulations further show how cor ruption feedback intensity influences the length and stability of dynastic cycles, explaining why some dynasties, like the Han and Tang, endured longer than others, such as the Song and Ming. This research offers a quantitative framework to understand the repetitive nature of dynastic cycles driven by power and corruption.

Pages: 15 pages
Date: 2025-03-13
References: Add references at CitEc
Citations:

Downloads: (external link)
https://down.aefweb.net/WorkingPapers/w747.pdf (application/pdf)

Related works:
This item may be available elsewhere in EconPapers: Search for items with the same title.

Export reference: BibTeX RIS (EndNote, ProCite, RefMan) HTML/Text

Persistent link: https://EconPapers.repec.org/RePEc:cuf:wpaper:747

Access Statistics for this paper

More papers in CEMA Working Papers from China Economics and Management Academy, Central University of Finance and Economics Contact information at EDIRC.
Bibliographic data for series maintained by Qiang Gao (mutecamel@gmail.com).