China’s Imperial State Philosophy One old Chinese man alone albeit posthumously, affected more human beings throughout recorded history up to the end of the 19th century than any messianic figure or political party; ironically he died believing he had failed in his life’s quest. His only hope at that late stage as he saw it lay in future generations understanding the value of his conclusions and putting them to practice. They did but perhaps not quite in the manner he would have envisaged. To those subsequent generations who wholeheartedly embraced him and venerated his teachings he became known simply as The Sage. From the middle of the Han dynasty (100 B.C.E.) forward it was his teachings that became the foundation upon which all successive Imperial Governments ran, the Imperial Examinations System was based and which was to last 2,000 years until 1905 at the end of the last Dynasty, the…