The Professionalization and Institutionalization of the Bureaucratic System Began Earlier
During Cao Cao's administration, he understood that relying on personal authority could not maintain political stability for long in chaotic times, so he actively promoted the construction of the bureaucratic system. He employed talents without restriction, such as Chen Qun, Xun Yu, Xun You, and Sima Yi, all of whom were professional administrative talents, and established a strict selection system for civil officials. The most representative of these was the preliminary establishment of the Nine-Rank System.
Although the Nine-Rank System was officially implemented during the reign of Emperor Wen of Wei, Cao Pi, its prototype began with Cao Cao's appointment of Chen Qun to hold electoral power and the implementation of an official evaluation system, gradually freeing talent selection from the limitations of hereditary aristocracy and individual recommendations. This system had a profound impact on the personnel system of the Wei, Jin, and Northern and Southern Dynasties, establishing a combination of the bureaucratic system and the aristocratic evaluation system, and initially moving towards a system of selecting talents.
In contrast, the Shu Han regime was more inclined to "know people and employ them well" and "maintain relationships through kindness," as seen in Liu Bei's appointments of Zhuge Liang, Zhao Yun, and Jian Yong, which were largely based on personal friendships and trust. The Eastern Wu, on the other hand, faced serious constraints in appointments due to the large number of royal family members, which repeatedly affected administrative efficiency. Thus, it can be seen that the bureaucratic system of Cao Wei had a stronger institutional attribute, providing a strong administrative foundation for centralization.
Strengthening the Concept of Rule of Law and the Tilt Towards Order Governance
Cao Cao advocated "governing the country by law," adjusting the political tradition dominated by ritual and moral governance since the Qin and Han dynasties. During his rule, laws were clear, military discipline was strict, and especially during wartime, military laws were established, with severe punishments, leading the military and political system to quickly become efficient and standardized.
His approach of "replacing ritual with law" was not only a strategy to cope with war but also a choice for concentrating power and controlling order. Through legal construction, Cao Cao achieved suppression and integration of local tyrants and old forces, while reconstructing the central control chain over localities.
After Cao Cao's death, Cao Pi and Cao Rui continued to implement legal reforms, continuously improving the legal system of Wei. The "Wei Law" was a precursor to legal codes at that time, inherited by the later Jin dynasty, laying the early systematic legal framework for the Chinese legal system.
In comparison, although Liu Bei's regime emphasized benevolent governance and valued virtue, it lacked systematic legal construction, relying more on the leader's moral prestige and the execution power of individual virtuous officials. The Eastern Wu regime, although it attempted to strengthen the law, faced difficulties in truly implementing the principles of the rule of law due to local fragmentation and frequent clan conflicts. Therefore, Wei established a stable and sustainable order mechanism earlier.
Central Control Over Localities Was More Effective
After stabilizing the north, Cao Cao began to establish a tight control system over local powers. He adopted the county system as a basis and established a supervision system to curb collusion between local officials and local tyrants. He dispatched "censors" to inspect localities, ensuring that central orders could truly be implemented at the grassroots level and cracking down on local "self-governing" separatist behaviors.
In addition, Cao Cao implemented the屯田 system, organizing displaced people into屯田 households after recovering the Yellow River basin, which not only alleviated food issues but also reduced the instability brought by displaced people. This military-political integrated屯田 policy enhanced the financial autonomy of the state and allowed the central government to have tighter control over land and manpower.
Local generals such as Xiahou Dun, Zhang Liao, and Zhang He had military achievements but were always controlled within the framework of Cao Wei's central power, with no trend of independent separatism emerging. In contrast, Sun Quan of Eastern Wu frequently clashed with the royal family and local gentry, and although Lü Meng and Lu Xun could stand alone, they found it difficult to completely detach from local power influences. The Shu Han, due to its remote terrain, also experienced situations of warlords establishing themselves and difficulties in controlling the borders.
It was under this tight control that the Cao Wei regime achieved effective coordination of the central government over localities, providing a governance model for the later Three Provinces and Six Ministries system.
The Logic of Constructing Imperial Power and Recreating Dynastic Legitimacy
Although Cao Cao did not declare himself emperor during his lifetime and was only the King of Wei, his son Cao Pi ultimately usurped the Han throne and declared himself emperor, establishing the Cao Wei regime. Although the form of "abdication" was still recognized by Confucian political ethics, it was, in essence, a significant breakthrough of the Han system, marking the establishment of a new type of imperial power system.
The Cao Wei dynasty relied on the public opinion of "replacing Han with Wei" in constructing the legitimacy of imperial power. Figures like Wang Lang and Zhong Yao widely promoted the idea that "the virtue of Han has declined, and the mandate of heaven has returned to Wei," and they inherited the orthodoxy in the form of "abdication," which, although elegant in form, was essentially a power grab. This strategy of packaging political legitimacy with moral legitimacy strengthened the ideological foundation of centralization.
After Cao Pi ascended to the throne, he further adjusted the ritual system, establishing central institutions such as the Shangshu Tai and the Secretary Province, strengthening the emperor's direct intervention rights in state affairs. These institutional arrangements indicated a historical transition from "aristocratic co-governance" to "imperial dictatorship," reflecting a more mature logic of centralization.
Although the Shu Han claimed to be the "orthodoxy of the Han dynasty," Liu Bei declared himself emperor later than Cao Pi, and the regime's status remained largely symbolic on a moral level. The imperial power construction of the Eastern Wu regime was even more chaotic, with severe political tyranny and internal strife during Sun Hao's reign, ultimately resulting in a lack of a systematic framework for imperial power both ideologically and institutionally.
Adjustment of Talent Structure and Cooperation Model with Aristocracy
Cao Cao emphasized "selecting only based on talent" in employing people, breaking the monopoly of traditional aristocratic families. Even so, he was able to maintain a delicate balance among the northern aristocracy, allowing them to participate in governance without threatening the central authority. This "incorporative cooperation" strategy provided a precedent for the cooperation between dynasties and aristocracy in governance.
During the Cao Wei period, prominent families such as the Xun, Zhong, Wang, and Chen clans entered the court to hold office, wielding actual administrative power but constrained by central imperial authority and institutional rules. This method of leveraging the aristocracy while limiting its expansion laid the structural model for later aristocratic politics.
In contrast, Liu Bei's regime relied more on displaced groups and followers of old officials, integrating into the aristocratic system more slowly, resulting in the Shu Han's weak connection with local gentry in the mid to late period, affecting its governance stability. Although Eastern Wu had a foundation of Jiangdong gentry, conflicts within the royal family and distrust between the gentry exacerbated political instability.
Cao Wei established a reasonable layout of personnel and power, creating a balance among the "scholars, politics, and military," rather than mutual obstruction or separation. This optimization of talent structure was also one of the key elements of the institutional maturity of centralization.
The Influence of Institutional Inheritance on Later Centralized Regimes
The political framework established by the Cao Wei regime did not cease to exist with its demise; rather, it was inherited and further developed by the Jin dynasty. After the Sima clan replaced Wei and claimed the throne, they integrated the original system, evolving it into a more structured centralized imperial system.
For example, the prototype of the Three Provinces system originated from the functional separation of the Shangshu Tai and the Zhongshu Ling during the Cao Wei period; the Nine-Rank System directly became the core mechanism for talent selection in the Wei, Jin, and Northern and Southern Dynasties, although it later fell into the monopoly of aristocratic families, it remained part of a structured political order.
Cao Wei also laid the basic logic of coordination among the "military, administrative, and financial" powers, requiring subsequent dynasties to manage the relationship among these three powers rather than merely stacking a single power center. This institutional rationality also made the "emperor-bureaucrat-aristocracy" triangular structure a standard configuration for political stability in ancient China.
From this perspective, although Cao Wei did not last long due to the turmoil of the times, the centralization mechanisms, institutional management concepts, and integration methods of localities and personnel contained within its regime already possessed the basic outline of state governance in the era of feudal despotism.