The Search for Peace in Times of Chaos—Volume gentry’s intellectuals became predominately Confucian Emperor Wen promoted Confucian scholars to his government’s highest offices He became the first emperor openly to adopt Confucian teachings—as Confucius had dreamed centuries earlier an emperor would The Han emperors were largely deistic; they acknowledged the existence of the gods and took part in ceremonies but were, for the most part, unconcerned with them The Han used Confucian thought as the primary ideology of the empire, in which the welfare of the people was the concern of the state and the basis of legitimate rule By 100 bc, the Confucian ideals of honor, tradition, respecting the lessons of history, and emphasizing the emperor’s responsibility to heaven became the official doctrine of the empire By embracing Confucian political ideas, the Han established a government that created a careful balance that both allowed emperors to exercise their own power and that empowered officials’ freedom to carry out their duties and even to criticize government and impeach corrupt superiors From 156–141 bc, Emperor Wen’s heirs continue the Han dynasty’s prosperity But in 141 bc, Emperor Wudi, a bright and spirited sixteen-year-old began making some changes He kept his civil servants under tight control, and he gave more authority to his representatives and civil servants Wudi altered laws of inheritance Instead of a family’s land remaining under the eldest son, he gave all the sons of a family an equal share of their father’s land, which did much to break great estates into smaller units In the twentieth year of his rule, Wudi made Confucianism China’s official political philosophy Examinations for China’s 130,000 or so civil service positions tested an applicant’s knowledge of Confucian ideology, knowledge of ancient writings, and rules of social grace rather than technical expertise Wudi’s wars of expansion and his maintenance of large armies of occupation were a burden on China’s economy They more than offset the benefits from the increase in trade that followed his conquests Imports contributed more to the pleasures of the wealthy than they did to China’s economic vitality Legalist government officials made matters worse They were hostile to private tradesmen, and they led a