The Chinese Imperial Golden Age was created not from a controlling hand that remained at it's people's throat like some imperial states, it was crafted from the caring hand that came to be placed upon the backs of it's citizens. With the fall of the Qin Dynasty and the Rise of the Han Dynasties the harsh, rigid controlling legalism state gave way to the more open and free integration of merit based systems created from Confucianism's ideologies. Confucianism allowed the Han Dynasty to set up the framework for the legality that, unlike the Qin's legalism framework, allowed for greater freedoms, the flourishing of philosophy, education, and a greater sense of self worth for the citizens of the Chinese Empire. While social classes remained as prevalent part of the Chinese system the fact of anyone having the potential to climb this social ladder and have equal opportunities within this new ruling system was an extreme catalyst for change that would effect the Chinese Empire forevermore.