Despite the vast geographic differences throughout the region that constitutes China, once the various tribes and clans were unified under a consolidated ruler, Chinese empires were able to grow in size and strength. sophistication that rivaled any Western civilization. However, while Western civilizations saw empires rise and fall due to conquering armies from different regions, creeds and ethnic groups, China's political change came from within. While the disenfranchised social classes in the West were made up of conquered people from different nations, the uprisings in China were the work of different clans who managed to oust the previous ruling dynasty. While the empires that surrounded the Mediterranean Sea were limited by linguistic and cultural differences that had to be assimilated, the Chinese were able to build each subsequent empire on the bones of the previous one, making the leadership transition less burdensome. The most unifying element of Chinese culture was the adherence to a logographic written language. Unlike Western empires whose written and spoken language changed with each subsequent ruling class, the Chinese retained a common writing style that did not lend itself to changes in spelling or interpretation. Western phonetic alphabets are more malleable and can be modified to fit the population of a specific region. While in China, dialects could vary in speech and pronunciation, but a letter or manuscript could be understood by a literate Chinese citizen from the borders of the Himalayas to the coast of the East China Sea . The success of Chinese writing in maintaining order within the bureaucracy increased the efficiency of record-keeping and helped strengthen the medium-of-paper revolution, ad infinitum. Long after revolutionary fervor had died down in each dynasty and the charisma of a strong ruler could not be passed on to his heir, the aristocracy settled into an expected model of entitlement and luxury. As such, a small ruling class, out of touch with reality, eventually begins to demand more and more from the poorer classes, who were already taxed to the breaking point. Once a charismatic leader from the lower classes determines he or she has had enough and gains enough support, the ruling party doesn't stand a chance. Whether the Chinese leader is called Emperor Wu or Chairman Mao, China's governance is part of a pattern that keeps repeating itself, once the Chinese people have reached a breaking point from their political leaders; a change of regime is not far away.Works citedHistory of world societies