In 395, the Roman Empire was divided into two parts: the Eastern Roman Empire and the Western Roman Empire. The Eastern Roman Empire was still very strong, as strong as 1453. The supreme power of the Eastern Roman Empire belongs to the emperor, who believes in Christianity and is today's Orthodox Church. In the later period, the power of the church increased, but it did not override the imperial power.
The Western Roman Empire was even worse, and it fell in 476. Later, Frankish, Lumbard, Burgundy and other nation-states appeared black and pink, and small countries were constantly at war. This period lasted 1000 years, and it was a dark Middle Ages. So many countries fight each other, and no one can beat anyone. The people are miserable, and the people generally distrust the country. This requires a kind of spiritual sustenance. At this time, the Christian church has become a universal belief, the church is getting bigger and bigger, and the religious power is above the royal power.
The Eastern Rome and the Western Roman Empire belong to the same clan and both believe in Christianity. One is centralized rule and the other is disintegration. You know, the Roman Empire in Europe was civilized at that time, and later Franks, Germans, Burgundy and so on. They are all barbarians in the eyes of orthodox Roman civilization, just like barbarians, but it is these barbarians who completely destroyed Roman civilization. Therefore, the whole medieval Europe can be said to have no civilization foundation and has been in a state of chaos and division. At this time, religion is the easiest to control people's spirit and behavior, and it is not surprising that religious power has become bigger. It can be seen that even in the chaotic areas like ancient Europe, the theocracy will be higher than the royal power only when the orthodox civilization is extremely declining and the various regimes are falling apart.
Then why doesn't China have theocracy? I think it can be divided into two parts, one is the pre-Qin period and the other is the Qin and Han dynasties.
The pre-Qin period is very long, but there are detailed historical records of the Western Zhou Dynasty, the Spring and Autumn Period and the Warring States Period. After the Shang Dynasty was overthrown and political power was established, Zhou Tianzi paid special attention to etiquette. Although there are acts such as offering sacrifices to divination, there is no excessive Shinto. The Zhou Emperor implemented the enfeoffment system, and the vassal States enfeoffed all parts of the country and paid tribute regularly, but all the vassal States enjoyed considerable autonomy. In the Spring and Autumn Period and the Warring States Period, the vassal states became bigger, the Zhou Emperor existed in name only, the enfeoffment countries were torn apart, and wars broke out everywhere. However, unlike the Western Roman Empire, the Western Roman Empire was invaded by barbarians, and those foreigners had no civilization of their own and did not have enough strength to establish a unified barbarian. During the Spring and Autumn Period and the Warring States Period, Zhou itself was a vassal state that wanted greater power and interests. Every client country has its own strong civilization. The war did not imprison people's minds, but because there was no forced reunification, everyone's minds were very open. Various schools of Taoism, Confucianism, Mohism and Legalism have emerged one after another, forming a situation in which a hundred flowers blossom and a hundred schools of thought contend. On the contrary, the whole Spring and Autumn Period and the Warring States Period was the most active period of China's ancient thoughts and the greatest progress of civilization. In this case, there can be no unified theocracy.
After the Qin dynasty unified the whole country, the enfeoffment system was abolished and the county system was implemented. After the war at the end of Qin Dynasty, great men were established. In order to consolidate the imperial power, the Han dynasty had a very powerful policy, that is, to oust hundreds of schools and respect Confucianism alone. The implementation and deepening of Confucianism completely cut off the soil of theocracy in China. Although later generations also fell apart and were invaded by foreign countries, the orthodox position of Confucianism never wavered. Moreover, although Confucianism is deeply rooted in the hearts of the people, it has neither its own fixed organization nor any supreme leader. On the contrary, its implementation must rely on the imperial power and a group of scholars who despise each other, and it only plays an auxiliary role in the imperial power.
Because Confucianism is deeply rooted in people's hearts and integrated with various policies, even when the minority regime invaded and ruled, it attached great importance to the interaction with Confucianism, and the orthodoxy of Confucianism did not waver even in the Yuan Dynasty. What about the two most popular religions in China? Taoism worships Laozi and Zhuangzi and pays attention to the cultivation of inaction, so its influence on rulers is mostly on alchemy and cultivation of immortals. For example, Emperor Wu of the Han Dynasty pursued immortality in his later years, and Emperor Jiajing practiced Taoism all his life. However, his means of governance and his ministers are Confucian, and Taoism has never become a climate.
Buddhism is introduced from other places, so it will be more powerful, and it will prevail for a while at some stages, but the rulers will be cautious about too popular religions, so there have been large-scale campaigns to destroy Buddhism in history, such as the famous three wonders to destroy Buddhism. That is to say, during the periods of Emperor Wudi of the Northern Wei Dynasty, Emperor Wudi of the Northern Zhou Dynasty and Tang Wuzong, Buddhism was particularly prosperous, and it was a bit high and wanted to get their hands on Chaogang. What was the result? Several emperors used iron fists to let them know their surnames in minutes. The emperor's methods were very cruel and resolute: destroying temples and burning scriptures, forcing secularization, and killing if you don't listen. It can be seen that the rulers of past dynasties were cautious about theocracy, and every time the movement to destroy Buddha was promoted by Confucianism. The purpose and slogan of Confucianism is to defend the imperial power, which is in line with the pace of the rulers, so the religious theocracy can never afford a stir.
It is precisely because Confucianism has penetrated into the bones of all classes of the ancients that it complements and promotes each other with the ruling kingship. Everyone will always maintain a pro-religious attitude, and theocracy will not take the initiative from the bottom up, let alone override the royal power.