A bad time
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China
Sima Qian on decay
From the time of these men on, the empire was torn by the strife of the warring kingdoms. Men honoured deceit and power and scoffed at benevolence and righteousness; they put wealth and possession first and courtesy and humility last.
– Sima Qian, Records of the Grand Historian; Han Dynasty II (revised edition). p 84 Translated by Burton Watson. Columbia University Press 1993