In the history of China's dynasties, why do those ambitious emperors often leave a profound mark in history through wars, expansion, the construction of large projects, or through debauchery and tyranny, yet very few are independently renowned for "making the people happy"? The core reason lies in the fact that, within the structure of the Chinese imperial system, the "people" are fundamentally viewed as production resources for the rulers, rather than as political subjects.

Since "the people" are the means of production, their value is more reflected in their mobilization, taxation, and disposability, rather than in their own happiness. For the vested interest class, the happiness derived from the means of production does not constitute a political goal and does not directly bring ruling benefits. On the contrary, "people's happiness" as a standard for evaluating the emperor's achievements will strengthen the subjectivity of the means of production, thereby weakening the supreme authority of the ruler. Therefore, traditional official historical texts will naturally not treat this as the core of their main narrative or achievement evaluation.

In contrast, war and large-scale construction projects are more in line with the logic of imperial power—they possess high visibility (facilitating propaganda and the shaping of prestige), high extraction (able to strengthen central authority), and high immediate returns (producing results in the short term). These actions can quickly translate into legitimacy for the ruler, or at least enhance the ruler's prestige among the elite, and their historical memory is therefore more easily recorded, amplified, and passed down.

Therefore, in a political system based on an extractive institution, "the happiness of the people" is not a significant indicator for evaluating the emperor; rather, grand projects and military actions that can be flaunted, mobilized, and concentrated with resources are the performance models most favored by the imperial machine, and they are also the easiest to leave traces in historical records.