We just went over this in my Non-Western Civ class today. The Chinese were very set in their traditions and in the ways their ancestors did things. So when problems arose or new technology came about, the Chinese had a very difficult time choosing between sticking with traditions or going onto new things. Think of Emperors internal conflict when they see that the tax system is out of date and needs to be reformed but they don't want to change it because it's been the same for hundreds of years. Being someone who changed something or did something for the first time was an unpopular move. Hope this helps.