 In part of the text that is cited in Ebrey’s work The World Beyond China, he states that the Xiongnu people despise the old and weak and favor the young and strong, giving the best food to the latter and the worst to the former. This is highly contradictory with China’s idea of filial piety, which puts family and elders above all else. Similarly, the tone in which Sima Qian describes some of their military tactics hints at a sense of disdain for their principles. He states that ‘concern for propriety or duty does not inhibit the pursuit of advantage,’ which would certainly be unwanted in a nation that heavily enforced the citizen body’s obligation to serve the state. 
The Forbidden City was built in such a manner that it would mimic their concept of the kingdom as in direct communication with Heaven. The emperors considered themselves like gods; thus the original design included 9999 rooms as compared to a god’s 10000 rooms. The yellow color on the roof tiles also reflected this belief, as yellow, an earthly color, was considered a representation of the center of everything. The city also reflected the sheer grandeur of the imperial authority. The large and imposing  Meridian gate that at the time towered over all else in Beijing is mentioned early on in Barme’s work; its position in the true north/south had the ‘power to impress and to even intimidate emissaries.’ this, along with the large mote meant to defend the city, served to impose. The order and design of the city was so meticulous that it seems to imply a government should be run efficiently and in line with morality, promoting peace and harmony (the reality  of course was that corruption existed throughout the history of Chinese empires). The court buildings were organized in groups of three, an auspicious number, and the Meridian gate also had this number of arches. The Tiannamen Gate had five arches, which was also a lucky number. Nine, symbolizing longevity, was the number of auspicious creatures featured on the rooftops of buildings. Animals such as cranes were also there to symbolize longevity.
Chinese writing’s early characters were much like hieroglyphs in that they were depictions of their definitions. For example, the early character for ri, or sun, was essentially a circle, while the original character for woman depicted a person kneeling. Combinations of basic characters, radicals, formed other words that were related to the radical. For example, combining tree characters gives the word for forest. This is particularly relevant in understanding Chinese belief that the nation is at the center of the world, as the name Zhong Guo is literally ‘Middle Kingdom.’ The way the ancient writing looked also gives insight into the life of the ancient Chinese. Li, a radical meaning power, was synonymous with the plough in ancient writing and the curve in its form also resembles the object. 