Modern Western political and philosophical tradition traces its lineage back to the times of the Greek and Roman civilizations much more than from the feudal period of Dark Age / Middle Age Europe. It is extremely naive to think that over several thousand years of human history, only the Chinese civilization realized the value of meritocracy. The fundamental challenge faced by any society or state is how to maintain a functional meritocracy over successive generations, as over time, a meritocracy naturally devolves into a plutocracy or some form of aristocracy. If you study any of the great Chinese dynasties (Han, Tang, Song, Ming), you see that every dynasty begins with land/wealth redistribution and centralization of power. Over time, some families, along with certain factions / groups that may vary depending on the dynasty, but generally consisting of eunuchs, consort families, military governors, wealth merchant families etc, will gain increasing amounts of wealth/land and power over successive generations. Near the end of the dynasty, you have wealth/power concentrated in the hands of these families/groups and away from the state and the people. These families/groups will then focus their attention and efforts at struggling with one another to further increase their own wealth and power, to the detriment of the rest of society and the state. Ultimately, the dynasty collapses and the cycle starts anew.