The Han Dynasty (206 BCE - 220 CE)

2008-01-25T19:24:00.000-08:00

Introduction

The Han dynasty was one of the greatest dynasties of the Chinese history. The Han dynasty was ruled by a famous line of family called the Liu (劉) clan for over 400 years making it one of the longest reigning dynasties. The Han dynasty is usually divided into two periods of time: Western (Former) Han Dynasty which ruled from 206 BCE to 9 CE and Eastern (Later) Han Dynasty which ruled from 23 CE to 220 CE. The period in between is known as the interruption where Wang Mang, of the Xin clan, took power for 14 years. The Han dynasty is often known as the most prosperous dynasty as there were numerous improvements in several different fields. Even today, over 92% of the Chinese people in China are known as the "Han Chinese".

This is a map of the Han dynasty during its reign in 87 BCE. Its vast expanse and unity with trade and roads clearly show its importance in the Chinese history.

http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/c/c3/Han_map.jpg

Rise of the Han Dynasty

At the end of the Qin dynasty in 210 BCE, emperor Qin Shihuangdi died bring chaos to the nation to start the end of the Warring States period. China was divided into 19 individual states each with its own noble ruler. After 5 years of continuous war between these feudal states, Liu Bang became the winner when Xiang Yu commited suicide in 202 BCE to become the first emperor of the Han dynasty. Some people mark the start of Han dynasty in 202 BCE since that is when Liu Bang gained full control over the Chinese empire however, 206 BCE is also widely accepted since that is when he won the final war between the feudal states.

This is a picture of Liu Bang (劉邦), the first emperor of the Han dynasty.

http://infographie.univ-lyon2.fr/~mliandra/explor/chine/han.jpg

Leaders of the Han Dynasty

The period of the Han dynasty included the rule of 30 emperors and one interruption over a time period of 426 years. The emperors during that time are:

Liu Bang (劉邦) 206 BC – 195 BC

Liu Ying (劉盈) 194 BC – 188 BC

Liu Gong (劉恭) 188 BC – 184 BC

Liu Hong (劉弘) 184 BC – 180 BC

Liu Heng (劉恆) 179 BC – 157 BC

Liu Qi (劉啟) 156 BC – 141 BC

Liu Che (劉徹) 140 BC – 87 BC

Liu Fu-ling (劉弗陵) 86 BC – 74 BC

Liu He (劉賀) 74 BC

Liu Xun (劉詢) 73 BC – 49 BC

Liu Shi (劉奭) 48 BC – 33 BC

Liu Ao (劉驁) 32 BC – 7 BC

Liu Xin (劉欣) 6 BC – 1 BC

Liu Kan (劉衎) 1 BC – 5 AD

Liu Ying (劉嬰) 6 AD – 8 AD

*Wang Mang (王莽) 9 AD – 23 AD (Interruption)

Liu Xuan (劉玄) 23 AD – 25 AD

Liu Xiu (劉秀) 25 AD – 57 AD

Liu Zhuang (劉莊) 58 AD – 75 AD

Liu Da (劉炟) 76 AD – 88 AD

Liu Zhao (劉肇) 89 AD – 105 AD

Liu Long (劉隆) 106 AD

Liu Hu (劉祜) 106 AD – 125 AD

Liu Yi (劉懿) 125 AD

Liu Bao (劉保) 125 AD – 144 AD

Liu Bing (劉炳) 144 AD – 145 AD

Liu Zuan (劉纘) 145 AD – 146 AD

Liu Zhi (劉志) 146 AD – 168 AD

Liu Hong (劉宏) 168 AD – 189 AD

Liu Bian (劉辯) 189 AD

Liu Xie (劉協) 189 AD – 220 AD

* = not part of the Han dynasty

Some of the famous emperors include emperor Liu Bang, the first emperor of the Han dynasty, emperor Liu Che (nicknamed Wu Di), the emperor who introduced widespread Confucianism in China and established the Silk Road, and emperor Liu Kan (nicknamed Ping Di), the emperor who established a government school system in all of China.

This is a picture of emperor Liu Che (nicknamed Wu Di). He is considered to be one of the greatest Han emperors with countless achievements.

http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/0/0d/Jin_Wu_Di.jpg

Leaders during the Han Dynasty outside China

One of the most famous leaders who led during the existence of the Han dynasty was Gaius Julius Caesar. Julius Caesar lived from 100 BCE to 44 BCE at the center of the Roman empire in Rome. He was a Roman military and political leader who made a lot of reforms in the Roman government, society, and army. He led the Romans to several victories of which the most famous was the invasion of Gaul (present day France). In 49 BCE, he started a civil war and became, as he called himself, "dictator for life" or emperor of the Roman Empire. However, in 44 BCE, Caesar's old friend Marcus Brutus and a group of senators assassinated Julius Caesar in a fake petition conference in attempt to restore the republic government of the Roman Empire. Even after the death of Julius Caesar, a republic was not restored and Caesar was therefore, classified as one of the great Roman deities.

A modern day sculpture of Gaius Julius Caesar made in 1997 with pure marble.

http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/1/15/Giulio-cesare-enhanced_1-800x1450.jpg

Accomplishments of the Han Dynasty

There were numerous accomplishments during the Han dynasty in various fields. These accomplishments can be categorized into the following branches:

Technology

The technology of China was greatly improved during the Han dynasty. By 100 BCE, the Chinese had invented the most durable metal of that time: steel. Also, one of the most important inventions from the Han dynasty was paper. Cai Lun invented the modern form of paper in 89 CE. The Han dynasty had great astronomers, scientists, mathematicians, and inventors. One of them was Zhang Heng. Zhang Heng was talented in many fields and invented many things such as a hydraulic-powered sphere. Today, some people use these water-rolled spheres to decorate their houses or to keep as souvenirs. Also, Zhang Heng greatly improved the mechanical gear systems, accurately described reasons for the solar and lunar eclipses, and developed the "shi poetry" style in China showing that he was skilled at various jobs. Apart from all that, his most famous invention was the seismometer, a device used to determine the strength and direction of an earthquake. Zhang Heng made the first seismometer in 132 CE, over 1700 years before the Europeans and Japanese did with the same accuracy. Because of this, Zhang Heng is credited for being the greatest inventor of the Han dynasty.

A portrait of Zhang Heng, the greatest inventor of the Han dynasty.

http://www.s9.com/images/portraits/33301_Zhang-Heng.jpg

Economy

There were many reforms in the economy of China during the Han dynasty. There were lots of changes in the agriculture and trade for the good of the nation. First of all, emperor Wu Di sent a representative of China to explore the regions west of China several times. When his representative returned from his expedition into Central Asia and as far as the Middle East, emperor Wu Di became interested in making commercial relations with them. By 100 BCE, this famous trade route was fully developed with roads and was named the "Silk Road". This trade flourished the economy of China. Some western trade goods included silk, ivory, incense, and gold. Trade between China and their farthest trade partners, Rome, had been recorded to be a success. Also, the Chinese built more and better roads within China itself to improve communication and transportation. Agriculture was also improved by more efficient irrigation, water pumps, water ways, hydraulic waterwheels, and oxen-pulled carts. These agriculture reforms also led to improving the economy. The Chinese also introduced a standardized form of currency, a new coin, in the whole nation. This would prevent any further use of the barter system, which was very inefficient and inaccurate causing more trade and freedom to buy what each person wants.

This is a picture of the new nationwide coin introduced during the Han dynasty.

http://content.answers.com/main/content/wp/en/thumb/1/15/200px-Hancoin1large.jpg

Social Changes

There were also a some different social changes during the Han dynasty. Firstly, religion and philosophy played a huge role in the everyday life of the Chinese during the Han dynasty and many dynasties after it. More of the Chinese people started to base their arts and everyday actions on the philosophies instead of the laws. Also, there were more job opportunities in many fields including merchants, higher-paid farmers, builders, government workers, and many others. Getting government jobs were made based on test results instead of status, reputation, and wealth improving opportunities. Private contracts were also set-up for use on property ownership and loans improving the organization of the society.

Government Changes

There were countless government changes during the Han dynasty. The government itself was divided into 2 parts: central government and the local government. The central government was located at the capital by 12 ministers and controlled the bigger laws such as the taxes, the trading regulations, and many others. The local government was located in each county or sub-county (known as "xian"). There were a total of 1,180 xian or 1,180 local governments which controlled smaller laws such as the military policies, economic policies, and cultural laws. There were also new taxes during the Han dynasty. Firstly, every adult had to pay a "poll tax" of 120 coins every year. In addition, all male adults had to do labor for the government one month every year with no exceptions even if they were building a new city which is better than the previous dynasties since they would just force all males to work on a new project until it was finished, which might take a few years. Agricultural taxes was also greatly reduced to a low rate of one-thirteenth of the harvest. In the year 3 CE, emperor Liu Kan (nicknamed Ping Di) set-up a nationwide government school system to educate the children of the philosophies and rules in the Han dynasty. The Han government greatly improved China's infrastructure.

A government watchtower built with many variations in many counties.

http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/6/6a/Han_Dynasty_Model_Tower.JPG

Religion and Philosophy

The religion and philosophy changes were probably the most important set of achievements during the Han dynasty. At the start of the Han dynasty, Qin principles and philosophies were used for a few years. After that, emperor Liu Bang divided the country into several different feudal states to form a feudal system. However, after he died, his successors tried to rule China with a combined form of Tao philosophies and Legalist methods. They succeeded in making a centralized government over China with several taxation and agriculture advances. This continued until emperor Liu Che (nicknamed Wu Di) came to power. He declared that Taoism should not exist and made China a Confucian country with a few variations of Legalist methods. This change made knowing the Confucian Classics, as a test, compulsory to get a government job. This greatly improved the status of the scholars and made education a priority to everyone in China. Emperor Liu Che took the Han dynasty through a period of development with lots of technological discoveries, military expansions, new talents in people, and foreign trading. This trade eventually led to the introduction of Buddhism into China when contacts with the Kushan Empire in present-day India were found to be Buddhist preachers.

This symbol is known as Taijitu, a popular symbol from Taoism.

http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/1/17/Yin_yang.svg

Fall of the Han Dynasty

After the death of emperor Liu Da (nicknamed Zhang Di) in 88 CE, the Han Dynasty fell into the hands of bad leaders with corruption and power struggles. The emperors lost most of their power and China was ruled by 3 powerful groups: Confucian scholar-officials, empresses' clans, and eunuchs. When these groups could not agree on any beneficial change to make, the peasants started a revolution and eventually, the Han dynasty was split into 3 bringing the period of the "Three Kingdoms". Finally, in 220 CE, Cao Pi removed the powerless emperor Liu Xie (nicknamed Xian Di) by force to bring an end to once mighty Han dynasty. The greatest dynasty in Chinese history had come to an end.

A map of the "Three Kingdoms" after the fall of the great Han Dynasty.

http://homepages.stmartin.edu/Fac_Staff/rlangill/HIS%20217%20maps/Three%20Kingdoms%20map.JPG

Bibliography

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Han_Dynasty

http://www.hyperhistory.net/apwh/essays/comp/cw07hanromecollapse33100120.htm

http://www.metmuseum.org/toah/hd/hand/hd_hand.htm

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Confucian

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Taoism

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Emperor_Han_Wudi_of_China

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Zhang_Heng

http://www.travelchinaguide.com/intro/history/han/

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Silk_Road

Famous Han Quote

"Seeing it once is better than being told 100 times."

- Zhou Chonggou (Han Dynasty)

Akhil's Asian Studies Blog

The Han Dynasty (206 BCE - 220 CE)