Han dynasty

The Han dynasty (202 BC – 9 AD, 25–220 AD) was an imperial dynasty of China established by Liu Bang. It was preceded by the short-lived Qin dynasty (221–206 BC) and by a gap in rule called the interregnum known as the Chu–Han Contention (206–202 BC). It was succeeded by the Three Kingdoms period (220–280 AD). It was also briefly interrupted by the Xin dynasty (9–23 AD), which was set up by the regent Wang Mang after he seized power. Because of this, the dynasty is divided into two periods: the Western Han (202 BC – 9 AD) and the Eastern Han (25–220 AD). The Han dynasty is considered a golden age in Chinese history, and it had a lasting impact on Chinese identity in later periods. The majority ethnic group of modern China refer to themselves as the "Han people". Spoken Chinese and written Chinese are called the "Han language" and "Han characters", respectively.

The Han emperor stood at the top of Han society and culture. He led the Han government but shared power with the nobility and the appointed ministers, who came mostly from the scholarly gentry class. The empire was divided into commanderies that the central government controlled directly, and semi-autonomous kingdoms. These kingdoms gradually lost their independence, especially after the Rebellion of the Seven States. From the reign of Emperor Wu (r. 141–87 BC) onward, the court officially supported Confucianism in education and court politics, combining it with the cosmology of Dong Zhongshu. The Han dynasty had periods of economic prosperity and grew its money economy, which had first been established during the Zhou dynasty (c. 1050–256 BC). The coinage minted by the central government in 119 BC remained the standard in China until the Tang dynasty (618–907 AD).

There were significant advances in science and technology during the Han period. These included the invention of papermaking, rudders for steering ships, negative numbers in mathematics, raised-relief maps, hydraulic-powered armillary spheres for astronomy, and seismometers that could tell the direction of distant earthquakes using inverted pendulums. The Han also had many conflicts with the Xiongnu, a nomadic confederation centered in the eastern Eurasian steppe. The Xiongnu defeated the Han in 200 BC, so the Han tried to calm them with a policy of marriage alliances and payments of tribute, though the Xiongnu kept raiding Han China's northern borders.

Han policy changed in 133 BC, when Emperor Wu began a series of military campaigns to quell the Xiongnu. Han forces cut the Hexi Corridor and Inner Asian territory of the Tarim Basin away from the Xiongnu, which helped establish the Silk Road trade route. The Xiongnu were eventually defeated and forced to accept a status as Han vassals, though the lands north of the Han's borders were later overrun by the nomadic Xianbei confederation. Emperor Wu also launched successful conquests in the south, annexing Nanyue in 111 BC and Dian in 109 BC. He further expanded Han territory into the northern Korean Peninsula, where Han forces conquered Gojoseon and set up the Xuantu and Lelang commanderies in 108 BC.

After 92 AD, palace eunuchs increasingly involved themselves in court politics, taking part in violent power struggles between various consort clans of the empresses and empresses dowager. Imperial authority was also seriously challenged by large Taoist religious societies, which led the Yellow Turban Rebellion and the Five Pecks of Rice Rebellion. After the death of Emperor Ling (r. 168–189 AD), the palace eunuchs were massacred by military officers. This allowed members of the aristocracy and military governors to become warlords and divide the empire. The Han dynasty came to an end in 220 AD, when Cao Pi, king of Wei, seized the throne from Emperor Xian.

Etymology

According to the Shiji, after the Qin dynasty fell, the powerful leader Xiang Yu made Liu Bang prince of the small region of Hanzhong. The region got its name from its location on the Han River, in what is now southwest Shaanxi.

After Liu Bang won the Chu–Han Contention, the new dynasty was named after the Hanzhong region. The Chinese character Han (漢) was also an old name for the Milky Way, which was called the "Sky River."

History

Main article: History of the Han dynasty

Further information: Timeline of the Han dynasty

In 202 BC, Liu Bang defeated his rival Xiang Yu and became emperor, starting the Han dynasty. The Han followed the Qin dynasty, which had united China but became unstable after the death of its first emperor, Qin Shi Huang. The Han made Chang'an their capital. Emperor Wu sent large military campaigns against the Xiongnu, and his government took control of several private industries to pay for them. Travels by the diplomat Zhang Qian helped start the Silk Road trade network. In 9 AD, Wang Mang took power and founded the Xin dynasty, which briefly ended the Han. Floods and rebel groups such as the Red Eyebrows weakened his rule. In 25 AD, Liu Xiu became Emperor Guangwu of Han, restored the dynasty, and moved the capital to Luoyang.

The Eastern Han lasted from 25 to 220 AD. Over time, eunuchs gained influence at court, and power struggles and rebellions, including the Yellow Turban Rebellion, weakened the empire. Powerful generals such as Dong Zhuo and Cao Cao gained control. In 220 AD, Cao Pi forced Emperor Xian of Han to give up the throne. This formally ended the Han dynasty and began the period of the Three Kingdoms.

Culture and society

Main article: Society and culture of the Han dynasty

See also: Chinese nobility, Marquis Baocheng, and Four occupations

See also: Women in Han China

Further information: Chinese philosophy and Chinese literature

Further information: Hanfu

Further information: Chinese mythology, Chinese theology, and Chinese folk religion

In Han society, the emperor stood at the top of the social order, though he was often a child ruled by a regent, such as the empress dowager or one of her male relatives. Just below the emperor were the kings of the Liu family. Everyone else, including nobles and commoners but not slaves, belonged to one of twenty ranks. Higher ranks brought bigger pensions and legal privileges. The highest rank, full marquess, also came with a fiefdom. Scholar-bureaucrats ranked just below nobles. By the Eastern Han, local educated people began to see themselves as part of a nationwide gentry class. Small landowning farmers ranked just below scholars and officials, while tenants, wage workers, and slavery in China were of lower status. Families were patrilineal, and marriages were often arranged marriages. Each son received an equal share of the family property, since there was no primogeniture. Women could earn income, and the most common work for them was weaving clothes.

Emperor Wu gave Confucianism exclusive support and set up the Imperial University in 124 BC. Han Confucianism under his rule was shaped by Dong Zhongshu. Scholars wrote important texts, and the Book of Han followed the model of the Shiji. Laws were partly based on earlier Legalism ideas, and punishments included fines, hard labour, and death. Common crops included wheat, barley, and rice. People believed in spirits and ancestors, and the emperor acted as the highest priest. Taoist groups sought immortality, and Buddhism first entered China through the Silk Road during the Eastern Han.

Government and politics

Main article: Government of the Han dynasty

See also: List of emperors of the Han dynasty and Translation of Han dynasty titles

Main article: Kings of the Han dynasty

Main article: Military of the Han dynasty

See also: List of provinces and commanderies of the Han dynasty

In Han government, the emperor was the supreme judge, lawgiver, and commander-in-chief of the armed forces. He alone chose the officials for the top posts, those who earned a 600-bushel salary-rank or higher. In theory, his power had no limits, but ministers often pushed him to accept their advice. Below the emperor were his cabinet members, the Three Councillors of State: the Chancellor or Minister over the Masses, the Imperial Counsellor, and the Grand Commandant. The Chancellor was chiefly responsible for drafting the government budget. Below them were the Nine Ministers, each leading a special ministry. The Minister of the Household protected the emperor when he went out by chariot, and the Minister Herald welcomed foreign ambassadors to court. The Minister of Finance was the treasurer for the official bureaucracy and the armed forces.

The empire was divided into provinces, commanderies, and counties, and each county had several districts made up of hamlets. A county head was called a magistrate, who kept order, registered people for taxes, and called commoners for corvée duties. Kingdoms were ruled by the emperor's male relatives as semi-autonomous fiefdoms. In 145 BC, after several revolts by kings, Emperor Jing of Han took away their right to appoint officials with salaries higher than 400 bushels. Until his reign, the Han emperors often struggled with vassal kings who switched sides to the Xiongnu when they felt threatened. The Han later made a treaty with the Xiongnu, sealed by a marriage alliance (heqin). Conscription was required for male commoners, and the army was divided into cavalry, navy, and infantry. Later, a volunteer army was favoured, along with a standing army. Units were arranged as divisions, regiments, companies, and platoons.

Economy

Main article: Economy of the Han dynasty

The Han dynasty first used the ban liang coins from the Qin. Early on, Emperor Gaozu closed the government mint and allowed minting of coins by private people. In 186 BC, his widow, Grand Empress Dowager Lü Zhi, ended private minting. In 182 BC, she issued much lighter bronze coins, which caused widespread inflation. This was not reduced until 175 BC, when Emperor Wen allowed private minters to make coins of an exact weight. In 120 BC, Emperor Wu replaced the ban liangs with the wuzhu coin, which became China's standard coin until the Tang dynasty. In 113 BC, the central government took control of coin-making from local areas, and the Superintendent of Waterways and Parks oversaw it.

Farmers paid a land tax in part of their crop yield, and the poll tax and property taxes were paid in coins. The poll tax helped create a money economy. Successful merchants used their money to buy land, even though laws tried to limit them. Many small farmers fell into debt during the later Eastern Han and became tenants, so the government tried to help them keep their own farms, including by setting up agricultural colonies. The government also took control of the salt and iron industries in 117 BC, and nationalized the Liquor trade in 98 BC, though that was repealed in 81 BC.

Science and technology

Main article: Science and technology of the Han dynasty

The Han dynasty was a unique time in the development of early Chinese science and technology. Its level of progress can be compared to the Song dynasty (960–1279). Writing materials changed during this time, and Cai Lun invented the standard papermaking process in 105. Han craftspeople used iron to make tools, and the three-legged iron seed drill helped farmers plant crops in neat rows. Timber was the main building material, so most Han wooden buildings have decayed, but some brick and rammed-earth ruins still stand. Engineers also built bridges and dug mines. Han inventors made many machines, including the rotary fan and early tools for measuring. Zhang Heng built an armillary sphere and a device that detected earthquakes. The Han also made advances in mathematics, including the first known use of negative numbers, and in astronomy.