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The Han Dynasty Begins

Liu Bang was a commoner, a minor official in the court of the powerful Emperor Qin Shihuangdi of the Qin dynasty. Like many others, he wasn't satisfied at all with the brutal Qin rule, so he began to plot. In 206 BCE, he became king of the Han people, and that year, the new, weak Qin emperor gave him the opportunity he was seeking. Liu Bang prepared an army and stepped in to take over China.

It proved to be a hard fight against famous general Xiang Yu, who was in charge of the Qin forces. At one point, the general captured Liu Bang's father and threatened to boil him alive. Liu replied, 'Send me a cup of the soup.' His dad never did get boiled, and Liu Bang came out victorious. He was crowned Emperor Gaozu of the Han dynasty in 202 BCE, the first commoner to rule a dynasty that would last about 400 years and bring a time of prosperity and advancement to China.

Han Government

In the beginning, Han rule was not much different from Qin rule. The emperor and his bureaucratic government still stood at the center of Chinese life, and the emperor still claimed absolute power and followed legalism, a philosophy that maintained that the state was much more important than the individual, and that individuals had to conform completely to the decrees of their supreme rulers.

Over time, however, he introduced Confucianism to the government with all of its ideals of duty to society, individual virtue, and tradition. Confucianism moderated the harshness of legalism and absolute rule with a sense of morality, at least in theory. In practice, the government still directly controlled the people as it sought to unify China, and punishments for rebels were still quite harsh.

Han High Point

The Han dynasty reached its high point under Emperor Wu Ti, who ruled from 141 BCE to 87 BCE. Accomplishments and characteristics during and following this high point in Han history include:

Military conquest and expansion - In its quest for more territory, the emperor's army bumped up against the nearby Xiongnu people, better known as the Huns, in the north. The Xiongnu made periodic raids on Han territory, but eventually the powerful Han army split the Xiongnu in two. The southern Xiongnu surrendered; the northern Xiongnu moved away to the west. The Han dynasty expanded its borders from Korea to Vietnam.

Trade - The dynasty's military conquests made travel possible along the famous Silk Road, which allowed Chinese merchants to engage in active trade and cultural contact with people all the way to the Mediterranean Sea.

Paper - Paper was first used in the Han dynasty. It was developed by a man named Cai Lun about 105 CE.

History - Historian Sima Qian (145-circa 85 BCE) wrote his famous Shiji, or Records of the Grand Historian, during Wu Ti's reign. This work, sponsored by the government, recorded over 2,000 years of history and legend and became a standard and model for histories for many years to come.

Education - Han rulers valued education and set up a national university that taught Confucianism. Chinese scholars in the Han dynasty wrote books about everything from geography to botany to mythology, and even created an encyclopedia.

A Dynasty Interrupted

All this happened under what came to be known as the Western Han dynasty, but troubles were just around the corner. About 9 CE, Wang Mang, the power-hungry nephew of a widowed empress, seized the throne and set up the new Xin dynasty. Most people actually liked Wang Mang pretty well and accepted him as an emperor, but not everybody.

Wang was killed in 22 or 23 CE by a group of angry peasants led by Liu Xiu and called the Red Eyebrows (they actually painted their eyebrows bright red). The fighting lasted until 25 CE and led to millions of casualties, but in the end, Liu Xiu became the new emperor. Because he was a descendant of Liu Bang, the Han dynasty continued, but it was now called the Eastern Han dynasty.

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the han dynasty in china: characteristics

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wu ti & xiongnu - video & lesson transcript | study.com

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The Han Dynasty in China: Characteristics, Wu Ti & Xiongnu - Video & Lesson Transcript | Study.com

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Liu Bang was a commoner, a minor official in the court of the powerful Emperor Qin Shihuangdi of the Qin dynasty. Like many others, he wasn't satisfied at all with the brutal Qin rule, so he began to plot.

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Han China

When we think of the great empires of history and what they accomplished, we have to talk about imperial China. Chinese emperors reigned with absolute power and directed the rise of some of the grandest civilizations in history. This was rarely more evident than during the Han Dynasty, the period from roughly 206 BCE to 220 CE when China was under the rule of imperial members of the Han family.

Han China is remembered as a golden age in the nation's history, when Chinese culture and society flourished, embracing Confucianism, expanding the borders of the empire, and yes, building walls. However, all good things come to an end, and from roughly 189-220 CE the Han dynasty became weaker and weaker, leading to the dissolution of the empire and division of China. Let's take a look through this time period and see how even great empires can fall apart.

Han China in the Late 2nd Century

In Han China, the emperor had absolute power. This doesn't mean, however, that he ruled completely alone. After all, China's a big place, and the Han emperors relied on a class of bureaucratic eunuchs to take care of many matters of administration. The eunuchs grew to be extremely powerful and influential members of Han politics, leading to a fair amount of resentment between them and members of the extended royal family. Ten eunuchs in particular, called the Ten Attendants, were highly trusted by the emperor and had a great amount of influence in court.

At the same time as this was happening, a period of famine resulted in a peasant uprising known as the Yellow Turban Rebellion. The agrarian peasants had begun to see the government as corrupt, and then something major happened: the Yellow River flooded. The Yellow River is one of the rivers along which Chinese civilization grew, and according to traditional Chinese cosmology, the flooding of the river was one of the signs that the emperor may have lost the mandate of heaven, the divine authority to rule. So, in 184 CE the peasants broke into a rebellion that wouldn't be pacified until 205 CE. To fight this rebellion, in 188, the emperor gave substantial power to provincial governors, who quickly became little more than warlords.

The Beginning of the End

In 189 CE, Emperor Ling of Han died, leaving his 13-year-old son in charge of China. In reality, this created a power vacuum and the empress, eunuchs, and others started fighting for control. The eunuchs murdered the empress' brother and her political rival, and were themselves massacred by another warlord. At the height of this, provincial governor and warlord Dong Zhou captured a young prince and another son of Emperor Ling in 190 CE and forcibly placed him on the throne as Emperor Xian, with Dong as regent. Angry at Dong's power grab, other warlords united against him. Dong Zhou was assassinated in 192 CE, but rather than return to normalcy, China fell further into chaos.

In the resulting battles between China's warlords, one man eventually rose to prominence. Cao Cao had been a relatively minor power, until he convinced the young Emperor Xian to move into his province for protection. From that point on, Cao Cao was the effective ruler of China and began reuniting the battling warlords under his control.

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the collapse of han china: causes & timeline - video & lesson transcript | study.com

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The Collapse of Han China: Causes & Timeline - Video & Lesson Transcript | Study.com

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When we think of the great empires of history and what they accomplished, we have to talk about imperial China. Chinese emperors reigned with absolute power and directed the rise of some of the grandest civilizations in history.

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Tung Chung-Shu

Although Confucius was born sometime around the year 551 BCE, his teachings remained a rather fringe philosophy until many, many years after his death. In fact, it wasn't until a man named Tung Chung-shu came along that Confucianism became the state religion of China.

Born sometime around 179 BCE, Tung Chung-shu (also sometimes spelled as Dong Zhongshu) was a high-ranking official in China's Han Dynasty. In this position of power, he was very instrumental in helping the Han Dynasty to unify China under one central authority.

Jen & Moral Code

He was also a devout follower of Confucianism, and to use some rather Western phrasing, let's just say he had no problem mixing church with state. In fact, historians tell us he was rather famous for giving the emperor an earful of Confucius' theories on leadership and governance.

To explain, Confucius taught that China would only thrive if its rulers sought peace over power. He asserted that rulers must live by a very strict moral code and hold tightly to the Confucian virtue of Jen. Sometimes spelled as Ren, Jen is translated as desiring the good of others. In short, he believed that in order for a society to succeed, it must be governed righteously, and rulers must hold tightly to humility, loyalty and benevolence.

Son of Heaven

Adding to these beliefs, it's believed that Tung Chung-shu taught that the emperor of China was actually the Son of Heaven and that Heaven, Earth and humans were all connected by the emperor himself. To Tung Chung-shu, the emperor was seen as Heaven's representative on Earth. It was the emperor's obligation to create peace on Earth. It was his job to protect his people and promote harmony. Of course, some scholars argue this is exactly why the emperor was willing to accept Confucianism. Simply put, he liked the idea that he got to be the central authority, sort of the star of the show.

However, there was also a bit of a down side to the whole Son of Heaven idea. To use another common phrase, let's just say with great power came great responsibility. For instance, Tung Chung-shu taught that the heavens would step in and give some not-so-subtle hints if the emperor wasn't doing his job. He believed that Heaven spoke to the emperor through nature, and usually this speaking came in the form of discipline. Natural catastrophes, like storms, floods and droughts, were warnings from Heaven sent to the emperor. If something like a flood hit China's lands, it was Heaven's way of telling the emperor that he was doing something wrong and he better get himself and his people back in line.

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tung chung-shu: confucianism in the han dynasty - video & lesson transcript | study.com

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Tung Chung-shu: Confucianism in the Han Dynasty - Video & Lesson Transcript | Study.com

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Although Confucius was born sometime around the year 551 BCE, his teachings remained a rather fringe philosophy until many, many years after his death. In fact, it wasn't until a man named Tung Chung-shu came along that Confucianism became the state religion of China.

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Who Were the Han?

Following the chaos that ensued after the reign of the last Qin emperor, as well as the general fact that almost everyone hated him, a number of competing local kings tried to reestablish control over most of China. Luckily for the average Chinese peasant, who was always the victim of such armies running around and burning everything, it only took a few years for a new dynasty to establish itself.

The Han Dynasty was founded by Liu Bang and is perhaps the most enduring of all the ancient Chinese dynasties. It existed from 206 BCE to 220 CE, about the same time period as the height of the Roman Empire in the west. However, while the Romans left a legacy, the Han left an incredible way of administrative life that did not change until the beginning of the 20th century.

Administrative Innovations

As with any empire, the Han would require regional bases of power in addition to their capital. Unlike other empires, the Han approached this problem with a particular eye to detail on how to best create order. Throughout the empire, regional capitals were built on similar blueprints, with a great deal of similarity in the placement of official buildings, barracks for soldiers, and even marketplaces in capitals from the Han homeland in northern China well into the southern part of the country. These capitals allowed judges to maintain justice - and just as importantly for the Han - an efficient way to collect taxes, all while making sure that each region had a contingent of soldiers ready to establish order in the case of rebellion or protect the region against foreign invaders until the larger imperial army could arrive.

The Han Dynasty also greatly used the power of Confucius's teachings to guide their new empire. While they could not be standardized for hundreds of years later, the first Imperial Examinations based on Confucian ideals were held during the Han period in order to make sure that civil servants were ideally suited to the tasks at hand. Confucian ideals went beyond mere examinations. Then as other times in history, landowners were considered to be vital politically. Rather than try to fight the landowners, the Han gave them increasing responsibility, as well as establishing a sort of Confucian tie between landowner and those who worked the land. Needless to say, this extra level of respect made the landowners very happy, which in turn meant that they were less likely to revolt against the taxes raised by the Han.

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political contributions of the han dynasty - video & lesson transcript | study.com

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Political Contributions of the Han Dynasty - Video & Lesson Transcript | Study.com

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Following the chaos that ensued after the reign of the last Qin emperor, as well as the general fact that almost everyone hated him, a number of competing local kings tried to reestablish control over most of China.

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Kids learn the history about the Han Dynasty of Ancient China. The Emperors and accomplishments.

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Ancient Chinese Stories, Fables, and Legends for Kids

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