Han dynasty

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Jump to navigationJump to search
"Eastern Han" and "House of Liu" redirect here. For the Five Dynasties-era kingdom,
see Northern Han. For other uses, see House of Liu (disambiguation).
Coordinates:  34°09′21″N 108°56′47″E

Han dynasty

"Han" in ancient seal script (top left), Han-era clerical script (top right),

modern Traditional (bottom left), and Simplified (bottom right)

Chinese characters

Traditional Chinese 漢

Simplified Chinese 汉

Hanyu Pinyin Hàn

showTranscriptions

History of China

ANCIENT
Neolithic c. 8500 – c. 2070 BC

Xia c. 2070 – c. 1600 BC

Shang c. 1600 – c. 1046 BC

Zhou c. 1046 – 256 BC

 Western Zhou

 Eastern Zhou

   Spring and Autumn

   Warring States

IMPERIAL

Qin 221–207 BC

Han 202 BC – 220 AD

  Western Han

  Xin

  Eastern Han

Three Kingdoms 220–280

  Wei, Shu and Wu

Jin 266–420

  Western Jin

  Eastern Jin Sixteen Kingdoms

Northern and Southern dynasties

420–589

Sui 581–618

Tang 618–907

Five Dynasties and Liao 916–1125

Ten Kingdoms
 907–979

Song 960–1279

  Northern Song
W. Xia
  Southern Song Jin W. Liao

Yuan 1271–1368

Ming 1368–1644

Qing 1636–1912

MODERN

Republic of China on the mainland 1912–1949

People's Republic of China 1949–present

Republic of China in Taiwan 1949–present

show

Related articles

 view
 talk
 edit

The Han dynasty (Chinese: 漢朝; pinyin: Hàncháo) was the second imperial dynasty of

China (202 BC – 220 AD), established by Liu Bang and ruled by the House of Liu.
Preceded by the short-lived Qin dynasty (221–206 BC) and a
warring interregnum known as the Chu–Han contention (206–202 BC), it was briefly
interrupted by the Xin dynasty (9–23 AD) established by the usurping regent Wang
Mang, and was separated into two periods—the Western Han (202 BC – 9 AD) and
the Eastern Han (25–220 AD)—before being succeeded by the Three Kingdoms period
(220–280 AD). Spanning over four centuries, the Han dynasty is considered a golden
age in Chinese history, and influenced the identity of the Chinese civilization ever since.
[4]
 Modern China's majority ethnic group refers to themselves as the "Han people",
the Sinitic language is known as "Han language", and the written Chinese is referred to
as "Han characters".[5]
The emperor was at the pinnacle of Han society. He presided over the Han
government but shared power with both the nobility and appointed ministers who came
largely from the scholarly gentry class. The Han Empire was divided into areas directly
controlled by the central government using an innovation inherited from the Qin known
as commanderies, and a number of semi-autonomous kingdoms. These kingdoms
gradually lost all vestiges of their independence, particularly following the Rebellion of
the Seven States. From the reign of Emperor Wu (r. 141–87 BC) onward, the Chinese
court officially sponsored Confucianism in education and court politics, synthesized with
the cosmology of later scholars such as Dong Zhongshu. This policy endured until the
fall of the Qing dynasty in 1912 AD.
The Han dynasty saw an age of economic prosperity and witnessed a significant growth
of the money economy first established during the Zhou dynasty (c. 1050–256 BC). The
coinage issued by the central government mint in 119 BC remained the standard
coinage of China until the Tang dynasty (618–907 AD). The period saw a number of
limited institutional innovations. To finance its military campaigns and the settlement of
newly conquered frontier territories, the Han government nationalized the private salt
and iron industries in 117 BC, but these government monopolies were repealed during
the Eastern Han dynasty. Science and technology during the Han period saw significant
advances, including the process of papermaking, the nautical steering ship rudder, the
use of negative numbers in mathematics, the raised-relief map, the hydraulic-
powered armillary sphere for astronomy, and a seismometer employing an inverted
pendulum that could be used to discern the cardinal direction of distant earthquakes.
The Xiongnu, a nomadic steppe confederation,[6] defeated the Han in 200 BC and forced
the Han to submit as a de facto inferior and vassal partner for several decades, but
continued their military raids on the Han borders. Emperor Wu launched several military
campaigns against them. The ultimate Han victory in these wars eventually forced the
Xiongnu to accept vassal status as Han tributaries. These campaigns expanded Han
sovereignty and control into the Tarim Basin of Central Asia, divided the Xiongnu into
two separate confederations, and helped establish the vast trade network known as
the Silk Road, which reached as far as the Mediterranean world. The territories north of
Han's borders were quickly overrun by the nomadic Xianbei confederation. Emperor Wu
also launched successful military expeditions in the south, annexing Nanyue in 111
BC and Dian in 109 BC, and in the Korean Peninsula where the Xuantu and Lelang
Commanderies were established in 108 BC. After 92 AD, the
palace eunuchs increasingly involved themselves in court politics, engaging in violent
power struggles between the various consort clans of the empresses and empresses
dowager, causing the Han's ultimate downfall. Imperial authority was also seriously
challenged by large Daoist religious societies which instigated the Yellow Turban
Rebellion and the Five Pecks of Rice Rebellion. Following the death of Emperor
Ling (r. 168–189 AD), the palace eunuchs suffered wholesale massacre by military
officers, allowing members of the aristocracy and military governors to become warlords
and divide the empire. When Cao Pi, king of Wei, usurped the throne from Emperor
Xian, the Han dynasty ceased to exist.

Contents

 1Etymology
 2History
o 2.1Western Han
o 2.2Wang Mang's reign and civil war
 o 2.3Eastern Han
o 2.4End of the Han dynasty
 3Culture and society
o 3.1Social class
o 3.2Marriage, gender, and kinship
o 3.3Education, literature, and philosophy
o 3.4Law and order
o 3.5Food
o 3.6Clothing
o 3.7Religion, cosmology, and metaphysics
 4Government and politics
o 4.1Central government
o 4.2Local government
o 4.3Kingdoms and marquessates
o 4.4Military
 5Economy
o 5.1Currency
o 5.2Taxation and property
o 5.3Private manufacture and government monopolies
 6Science and technology
o 6.1Writing materials
o 6.2Metallurgy and agriculture
o 6.3Structural and geotechnical engineering
o 6.4Mechanical and hydraulic engineering
o 6.5Mathematics
o 6.6Astronomy
o 6.7Cartography, ships, and vehicles
o 6.8Medicine
 7See also
 8References
o 8.1Citations
o 8.2Sources cited
 9Further reading
 10External links

Etymology[edit]
According to the Records of the Grand Historian, after the collapse of the Qin
dynasty the hegemon Xiang Yu appointed Liu Bang as prince of the small fief
of Hanzhong, named after its location on the Han River (in modern southwest Shaanxi).
Following Liu Bang's victory in the Chu–Han Contention, the resulting Han dynasty was
named after the Hanzhong fief.[7]

History[edit]
Main article: History of the Han dynasty
Further information: Timeline of the Han dynasty
Western Han[edit]
See also: Han–Xiongnu War and Southward expansion
Further information: Loulan Kingdom, Shule Kingdom, Kingdom of Khotan, Saka,
and Tocharians

Left image: Western-Han painted ceramic jar garnished with raised reliefs of dragons, phoenixes, and taotie
Right image: Reverse side of a Western-Han bronze mirror with painted designs of a flower motif

China's first imperial dynasty was the Qin dynasty (221–207 BC). The Qin united the
Chinese Warring States by conquest, but their regime became unstable after the death
of the first emperor Qin Shi Huang. Within four years, the dynasty's authority had
collapsed in the face of rebellion.[8] Two former rebel leaders, Xiang Yu (d. 202 BC)
of Chu and Liu Bang (d. 195 BC) of Han, engaged in a war to decide who would
become hegemon of China, which had fissured into 18 kingdoms, each claiming
allegiance to either Xiang Yu or Liu Bang. [9] Although Xiang Yu proved to be an effective
commander, Liu Bang defeated him at the Battle of Gaixia (202 BC), in modern-
day Anhui. Liu Bang assumed the title "emperor" (huangdi) at the urging of his followers
and is known posthumously as Emperor Gaozu (r. 202–195 BC).[10] Chang'an (known
today as Xi'an) was chosen as the new capital of the reunified empire under Han. [11]
Thirteen direct-controlled commanderies including the capital region (Yellow) and ten semi-autonomous
kingdoms of the early periods, 195 BC

At the beginning of the Western Han (traditional Chinese: 西漢; simplified Chinese: 西

汉; pinyin: Xīhàn), also known as the Former Han (traditional Chinese: 前漢; simplified
Chinese: 前汉; pinyin: Qiánhàn) dynasty, thirteen centrally controlled commanderies—
including the capital region—existed in the western third of the empire, while the eastern
two-thirds were divided into ten semi-autonomous kingdoms.[12] To placate his prominent
commanders from the war with Chu, Emperor Gaozu enfeoffed some of them as kings.
By 196 BC, the Han court had replaced all but one of these kings (the exception being
in Changsha) with royal Liu family members, since the loyalty of non-relatives to the
throne was questioned.[12] After several insurrections by Han kings—the largest being
the Rebellion of the Seven States in 154 BC—the imperial court enacted a series of
reforms beginning in 145 BC limiting the size and power of these kingdoms and dividing
their former territories into new centrally controlled commanderies. [13] Kings were no
longer able to appoint their own staff; this duty was assumed by the imperial court. [14]
[15]
 Kings became nominal heads of their fiefs and collected a portion of tax revenues as
their personal incomes.[14][15] The kingdoms were never entirely abolished and existed
throughout the remainder of Western and Eastern Han. [16]
To the north of China proper, the nomadic Xiongnu chieftain Modu Chanyu (r. 209–
174 BC) conquered various tribes inhabiting the eastern portion of the Eurasian Steppe.
By the end of his reign, he controlled Manchuria, Mongolia, and the Tarim Basin,
subjugating over twenty states east of Samarkand.[17][18][19] Emperor Gaozu was troubled
about the abundant Han-manufactured iron weapons traded to the Xiongnu along the
northern borders, and he established a trade embargo against the group.[20]
In retaliation, the Xiongnu invaded what is now Shanxi province, where they defeated
the Han forces at Baideng in 200 BC.[20][21] After negotiations, the heqin agreement in 198
BC nominally held the leaders of the Xiongnu and the Han as equal partners in a royal
marriage alliance, but the Han were forced to send large amounts of tribute items such
as silk clothes, food, and wine to the Xiongnu.[22][23][24]

Belt Buckle with nomadic-inspired zoomorphic design, manufactured in China for the Xiongnu. Mercury-

gilded bronze (a Chinese technique). North China, 3rd-2nd century BC. [25][26]

Despite the tribute and a negotiation between Laoshang Chanyu (r. 174–160 BC)

and Emperor Wen (r. 180–157 BC) to reopen border markets, many of the Chanyu's
Xiongnu subordinates chose not to obey the treaty and periodically raided Han
territories south of the Great Wall for additional goods.[27][28][29] In a court conference
assembled by Emperor Wu (r. 141–87 BC) in 135 BC, the majority consensus of the
ministers was to retain the heqin agreement. Emperor Wu accepted this, despite
continuing Xiongnu raids.[30][31]
However, a court conference the following year convinced the majority that a limited
engagement at Mayi involving the assassination of the Chanyu would throw the Xiongnu
realm into chaos and benefit the Han.[32][33] When this plot failed in 133 BC,[34] Emperor Wu
launched a series of massive military invasions into Xiongnu territory. The assault
culminated in 119 BC at the Battle of Mobei, where the Han commanders Huo
Qubing (d. 117 BC) and Wei Qing (d. 106 BC) forced the Xiongnu court to flee north of
the Gobi Desert.[35][36]
After Wu's reign, Han forces continued to prevail against the Xiongnu. The Xiongnu
leader Huhanye Chanyu (r. 58–31 BC) finally submitted to Han as a tributary vassal in
51 BC. His rival claimant to the throne, Zhizhi Chanyu (r. 56–36 BC), was killed by Chen
Tang and Gan Yanshou (甘延壽/甘延寿) at the Battle of Zhizhi, in
modern Taraz, Kazakhstan.[37][38]
Map showing the expansion of Han dynasty in the 2nd century BC

In 121 BC, Han forces expelled the Xiongnu from a vast territory spanning the Hexi
Corridor to Lop Nur. They repelled a joint Xiongnu-Qiang invasion of this northwestern
territory in 111 BC. In that year, the Han court established four new frontier
commanderies in this region: Jiuquan, Zhangyi, Dunhuang, and Wuwei.[39][40][41] The
majority of people on the frontier were soldiers.[42] On occasion, the court forcibly moved
peasant farmers to new frontier settlements, along with government-owned slaves and
convicts who performed hard labor.[43] The court also encouraged commoners, such as
farmers, merchants, landowners, and hired laborers, to voluntarily migrate to the
frontier.[44]

The ruins of a Han-dynasty watchtower made of rammed earth at Dunhuang, Gansu province, the eastern

edge of the Silk Road.

Even before Han's expansion into Central Asia, diplomat Zhang Qian's travels from 139
to 125 BC had established Chinese contacts with many surrounding civilizations. Zhang
encountered Dayuan (Fergana), Kangju (Sogdiana), and Daxia (Bactria, formerly
the Greco-Bactrian Kingdom); he also gathered information on Shendu (Indus
River valley of North India) and Anxi (the Parthian Empire). All of these countries
eventually received Han embassies.[45][46][47][48][49] These connections marked the beginning
of the Silk Road trade network that extended to the Roman Empire, bringing Han items
like silk to Rome and Roman goods such as glasswares to China.[50][51]
From roughly 115 to 60 BC, Han forces fought the Xiongnu over control of the
oasis city-states in the Tarim Basin. Han was eventually victorious and established
the Protectorate of the Western Regions in 60 BC, which dealt with the region's defense
and foreign affairs.[52][53][54][55] The Han also expanded southward. The naval conquest of
Nanyue in 111 BC expanded the Han realm into what are now
modern Guangdong, Guangxi, and northern Vietnam. Yunnan was brought into the Han
realm with the conquest of the Dian Kingdom in 109 BC, followed by parts of the Korean
Peninsula with the Han conquest of Gojoseon and colonial establishments of Xuantu
Commandery and Lelang Commandery in 108 BC.[56][57] In China's first known
nationwide census taken in 2 AD, the population was registered as having 57,671,400
individuals in 12,366,470 households.[3]
To pay for his military campaigns and colonial expansion, Emperor
Wu nationalized several private industries. He created central
government monopolies administered largely by former merchants. These monopolies
included salt, iron, and liquor production, as well as bronze-coin currency. The liquor
monopoly lasted only from 98 to 81 BC, and the salt and iron monopolies were
eventually abolished in early Eastern Han. The issuing of coinage remained a central
government monopoly throughout the rest of the Han dynasty. [58][59][60][61][62][63]
The government monopolies were eventually repealed when a political faction known as
the Reformists gained greater influence in the court. The Reformists opposed the
Modernist faction that had dominated court politics in Emperor Wu's reign and during
the subsequent regency of Huo Guang (d. 68 BC). The Modernists argued for an
aggressive and expansionary foreign policy supported by revenues from heavy
government intervention in the private economy. The Reformists, however, overturned
these policies, favoring a cautious, non-expansionary approach to foreign policy,
frugal budget reform, and lower tax-rates imposed on private entrepreneurs. [64][65][66]
concubine.[188] Arranged marriages were