The Confucian ideal of each person accepting his social position helped legitimize the state and made people more willing to accept its power. At the same time, these ideals encouraged the state to act justly toward its people. There was reciprocity too in the fact that the state was funded partly by land taxes a portion of the harvest ; this meant that the prosperity of the agricultural estates determined the prosperity of the Han government. He created civil-service examinations to test potential government officials on their knowledge of the Confucian classics, so that bureaucrats would be chosen for their intelligence instead of their social connections.
Emperor Wu also reformed the Chinese economy and nationalized the salt and iron industries, and he initiated reforms that made farming more efficient.
Emperor Wu repelled the invading barbarians the Xiongnu, or Huns, a nomadic-pastoralist warrior people from the Eurasian steppe , and roughly doubled the size of the empire, claiming lands that included Korea, Manchuria, and even part of Turkistan. As China pushed its borders further, trade contacts were established with lands to the west, most notably via the Silk Road.
Nonetheless, the Han faced many challenges. Emperor Gaozu rewarded his supporters with grants of land, which started again the same problems that had brought down the Zhou Dynasty. Several rebellions broke out, the most serious of which was the Rebellion of the Seven States. Nonetheless, the Han emperors stamped out the rebellions and gradually reduced the power of the small kingdoms though never abolished them completely.
Another major danger to the Han was the external threat of the barbarians, the most dangerous of whom were the Huns. However, the Han Dynasty was able to face these internal and external threats and survive because of the strong centralized state they had established. Several rebellions broke out, the most serious of which was the Rebellion of the Seven States. Nonetheless, the Han emperors stamped out the rebellions and gradually reduced the power of the small kingdoms though never abolished them completely.
Another major danger to the Han was the external threat of the barbarians, the most dangerous of whom were the Huns. However, the Han Dynasty was able to face these internal and external threats and survive because of the strong centralized state they had established. It persisted until the fall of the Mongolian Empire in CE. Emperor Wu repelled the invading barbarians the Xiongnu, or Huns, a nomadic-pastoralist warrior people from the Eurasian steppe and roughly doubled the size of the empire, claiming lands that included Korea, Manchuria, and even part of Turkistan.
Map of Silk Road: In this map of the Silk Road, red shows the land route and blue shows the maritime route. The Silk Road was a series of trade and cultural transmission routes that were central to cultural interaction between the West and East.
Silk was certainly the major trade item from China, but many other goods were traded as well. These routes enabled strong trade relationships to develop with Persia, India, and the Roman Empire. Chinese Control of the Silk Road This expanded western territory became particularly important because of the silk routes. By this century, the Chinese had become very active in the silk trade, though until the Hans provided sufficient protection, the Silk Road had not functioned well because of nomad pirates.
The Great Wall of China was expanded to provide extra protection. This second Pax Sinica helped the Silk Road reach its golden age. China was open to foreign cultures, and its urban areas could be quite cosmopolitan.
The Silk Road helped to integrate cultures, but also exposed tribal and pastoral societies to new developments, sometimes causing them to become skilled warriors. However, as the Mongol Empire disintegrated, so did the Silk Road. Gunpowder hastened the failing integration, and the Silk Road stopped being a shipping route for silk around CE.
The Eastern Han period was a time of reunification and prosperity that also saw the perfection of paper and porcelain. He attempted a number of radical reforms, such as new forms of currency, a ban on slavery, and a return to old models of land distribution.
A series of major floods on the Yellow River, however, displaced thousands of peasants, and caused massive unrest. They killed Wang Mang and put their own puppet ruler on the throne.
He defeated the Chimei rebels, as well as rival warlords, to reunify China again under the Han Dynasty. Under Emperor Guangwu, the empire was strengthened considerably. Areas that had fallen away from Chinese control, such as Korea and Vietnam, were reconquered.
The Rule of Ming and Zhang, as it is called, is remembered for being an era of prosperity. Taxes were reduced, Confucian ideals were encouraged, and the emperors appointed able administrators.
Though early forms of paper had existed for centuries, the process was now perfected. With paper, Chinese texts could circulate on a durable and relatively inexpensive medium, instead of on clay, silk, or bamboo.
This allowed Chinese texts to become more readily available and encouraged learning. Another important innovation of this time was porcelain.
Porcelain existed in previous forms for centuries, but was perfected in the Eastern Han period. The improvement of porcelain allowed for durable, high-quality, and attractive ceramic ware.
Military generals appointed during these crises kept their militia forces intact even after defeating the rebels.
Their power was waning in the 1st century CE. Chinese settlers colonized the Western Territories, where formerly numerous different peoples had lived, among them the Tokharians, who spoke an Indo-European language. The many city states of the Western Territories were important trade posts on the so-called "Silk Road", along which Chinese silk was sold to Persia and the Near East. The peasant class became frustrated by massive flooding and by 23 A. Liu Xiu, a descendent of Gaozu, took advantage of the moment and grabbed control, establishing a new capital in Luoyang and the new dynasty known as the Eastern Han.
Following the death of Emperor Zhang in 88 A. The young emperors were kept isolated with eunuchs, who became their closest allies and often co-conspirators. This dynamic lead to several instances of eunuchs slaughtering families to help the emperor maintain control.
Paper was invented in China during the Han Dynasty. The court eunuchs were good for more than power plays; one of them, Cai Lun, is credited with developing paper as around A. Cai Lun pounded ingredients like bamboo, hemp, rags, fishing nets and mulberry tree bark into a pulp, mixing in water and spreading it flat. The use of paper is said to have spread quickly through the empire.
Around the same time, Xu Shen compiled the first Chinese dictionary, which included Han era characters as well as those from the Zhou and Shang periods. This dictionary continued to be an invaluable tool into the 20th Century in deciphering archaeological inscriptions. This same era also featured a boom in the work of historians. In A. Also involved was a religious cult called the Yellow Turbans who had tried to start a civil war and usher in their own dynasty.
As the situation deteriorated, the military marched in to take control in a conflict that would last until A. Mark Edward Lewis. The Dynasties of China. Bamber Gascoigne. Li Feng. But if you see something that doesn't look right, click here to contact us!
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