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Han dynasty: the story on HearLore | HearLore
Han dynasty
Liu Bang began his life as a low-ranking village official, yet he would rise to become the first emperor of a dynasty that would define Chinese identity for two millennia. In 202 BC, after defeating his rival Xiang Yu at the Battle of Gaixia, Liu Bang assumed the title of Emperor Gaozu, establishing the Han dynasty from the ruins of the short-lived Qin empire. His rise was not predestined; he was a man of humble origins who commanded the loyalty of former rebels and commoners alike. The capital was established at Chang'an, modern-day Xi'an, serving as the heart of a reunified empire that had fractured into eighteen warring kingdoms following the collapse of Qin. The early Han period was defined by a delicate balance of power, where the emperor enfeoffed his most prominent commanders as kings to secure their loyalty, creating a patchwork of thirteen centrally controlled commanderies and ten semi-autonomous kingdoms. This arrangement, however, sowed the seeds of future conflict, as the loyalty of these non-relatives was constantly questioned, leading to a series of insurrections that would eventually force the court to strip the kings of their power to appoint their own staff.
The Golden Age of Expansion
Emperor Wu, who reigned from 141 BC to 87 BC, transformed the Han dynasty from a defensive state into a global power through relentless military campaigns and diplomatic innovation. Facing the threat of the Xiongnu, a nomadic confederation that had defeated Han forces at Baideng in 200 BC, Emperor Wu abandoned the policy of appeasement and tribute that had characterized the early years. In 133 BC, after a failed plot to assassinate the Xiongnu leader, he launched a series of massive invasions that culminated in the Battle of Mobei in 119 BC, where commanders Huo Qubing and Wei Qing forced the Xiongnu court to flee north of the Gobi Desert. The Han Empire expanded its reach into the Hexi Corridor and the Tarim Basin, establishing the Protectorate of the Western Regions in 60 BC to secure trade routes. This expansion opened the Silk Road, connecting China to the Roman Empire and facilitating the exchange of goods like silk and glassware. Diplomatic missions led by Zhang Qian from 139 to 125 BC established contacts with civilizations as far as Dayuan, Kangju, and Daxia, creating a network of trade and diplomacy that would define the era. The Han also annexed Nanyue in 111 BC and Dian in 109 BC, extending their control into modern Guangdong, Guangxi, and northern Vietnam, while conquering Gojoseon in 108 BC to establish the Xuantu and Lelang commanderies on the Korean Peninsula.
The Usurper and the Floods
Wang Mang, a regent appointed to serve as acting emperor for the child heir Ruzi Ying, seized power on the 10th of January 9 AD, claiming the divine Mandate of Heaven had called for the end of the Han dynasty and the beginning of his own Xin dynasty. His reign was marked by a series of major reforms that were ultimately unsuccessful, including outlawing slavery, nationalizing and equally distributing land between households, and introducing new currencies that debased the value of coinage. These reforms provoked considerable opposition, but Wang's regime met its ultimate downfall with the massive floods of 11 AD and 12 AD. Gradual silt build-up in the Yellow River had raised its water level and overwhelmed the flood control works, causing the river to split into two new branches that dislodged thousands of peasant farmers. Many of these displaced farmers joined roving bandit and rebel groups such as the Red Eyebrows to survive, and Wang Mang's armies were incapable of quelling these enlarged rebel groups. An insurgent mob eventually forced their way into the Weiyang Palace and killed Wang Mang, ending his brief reign. The Gengshi Emperor, a descendant of Emperor Jing, attempted to restore the Han dynasty but was overwhelmed by the Red Eyebrow rebels who deposed and assassinated him. It was Liu Xiu, known posthumously as Emperor Guangwu, who distinguished himself at the Battle of Kunyang in 23 AD and was urged to succeed Gengshi as emperor, restoring the Han Empire and making Luoyang his capital in 25 AD.
Common questions
Who founded the Han dynasty and when did it begin?
Liu Bang founded the Han dynasty in 202 BC after defeating his rival Xiang Yu at the Battle of Gaixia. He assumed the title of Emperor Gaozu and established the capital at Chang'an, modern-day Xi'an.
What major military campaigns did Emperor Wu conduct against the Xiongnu?
Emperor Wu launched massive invasions starting in 133 BC that culminated in the Battle of Mobei in 119 BC. Commanders Huo Qubing and Wei Qing forced the Xiongnu court to flee north of the Gobi Desert.
When did Wang Mang seize power and what caused his downfall?
Wang Mang seized power on the 10th of January 9 AD and his regime fell due to massive floods of 11 AD and 12 AD. These floods dislodged thousands of peasant farmers who joined rebel groups like the Red Eyebrows to survive.
How did the Han dynasty end and what followed?
The Han dynasty ended in 220 AD when Cao Pi usurped the throne from Emperor Xian. This event formally initiated an age of conflict between the Three Kingdoms: Cao Wei, Eastern Wu, and Shu Han.
What technological innovations were developed during the Han dynasty?
Cai Lun invented the standard papermaking process in 105 AD and the oldest known surviving piece of paper dates to 110 AD. The dynasty also saw the invention of the three-legged iron seed drill and the heavy mouldboard iron plough.
How did Emperor Wu establish Confucianism as the state ideology?
Emperor Wu gave Confucianism exclusive patronage in 136 BC and abolished all academic chairs not concerned with the Five Classics. He established the Imperial University in 124 BC where nominees for office received a Confucian education.
After the reign of Emperor Zhang, the Eastern Han dynasty was increasingly marked by eunuch intervention in court politics and their involvement in the violent power struggles of the imperial consort clans. In 92 AD, with the aid of the eunuch Zheng Zhong, Emperor He had Empress Dowager Dou put under house arrest and her clan stripped of power. This pattern of eunuch dominance continued through the reigns of subsequent emperors, with palace eunuchs imprisoning officials like Li Ying and his associates from the Imperial University on dubious charges of treason. In 167 AD, the Grand Commandant Dou Wu convinced his son-in-law, Emperor Huan, to release them, but the emperor permanently barred Li Ying and his associates from serving in office, marking the beginning of the Partisan Prohibitions. The eunuchs Hou Lan, Cao Jie, and Wang Fu arrested Empress Dowager Dou and Chen Fan when Dou Wu and the Grand Tutor Chen Fan attempted a coup against them. Under Emperor Ling, the eunuchs had the partisan prohibitions renewed and expanded, while also auctioning off top government offices. Many affairs of state were entrusted to the eunuchs Zhao Zhong and Zhang Rang, while Emperor Ling spent much of his time roleplaying with concubines and participating in military parades. The eunuchs' grip on power was finally broken when they were massacred by military officers following the death of Emperor Ling, allowing members of the aristocracy and military governors to become warlords and divide the empire.
The Fall of the Han and the Three Kingdoms
The Han dynasty came to an end in 220 AD when Cao Pi, king of Wei, usurped the throne from Emperor Xian, formally initiating an age of conflict between the Three Kingdoms: Cao Wei, Eastern Wu, and Shu Han. The collapse of central authority began with the Yellow Turban Rebellion and Five Pecks of Rice Rebellion in 184 AD, which were largely caused by the court's alienation of the gentry class. Zhang Jue's massive rebellion across eight provinces was annihilated by Han forces within a year, but the following decades saw much smaller recurrent uprisings. Although the Yellow Turbans were defeated, many generals appointed during the crisis never disbanded their assembled militias and used these troops to amass power outside of the collapsing imperial authority. General-in-chief He Jin plotted with Yuan Shao to overthrow the eunuchs, but the eunuchs assassinated He Jin on the 22nd of September 189. Yuan Shao then besieged Luoyang's Northern Palace while his brother Yuan Shu besieged the Southern Palace. General Dong Zhuo found the young emperor and his brother wandering in the countryside, escorting them safely back to the capital and taking control of Luoyang. Dong Zhuo later poisoned Emperor Shao and was killed by his adopted son Lü Bu in a plot hatched by Wang Yun. Emperor Xian fled from Chang'an in 195 AD to the ruins of Luoyang, and was persuaded by Cao Cao to move the capital to Xuchang in 196 AD. After Yuan Shao's defeat at the Battle of Guandu in 200 AD, Cao Cao dominated the north, Sun Quan dominated the south, and Liu Bei dominated the west, setting the stage for the Three Kingdoms period.
The Invention of Paper and the Silk Road
The Han dynasty was a unique period in the development of premodern Chinese science and technology, comparable to the level of scientific and technological growth during the Song dynasty. The standard papermaking process was invented by Cai Lun in 105 AD, and the oldest known surviving piece of paper with writing on it was found in the ruins of a Han watchtower that had been abandoned in 110 AD, in Inner Mongolia. The Han dynasty also saw significant advances in metallurgy and agriculture, including the invention of the three-legged iron seed drill, which enabled farmers to carefully plant crops in rows instead of sowing seeds by hand. The heavy mouldboard iron plough, also invented during the Han, required only one man to control it with two oxen to pull it. The grain intendant Zhao Guo created the alternating fields system during Emperor Wu's reign, which switched the positions of furrows and ridges between growing seasons. The Han dynasty also developed hydraulic-powered armillary spheres for astronomy and seismometers that discerned the cardinal direction of distant earthquakes by use of inverted pendulums. These technological innovations were complemented by the establishment of the Silk Road, which connected China to the Roman Empire and facilitated the exchange of goods like silk and glassware. The Han Empire's expansion into the Tarim Basin and the establishment of the Protectorate of the Western Regions in 60 BC secured trade routes and opened the door to diplomatic and commercial relations with civilizations as far as the Parthian Empire and Rome.
The Social Order and the Confucian Revolution
In the hierarchical social order of the Han dynasty, the emperor was at the apex of society and government, but the emperor was often a minor, ruled over by a regent such as the empress dowager or one of her male relatives. Ranked immediately below the emperor were the kings who were of the same Liu family clan, and the rest of society, including nobles lower than kings and all commoners excluding slaves, belonged to one of twenty ranks. Scholar-bureaucrats who served in government belonged to the wider commoner social class and were ranked just below nobles in social prestige. The Han court under Emperor Wu gave Confucianism exclusive patronage, and in 136 BC, he abolished all academic chairs not concerned with the Five Classics. In 124 BC, he established the Imperial University, at which he encouraged nominees for office to receive a Confucian education. Unlike the original ideology espoused by Confucius, Han Confucianism in Emperor Wu's reign was the creation of Dong Zhongshu, who aggregated the ethical Confucian ideas of ritual, filial piety, and harmonious relationships with five phases and yin-yang cosmologies. The Imperial University grew in importance as the student body grew to over 30,000 by the 2nd century AD. A Confucian-based education was also made available at commandery-level schools and private schools opened in small towns, where teachers earned respectable incomes from tuition payments. Schools were established in far southern regions where standard Chinese texts were used to assimilate the local populace.
The Economy and the Monopolies
The Han dynasty experienced periods of economic prosperity as well as significant growth in the money economy, which had first been established during the Zhou dynasty. The coinage minted by the central government in 119 BC remained the standard in China until the Tang dynasty. In the early Western Han, a wealthy salt or iron industrialist, whether a semi-autonomous king or wealthy merchant, could boast funds that rivalled the imperial treasury and amass a peasant workforce numbering in the thousands. To eliminate the influence of such private entrepreneurs, Emperor Wu nationalized the salt and iron industries in 117 BC and allowed many of the former industrialists to become officials administering the state monopolies. By the Eastern Han, the central government monopolies were repealed in favour of production by commandery and county administrations, as well as private businessmen. Liquor was another profitable private industry nationalized by the central government in 98 BC, but this was repealed in 81 AD. The Han government also interfered with the profitable trade in grain when it eliminated speculation by selling government stores of grain at a lower price than that demanded by merchants. The annual poll tax rate for adult men and women was 120 coins and 20 coins for minors, and merchants were required to pay a higher rate of 240 coins. The poll tax stimulated a money economy that necessitated the minting of over 28,000,000,000 coins from 118 BC to 5 AD, an average of 220,000,000 coins a year. The widespread circulation of coin cash allowed successful merchants to invest money in land, empowering the very social class the government attempted to suppress through heavy commercial and property taxes.