Han Dynasty History PDF

Emperor Gaozu and the Start of the Han Empire Following a mass revolt in the Qin Empire in 210 B.C. and brief control by warlord Xiang Yu, Liu Bang seized the title of emperor of the Han Dynasty in 202 B.C. He established the Han capital of Chang’an along the Wei River in one of the few surviving...

Emperor Gaozu and the Start of the Han Empire Following a mass revolt in the Qin Empire in 210 B.C. and brief control by warlord Xiang Yu, Liu Bang seized the title of emperor of the Han Dynasty in 202 B.C. He established the Han capital of Chang’an along the Wei River in one of the few surviving palaces of the Qin Dynasty and took the name Emperor Gaozu. The period of time where Chang’an served as the capital of the empire is known as the Western Han. It would last until around 23 A.D. Gaozu immediately recognized a number of kingdoms in Ancient China but systematically replaced many of the kings with members of his own Liu family before his death in 195 B.C. The idea was to prevent rebellions, but the Liu family kings often tested the stamina of the empire in favor of their own ambitions. Great Wall of China Loaded: 0% Progress: 0% PlayMuteMute Current Time0:04 / Duration Time2:14 SettingsSettingsFullscreen Empress Lu Zhi Following Gaozu’s death, the Empress Lu Zhi made an attempt to take control by murdering a few of Gaozu’s sons. Lu Zhi also personally mutilated and murdered her mother and Gaozu’s preferred mistress, Lady Qi, before throwing her body into a privy and showing it off to visitors. The power struggle lasted for 15 years, ending when Gaozu’s son, Emperor Wan, slaughtered Lu Zhi’s family and became emperor. Confucian Revival Confucianism gained popularity among Han royalty around 135 B.C. during the early reign of Emperor Wu. Confucianism had stayed alive in China thanks to the efforts of intellectuals like Fu Sheng, who managed to keep some Confucian literature during the Qin Dynasty and beyond. Many Confucian texts had been confiscated by the Qin Dynasty and then permanently lost when the imperial library was burned down in a civil war in 210 B.C. Fu Sheng had saved The Book of Documents, and the Han Dynasty put forth a forceful effort to round-up remaining Confucian documents. Some were in the possession of kings, while others were found in the walls of Confucius’ home. In 136 B.C., a program in the imperial university was created for teaching the Five Classics of Confucianism—five books called the Book of Changes, the Book of Documents, the Book of Odes, the Book of Rites and the Spring and Autumn Annals— translated into modern script. By the year second century A.D., the university had 30,000 students studying Confucianism. Silk Road In 138 B.C., a man named Zhang Qian was sent on a mission by Emperor Wu to make contact with tribes to the west. He and his party were captured by the Xiognu tribe, but Zhang Qian escaped and continued west. He reached Afghanistan, in an area known as Bactria, which was under Greek control. In Bactria, Zhang Qian saw bamboo and textiles brought from China and asked how they had gotten there. He was told that the items came from a kingdom in Afghanistan called Shendu. Thirteen years after he had left, Zhang Qian made his way back to the Emperor, told him of what he had seen and mapped out a route to send an expedition back there. The map and this route was used more and more, and developed into the international trade route known as the Silk Road. SY/Wikimedia Commons/CC BY-SA 4.0 Map showing the expansion of Han dynasty in 2nd century BC. The orange line marks Zhang Qians travels. Han Dynasty Art Most knowledge of Han Dynasty art comes from the tombs of ruling families. The Wu Family site in Jiaxiang is one of the most famous. With two underground chambers beneath four shrines, the tomb features 70 carved stones and painted ceilings and walls depicting historical figures. The site contained about 3,000 examples of Han Dynasty art figures, utilizing silver, bronze, gold, jade, silk and pottery. Two suits with 2,000 pieces of jade in each were discovered in the tomb. Found often in Han Dynasty tombs are models of houses in pottery form, with varying degrees of sophistication. The tomb are believed to have survived with their treasures intact because their outside areas were not adorned in any special way, but marked only by a large pile of dirt.