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Liu Bang and the Han dynastyHan WudiCivil service testThe XiongnuMaodunSima QianRoyal burialsWang MangWeak emperorsThieves and RebellionsHan dynasty innovationsChinese silkEnd of the Han dynasty

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Liu Bang and the Han Dynasty

Liu Bang

China was reunited under Liu (“Loo”)

Bang.

He founded the Han dynasty.

The Han dynasty lasted for over 400 years, from 206 BCE until 220 CE.

The original Han capital was at Chang’an.

It was later moved to Luoyang.

3Han Wudi depicted worshipping Buddha

The greatest of the Han emperors was Han Wudi,

also spelled Wu Ti.

He was called the “Martial Emperor.”

He expanded the bureaucracy, built many roads, walls, and canals.

To raise money, he established state monopolies to control iron, salt, and liquor production.

Han Wudi

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Han Wudi established an imperial university in 124 BCE to train government bureaucrats.

The university was based on the works of Confucius.

At its height, the university had up to 30,000 students.

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Only the sons of nobles were allowed to become bureaucrats.

First, they had to pass the civil service test.

It took three days to complete. Each student sat in a small booth

to take the test. Sometimes hundreds of booths

would be placed in a field. Students were watched from a

tower to be certain there was no cheating.

Servants would bring the students food.

It is reported that some students actually died of exhaustion while taking the test.

The test covered current events, Confucian knowledge, creative writing, law, and mathematics.

Confucius

Civil Service Test

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Han Wudi conquered northern Vietnam and northern Korea. But to the north, Han Wudi faced the Xiongnu

(“Hong new”), who are also known as the Huns.

The Han Empire

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Xiongnu chieftain’s crown

Wudi took control of much

of Mongolia. He opened the

Silk Road, and trade became an important element of the economy for much of the Han Dynasty.

They needed to expand in order to secure the Silk Road

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Sima Qian

The greatest Chinese historian was Sima

Qian (“See-Ma Chee-En”).

He came from a family of historians.

When he turned 20, his father sent him on an expedition around China to learn about the ancient sage kings.

He became an inspector for Emperor Han Wudi.

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Sima Qian defended a friend who was to be

executed by Emperor Han Wudi.

The emperor was angered by Sima Qian’s disrespect and ordered him executed too.

However, in ancient China a man could avoid death by either paying a large sum of money or by being castrated.

Sima Qian did not have a lot of money.

He spent three years in prison and was castrated.

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Sima Qian’s history

Only castrated males were allowed to work in the emperor’s court.

Sima Qian rose to the highest level of court historian, the “Prefect of the Grand Scribes.”

Sima Qian published 2,000 years of Chinese history, from the sage kings to his own time.

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Royal Burials

During the Han dynasty nobles would be buried in suits of jade plates sewn together with gold threads.

It was thought that jade slowed the decomposition of the body.

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Wang Mang

Wang Mang

In the year 6 CE, the Han emperor-to-be was only two years old.

Wang Mang, the baby’s regent (royal guardian), claimed the throne himself.

He became known as the “socialist” emperor.

13Merchants, 1st century CE

Wang Mang tried to set limits on land ownership.

He tried to redistribute land to poor peasants.

However, China was having bad harvests and famine.

Warlords and peasants revolted against Wang Mang.

He was killed in the rebellion.

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Weak Emperors

Fengxian Cave, Luoyang (Tang dynasty)

Beginning in 25 CE, many new emperors came to power. These weak rulers were controlled by wealthy warlords. They moved the Han capital to Luoyang. Instead of helping the poor, they helped the wealthy

landowners.

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There was great poverty in China.

Gangs of thieves threatened villages with robbery and destruction.

Social rebellions, such as that of the Yellow Turbans, also threatened the government.

The Yellow Turbans were followers of Daoism.

They always wore yellow turbans on their heads.

In 184 CE they revolted against the Han emperor, but were defeated.

Thieves and Rebellions

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Han Dynasty Innovations

Chinese yoke

Paper, 105 CE The fishing reel,

200 CE The yoke, around

200 CE

The yoke is a shoulder collar for draft animals such as oxen and buffalo.

The yoke allows oxen to pull heavier carts.

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Cai Lun (“Tsai Lun”) invented paper in 105 CE. Papermaking is

considered one of the four great inventions of ancient China, along with gunpowder, the compass, and printmaking.

The paper was made from bark, hemp, and other inexpensive materials.

Paper helped China build its bureaucracy.

Cai Lun’s invention is considered one of the most important developments of mankind.

Cai Lun

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Chinese iron production

The Han dynasty supported the iron industry. Iron was used to make pots, stoves, knives,

needles, axes, hammers, saws, and other household items.

Iron tools allowed farmers to grow more food. The Chinese population expanded.

19Chinese silk making

Chinese Silk

The silk industry expanded throughout

China.

Sericulture is the art of making silk.

The Chinese raised silkworms on special farms.

Farm silkworms were only fed finely chopped mulberry leaves.

This diet helped the silkworm make a cocoon of very long and lustrous silk fibers.

The Chinese used the cocoons to make silk.

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End of the Han Dynasty

The Han dynasty fell in 220 CE under Emperor Xian Di.

Rival warlords and military commanders had grown too powerful for the emperor to control.

China collapsed into three warring states.