"Eastern Han" redirects here. For the Five Dynasties era kingdom, see
Northern Han.
| Han |
| 漢 |
|
|
A map of the Western Han Dynasty in 2 AD: 1) the territory shaded in dark blue represents the principalities and centrally-administered
commanderies of the Han Empire; 2) the light blue area shows the extent of the
Tarim Basin protectorate of the
Western Regions.
[1] |
| Capital |
Chang'an
(206 BC – 9 AD, 190–195 AD)
Luoyang
(25–190 AD, 196 AD)
Xuchang
(196–220 AD) |
| Languages |
Old Chinese |
| Religion |
Taoism,
Confucianism,
Chinese folk religion |
| Government |
Monarchy |
|
Emperor |
|
| • |
202–195 BC |
Emperor Gaozu |
| • |
25–57 AD |
Emperor Guangwu |
|
Chancellor |
|
| • |
206–193 BC |
Xiao He |
| • |
193–190 BC |
Cao Can |
| • |
189–192 AD |
Dong Zhuo |
| • |
208–220 AD |
Cao Cao |
| • |
220 AD |
Cao Pi |
| History |
|
| • |
Establishment |
206 BC |
| • |
Battle of Gaixia; Han rule of China begins |
202 BC |
| • |
Interruption of Han rule |
9–23 |
| • |
Abdication to
Cao Wei |
220 AD |
|
Area |
| • |
50 BC est. (Western Han peak)
[2] |
6,000,000 km² (2,316,613 sq mi) |
| • |
100 AD est. (Eastern Han peak)
[2] |
6,500,000 km² (2,509,664 sq mi) |
|
Population |
| • |
2 AD est. |
57,671,400 |
| Currency |
Ban liang coins and
wu zhu coins |
|
|
| Today part of |
North Korea
China
Vietnam
Mongolia |
The Han dynasty (
Chinese: 漢朝;
pinyin: Hàn cháo) was the second
imperial dynasty of China (206 BC–220 AD), preceded by the
Qin dynasty (221–206 BC) and succeeded by the
Three Kingdoms period (220–280 AD). Spanning over four centuries, the Han period is considered a
golden age in Chinese history. To this day, China's
majority ethnic group refers to themselves as the "Han people" and the Chinese script is referred to as "
Han characters". It was founded by the rebel leader
Liu Bang,
known posthumously as
Emperor Gaozu of Han, and briefly interrupted by the
Xin dynasty (9–23 AD) of the former regent
Wang Mang. This interregnum separates the Han dynasty into two periods: the Western Han or Former Han (206 BC – 9 AD) and the Eastern Han or Later Han (25–220 AD).
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 1911 AD.
The Han dynasty was an
age of economic prosperity and saw 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 pay for its military campaigns and the settlement of newly conquered frontier territories, the government
nationalized the private salt and iron industries in 117 BC, but these government monopolies were repealed during the Eastern Han period.
Science and technology during the Han period saw significant advances, including
papermaking, the nautical steering
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.
The
Xiongnu, a nomadic
steppe confederation, defeated the Han in 200 BC and forced the Han to submit as a de facto inferior partner, but continued their 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 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.
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