The Han Dynasty (206 BC-220 AD) is considered one of the most influential and greatest dynasties in Chinese history due to its four hundred year old reign and role as the foundation of Chinese culture. The establishment of the Han Dynasty began when peasants started to revolt against the Qin dynasty, which lost most of its power by the death of Qin Emperor Shi Huangdi. With the Rebellion gradually removing the Qin Dynasty officials, two rebel groups emerged for the throne: Xiang Yu and Liu Bang. Liu Bang managed to defeat Xiang Yu and took over the Dynasty by 206 BC to found the Han Dynasty. Many noted that Xiang Yu would have been a fine means to restore the power of the aristocratic families into the Chinese dynasty, but many agreed that Liu Bang was more focused on Qin Legalism. Liu Bang was called Emperor Gaozu in lieu of his ascension and elected Chang’an as the new capital of the empire under his regime. Chang’an was located in the West; therefore, many referred the early Han dynasty to be “Western Han”. When the Han Dynasty was briefly thwarted, the old Zhou Capital in the Luo River was selected to be the new home of the new Han Dynasty. However, the prosperity of the Han Dynasty was ended by another rebellion in the Imperial family.
Throughout the Han Dynasty, China’s political and cultural system has constantly evolved from the structure presented by the Qin Dynasty to rule each section of the Chinese Empire. However, to maximize the rule of the emperor throughout the region, the Han Emperor divided the country into thirteen administrative regions and selected people to govern the regions. Governor positions handed by the Emperor were considered hereditary thus enabling the selected family to pass their position to their children without fear of losing their honor. Under the thirteen regions were small marquisates that have their own unique identities and rules. A local rule of these marquisates have their own military forces and have a comfortable lifestyle, however, his power is small enough not to pose a threat to the main government under the lead of the Emperor. Han Dynasty’s administration was not only concentrated on the capital as it extended from the north to south territories, including the Yangtze River territories. The Han Dynasty also managed to reach the West towards the Tarim Basin (Xinjiang-Uygur Autonomous Region) through the help of his envoy Zhang Qian. Zhang Qian was able to open trading to the region and opened up caravan routes to transport Chinese silk to the central Asian region, including the Antioch, Baghdad, and Alexandria regions. The route was then known as the “Silk Road” because of its purpose to reach many countries for silk trading.
Emperor Liu Bang also presented his own changes to the Han political system as he was given two choices: the abolition of the Qin ranking system to return the Zhou power system or the centralization of the Qin system to sustain the impersonal system that would dictate the next ruler of the Han dynasty. Eventually, Liu selected the centralization of the Qin system and revised it to incorporate several changes. The first change was to divide the entire Eastern territories to award his generals fiefs. He then added a policy to ensure that the generals would not rebel against him by taking out their power from their fiefs, returning them back to the central government. The next change Liu applied was the ease of application of the Qin laws to ensure that the public will not be pushed to the limits of rebelling against his rule because of the restrictive policies. Nevertheless, his application of the Qin dynasty’s laws enabled him to improve the empire’s infrastructure, becoming one of the world’s advanced dynasties in the period. However, despite these changes in the Qin system, Liu was still compelled to follow the Legalist intensions of ensuring China’s continuous growth and expansion. Liu had to enter various alliances between the Han Empire and the nomadic tribes in the north to the south. One of the notable tribes he had to speak to was the Xiongnu from the north.
The Han Economy was closely linked to their agriculture sector as China was strictly damaged due to the rebellion. Agriculture was also the Han Empire’s dominant characteristic as the Chinese region was swarmed with the spoils of war, causing many regions to lose their fields and food supplies. Han administrators knew they have to rehabilitate the destroyed crop fields and sources of food so the public can return to their lands; therefore, they took extra care in restoring these tarnished and destroyed lands. Eventually, the Han government adopted various policies to accommodate the needs of the people for efficient agricultural production. Land grants were also adopted to entice farmers to return to their homelands. Irrigation was also expanded in the Han period as the need for proper water control was crucial to ensure that floods and water is properly diverted and sent to the fields. The empire was also divided into two areas: the Huang River Basin specializing in millet and wheat and the Chang River Basin specializing in rice Aside from agriculture, trading also became a means for the Han Dynasty to flourish throughout its rule. Road systems such as the Silk Road, enabled Chinese traders to travel their goods in various parts of the region, as well as communicate with other areas. Markets became prominent in large cities, and the variety of goods were impressive as merchants present unique items from the other. Iron was often used throughout the Han period as it enabled the introduction of weaponry and a means to develop items for agriculture and navigation.
In the early beginning of the Han Dynasty, religion was mostly mixed and the implementation of the religion varied from the court to the countryside. The Han was also very particular with the concept of immortality, which like the Egyptians, note that it can be achieved by the mortuary rituals done to the deceased to be accepted in the afterlife. Major Han emperors had labourers build massive tombs and mausoleums at Mount Li, filling them up with terra-cotta made warriors. Some of their possessions were also included in their tombs several belongings like furniture, libraries, and even some of their bust representations. Under the Han religious order about the dead, the souls or the Hun would only be able to enter paradise with the proper assistance of the people. The hun needs to be directed to the passage to paradise, and must pass the test the challenges given out by di, the universal god. The Bo or the body must be preserved from any decomposition as the bo would need to be provided with the same standards the body was accustomed to even in death. However, some had moved towards the belief in Confucianism like the first Han emperor Liu Bang. The Han Emperors considered Confucianism as the Empire’s main religion; therefore, announcing it as the state orthodoxy. Confucianism supported personal development and familial harmony as it considers these two as the important building blocks to ensure peace in the social order. Han officials were supportive over the state orthodoxy as they reinforced Confucianist teachings as they are selected through recommendations that show their capacity to adhere to the Confucian method.
Aside from religion, there were also advances that took place in the Han period such as the creation of paper and porcelain. Calligraphy, for example, was also reformed as a new style li shu or the Clerical Script was created to adhere to the invention of paper and the demand for hand-written government documents. Documentation of history was also well-practiced in the Han period as records were meticulously done and kept, many surviving to study it once they were discovered centuries later. Some subjects, such as mathematics, geography and even astronomy, were also considered to be one of the expertise of the Han dynasties as they have introduced technological reform and discovery. The technological advancements formulated by Han scientists enabled Chinese society to be above others like in the navigation sector with the introduction of the sternpost rudder and the first magnetic compass. Printing is also another invention in the Han period as government officials printed their laws on woodblocks, allowing printing to become efficient throughout the years.
Many experts in the Han period had their attentions turned in the field of Medicine. Pharmacology more specific than that of the Muslim version was first invented in the Han period and was noted to be more ambitious than the Muslim invention several years after the Han creation. Acupuncture was also recorded first in the Han period as the citizens utilized superstitious and folk medicine to cure their illnesses. According to records, it was in the Han Dynasty wherein the first records of internal organ function and blood circulations were first noted. China in the Han dynasty also became known for their metallic and ceramics, which could compete with Roman and Greek quality. As some of these metallic and ceramics find their way in the East, the educated class had taken some of the bronze and jade items into their collections. Writing was also established by the end of the Han dynasty as it had allowed the entire Dynasty to unite each class, no matter what their affiliations are, into a unique means to read and write. Some have noted that the invention of writing in the Han period paved the way for the Chinese to support national unity .
Works Cited
Adler, Philip and Randall Pouwels. World Civilizations. Boston: Wadsworth, 2011. Print.
Higham, Charles. Encyclopedia of Ancient Asian Civilizations. New York: Infobase Publishing, 2004. Print.
Yu, Peter Xiaoming and G. Wright Doyle. China: Ancient Culture, Modern Society. New York: Strategic Book Publishing, 2009. Print.
