The Han Dynasty
In the civil war that occurred after the Qin Dynasty, two leaders emerged. Xinag Yu was aristocratic general who was willing to allow the warlords to keep their territories, if he was acknowledged as feudal leader and Liu Bang was one of his generals. Bang turned against Yu. Their final battle was fought in 202 B.C. Bang won and declared himself emperor of the Han Dynasty. The Han Dynasty ruled for more than 400 years. It is divided into two time periods. One which ruled for almost two centuries until 9 A.D. The other also ruled for another two centuries.
Liu Bang
Empress Lu, was the real leader. She wasn't Bang's only wife, but she had friends in court who helped her gain power. She outlived her son and named an infant as emperor. She kept control because the infant could not rule.
Liu Bang
- Wanted to destroy the rival king's power
- Established a centralized government, which is when a central authority runs a state. Commanderies were local provinces that reported to Bang's central government
- Departed from Shi Huangdi's strict legalism, which won him support from the people
- Lowered taxes
- Softened harsh punishments
- Died in 195 B.C. leaving his son as emperor
Empress Lu, was the real leader. She wasn't Bang's only wife, but she had friends in court who helped her gain power. She outlived her son and named an infant as emperor. She kept control because the infant could not rule.
Han Government
The Chinese emperor relied on bureaucracy, which was a system of government in which most of the important decisions are made by state officials rather than by elected representatives. The bureaucracy had 18 different ranks of civil service jobs, in which civilians could get government jobs by taking exams. It was expensive to run the bureaucracy and imperial army. The government gained money by taxes. Every year peasants had to give the government a month's worth of labor or military service. The Chinese government encouraged assimilation, which is the process making people that were conquered part of Chinese culture.
The Han Dynasty's Decline
There was a large gap between the rich and the poor. Political instability grew. From 32 B.C. until 9 A.D. inexperienced emperors had control. Wang Mang, a Confucian scholar and member of the court, acted as a regent for the infant that was chosen as emperor for six years. He took the title of emperor for himslef and overthrew the Han.
In 11 A.D. a great flood hit China leaving many people dead and homeless. The wealthy people of China were opposed to Mang's policies on land and joined a rebellion with the peasants. Mang was assassinated by the rebels and the second period of Han rule began.
The first decades of the second period of Han rule were prosperous. About a century later, China began to suffer from the same economic, political, and social problems that the first period of Han suffered with. The Later Han Dynasty had become three rival kingdoms by 220.
In 11 A.D. a great flood hit China leaving many people dead and homeless. The wealthy people of China were opposed to Mang's policies on land and joined a rebellion with the peasants. Mang was assassinated by the rebels and the second period of Han rule began.
The first decades of the second period of Han rule were prosperous. About a century later, China began to suffer from the same economic, political, and social problems that the first period of Han suffered with. The Later Han Dynasty had become three rival kingdoms by 220.