After the death of Qin Shihuangdi, and the unrest that followed, the Han Dynasty arose. Liu Bang, a peasant leader, gained control of the Han kingdom and then conquered the Qin army. He established the Han Dynasty.
Han emperors began to change the way China was ruled. Gradually, they incorporated Confucian ideals into the government. China enterred its Golden Age, a period of stability and wealth. Education, literature and art flourished. New practices and discoveries were made.
The empire expanded into parts of modern-day Korea and Vietnam.
The Han Dynasty
How did it improve China and begin its "Golden Age?"
Golden Age of China
In what ways did the Han dynasty improve government and daily life in China?
In this period, during the Han dynasty, the Chinese made many advances that improved their government and daily life.
Government
The Han Dynasty lasted for over 400 years, from 202 BCE to 220 CE. The Han rose during a period of unrest. The Chinese people were unhappy with the harsh, Legalist rule of the Qin. Liu Bang, a rebel who gained control of the Han kingdom, conquered the Qin army and established the Han dynasty.
The Han began to change the way China was ruled. They incorporated Confucian ideals of moral behavior into the Chinese government.
Under the Han rule, China had a golden age, a long-period of stability and wealth. Education, literature, and art flourished. New practices, inventions and discoveries improved people's lives.
The Han emperors made improvements in the government. They established a strong government like Shihuangdi, but softened the harsh Legalist laws.
The government was set up as a bureaucracy (a large organization where people direct those who are at the level below them.
Advisors helped the Han emperors make decisions. The advisors were in charge of overseeing roads and canals, & grain supplies.
Civil service jobs were giving to young men who could pass the long, difficult exam. The candidates had to learn 5 books by heart. Every three years the civil servants could be promoted or demoted based on their work.
Warfare
Art
Agriculture
Industry
The Han excelled at warfare. Their military methods and new weapons helped them expand their dynasty to central Asia, Korea and Vietnam.
The Han had a large and well-organized army. All men from 23-60 had to serve two-years in the military.
Advances in iron making improved the strength and quality of their armor. A kind of fish-scale armor flexed and moved with the body.
The crossbow was one of their favorite weapons. It was made by two pieces of wood in the shape of a cross.
The Han invented the kite to measure the size of protection walls and to send messages. At night, the noise from the kites blowing in the wind caused ghostly noises, frightening the enemy.
Farmers in China faced many difficulties. They had to grow enough food for their families and the grain storehouses. They also had to make their own clothing, build their own houses, give one month of unpaid labor to the government (usually for building roads and canals).
One invention that helped farmers was the chain pump. The chain pump made it easier to move water from low irrigation ditches to the fields. Ironwork also helped the Chinese farmers. They were able to make strong iron plows and wheelbarrows.
During the Han dynasty, a key advance was made in art - the invention of paper. Paper was the ideal material for calligraphy (important to Chinese culture). It was a style of writing valued for its natural flow, as if inspired by nature.
Before the invention of paper, the Chinese wrote on silk. Silk could be rolled into scrolls, but it was very costly. People also wrote on this bamboo strips, but it was bulky and awkward to use.
Making paper changed the way people communicated. It was cheaper to produce paper than bamboo or silk, so more people could afford writing materials. Paper was also easier to bind into books.
Many materials were used to make paper, silk, hemp, bamboo, straw and seaweed. They were boiled into a silky pulp. A screen was dipped into the pulp and then set out to dry. The result was paper!
The two most important industries during the Han dynasty were silk and salt.
Silk is made from the fibers of silkworm cocoons. The Chinese developed a foot-powered machine that could wind the silk onto a reel. Because they were able to make silk faster, it helped them with valuable trading.
Salt was valued in ancient times because it was used to preserve meat and vegetables. At first salt came from the sea, but then the Chinese learned how to mine salt from under the ground.
Science
The Chinese made great scientific advancements during the Han dynasty. Chinese astronomers observed the heavens and recorded the appearance of comets. They discovered the moon shines because it reflects the sun's light. The learned solar eclipses occur when the moon blocks the sun.
Two useful instruments were invented by the Chinese. The seismograph and the magnetic compass. A seisomograph detects earthquakes. The first one was made of bronze and had a pendulum. During an earthquake, a vibration caused a ball to be released in the direction of the earthquake. They were able to predict earthquakes up to several hundred miles away.
The magnetic compass was used for finding directions, such as north and south. The Chinese believed that using direction to position their temples, homes, and graves, would bring good fortune.
Medicine
The practice of medicine during the Han dynasty still is used in traditional Chinese healing today. The Chinese believed illnesses occurred when the forces of yin and yang in the body were out of balance. Healers tried to restore the natural balance of these opposing forces.
One technique used was acupuncture, needles inserted into specific parts of the body to relieve ailments like headaches. Another technique was moxibustion or a small cone of powdered leaves placed near the skin and burned. The heat is believed to reduce pain - such as arthritis.
Chinese doctors made many discoveries about how the body works. They learned to listen to a person's heartbeat or pulse to judge their health. They discovered blood circulates from the heart, through the body, and back to the heart. Western science did not make this discovery until the 1600's CE.
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