Transformative Dynasty

The Han dynasty lasted for nearly 400 years. A dynasty refers to a period of an empire ruled by a single family. In China, though, the definition of “family” is not strict. In Chinese history, there have been nine major dynasties. Most dynasties were created by royal families who emerged from within China.

The Han dynasty was created by leaders from Han, a region of China. It lined up with the period of the Roman Republic and Empire in western Afro-Eurasia. Politically, it created the imperial system used by later dynasties. Technically, though, it was not the first Chinese dynasty. It also fostered the spread of community-minded ideas and beliefs. Together, these changes created a sense of shared Chinese culture for the first time.

The period can be broken down into three stages:

• Western Han (206 BCE to 9 CE), when the capital is Chang’an
• Wang Mang (9 to 23 CE), also called Xin dynasty or Wang interregnum (pause between wars)
• Eastern Han (25 to 220 CE), when the capital is Luoyang

Qin Origins of the Han Imperial System

Before the third century, China was broken into many smaller states. At the core were a set of small kingdoms. One of those was Han. These kingdoms shared their language, values, and forms of political organization. Farther away, the states were more rural. People spoke languages associated with those of central Asia. The most significant of these countryside people were the Xiongnu. This group felt alarmed by the growing populations of central China. In turn, people in the east also felt the Xiongnu were a threat.

Around the middle of 300 BCE, the northwest kingdom of Qin took power. It managed to briefly rule other states. They had a powerful ruler, Qin Shi Huangdi (ruled 221 to 210 BCE). He created a military-style governing structure. Qin picked people to lead the different states. The Qin state also adopted and spread ideas that helped it to rule. The main one was Legalism, which emphasized obedience to the state. This extended Qin’s rule beyond the core Chinese states to some neighboring societies. The Xiongnu and others were now in trouble.

The Qin dynasty crumbled after its leader died. Too many people opposed the Qin’s strict leadership. Two Qin officials then fought to take control. One was Liu Bang, who later became known as Emperor Gaozu. Gaozu led the Han state after 206 BCE. That year marked the start of the Han dynasty. Gaozu fought and won a civil war. Four years later, Gaozu united the central kingdoms of China into one empire.

Consolidation

How did this new dynasty come to be so important in Chinese history?

Early on, the Han rulers learned to mix the harsh but effective Legalism with the softer views of Confucianism. Obedience was still demanded. However, the blended approach also recognized that rulers should provide for their people. Even ideas from the religion Daoism crept into this philosophy. For example, the Han emperors believed that humans were part of the natural world. They said agriculture and nature could only thrive under good rulers. All of this came together in the central idea of Han rule. It was called the Mandate of Heaven.

The Mandate said that the emperors ruled because they had fulfilled their ren, or “benevolent duty,” to the community. But it also said that heaven would punish poor rulers. Crops would fail or natural disasters would happen. Under the Mandate of Heaven, bad rulers could be replaced.

The Mandate of Heaven was supported by a government led by Confucian scholars. They were educated and effective. These officials created systems to communicate with each other, collect information, and report problems. The result was a period of peace and wealth. Peasants could safely work the land, producing more food. Trade within the state expanded. The millet-growing regions of the north and rice-growing regions of the south could send food to each other. That was especially important if one crop or the other failed. Populations exploded due to this peace and steady food production.

Various approaches were taken to expand state governing control. In 119 BCE the state took over iron and silk production. Forty-nine foundries, or metal factories, produced many farming tools. Metalworkers experimented with different kinds of iron. Their work led to the production of steel. Many farms were involved in silk production. Silk fabric was highly valuable. It could be used to pay taxes and buy horses. The Silk Road trade networks formed to reach Roman customers, 7,000 miles away, who greatly demanded silk. During the Eastern Han, a form of paper was created. It was made from boiled pieces of fabric, bark, and hemp. The first Chinese dictionary (Shuowen jiezi) was gathered around 100 CE. It listed more than 9,000 characters and their meanings.

The Xiongnu and the Zhang Qiang mission

One main problem faced the Han for much of this period. It involved the roaming people of the central Asian grassland, the Xiongnu. The Xiongnu disliked the growth of China onto their land. At first, the Han emperors tried to be friendly. They even sent a princess to marry the Xiongnu leader. They called him an equal to the Chinese emperor. The Xiongnu were important partners in the Silk Road trading route, so fighting might have hurt trade relations. However, the two states had very different interests. Their leaders argued about land, trade, and borders.

Emperor Wudi ruled from 141 to 87 BCE. In 138 BCE, Wudi sent a messenger named Zhang Qiang to central Asia. Wudi wanted to get horses and allies to fight the Xiongnu. Zhang Qiang was captured by the Xiongnu, and later escaped. Meanwhile, Wudi battled the Xiongnu effectively enough to take some of their territory. Then, the states went back to negotiating. Wudi also increased Chinese influence in parts of Korea and Southeast Asia.

Mang and Eastern Han

Emperor Wudi’s warring nearly drained the state’s bank. The government had to raise taxes. The people of China could not pay those taxes and feed their families. At the same time, court eunuchs were becoming more powerful than the Confucian scholars. The eunuchs were men thought to be loyal to the emperor. They began to take the power of the imperial court. The eunuchs kept the emperor away from the increasingly unhappy people.

Wang Mang was a Confucian-trained official. He used the Mandate of Heaven to take the throne in 9 CE. Mang was supported by large numbers of angry and hungry peasants.

Mang tried to change the state. He did not have great success. So, a Han leader named Liu Xiu reclaimed the throne in 23 CE. Liu Xiu became known as Emperor Guang Wudi. He established the capital in Luoyang, east of the old capital. That’s why the second period of Han history is called the Eastern Han. It was a rich period for culture that lasted about 200 years. However, it suffered from various governing challenges. In particular, there were many conflicts within the imperial court. The long-standing administrators, the court eunuchs, and the families of empresses fought one another. Empresses were usually the daughters of powerful lords. They often married into the imperial family. The empresses brought their own people to the court. Some of these people clashed with the eunuchs for power. This created an environment allowing for abuse of power and dishonesty.

Such corruption angered the trained Confucian officials in the provinces. They soon found it impossible to govern. Their imperial court was falling apart. It became harder to address peasants’ problems. In the end, the Han dynasty simply could not serve its people effectively. Floods and droughts devasted the people, but internal problems prevented the dynasty from helping. That was a really big problem if your dynasty was trying to claim they had the Mandate of Heaven. The Han could no longer say they were good leaders.

Later eras will show how these problems affected the future of China. Still, the Han dynasty made a huge impact. It created a business powerhouse that played a key role in the growth of trade across Afro-Eurasia. Larger Chinese borders were established. The Han created a shared sense of Chinese identity for tens of millions of people.

Equally, even today, many Chinese call themselves Han rem, or Han people. That is impressive for a dynasty that ended 1,800 years ago.