Consolidation: from a farmer to a long peace
Consolidation means making a new government firm and stable. Han did it in steps:
- Liu Bang (202 BCE) kept Qin’s officers and counties, but cut harsh laws and taxes. He gave some land to relatives to keep peace.
- Rule of Wen and Jing (about 180 to 141 BCE): very low taxes, small armies, and farms recovered. The treasury filled.
- Emperor Wu (141 to 87 BCE) was strong. He cut the power of relatives’ kingdoms, grew the empire to the north, west and south, and made salt and iron a state business to pay for it.
- He opened an Imperial Academy where young men studied Confucian books to become officials. Confucian ideas (respect for family, duty, and honest rule) became the main teaching of the state.
Han officers were chosen by recommendation and tests. The system lasted far longer than Qin because it was milder.
Western Han, Wang Mang and Eastern Han
Historians split Han into two parts because the capital moved:
- Western Han (206 BCE to 9 CE): capital Chang’an in the west.
- Wang Mang (9 to 23 CE): an official who took the throne and began a short "Xin" dynasty. He tried land and money reforms, but they failed and floods caused revolts.
- Eastern Han (25 to 220 CE): Liu Xiu, from the Han family, restored the dynasty and moved the capital east to Luoyang.
In Eastern Han, powerful families owned more and more land, and farmers grew poorer. Child emperors and court quarrels weakened rule. The Yellow Turban revolt (184 CE) forced the court to give generals power. In 220 CE the last emperor gave up the throne, and the Three Kingdoms began.
The Silk Road
The Silk Road is not one road. It is a net of caravan tracks and sea routes joining China with Central Asia, India, West Asia and the Roman world. The name comes from silk, China’s most famous export.
- How it began: Emperor Wu sent Zhang Qian (about 138 BCE) west to find allies against the Xiongnu, herders of the northern steppe. He came back with maps and news of rich lands.
- Going west: silk, lacquer, iron tools, and later paper.
- Coming east: horses, grapes, glass, spices and new crops.
- Ideas moved too: Buddhism came from India along these routes in Han times.
Most traders went only a part of the way. Goods passed from one merchant to the next. Towns on the way grew rich. Han kept the route safe with forts and soldiers in the western deserts.
Culture and science
- Paper: before, people wrote on bamboo strips or silk (heavy or costly). Around 105 CE, Cai Lun, a court official, showed a cheap paper made of bark, rags and fishing net. It slowly spread across the world.
- Seismoscope (132 CE): Zhang Heng made a bronze jar with dragon heads. When a faraway earthquake shook it, a ball dropped from one dragon’s mouth into a toad’s mouth, showing which direction the quake came from. He also improved the study of the sky.
- History writing: Sima Qian wrote the "Records of the Grand Historian" (about 91 BCE), a story of China from early rulers to his own time, with life stories of ordinary and great people.
- Medicine and maths: doctors collected herb lists and used acupuncture; mathematicians used counting rods to solve equations and find areas.
- Thought and art: Confucian teaching led schools; Buddhism arrived; tomb paintings and bronze work were made.
Key formulas and definitions
- Han: 206 BCE to 220 CE (about 400 years)
- Western Han: capital Chang’an. Eastern Han (25 to 220 CE): capital Luoyang
- Emperor Wu: 141 to 87 BCE (54 years)
- Zhang Qian: about 138 BCE, opened the Silk Road
- Paper: Cai Lun, about 105 CE. Seismoscope: Zhang Heng, 132 CE
- History book: Sima Qian, about 91 BCE
Worked examples
1. Emperor Wu ruled from 141 BCE to 87 BCE. How long was his reign?
BCE counts down. 141 − 87 = 54 years.
2. Why did Han keep Qin’s officers and counties but lower taxes?
The officer system helped rule a large land. But heavy tax had caused Qin’s revolts. Han wanted control without making farmers angry.
3. Give two ways the Silk Road changed the lands it joined.
1) New goods and crops moved (silk west; grapes, glass, horses east). 2) Ideas such as Buddhism travelled to China, and towns on the route grew rich.
4. Why was paper better than bamboo strips and silk for writing?
Bamboo strips were heavy and bulky; silk was costly. Paper was light, cheap and easy to make, so more people could write, read and keep records.
Common mistakes
- Thinking the Silk Road was one straight road. It was many routes.
- Thinking Han and Roman traders met face to face. Goods passed through many traders in between.
- Mixing Western Han (capital Chang’an) with Eastern Han (capital Luoyang).
- Reading BCE years like CE. 141 BCE is EARLIER than 87 BCE.