Western Han dynasty

Demise of the Qin dynasty and founding of the Han dynasty

The first emperor of the Qin dynasty, Qin Shi Huang Di, died in 210 B.C.E. during an inspection trip. His second son, who took the name Er Shi Huang Di (“second emperor”), inherited the throne. In 207 he was murdered by the eunuch Chao Gao. The stern penal system, the grim forced labor (building of the Great Wall), and war maneuvers led to discontent among the farmers. The old nobility was discontent because the emperor had taken power from them.

The nephew of the murdered emperor was able to hold onto power for just over one month before Liu Bang, ringleader of a farmers’ uprising, moved into the capital. The emperor abdicated his title and was later murdered by Xiang Yu, another important leader of the uprising. Now Liu Bang and Xiang Yu stood in opposition over sovereignty in China. At first they split the empire between them, Liu Bang in the west and Xiang Yu in the east.

Liu Bang was able to defeat Xiang Yu in the civil war of 202 B.C.E. and founded the Han dynasty.

Measures for rebuilding and securing the empire

Chang’an (today called Xi’an) in the province Shenxi became capital city of the new empire. At first, Liu Bang had rewarded his retinue with generous fiefdoms; this reintroduction of the feudal system proved to be a failure, as the seigneurs quarreled among themselves and sought to increase their own might, so that they threatened the authority of the new dynasty.

Liu Bang therefore endeavored to curtail the seigneurs’ power. He rescinded their ability to grant fiefdoms, depriving them of the most important means of creating their own independence and loyalties. He proceeded unmercifully against disagreeable seigneurs, exchanging them for family members whom he trusted.

Additionally, Liu Bang stood before the problem that the run-down empire must be rebuilt. He decreased the tributes and annual compulsory labor required of the population, reworked the law of the Qin, softened their punishment system a little, and eliminated the inheritability of civil servant titles. Relocations of the populace were carried out. The population was measured in censuses; a per capita tax was levied; compulsory labor was required.

Although the Qin dynasty’s style of rule, oriented on Legalism’s theories, was later damned by Confucian scholars, their administration was maintained in practice, and indeed in future dynasties, legalistic governance teachings were applied, for the Confucian teachings of leadership by the leader’s virtuous example were unfit for practical exercise of authority.

Only a year after Liu Bang’s takeover, he had to ward off external enemies. The Huns (xiong nu) attacked from the north and forced Liu Bang to retreat south of the Great Wall. In 198 B.C.E., he managed to establish a fragile peace with the Huns. After his death in 194, Liu Bang was awarded the name Han Gao Zu (“great ancestor of the Han”). His heir was his second-oldest son Hui Di; the eldest, borne by a different wife, had caused Hui Di’s mother to be poisoned.

Hui Di held power for just four years. Thereafter, his mother Lu Hou, the Empress Dowager, took the scepter. She executed the other wives of the emperor and gradually put members of her own family into high offices in order to assure her power. Lu Hou died in 180 B.C.E. and Emperor Wen Di came to power, after the Dowager’s family members were killed.

Wen Di consolidated the empire once and for all, and he was a just and thrifty monarch. The Huns he kept in check by requiring tribute. But his heir, Jing Di, was the first to finally solidify and centralize the emperor’s power against the princes, defeating a last great resistance.

Heyday of the Han dynasty

The reign of Emperor Wu Di (141 – 87 B.C.E.; wu means “the warlike”) is considered the heyday of the Han dynasty. The princes had lost all their clout, and the princedoms were destroyed, because they could no longer be inherited only by the eldest son, but had to be divided among all sons. The first decades of the Han dynasty were characterized by consolidation of power and strengthening of the central State; the reign of Han Wu Di, by expansion of the empire.

Han Wu Di undertook field maneuvers in Mongolia, south China, Vietnam, and Korea. In contrast to his predecessors, he led offensives against the Huns (beginning in 135 B.C.E.), soundly defeating them in the year 121. This victory guaranteed decades of safe travel and trade with the west via the Silk Road. Under the Han dynasty, contacts with advanced cultures as distant as Greece.

Famous Chinese historian Sima Qian (145 – 90 B.C.E.), who wrote the influential history Shiji, lived in the Han era.

Confucianism in the time of the Han dynasty

Through the reign of Han Wu Di, Confucianism had been but a shadowy presence. Emperor Wen, for example, was drawn to Daoism, and governance was long influenced by Legalism, whose laws and administration went back to the Qin era. Han Wu Di first “confucianized” the administration; under him, only Confucians were permitted to become civil servants. The system of civil servant testing was introduced, which was intended to last two thousand years until the decline of the Chinese empire. Rejection of laws by the Confucians was relativized, and law became looked up as a practical supplement to Confucian ethics. This happened primarily through the influence of Dong Zhongshu’s writings, a famous commentator upon the Confucian classics.

Decline of the western Han dynasty

The successors to Han Wu Di were weak emperors and could not hold on to imperial authority, due in large part to growing power amongst large landholders, who enjoyed tax breaks thanks to their service to the empire, enlarged their holdings with monies from the per capita taxes paid by small farmers, and thus brought about a tax shortage on the state level. Landless farmers were now in the service of their landlords and no longer must provide compulsory labor to the State.

The decline of the dynasty began with emperors Zhao Di and Xuan Di, who were not of age and stood in the shadow of General Huo Guang, who continued Wu Di’s work after that personage’s death. Emperor Zheng Di was more interested in a dissipate court life than in the business of ruling. Landowners’ power grew while that of the central government shrank; palace intrigues plagued the families of the Empresses, until in the year 9 C.E. Wang Mang took the throne and founded his own dynasty.

source : chinaorbit.com

Qin Dynasty - The first unified China

The Qin dynasty was between 221 BC and 206 BC and was ruled by emperors
and Yingzheng Hu Hai. After years of political struggles, Emperor Yingzheng, also
known as Emperor Qin Shi Huang, overthrew the warring states of Han, Zhao,
Wei, Yan, Chu and Qi, establishing the Shaanxi Province city of Xianyang as the
Qin Dynasty capital. This was the first time in Chinese history that the country was
centralized and unified dynasty and this influenced the development of many
dynasties, which were to follow.

During his reign, Emperor Qin made many changes in Chinese government,
culture and economy. In matters of government, reorganized the department and
the restructuring of the most important local proclaimed emperor. This effectively
centralized all political forces in their personal power.

Before the Qin Dynasty, the system of weights and measures did not exist.
Emperor Qin ordered a system, and also ruled that the Ban Liang coins to be used
as a standard in the country. He said as Qinzhuan style standards for writing
characters.

Much of the work of Qin Qin helped develop the country's economy. For example,
concentrate their energies to improving the waterways and roads. The
construction of the Great Wall began under his reign, and he also built the famous
terracotta warriors that guard his tomb.

Although he made many contributions, the Emperor Qin practiced tyranny in book
burnings, the murder of Confucian scholars, imposing extreme taxes, and forced
labor and military service. The common people who lived during the Qin Dynasty
were in trouble, and many were imprisoned and forced to work for it, that the strict
laws of Qin. Many magnificent buildings were constructed from this labor force.

When Emperor Qin died in 210 BCE, his second son, Hu Hai, succeeded him. The
end of the Qin Dynasty was actually ruled by an advisor named Zhao Gao, layout
and tortuous tricks Hu Hai have reduced to nothing more than a figurehead.
Farmers staged a coup, started by Wu Guang and Chen Sheng. Xiang Yu and Liu
Bang pursue the rebels, and in 206 BCE, Liu Bang dominated the capital of the
Qin dynasty and the dynastywas officially over.

The movement of Zhou - Eastern Zhou Dynasty

The Zhou kings maintained control over the territory for more than two centuries. But with time passing by, the domination weakened. In 770 BC several powerful states allied with nomadic people rebelled and forced the Zhou moving from the capital near Xian to present day Luoyang, east of the previous capital. The new location of Zhou that prevented attacking from nomadic people marked the beginning of Eastern Zhou. Ever since then, the Eastern Zhou kings no longer exercised much political or military authority over those states. The political structure of Eastern Zhou is little more like federate; the Zhou kings remained as nominal overlords, other powerful states functioned independently in almost every aspect.

During the Eastern Zhou period, social and economic achievement were very notable. The implementation of iron-tipped, ox-drawn plows and improved irrigation techniques marked a great advance of the country. The steady social productivity supported a remarkable population increment. Other economic achievements included the circulation of coins for money and the growth of cities. Military technology also advanced. The Eastern Zhou developed the crossbow and adopted cavalry warfare from nomads.

During the Eastern Zhou period there were two major subdivisions; the Spring & Autumn; the Warring States. The end of the Zhou period is in 221 BC when the first emperor of the Qin Dynasty unified the land on a new imperial basis. During the 7th and 6th centuries BC, brief periods of stability were achieved through alliances among states, under the domination of the strongest member. Traditionally this period was regarded as the Spring & Autumn Period. The years from 475 to 221 BC was known as the Warring States Period because the wars were particularly frequent and deadly.

In order to maintain and increase power, state rulers sought the advice of teachers and strategists. This stimulated intellectual activity and debate, and intense reappraisal of traditions. Therefore, the period was well known as the phenomena of 'hundred schools of thoughts turned up'. There were thinkers fascinated by logical puzzles; utopians and hermits who argued for withdrawal from public life; agriculturists who argued that no one should eat who does not plough; military theorists who analyzed ways to deceive the enemy; and cosmologists who developed theories of the forces of nature, including the opposite and complementary forces of Yin and Yang. The three most influential schools of thought that evolved during this period were Confucianism, Daoism, and Legalism. Simply to say, the Eastern Zhou period is regarded as the molding period of Chinese culture.

Western Zhou Dynasty

In 1045BC, King Wu of the Zhou Dynasty exterminated the Shang Dynasty and enfeoffed northYan (where Beijing is now located) to Duke Zhao, a noble who shared the same family name with himself. The Hereditary House of Duke of Zhao of Yan from the Historical Records by Sima Qian recorded the historical fact. Duke of Zhao, called "Jun" in the literary literature, was appointed as Grand Guardian, who was one of the Three Dukes. It was he who had the layout of the city of LuoYang programmed and helped King Cheng of the Zhou Dynasty out of the turmoil caused by the rebellions of Wugeng and Lufu, sons of King Zhou of the Shang Dynasty. The rebellions happened in the districts which were originally princedoms of the late Shang Dynasty, including Dongyi, Xu, Yaan and Bogu,etc. He stroke while the iron was hot and pursued enemy troops in retreat northward and in this way consolidated the rule of Zhou in the north and the east. It was probably in this period that Yan, the proper place, was enfeoffed to Duke Zhao to better safeguard the peace and development of the border lands of the Western Zhou Dynasty. However, Duke of Zhao had to remain in the royal court offering assistance and his eldest son, Ke, went to Yan to rule in stead of his father. Ke, as a matter of fact, is the first marquis of Yan. He was also bestowed six tribes. Hence, he set up official organizations concerned in the district of Yan, to exercise rule over the land and the people there. The bronze ware "Ke" and Ke's inscriptions, which were unearthed from the No. 1193 main tomb in the Huangtupo site of Liulihe County, recorded the lost historical fact mentioned above.

At the initiation of the Yan State, the ruler established the capital of Yan of the West Zhou period in the place where a village named Dongjialin situates now, exactly speaking, in the east of Liulihe town of Fangshan district. This city has been discovered as the earliest city location in the Beijing area and it has a history of over three thousand years. The city was built on a hathpace northeast to the Dashi River and the archeologists have a general understanding of this ancient city location after the twenty-year archeological drilling and exhumation. The footing was 829 meters long from east to west and over 700 meters wide from north to south, and the wall toft was tamped in different layers on the crudely flat ground. The wall toft had a width of about 8 meters and was made up of 3 layers, with the width of each layer ranging from 2 to 7 meters. Within the wall, protection slopes were built. The tamper-socket has the diameter varying in the range of 3 to 5 centimeters. In the northeast corner of the east city wall was found a drain made of screes which must be the pipeline carrying water from the inside to the outside of the city. Lying outside ten meters away from the city-wall outboard was a moat, with a 15-meter outfall. Outside the southern city wall and the southern sections of both the east and the west city wall, the moat became a piece of beach as the result of the scouring by the Dashi River and the riverway could not be identified clearly.

The Shang Dynasty

The Shang is the first Chinese dynasty, which we have records. Shang civilization was a series of towns united under the Shang king.

In the center of the Shang domain were found in eastern and north-eastern Henan. Residence of the King was at the heart of the city. It was built on a north-south axis. All the buildings in the town was rectangular and made of clay with wooden beams. In addition, King nobility lived in the city. Also lived in mud houses.

The peasants often lived outside the city, although there were few within the city walls. They lived in the city of caverns and caves. The common people outside the city live in villages. Not much is known about the people, if not. It is believed that they had harvested the millet, barley and rice, for example. They used wood to work in the country. Farmers have worked in a "well-field" system. The country was divided into nine squares. The farmer would keep the products of eight squares, while the Lord would take products of the ninth square. It is believed that these people were very primitive compared with the population of the city.

Cities around the capital were called palace-cities. Each city was surrounded by a wall. Inside the walls was a military and religious establishments and homes of nobility. Every building in town was a copy of the capital. The buildings are identical and are arranged in the same format. The capital of the Shang moved seven times before finally settling Yin, which became the permanent capital.

The nobility spent much of his time hunting or in war. Games and prisoners are treated equally by the nobility were sacrificed to the gods. Most of the war against the rebellious city or barbarians. The war was more like a raid than anything else. Precious metals, food and livestock, and people were moved from the place of war. The nobility was the military base. Other positions were filled by slaves (prisoners).

The Shang royal ancestors were high. The bronze was found in royal tombs and skeletons of about three hundred officers who had accompanied the king in the heavenly places. Funery tablets kept in the front of the temples and all rituals done in their presence. These tablets are designed to contain the souls of ancestors. Each royal event communicated loud in the temples to inform the ancestors. In addition, fortune-tellers often consulted by offering sacrifices to ancestors and read the cracks of burnt bones.

Xia - The first dynasty of China history

Xia Dynasty was the first political dynasty in China. It was founded by the Si-clan, the descendants of the founding fathers of the clan, were Yu. The lack of written records, although historians have not reached a clear picture of how the people lived at that time. According to later tradition hold Yu spent thirteen years to dig canals and dikes. When the Emperor Shun died, do not agree with the decision of officials at the imperial son leave Shun inherit the throne. Yu wanted after his death succeeded by his son. It was Yu, who founded the first imperial dynasty of China. Xia's last king was known as Jieh. According to old legends of the last emperor of China was in a bad reputation oppressive measures for the country. One of the officers of the empire, Tang, rebelled against the Emperor, and finally around 1600 BC, Xia was conquered by Tang, and had begun a new era of the Shang Dynasty.

The greatest and the first emperor of China history, The Yellow Emperor

The Yellow Emperor, also called Shi Xuanyuan, was the leader of the legendary Five Emperors. He is considered the ancestor of the Chinese nation with the Emperor Yan, the Chinese as the latest generations have claimed as "Yanhuang Zisun (the descendants of the Yellow Emperor and Yan Emperor). Today, the Chinese academic circle consensus unanimous that the Yellow Emperor was born in Youxiong (present Xinzheng of Henan Province) and buried in Qiaoshan of Shaanxi (in present Huangling County).

The Yellow Emperor conquered the Yan Emperor and Chiyou and became the head of the tribes of the league. During his reign, a number of things, such as vehicles, silkworm breeding, Chinese characters, swing, medicine, etc. were invented, but development. He also taught his people to cultivate, calculated according to the timetable. historical book has it that the Yellow Emperor made a lot of creations and inventions of agricultural production, including a host to create the square field. The Yellow Emperor was highly praised by later generations for his remarkable achievements, and was reputed as "the firstborn of civilizations" of the Chinese nation.

Legend has it that the Yellow Emperor had a wife and three concubines. Leizu,his wife, who taught ordinary people to plant mulberry trees, silkworms and weaving cloth. A concubine was Fangleishi (one whose family name is Lei), which is said to have invented the comb. Another concubine Tongyushi (whose family name was Tongyu) is said to have invented chopsticks. The last concubine was named MoMu. She looks ugly as she was noble and virtuous, for which the Yellow Emperor was very respectful to her. The Yellow Emperor had 25 children, 12 of which were granted to their family name.

The Yellow Emperor ruled ancient China for a long time. During his reign, the country enjoyed a powerful force, political stability and liberal culture. It is said that wise emperors like Yao, Shun, Yu, Tang and so were his descendants. Therefore, the Yellow Emperor was considered the progenitor of the Chinese nation, and was later regarded as the founder of Taoism.