Wednesday, Oct. 24

[4thTara]

Today we took notes on the Han Dynasty.

Han Emperors in China-

• Early China-
• The Qin Dynasty was very harsh on taxes, labor quotes, and strict punishments.
• The people of the Qin Dynasty rebelled and a war of rival kings started throughout all of China.
• 2 powerful people emerged- Xiang Yu and Liu Bang.

 

 

• Han Dynasty-
• These 2 leaders ended up hating each other and fought their last battles in 202 B.C.- Liu Bang won and declared himself the first emperor of the Han Dynasty.
• The Han Dynasty ruled China for more than 400 years. However their rule was broken up into 2 parts because there was a time where they lost their power for a short period of time.
• Very influential even today people from China often refer to themselves as “people of the Han.”

 

• Bang’s steps to unify China-
• First goal was to destroy the rival kings’ power.
• He was going to do this by establishing centralized government.
• Centralized Government- This is where the central authority controls the running of the state.
• He also lowered taxes and softened the harsh legal punishments of the people.

 

• Empress Lu-
• When Bang died, his son became emperor, but not really.
• The real ruler was the son’s mother. One of Bang’s wives.
• When Lu died, the people that supported Bag were upset and they executed the people who Lu had put into power.

 

• Wudi-
• After 30-40 years of turmoil and poor leadership, Bang’s great-grandson took control of the Hans and his name was Wudi.
• His is known throughout history as the “Martial Emperor” became his idea of expanding China was throughout war.
• The first set of people that he had to deal with was the Xiongnu.

 

• Xiongnu-
• Were fierce nomads known for their deadly archery from horseback.
• Usually attacked China’s farm and would take people hostage and steal goods.
• Early Han emperors would try to send them gifts to stop but they usually would not quit.
• Wudi had other ideas and sent 10,000 men to fight them.

 

• Pyramid-
• Top tier- emperor.
• 2^nd tier- king, governor.
• 3^rd tier- state officials, nobles, and scholars.
• 4^th tier- peasants.
• 5^th tier- artisans, merchants.
• 6^th tier- soldiers.
• 7^th tier- slaves.

 

• Han Technology-
• Advancements included paper. Paper was invented in 105 A.D. Before this books were written in silk.
• Silk was very expensive compared to paper.
• This allowed for many more people to get an education.

 

• The Great Wall of China-
• When was it built, which dynasty built, why was it built, was it effective, interesting facts.