Han Emperors In China
Early China –
- The Qin Dynasty were very harsh on taxes, labor quotas, and strict punishments
- The people of the Qin Dynasty rebelled and a war of rival kings started throughout all of China
- Two powerful people emerged: Xiang Yu & Liu Bang
Han Dynasty –
- These two leaders ended up hating each other and fought their last battle in 202 BC – Liu Bang won and declared himself the first emperor of the Han Dynasty
- The Han Dynasty ruled over 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 unified China –
- First goal to destroy the rival kings’ power
- He was going to do this by establishing 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 Bang 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
- He is known throughout history as the “Martial Emperor” because his idea of expanding China was throughout war
- The first set of people that he had to deal with were the Xiongnu
Xiongnu –
- Were fierce nomads known for their deadly archery from horseback
- Usually attacked China’s farms 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 100,000 men to fight them
Pyramid –
- Top tier : Emperor
- 2nd : King, Governor
- 3rd : State officials, nobles, and scholars
- 4th : peasants
- 5th : artisans, merchants
- 6th : soldiers
- 7th : slaves
Han Technology –
- Advancements included paper. Paper was invented in 105 AD. Before this books were written in silk
- Silk is very expensive compared to paper
- So this allowed for many more people to get an education
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