Han Emperors in China
-Qin Dynasty very harsh on taxes, labor quotas, and strict punishments
-the people rebelled and a war of rival kings started throughout all of China
-two powerful people emerged: Xiang Yu and Liu Bang
-The two ended up hating each other, fought last battle in 202 BC
-Liu Bang won and declared himself the first emperor of the Han dynasty
-Han dynasty ruled China for over 400 years, but their rule was broken into two parts because at one point they lost their power for a short time
-very influential, even today
-Bang's steps to unite China:
-destroy rival kings' power
-establish centralized government- central authority controls the running of the state
-lower taxes and soften harsh legal punishments
-when Bang died, his son took over
-real ruler was son's mother- Empress Lu
-When Lu died, the people that supported Bang were upset and executed people who Lu put into power
-after 30-40 years of turmoil and poor leadership, Bang's great-grandson Wudi took control
-he is known as the "Martial Emperor" because his idea of expanding China was through war
-first set of people he had to deal with were the Xiongnu
Xiongnu were fierce nomads known for their deadly archery on horseback
-usually attacked farms and took people hostage and stole goods
-early Han emperors sent them gifts to try to get them to stop, but they usually didn't
-Wudi had other ideas and sent 100,000 men to fight them
Pyramid of Power:
Emperor
King, Governor
State officials, nobles, scholars
peasants
artisans, merchants
soldiers
slaves
-Hans invented paper in 105 AD, written in silk before
-silk was expensive compared to paper
-this allowed for many more people to get an education
You need to be a member of History 360 to add comments!
Comments