Western Han

IOverview

Duration

210years

Rulers

14 rulers

Capital

Chang'an

Founder

Liu Bang

Fall

Wang Mang proclaimed himself emperor in the Han Dynasty and changed the name of the country to New

Institutions · Economy · Culture

1. I

   County and state parallel

   At the beginning of the Han Dynasty, the commandery-and-county system of the Qin Dynasty was inherited, and the princes and kings with the same surname were enfeoffed, forming a parallel pattern of counties and counties. After Emperor Jing quelled the rebellion of the Seven Kingdoms and took over the governance of the kingdom, Emperor Wu issued the "Tianfa Order" to enfeoffment the princes' children as marquises. The kingdom became smaller and smaller, and centralization of power was consolidated.

2. II

   Chaju and Taixue

   Emperor Wu established a doctorate in the Five Classics, established the Imperial Academy, and ordered the counties and counties to inspect and promote filial piety and integrity every year. Proficient in the classics became the main way to become an official. Confucianism has since become the official orthodox thought of successive dynasties and has influenced China for more than two thousand years.

3. III

   Yantieguanying

   In order to raise military expenditures, Emperor Wu appointed Sang Hongyang and others to manage finances, return salt and iron to the official camp, promote military transport and leveling to adjust prices, and centrally mint five baht coins. The five-baht coin has been in use for more than 700 years.

4. IV

   Silk Road

   After Zhang Qian "emptied out" the Western Regions, the Han Dynasty established the four counties of Wuwei, Zhangye, Jiuquan, and Dunhuang in the Hexi Corridor. Emperor Xuan also established the Protectorate of the Western Regions. The trade route from Chang'an to Central Asia and West Asia via Hexi became unimpeded and became known as the Silk Road in later generations.

5. V

   Historiography and Ci Fu

   Sima wrote "Historical Records" and created a general history of biographies; Sima Xiangru and others wrote extensive and vigorous poems, becoming representatives of a generation of literature; Yuefu collected folk songs extensively; Liu Xiang and Liu Xin and their sons collated books and pioneered bibliography.

6. VI

   Calendar and Agricultural Science

   In 104 BC, the "Taichu Calendar" was promulgated, with the first month as the beginning of the year, and the twenty-four solar terms were set into the calendar for the first time; Zhao Guo promoted the field method and the columbine cart, and Pan Sheng summarized the experience of dry farming in the north and wrote the "Book of Pan Sheng".

IIIMajor events

1. 206–202 BCE

   Controversy between Chu and Han

   After the fall of Qin, Xiang Yu enfeoffed the feudal lords, and Liu Bang was granted the title of King of Han. He immediately returned the throne to the Three Qin Dynasties and competed with Xiang Yu for hegemony for more than four years. In 202 BC, the Han army and the princes surrounded Xiang Yu in Gaixia. Xiang Yu broke out and committed suicide in Wujiang River. Liu Bang immediately proclaimed himself emperor.

2. 200 BCE

   Siege of Baidun

   Liu Bang personally led an army to conquer King Xin of Han who had rebelled and surrendered to the Huns. He was besieged by Chanyu Moton for seven days at Baishan Mountain in Pingcheng. He used Chen Ping's strategy to escape. After that, the Han Dynasty adopted a peace policy towards the Xiongnu in exchange for peace on the border.

3. 180 BCE

   Kill the Lus

   Empress Lürule as regent, contrary to Gaozu's White Horse Alliance of "Not the Liu family but the king, the whole world will fight against it", and made the children of the Lu family king. After the death of Empress Lü, Taiwei Zhou Bo and Prime Minister Chen Ping joined forces with the Liu clan to kill all the Lüs and ushered Liu Heng as the emperor, who was named Emperor Wen.

4. 167 BCE

   Abolition of corporal punishment

   Taicang of the Qi Dynasty ordered Chunyu Yi to be punished corporally if he was convicted. His young daughter Tiying followed her father to Chang'an and wrote a letter willing to be taken into the government as a maid to atone for her father's crime. Emperor Wen was deeply moved and issued an edict to reform the criminal system and abolish corporal punishments such as tattooing, tattooing, and beheading.

5. 154 BCE

   Seven Kingdoms Rebellion

   Emperor Jing adopted Chao Cuo's strategy of cutting down the vassal vassal, and Wu King Liu Bi united with Chu, Zhao and other seven countries to raise an army under the name of "Execute Chao Cuo and clear the emperor's side". Emperor Jing killed Chao Cuo, but the rebels still did not stop. Taiwei Zhou Yafu cut off their food routes and put down the rebellion in three months.

6. 139 BCE

   Zhang Qian was sent as envoy to the Western Regions

   Zhang Qian was ordered to send an envoy to Dayuezhi in order to jointly attack the Xiongnu (the year of departure is said to be 138 BC). He was detained by the Xiongnu twice on the way, and it took him thirteen years to return. In 119 BC, he was sent to Wusun again. This established contact between the Han Dynasty and other countries in the Western Regions, which was known as "Kuangkong" in history.

7. 136 BCE

   Respect Confucianism

   Emperor Wu established a doctor of the Five Classics. In his countermeasures, Dong Zhongshu proposed "promote the Kong family and suppress hundreds of schools of thought" (the year of the countermeasures is generally dated to 134 BC), which was adopted by Emperor Wu. In 124 BC, Taixue was founded, and Confucianism became the official orthodox thought.

8. 127–119 BCE

   Attack the Huns from the North

   Wei Qing regained the area south of the Hetao and established Shuofang County; Huo Qubing left Hexi and opened up the Hexi Corridor. In the Battle of Mobei in 119 BC, Wei Qing defeated Chanyu's main force, and Huo Qubing pursued them to Langjuxu Mountain. From then on, "there was no royal court in Monan."

9. 91 BCE

   The scourge of witchcraft

   Emperor Wu was sick and suspicious in his later years, and Jiang Chong used witchcraft to frame Crown Prince Liu Ju. The Crown Prince was forced to raise an army to kill Jiang Chong. He was defeated and committed suicide. Queen Wei Zifu also committed suicide, implicating tens of thousands of people in death. In 89 BC, Emperor Wu issued the Luntai edict to express his repentance.

10. 81 BCE

    Salt and Iron Conference

    During the reign of Emperor Zhao, the imperial court convened virtuous writers from all over the country to debate with Sang Hongyang, the imperial censor, on the pros and cons of policies such as the official management of salt and iron, the monopoly on liquor, and the equalization of losses. After the meeting, the liquor monopoly was stopped, and Huan Kuan compiled the "Salt and Iron Theory" based on the meeting minutes.

11. 74 BCE

    Huo Guang was abolished

    Emperor Zhao died without a son, and General Huo Guang welcomed Prince of Changyi Liu He. On the twenty-seventh day after Liu He ascended the throne, he was deposed for "licentiousness and confusion, and lost the courtesy of the emperor". Hu Guang replaced Liu Bingji, the grandson of Crown Prince Li who was living among the people, as Emperor Xuan.

12. 60 BCE

    Establish the Protectorate of the Western Regions

    King Richu of the Xiongnu led his troops to surrender to the Han Dynasty. The Han Dynasty appointed Zheng Ji as the protector of the Western Regions, governing Wulei City and governing the N & S countries in the Tianshan Mountains, marking the formal inclusion of the Western Regions under the jurisdiction of the Han Dynasty.

13. 33 BCE

    Zhaojun goes out of the fortress

    Huhanxie Chanyu entered the court in 51 BC and proclaimed himself a minister. He came to the court again in 33 BC and asked for peace. Emperor Yuan married Wang Qiang (also known as Zhaojun) from the palace, and named her Ning Hulan. After that, there was peace between Han and Hungary for decades.

14. 8

    Wang Mang usurped the Han Dynasty

    After the death of Emperor Ping, Wang Mang established the two-year-old Infant Emperor as the Crown Prince and called himself "Emperor Photographer". In the winter of the first year of the Chu Dynasty (8th year), Wang Mang borrowed the talisman's accession following abdication, that is, the true emperor's throne, and changed the country's name to "Xin", and the Western Han was destroyed.

15. 9—23

    Reform of the new dynasty

    Wang Mang relied on "Zhou Rites" to implement the New Deal: the world's fields were renamed "Wang's Fields", and slaves were renamed "Private Ownership", and they were not allowed to be bought or sold; he also promoted five equalization and six management, and repeatedly changed the currency system. The reform was divorced from reality and orders were changed overnight, which triggered the Green Forest and Red Eyebrow uprisings. In 23 years, Wang Mang was killed and the New Dynasty fell.

IVNotable people