Han dynasty: Difference between revisions

{{Short description|Imperial dynasty in China (202 BC–220BC – 220 AD)}}

| stat_year1 = 50 BC ({{est.}} (Western Han peak){{sfnp|Taagepera|1979|p=128}}

| stat_year3 = 100 AD ({{est.}} (Eastern Han peak){{sfnp|Taagepera|1979|p=128}}

| religion = {{ubl|[[Chinese folk religion]]|[[DaoismTaoism]]|[[Buddhism]]}}

The '''Han dynasty'''{{efn|{{IPAc-en|UK|ˈ|h|æ|n}}, {{IPAc-en|US|ˈ|h|ɑː|n}};<ref>{{Cite encyclopedia |encyclopedia=Collins English Dictionary |publisher=HarperCollins |year=2018 |isbn=978-0-008-28437-4 |edition=13th |title=Han}}</ref><ref>{{AHDict|Han}}</ref> {{zh|first=t|t={{linktext|漢朝}}|s=汉朝|p=Hàncháo}}}} was an [[Dynasties of China|imperial dynasty of China]] (202 &nbsp;BC{{snd}}9&nbsp;AD, 25–220&nbsp;AD), established by [[Liu Bang]] and ruled by the House of Liu. The dynasty was preceded by the short-lived [[Qin dynasty]] (221–206&nbsp;BC) and a warring [[interregnum]] known as the [[Chu–Han contention]] (206–202&nbsp;BC), and it was succeeded by the [[Three Kingdoms]] period (220–280&nbsp;AD). The dynasty was briefly interrupted by the [[Xin dynasty]] (9–23&nbsp;AD) established by the usurping regent [[Wang Mang]], and is thus separated into two periods—the [[#Western Han|Western Han]] (202&nbsp;BC{{snd}}9&nbsp;AD) and the [[#Eastern Han|Eastern Han]] (25–220&nbsp;AD). Spanning over four centuries, the Han dynasty is considered a [[Golden ages of China|golden age in Chinese history]], and had a permanent impact on Chinese identity in later periods.{{sfnp|Zhou|2003|p=34}} The majority ethnic group of modern China refer to themselves as the "[[Han people]]" or "Han Chinese". The spoken [[Sinitic language]] and [[written Chinese]] are referred to respectively as the "Han language" and "[[Han characters]]".{{sfnp|Schaefer|2008|p=279}}

The Han dynasty had many conflicts with the [[Xiongnu]], a nomadic confederation centeredcentred in the eastern [[Eurasian steppe]].{{sfnp|Bailey|1985|pp=25–26}} The Xiongnu [[Battle of Baideng|defeated the Han in 200 BC]], prompting the Han to appease the Xiongnu with a policy of marriage alliance and payments of tribute, though the Xiongnu continued to raid the Han's northern borders. Han policy changed in 133 BC, under [[Emperor Wu of Han|Emperor Wu]], when Han forces began a [[Han–Xiongnu War|series of military campaigns]] to quell the Xiongnu. The Xiongnu were eventually defeated and forced to accept a status as [[List of tributaries of China|Han vassals]], and the Xiongnu confederation fragmented. The Han conquered the [[Hexi Corridor]] and [[Han dynasty in Inner Asia|Inner Asian territory]] of the [[Tarim Basin]] from the Xiongnu, helping to establish the [[Silk Road]]. The lands north of the Han's borders were later overrun by the nomadic [[Xianbei]] confederation. Emperor Wu also launched successful [[Southward expansion of the Han dynasty|conquests in the south]], annexing [[Han–Nanyue War|Nanyue in 111 BC]] and [[Han campaigns against Dian|Dian in 109 BC]]. He further expanded Han territory into the northern [[Korean Peninsula]], where Han forces [[Han conquest of Gojoseon|conquered Gojoseon]] and established the [[Xuantu]] and [[Lelang]] commanderies in 108 BC. After 92 AD, palace [[eunuchs]] increasingly involved themselves in the dynasty's court politics, engaging in violent power struggles between various [[consort clan]]s of the empresses and [[empresses dowager]]. Imperial authority was also seriously challenged by large [[Daoist]] religious societies which instigated the [[Yellow Turban Rebellion]] and the [[Five Pecks of Rice Rebellion]]. Following the death of [[Emperor Ling of Han|Emperor Ling]] ({{reign|168|189 AD}}), the palace eunuchs [[History of the Han dynasty#Downfall of the eunuchs|were massacred]] by military officers, allowing members of the aristocracy and military governors to become warlords and [[End of the Han dynasty|divide the empire]]. The Han dynasty came to an end in 220 AD when [[Cao Pi]], king of [[Cao Wei|Wei]], usurped the throne from [[Emperor Xian]].

According to the ''[[Records of the Grand Historian]]'', after the collapse of the [[Qin dynasty]] the [[hegemon]] [[Xiang Yu]] appointed [[Liu Bang]] as prince of the small fief of [[Hanzhong]], named after its location on the [[Han River (Shaanxi and Hubei)|Han River]] (in modern southwest [[Shaanxi]]). Following Liu Bang's victory in the [[Chu–Han Contention]], the resulting Han dynasty was named after the Hanzhong fief.{{sfnp|Loewe|1986|p=116}}

[[File:Han dynasty Kingdoms 195 BC.png|thumb|left|300pxupright=1.4|Thirteen direct-controlled [[commandery (China)|commanderies]] including the capital region (yellow) and ten semi-autonomous kingdoms, 195 BC]]

In retaliation, the Xiongnu invaded what is now [[Shanxi]], where they [[Battle of Baideng|defeated the Han forces at Baideng]] in 200 BC.{{sfnp|Torday|1997|pp=75–77}}{{sfnp|Di Cosmo|2002|pp=190–192}} After negotiations, the ''[[heqin]]'' agreement in 198  BC nominally held the leaders of the Xiongnu and the Han as equal partners in a royal marriage alliance, but the Han were forced to send large amounts of tribute items such as silk clothes, food, and wine to the Xiongnu.{{sfnp|Yü|1967|pp=9–10}}{{sfnp|Morton|Lewis|2005|p=52}}{{sfnp|Di Cosmo|2002|pp=192–195}}

However, a court conference the following year convinced the majority that a [[Battle of Mayi|limited engagement at Mayi]] involving the assassination of the Chanyu would throw the Xiongnu realm into chaos and benefit the Han.{{sfnp|Yü|1986|pp=389–391}}{{sfnp|Di Cosmo|2002|pp=211–214}} When this plot failed in 133 BC,{{sfnp|Torday|1997|pp=91–92}} Emperor Wu launched a series of [[Han–Xiongnu War|massive military invasions]] into Xiongnu territory. The assault culminated in 119  BC at the [[Battle of Mobei]], when Han commanders [[Huo Qubing]] ({{died-in|117 BC}}) and [[Wei Qing]] ({{died-in|106 BC}}) forced the Xiongnu court to flee north of the [[Gobi Desert]], and Han forces reached as far north as [[Lake Baikal]].{{sfnp|Yü|1986|p=390}}{{sfnp|Di Cosmo|2002|pp=237–240}}

After Wu's reign, Han forces continued to fight the Xiongnu. The Xiongnu leader [[Huhanye]] ({{reign|58|31 BC}}) finally submitted to the Han as a tributary vassal in 51  BC. Huhanye's rival claimant to the throne, [[Zhizhi Chanyu]] ({{reign|56|36 BC}}), was killed by Han forces under [[Chen Tang]] and Gan Yanshou ({{lang|zh|甘延壽}}) at the [[Battle of Zhizhi]], in modern [[Taraz]], [[Kazakhstan]].{{sfnp|Loewe|1986|pp=196–197, 211–213}}{{sfnp|Yü|1986|pp=395–398}}

In 121 &nbsp;BC, Han forces expelled the Xiongnu from a vast territory spanning the [[Hexi Corridor]] to [[Lop Nur]]. They repelled a joint Xiongnu-[[Qiang (historical people)|Qiang]] invasion of this northwestern territory in 111&nbsp;BC. In that same year, the Han court established four new frontier commanderies in this region to consolidate their control: [[Jiuquan]], [[Zhangyi]], [[Dunhuang]], and [[Wuwei, Gansu|Wuwei]].{{sfnp|Chang|2007|pp=5–8}}{{sfnp|Di Cosmo|2002|pp=241–242}}{{sfnp|Yü|1986|p=391}} The majority of people on the frontier were soldiers.{{sfnp|Chang|2007|pp=34–35}} On occasion, the court forcibly moved peasant farmers to new frontier settlements, along with government-owned slaves and convicts who performed hard labour.{{sfnp|Chang|2007|pp=6, 15–16, 44–45}} The court also encouraged commoners, such as farmers, merchants, landowners, and hired labourers, to voluntarily migrate to the frontier.{{sfnp|Chang|2007|pp=15–16, 33–35, 42–43}}

[[File:Summer Vacation 2007, 263, Watchtower In The Morning Light, Dunhuang, Gansu Province.jpg|thumb|left|The ruins of a Han- dynasty [[watchtower]] made of [[rammed earth]] at [[Dunhuang]], located at the eastern edge of the [[Silk Road]]]]

Even before the Han's expansion into Central Asia, diplomat [[Zhang Qian]]'s travels from 139 to 125 &nbsp;BC had established Chinese contacts with many surrounding civilizations. Zhang encountered [[Dayuan]] ([[Fergana]]), [[Kangju]] ([[Sogdiana]]), and [[Daxia]] ([[Bactria]], formerly the [[Greco-Bactrian Kingdom]]); he also gathered information on Shendu (the [[Indus River]] valley) and Anxi (the [[Parthian Empire]]). All of these countries eventually received Han embassies.{{sfnp|Di Cosmo|2002|pp=247–249}}{{sfnp|Morton|Lewis|2005|pp=54–55}}{{sfnp|Yü|1986|p=407}}{{sfnp|Ebrey|1999|p=69}}{{sfnp|Torday|1997|pp=104–117}} These connections marked the beginning of the [[Silk Road]] trade network that extended to the [[Roman Empire]], bringing [[Historygoods oflike silk|Han items likeChinese silk]] to Rome and [[Roman glass|Romanglasswares goodsbetween such as glasswares]] tothe Chinatwo.{{sfnp|An|2002|p=83}}{{sfnp|Ebrey|1999|p=70}}

To pay for his military campaigns and colonial expansion, Emperor Wu [[nationalised]] several private industries. He created central government [[monopolies]] administered largely by [[Four occupations|former merchants]]. These monopolies included salt, iron, and liquor production, as well as [[Ancient Chinese coinage|bronze-coin currencycoinage]]. The liquor monopoly lasted only from 98 to 81 BC, and the salt and iron monopolies were eventually abolished in the early Eastern Han. The issuing of coinage remained a central government monopoly throughout the rest of the Han dynasty.{{sfnp|Wagner|2001|pp=1–17}}{{sfnp|Loewe|1986|pp=160–161}}{{sfnp|Nishijima|1986|pp=581–588}}{{sfnp|Ebrey|1999|p=75}}{{sfnp|Morton|Lewis|2005|p=57}}{{efn|See also {{harvp|Hinsch|2002|pp=21–22}}}}

[[Wang Zhengjun]] (71 BC{{snd}}13 AD) was first empress, then [[empress dowager]], and finally [[grand empress dowager]] during the reigns of the Emperors [[Emperor Yuan of Han|Yuan]] ({{reign|49|33 BC}}), [[Emperor Cheng of Han|Cheng]] ({{reign|33|7 BC}}), and [[Emperor Ai of Han|Ai]] ({{reign|7|1 BC}}), respectively. During this time, a succession of her male relatives held the title of regent.{{sfnp|Bielenstein|1986|pp=225–226}}{{sfnp|Huang|1988|pp=46–48}} Following the death of Ai, Wang Zhengjun's nephew [[Wang Mang]] (45 BC{{snd}}23 AD) was appointed regent as Marshall of State on 16 August under [[Emperor Ping of Han|Emperor Ping]] ({{reign}}1 BC{{snd}}6 AD).{{sfnp|Bielenstein|1986|pp=227–230}}

Wang Mang initiated a series of major reforms that were ultimately unsuccessful. These reforms included [[History of slavery|outlawing slavery]], [[nationalization|nationalizing]] land toand [[Well-field system|equally distributedistributing]] land between households, and introducing new currencies, a change which debased the value of coinage.{{sfnp|Hansen|2000|p=134}}{{sfnp|Bielenstein|1986|pp=232–234}}{{sfnp|Morton|Lewis|2005|p=58}}{{sfnp|Lewis|2007|p=23}} Although these reforms provoked considerable opposition, Wang's regime met its ultimate downfall with the massive floods of {{circa|3}}&nbsp;AD and 11&nbsp;AD. Gradual silt buildupbuild-up in the [[Yellow River]] had raised its water level and overwhelmed the [[Flood control|flood control works]]. The Yellow River split into two new branches: one emptying to the north and the other to the south of the [[Shandong Peninsula]], though Han engineers managed to dam the southern branch by 70&nbsp;AD.{{sfnp|Hansen|2000|p=135}}{{sfnp|de Crespigny|2007|p=196}}{{sfnp|Bielenstein|1986|pp=241–244}}

During the turbulent reign of Wang Mang, China lost control over the Tarim Basin, which was conquered by the Northern Xiongnu in AD  63 and used as a base to invade the Hexi Corridor in [[Gansu]].{{sfnp|Yü|1986|pp=413–414}} [[Dou Gu]] ({{died-in|88 AD}} AD) defeated the Northern Xiongnu at the [[Battle of Yiwulu]] in AD  73, evicting them from [[Turpan]] and chasing them as far as [[Barkol Kazakh Autonomous County|Lake Barkol]] before establishing a garrison [[Hami Prefecture|at Hami]].{{sfnp|Yü|1986|pp=414–415}} After the new Protector General of the Western Regions [[Chen Mu]] ({{died-in|AD  75}}) was killed by allies of the Xiongnu in [[Karasahr]] and [[Kucha]], the garrison at Hami was withdrawn.{{sfnp|Yü|1986|pp=414–415}}{{sfnp|de Crespigny|2007|p=73}}

At the [[Battle of Ikh Bayan]] in AD  89, [[Dou Xian]] ({{died-in|AD  92}}) defeated the [[Northern Chanyu (1st century)|Northern Xiongnu ''chanyu'']] who then retreated into the [[Altai Mountains]].{{sfnp|Yü|1986|pp=414–415}}{{sfnp|de Crespigny|2007|p=171}} After the Northern Xiongnu fled into the [[Ili River]] valley in AD  91, the nomadic [[Xianbei]] occupied the area from the borders of the [[Buyeo Kingdom]] in Manchuria to the Ili River of the [[Wusun]] people.{{sfnp|Yü|1986|pp=405, 443–444}} The Xianbei reached their apogee under [[Tanshihuai]] ({{died-in|AD  181}}), who consistently defeated Chinese armies. However, Tanshihuai's confederation disintegrated after his death.{{sfnp|Yü|1986|pp=444–446}}

[[File:Lead Ingot with Characters, Gansu Provincial Museum.jpg|thumb|Eastern Han inscriptions on a lead ingot, using the [[History of the Greek alphabet|Greek alphabet]] in the style of the [[Kushans]], excavated in Shaanxi, 1st–2nd century &nbsp;AD. {{snd}}[[Gansu Provincial Museum]].{{sfnp|Cribb|1978|pp=76–78}}]]

[[Ban Chao]] ({{died-in|AD  102}}) enlisted the aid of the [[Kushan Empire]], which controlled territory across South and Central Asia, to subdue [[Kashgar]] and its ally Sogdiana.{{sfnp|Torday|1997|p=393}}{{sfnp|de Crespigny|2007|pp=5–6}} When a request by Kushan ruler [[Vima Kadphises]] ({{reign|{{circa|90}} |{{circa|100 AD}} AD}}) for a marriage alliance with the Han was rejected in AD  90, he sent his forces to [[Wakhan]] (modern-day Afghanistan) to attack Ban Chao. The conflict ended with the Kushans withdrawing because of lack of supplies.{{sfnp|Torday|1997|p=393}}{{sfnp|de Crespigny|2007|pp=5–6}} In AD  91, the office of Protector General of the Western Regions was reinstated when it was bestowed on Ban Chao.{{sfnp|Yü|1986|pp=415–416}}

Foreign travellers to the Eastern Han empire included [[Bhikkhu|Buddhist monks]] who [[Silk Road transmission of Buddhism|translated works into Chinese]], such as [[An Shigao]] from Parthia, and [[Lokaksema (Buddhist monk)|Lokaksema]] from Kushan-era [[Gandhara]].{{sfnp|Akira|1998|pp=248, 251}}{{sfnp|Zhang|2002|p=75}} In addition to tributary relations with the Kushans, the Han empire received gifts from sovereigns in the [[Parthian Empire]], as well as from kings in modern [[Burma]] and [[Wa (Japan)|Japan]]. He also initiated an unsuccessful mission to [[Ancient Rome|Rome]] in AD  97 with [[Gan Ying]] as emissary.{{sfnp|de Crespigny|2007|pp=239–240, 497, 590}}{{sfnp|Yü|1986|pp=450–451, 460–461}}

A [[Sino-Roman relations|Roman embassy]] of Emperor [[Marcus Aurelius]] ({{reign|161|180 AD}} AD) is recorded in the ''[[Weilüe]]'' and ''[[Book of Later Han]]'' to have reached the court of [[Emperor Huan of Han]] ({{reign|146|168 AD}} AD) in AD  166,{{sfnp|Chavannes|1907|p=185}}{{sfnp|Hill|2009|p=27}} yet [[Rafe de Crespigny]] asserts that this was most likely a group of [[Roman commerce|Roman merchants]].{{sfnp|de Crespigny|2007|p=600}}{{sfnp|Yü|1986|pp=460–461}} In addition to [[Roman glass]]wares and [[Roman currency|coins]] found in China,{{sfnp|An|2002|pp=83–84}}{{sfnp|Ball|2016|p=153}} Roman medallions from the reign of [[Antoninus Pius]] and his adopted son Marcus Aurelius have been found at [[Óc Eo]] in Vietnam.{{sfnp|Ball|2016|p=153}}{{sfnp|Young|2001|pp=83–84}} This was near the commandery of [[Rinan]] where Chinese sources claim the Romans first landed, as well as embassies from [[Tianzhu (India)|Tianzhu]] in northern India in the years 159 and 161.{{sfnp|Yule|1915|p=52}}{{sfnp|Hill|2009|p=27}} Óc Eo is also thought to be the port city "[[Cattigara]]" described by [[Ptolemy]] in his ''[[Geography (Ptolemy)|Geography]]'' ({{circa|150 AD}} AD) as lying east of the [[Golden Chersonese]] ([[Malay Peninsula]]) along the ''[[Magnus Sinus]]'' (i.e. the [[Gulf of Thailand]] and [[South China Sea]]), where a Greek sailor had visited.{{sfnp|Young|2001|p=29}}{{sfnp|Mawer|2013|p=38}}{{sfnp|Suárez|1999|p=92}}{{sfnp|O'Reilly|2007|p=97}}

[[File:Hu and Han war narratives. Eastern Han Dynasty (151–153 CE). Tsangshan Han tomb in Linyi city.png|thumb|upright=1.5|Eastern Han tombs sometimes have depiction of battles between [[Donghu people|Hu]] barbarians, with bows and arrows and wearing pointed hats (left), against Han troops – {{snd}}Eastern Han-era, Tsangshan Han tomb in, Linyi. Also visible in the [[Yinan tombs]].{{sfnp|Bi|2019}}]]

[[Emperor Zhang of Han|Emperor Zhang]]'s ({{reign|75|88 AD}} AD) reign came to be viewed by later Eastern Han scholars as the high point of the dynastic house.{{sfnp|de Crespigny|2007|pp=497, 500, 592}} Subsequent reigns were increasingly marked by [[eunuch]] intervention in court politics and their involvement in the violent power struggles of the imperial [[consort clan]]s.{{sfnp|Hinsch|2002|p=25}}{{sfnp|Hansen|2000|p=136}} In 92  AD, with the aid of the eunuch [[Zheng Zhong]] ({{died-in|107  AD}}), [[Emperor He of Han|Emperor He]] ({{reign|88|105 AD}} AD) had [[Empress Dou (Zhang)|Empress Dowager Dou]] ({{died-in|97  AD}}) put under [[house arrest]] and her clan stripped of power. This was in revenge for Dou's purging of the clan of his natural mother—[[Consort Liang]]—and then concealing her identity from him.{{sfnp|Bielenstein|1986|pp=280–283}}{{sfnp|de Crespigny|2007|pp=499, 588–589}} After Emperor He's death, his wife [[Empress Deng Sui]] ({{died-in|121  AD}}) managed state affairs as the regent empress dowager during a turbulent financial crisis and widespread Qiang rebellion that lasted from 107 to 118  AD.{{sfnp|Bielenstein|1986|pp=283–284}}{{sfnp|de Crespigny|2007|pp=123–127}}

When Empress Dowager Deng died, [[Emperor An of Han|Emperor An]] ({{reign|106|125 AD}} AD) was convinced by the accusations of the eunuchs Li Run ({{lang|zh-hant|李閏}}) and Jiang Jing ({{lang|zh|江京}}) that Deng and her family had planned to depose him. An dismissed Deng's clan members from office, exiled them, and forced many to commit suicide.{{sfnp|Bielenstein|1986|p=284}}{{sfnp|de Crespigny|2007|pp=128, 580}} After An's death, his wife, [[Empress Yan Ji|Empress Dowager Yan]] ({{died-in|126  AD}}) placed the child [[Marquess of Beixiang]] on the throne in an attempt to retain power within her family. However, palace eunuch [[Sun Cheng]] ({{died-in|132  AD}}) masterminded a successful overthrow of her regime to enthrone [[Emperor Shun of Han]] ({{reign|125|144 AD}} AD). Yan was placed under house arrest, her relatives were either killed or exiled, and her eunuch allies were slaughtered.{{sfnp|Bielenstein|1986|pp=284–285}}{{sfnp|de Crespigny|2007|pp=473–474, 582–583}} The regent [[Liang Ji]] ({{died-in|159  AD}}), brother of [[Empress Liang Na]] ({{died-in|150  AD}}), had the brother-in-law of [[Empress Deng Mengnü|Consort Deng Mengnü]] ({{died-in|165  AD}}) killed after Deng Mengnü resisted Liang Ji's attempts to control her. Afterward, Emperor Huan employed eunuchs to depose Liang Ji, who was then forced to commit suicide.{{sfnp|Bielenstein|1986|pp=285–286}}{{sfnp|de Crespigny|2007|pp=597–598}}

[[File:Dahuting mural, Eastern Han Dynasty.jpg|thumb|A mural showing women dressed in traditional ''[[hanfu]]'', [[c:Category:Dahuting Tomb murals|from the Dahuting Tomb]] of the late Eastern Han-era dynasty,Dahuting locatedTomb in [[Zhengzhou]], Henan]]

Students from the [[Taixue|imperial university]] organized a widespread [[student protest]] against the eunuchs of Emperor Huan's court.{{sfnp|Hansen|2000|p=141}} Huan further alienated the bureaucracy when he initiated grandiose construction projects and hosted thousands of concubines in his harem at a time of economic crisis.{{sfnp|de Crespigny|2007|pp=597, 599, 601–602}}{{sfnp|Hansen|2000|pp=141–142}} Palace eunuchs imprisoned the official Li Ying ({{lang|zh-hant|李膺}}) and his associates from the Imperial University on a dubious charge of treason. In 167  AD, the Grand Commandant [[Dou Wu]] ({{died-in|168  AD}}) convinced his son-in-law, Emperor Huan, to release them.{{sfnp|de Crespigny|2007|p=602}} However, the emperor permanently barred Li Ying and his associates from serving in office, marking the beginning of the [[Disasters of Partisan Prohibitions|Partisan Prohibitions]].{{sfnp|de Crespigny|2007|p=602}}

Following Huan's death, Dou Wu and the Grand Tutor [[Chen Fan]] ({{died-in|168  AD}}) attempted a coup against the eunuchs [[Hou Lan]] ({{died-in|172  AD}}), [[Cao Jie (eunuch)|Cao Jie]] ({{died-in|181  AD}}), and Wang Fu ({{lang|zh|王甫}}). When the plot was uncovered, the eunuchs arrested [[Empress Dou Miao|Empress Dowager Dou]] ({{died-in|172  AD}}) and Chen Fan. General Zhang Huan ({{lang|zh-hant|張奐}}) favoured the eunuchs. He and his troops confronted Dou Wu and his retainers at the palace gate where each side shouted accusations of treason against the other. When the retainers gradually deserted Dou Wu, he was forced to commit suicide.{{sfnp|Beck|1986|pp=319–322}}

Under [[Emperor Ling of Han|Emperor Ling]] ({{reign|168|189 AD}} AD) the eunuchs had the partisan prohibitions renewed and expanded, while also auctioning off top government offices.{{sfnp|de Crespigny|2007|p=511}}{{sfnp|Beck|1986|p=323}} Many affairs of state were entrusted to the eunuchs [[Zhao Zhong]] ({{died-in|189  AD}}) and [[Zhang Rang]] ({{died-in|189  AD}}) while Emperor Ling spent much of his time [[Sexual roleplay|roleplaying]] with concubines and participating in military parades.{{sfnp|de Crespigny|2007|pp=513–514}}

[[File:Jian'an Commanderies.svg|thumb|upright=1.5|[[List of provinces and commanderies of the Han dynasty|Provinces and commanderies]] in 219  AD, the penultimate year of the Han dynasty]]

The Partisan Prohibitions were repealed during the [[Yellow Turban Rebellion]] and [[Way of the Five Pecks of Rice|Five Pecks of Rice Rebellion]] in 184  AD, largely because the court did not want to continue to alienate a significant portion of the [[Four occupations|gentry class]] who might otherwise join the rebellions.{{sfnp|de Crespigny|2007|p=511}} The Yellow Turbans and Five-Pecks-of-Rice adherents belonged to two different hierarchical [[Taoism|DaoistTaoist]] religious societies led by [[Faith healing|faith healers]] [[Zhang Jue]] ({{died-in|184  AD}}) and [[Zhang Lu (Three Kingdoms)|Zhang Lu]] ({{died-in|216  AD}}), respectively.

Zhang Lu's rebellion, in what is now northern [[Sichuan]] and southern [[Shaanxi]], was not quelled until 215 &nbsp;AD.{{sfnp|Ebrey|1986|pp=628–629}} Zhang Jue's massive rebellion across eight [[Government of the Han dynasty#Provincial authorities|provinces]] was annihilated by Han forces within a year; however, the following decades saw much smaller recurrent uprisings.{{sfnp|Beck|1986|pp=339–340}} Although the Yellow Turbans were defeated, many generals appointed during the crisis never disbanded their assembled [[militia]] forcesmilitias and used these troops to amass power outside of the collapsing imperial authority.{{sfnp|Ebrey|1999|p=84}}

General-in-chief [[He Jin]] ({{died-in|189  AD}}), half-brother to [[Empress He (Han dynasty)|Empress He]] ({{died-in|189  AD}}), plotted with [[Yuan Shao]] ({{died-in|202  AD}}) to overthrow the eunuchs by having several generals march to the outskirts of the capital. There, in a written petition to Empress He, they demanded the eunuchs' execution.{{sfnp|Beck|1986|pp=339–344}} After a period of hesitation, Empress He consented. When the eunuchs discovered this, however, they had her brother He Miao ({{lang|zh|何苗}}) rescind the order.{{sfnp|Beck|1986|p=344}} The eunuchs assassinated He Jin on 22 September 189.

Yuan Shao then besieged Luoyang's Northern Palace while his brother [[Yuan Shu]] ({{died-in|199  AD}}) besieged the Southern Palace. On September 25 both palaces were breached and approximately two thousand eunuchs were killed.{{sfnp|Beck|1986|pp=344–345}}{{sfnp|Morton|Lewis|2005|p=62}} Zhang Rang had previously fled with [[Liu Bian|Emperor Shao]] ({{reign|single=189 AD}} AD) and his brother Liu Xie—the future [[Emperor Xian of Han]] ({{reign|189|220 AD}} AD). While being pursued by the Yuan brothers, Zhang committed suicide by jumping into the Yellow River.{{sfnp|Beck|1986|p=345}}

General [[Dong Zhuo]] ({{died-in|192  AD}}) found the young emperor and his brother wandering in the countryside. He escorted them safely back to the capital and was made [[Government of the Han dynasty#Excellency of Works|Minister of Works]], taking control of Luoyang and forcing Yuan Shao to flee.{{sfnp|Beck|1986|pp=345–346}} After Dong Zhuo demoted Emperor Shao and promoted his brother Liu Xie as Emperor Xian, Yuan Shao led a coalition of former officials and officers against Dong, who burned Luoyang to the ground and resettled the court at Chang'an in May 191  AD. Dong Zhuo later poisoned Emperor Shao.{{sfnp|Beck|1986|pp=346–349}}

Dong was killed by his adopted son [[Lü Bu]] ({{died-in|198  AD}}) in a plot hatched by [[Wang Yun (Han dynasty)|Wang Yun]] ({{died-in|192 AD}}).{{sfnp|de Crespigny|2007|p=158}} Emperor Xian fled from Chang'an in 195  AD to the ruins of Luoyang. Xian was persuaded by [[Cao Cao]] (155–220  AD), then Governor of Yan Province in modern western [[Shandong]] and eastern [[Henan]], to move the capital to [[Xuchang]] in 196  AD.{{sfnp|Beck|1986|pp=349–351}}{{sfnp|de Crespigny|2007|p=36}}

Yuan Shao challenged Cao Cao for control over the emperor. Yuan's power was greatly diminished after Cao defeated him at the [[Battle of Guandu]] in 200  AD. After Yuan died, Cao killed Yuan Shao's son [[Yuan Tan]] (173–205  AD), who had fought with his brothers over the family inheritance.{{sfnp|Beck|1986|pp=351–352}}{{sfnp|de Crespigny|2007|pp=36–37}} His brothers [[Yuan Shang]] and [[Yuan Xi]] were killed in 207  AD by [[Gongsun Kang]] ({{died-in|221  AD}}), who sent their heads to Cao Cao.{{sfnp|Beck|1986|pp=351–352}}{{sfnp|de Crespigny|2007|pp=36–37}}

After Cao's defeat at the naval [[Battle of Red Cliffs]] in 208 &nbsp;AD, China was divided into three spheres of influence, with Cao Cao dominating the north, [[Sun Quan]] (182–252 &nbsp;AD) dominating the south, and [[Liu Bei]] (161–223 &nbsp;AD) dominating the west.{{sfnp|Beck|1986|p=352}}{{sfnp|de Crespigny|2007|p=37}} Cao Cao died in March 220 &nbsp;AD. By December his son [[Cao Pi]] (187–226 &nbsp;AD) had Emperor Xian relinquish the throne to him and is known posthumously as [[Emperor Wen of Wei]]. This formally ended the Han dynasty and initiated an age of conflict between the [[Three Kingdoms|three states]]: [[Cao Wei]], [[Eastern Wu]], and [[Shu Han]].{{sfnp|Beck|1986|pp=353–357}}{{sfnp|Hinsch|2002|p=206}}

[[File:Eastern Han Luoyang Mural of Liubo players.jpg|thumb|A mural from an [[History of the Han dynasty|Eastern Han]] tomb at Zhucun ({{lang|zh|朱村}}), [[Luoyang]], Henan; the two figures in the foreground are playing ''[[liubo]]'', with the playing mat between them, and the ''liubo'' game board to the side of the mat.]]

In the hierarchical social order, the [[Emperor of China|emperor]] was at the apex of Han society and government. However, the emperor was often a minor, ruled over by a [[regent]] such as the [[empress dowager]] or one of her male relatives.{{sfnp|Ch'ü|1972|pp=66–72}} Ranked immediately below the emperor were [[Kings of the Han dynasty|the kings]] who were of the same [[Liu]] family clan.{{sfnp|Ch'ü|1972|p=76}}{{sfnp|Bielenstein|1980|pp=105–107}} The rest of society, including [[Chinese nobility|nobles]] lower than kings and all commoners excluding slaves, belonged to one of twenty ranks (''ershi gongcheng'' {{lang|zh|二十公乘}}).

Each successive rank gave its holder greater pensions and legal privileges. The highest rank, of full [[marquess]], came with a state pension and a territorial [[fief]]dom. Holders of the rank immediately below, that of ordinary marquess, received a pension, but had no territorial rule.{{sfnp|Nishijima|1986|pp=552–553}}{{sfnp|Ch'ü|1972|p=16}} [[Scholar-bureaucrat|Officials]]s who served in government belonged to the wider commoner social class and were ranked just below nobles in social prestige. The highest government officials could be [[Enfeoffment|enfeoffed]] as marquesses.{{sfnp|Ch'ü|1972|p=84}}

By the Eastern Han period, local elites of unattached scholars, teachers, students, and government officials began to identify themselves as members of a larger, nationwide [[Gentry (China)|gentry class]] with shared values and a commitment to mainstream scholarship.{{sfnp|Ebrey|1986|pp=631, 643–644}}{{sfnp|Ebrey|1999|p=80}} When the government became noticeably corrupt in mid-to-late Eastern Han, many gentrymengentry even considered the cultivation of morally-grounded personal relationships more important than serving in public office.{{sfnp|Hansen|2000|pp=141–142}}{{sfnp|de Crespigny|2007|pp=601–602}}

Farmers, more specificallynamely small landowner–cultivators, were ranked just below scholars and officials in the social hierarchy. Other agricultural cultivators were of a lower status, such as [[Leasehold estate|tenants]], wage labourers, and slaves.{{sfnp|Ch'ü|1972|pp=104–111}}{{sfnp|Nishijima|1986|pp=556–557}}{{sfnp|Ebrey|1986|pp=621–622}}{{sfnp|Ebrey|1974|pp=173–174}} The Han dynasty made adjustments to [[slavery in China]] and saw an increase in agricultural slaves. [[Artisan]]sArtisans, [[technician]]stechnicians, [[tradespeople]], and craftsmen had a legal and [[socioeconomic status]] between that of owner-cultivator farmers and common merchants.{{sfnp|Ch'ü|1972|p=112}}

State-registered merchants, who were forced by law to wear white-coloredcoloured clothes and pay high commercial taxes, were considered by the gentry as social parasites with a contemptible status.{{sfnp|Ch'ü|1972|pp=104–105, 119–120}}{{sfnp|Nishijima|1986|pp=576–577}} These were often petty shopkeepers of urban marketplaces; merchants such as industrialists and itinerant traders working between a network of cities could avoid registering as merchants and were often wealthier and more powerful than the vast majority of government officials.{{sfnp|Nishijima|1986|pp=576–577}}{{sfnp|Ch'ü|1972|pp=114–117}}

[[File:-0202 0220 Brick Relief with Acrobatic Performance Han Dynasty National Museum of China anagoria.jpg|thumb|center|upright=32|A Han dynasty brick Reliefrelief with [[Acrobatics|acrobatic performers]], Han Dynastyacrobats]]

{{See also|Women in ancient and imperial China#Han dynasty|label 1label1=Women in Han China}}

| footer = '''Left:''' a [[Chinese ceramic|ceramic]] statue of a seated woman holding a [[bronze mirror]], Eastern Han (25–220 CE) – {{snd}}Sichuan Provincial Museum [[Chengdu]]<br />'''Right:''' a dog figurine found in a Han tomb wearing a decorative dog collar, indicating their domestication as pets.{{sfnp|Wang|1982|pp=57, 203}} Dog figurines are a common archaeological find in Han tombs,{{sfnp|Eiland|2003|p=77}} while it is also known from written sources that the emperor's imperial parks had kennels for keeping [[hunting dog]]sdogs.{{sfnp|Bielenstein|1980|p=83}}

|footer = [[History of the Han dynasty|Late Western Han]] (202 BC – 9 AD)- or [[Xin-era Dynasty]] (9–25 AD) wall [[mural]]smurals showing men and women dressed in ''[[hanfu]]'', with the [[Queen Mother of the West]] dressed in ''[[shenyi]]'', from a tomb in [[Dongping County]], [[Shandong province]], China

Marriages were highly ritualized, particularly for the wealthy, and included many important steps. The giving of betrothal gifts, known as [[Bridebride price|bridewealth]] and [[dowry]], were especially important. A lack of either was considered dishonorabledishonourable and the woman would have been seen not as a wife, but as a concubine.{{sfnp|Wiesner-Hanks|2011|p=30}} [[Arranged marriage]]s were typical, with the father's input on his offspring's spouse being considered more important than the mother's.{{sfnp|Hinsch|2002|p=35}}{{sfnp|Ch'ü|1972|p=34}}

{{multiple image|align= left |direction=horizontal |header= |header_align= left/right/center |footer='''Left image''': A [[Chinese ceramics|Han pottery]]ceramic female servant in [[Han Chinese clothing|silk robes]]<br />'''Right image''': A Han pottery female dancer in silk robes|footer_align=left |image1=Cernuschi Museum 20060812 069.jpg |width1=120 |caption1= |image2=Nswag, dinastia han, figurina dipinta di danzatrice.jpg |width2=85 |caption2= }}

Women were expected to obey the will of their father, then their husband, and then their adult son in old age. However, it is known from contemporary sources that there were many deviations to this rule, especially in regard to mothers over their sons, and empresses who ordered around and openly humiliated their fathers and brothers.{{sfnp|Ch'ü|1972|pp=49–59}} Women were exempt from the annual [[corvée]] laborlabour duties, but often engaged in a range of income-earning occupations aside from their domestic chores of cooking and cleaning.{{sfnp|Hinsch|2002|pp=74–75}}

The most common occupation for women was weaving clothes for the family, for sale at market, or for large textile enterprises that employed hundreds of women. Other women helped on their brothers' farms or became singers, dancers, [[Witchcraft|sorceresses]], respected medical physicians, and successful merchants who could afford their own silk clothes.{{sfnp|Ch'ü|1972|pp=54–56}}{{sfnp|Hinsch|2002|pp=29, 51, 54, 59–60, 65–68, 70–74, 77–78}} Some women formed spinning collectives, aggregating the resources of several different families.{{sfnp|Hinsch|2002|p=29}}

|footer= A Western Han [[fresco]] depicting Confucius and [[Laozi]], from a tomb of [[Dongping County]], Shandong, China

[[File:Biyong of Han.jpg|thumb|Model recreation of the Han dynasty royal academy.]]

The early Western Han court simultaneously accepted the philosophical teachings of [[Legalism (Chinese philosophy)|Legalism]], [[Huang-Lao|Huang-Lao Daoism]] Taoism, and [[Confucianism]] in making state decisions and shaping government policy.{{sfnp|Csikszentmihalyi|2006|pp=24–25}}{{sfnp|Loewe|1994|pp=128–130}} However, the Han court under [[Emperor Wu of Han|Emperor Wu]] gave Confucianism exclusive patronage. In 136  BC, he abolished all academic chairs not concerned with the [[Five Classics]], and encouraged nominees for office to receive a Confucian education at the [[Taixue|imperial university]] he had established in 124.{{sfnp|Kramers|1986|pp=754–756}}{{sfnp|Csikszentmihalyi|2006|pp=7–8}}{{sfnp|Loewe|1994|pp=121–125}}{{sfnp|Ch'en|1986|p=769}}

Unlike the original ideology espoused by [[Confucius]] (551–479  BC), Han Confucianism in Emperor Wu's reign was the creation of [[Dong Zhongshu]] (179–104  BC). Dong was a scholar and minor official who aggregated the ethical Confucian ideas of [[Li (Confucian)|ritual]], [[filial piety]], and [[Ren (Confucianism)|harmonious relationships]] with [[Wuxing (Chinese philosophy)|five phases]] and [[Yin and yang|yin-yang]] cosmologies.{{sfnp|Kramers|1986|pp=753–755}}{{sfnp|Loewe|1994|pp=134–140}} Much to the interest of the ruler, Dong's synthesis justified the [[Chinese theology|imperial system of government within the natural order of the universe]].{{sfnp|Kramers|1986|p=754}}

The Imperial University grew in importance as the student body grew to over 30,000 by the 2nd century CE&nbsp;AD.{{sfnp|Ebrey|1999|pp=77–78}}{{sfnp|Kramers|1986|p=757}} A Confucian-based education was also made available at commandery-level schools and [[private school]]s opened in small towns, where teachers earned respectable incomes from [[tuition]] payments.{{sfnp|Ch'ü|1972|p=103}} Schools were established in far southern regions where standard Chinese texts were used to assimilate the local populace.<ref>{{cite book |last1=Ebrey |first=Patricia Buckley Ebrey |title=The Cambridge Illustrated History Of China |dateyear=2010 |publisher=LaurenceCambridge KingUniversity PublishingPress |isbn=9780521196208978-0-521-19620-8 |pages=82–83}}</ref>

[[File:Inscribed bamboo-slips of Sun Bin's Art of War.jpg|thumb|left|Han period inscribed [[Bamboo and wooden slips|bamboo- slips]] of [[Sun Bin's Art of War|Sun Bin's ''Art of War'']], unearthed in Yinque Mountain, Linyi, Shandong]]

[[File:CMOC Treasures of Ancient China exhibit - fragment of Xiping stone classics.jpg|thumb|upright|A fragment of the [[Xiping Stone Classics]]; these stone-carved [[Five Classics]] installed during [[Emperor Ling of Han|Emperor Ling]]'s reign along the roadside of the [[Taixue|imperial university]] (right outside [[Luoyang]]), were made at the instigation of [[Cai Yong]] (132–192 CE&nbsp;AD), who feared the Classics housed in the imperial library were being [[Interpolation (manuscripts)|interpolated]] by University Academicians.{{sfnp|de Crespigny|2007|p=513}}{{sfnp|Barbieri-Low|2007|p=207}}{{sfnp|Huang|1988|p=57}} ]]

Some important texts were created and studied by scholars. Philosophical worksPhilosophy written by [[Yang Xiong (author)|Yang Xiong]] (53  BC – {{snd}}18  AD), [[Huan Tan]] (43  BC{{snd}}28  AD), [[Wang Chong]] (27–100  AD), and [[Wang Fu (philosopher)|Wang Fu]] (78–163  AD) questioned whether human nature was innately good or evil and posed challenges to Dong's universal order.{{sfnp|Ch'en|1986|pp=773–794}} The ''[[Records of the Grand Historian]]'' started by [[Sima Tan]] ({{died-in|110  BC}}) and finished by his son [[Sima Qian]] (145–86  BC) established the [[Chinese historiography|standard model]] for imperial China's [[Twenty-Four Histories|tradition of official histories]], being emulated initially by the ''[[Book of Han]]'' authored by [[Ban Biao]] (3–54  AD) with his son [[Ban Gu]] (32–92  AD), and his daughter [[Ban Zhao]] (45–116  AD).{{sfnp|Hardy|1999|pp=14–15}}{{sfnp|Hansen|2000|pp=137–138}} [[Biographies]] on important figures were written by members of the gentry.{{sfnp|Ebrey|1986|p=645}} There were also [[Chinese dictionaries|dictionaries]] published during the Han period such as the ''[[Shuowen Jiezi]]'' by [[Xu Shen]] ({{circa|58|147 AD}} AD) and the ''[[Fangyan (book)|Fangyan]]'' by [[Yang Xiong (author)|Yang Xiong]].{{sfnp|Norman|1988|p=185}}{{sfnp|Xue|2003|p=161}} Han dynasty poetry was dominated by the [[Fu (poetry)|''fu'' genre]], which achieved its greatest prominence during the reign of Emperor Wu.{{sfnp|Hansen|2000|pp=137–138}}{{sfnp|de Crespigny|2007|p=1049}}{{sfnp|Neinhauser|Hartman|Ma|West|1986|p=212}}{{sfnp|Lewis|2007|p=222}}{{sfnp|Cutter|1989|pp=25–26}}

[[File:Mawangdui silk banner from tomb no1.jpg|thumb|upright=0.5|left|A [[History of silk|silk banner]] from [[Mawangdui]], Changsha, Hunan. It was draped over the coffin of [[Lady Dai]] ({{died-in|168 &nbsp;BC}}), wife of the Marquess Li Cang ({{lang|zh|利蒼}}) ({{died-in|186 &nbsp;BC}}), chancellor for the [[Kingdom of Changsha]].{{sfnp|Hansen|2000|pp=117–119}}]]

Han scholars such as [[Jia Yi]] (201–169  BC) portrayed the Qin as a brutal regime. However, archaeological evidence from [[Zhangjiashan Han bamboo texts|Zhangjiashan]] and [[Shuihudi Qin bamboo texts|Shuihudi]] reveal that many of the [[statute]]sstatutes in the Han law code compiled by Chancellor [[Xiao He]] ({{died-in|193  BC}}) were derived from Qin law.{{sfnp|Hulsewé|1986|pp=525–526}}{{sfnp|Csikszentmihalyi|2006|pp=23–24}}{{sfnp|Hansen|2000|pp=110–112}}

Acting as a judge in lawsuits was one of the many duties of the [[County magistrate (China)|county magistrate]] and Administrators of commanderies. Complex, high-profile, or unresolved cases were often deferred to the Minister of Justice in the capital or even the emperor.{{sfnp|Hulsewé|1986|pp=528–529}} In each Han county was several districts, each overseen by a [[chief of police]]. Order in the cities was maintained by government officers in the marketplaces and [[constable]]s in the neighborhoodsneighbourhoods.{{sfnp|Nishijima|1986|pp=552–553, 576}}{{sfnp|Loewe|1968|pp=146–147}}

{{multiple image|align=right |direction=horizontal |header= |header_align= left/right/center |footer= Two Han- dynasty red-and-black [[lacquerware]]s, one a bowl, the other a tray; usually only wealthy officials, nobles, and merchants could afford domestic luxury items like lacquerwares, which were common commodities produced by skilled artisans and craftsmen.{{sfnp|Wang|1982|pp=83–85}}{{sfnp|Nishijima|1986|pp=581–583}} |footer_align= left |image1=西漢_黑地朱繪雲氣紋漆碗-Bowl_with_Geometric_Designs_MET_DP355715.jpg |width1=135 |caption1= |image2=CapitalMuseum15.jpg |width2=165 |caption2= }}

The most common staple crops consumed during Han were [[wheat]], [[barley]], [[foxtail millet]], [[proso millet]], rice, and [[bean]]s.{{sfnp|Wang|1982|p=52}} Commonly eaten fruits and vegetables included chestnuts, pears, plums, peaches, melons, apricots, strawberries, [[Myrica|red bayberries]], [[jujube]]s, [[calabash]], [[bamboo shoot]]s, [[mustard plant]], and [[taro]].{{sfnp|Wang|1982|pp=53, 206}} Domesticated animals that were also eaten included chickens, [[Mandarin duck]]s, geese, cows, sheep, pigs, camels, and dogs (various types were bred specifically for food, while most were used as pets). Turtles and fish were taken from streams and lakes. Commonly hunted game, such as owl, pheasant, magpie, [[sika deer]], and [[Chinese bamboo partridge]] were consumed.{{sfnp|Wang|1982|pp=57–58}} Seasoning included sugar, honey, salt, and [[soy sauce]].{{sfnp|Hansen|2000|pp=119–121}} [[Chinese alcoholic beverages|Beer and wine]] were regularly consumed.{{sfnp|Wang|1982|p=206}}{{sfnp|Hansen|2000|p=119}}

|caption1= Woven silk textiles from Tomb No. #1 at [[Mawangdui]], Changsha, Hunan, 2nd century BC

|caption2= Woven silk textiles from Tomb No. #1 at [[Mawangdui]], 2nd century BC

|footer_align= center

The types of clothing worn and the materials used during the Han period depended upon social class. Wealthy folk could afford [[silk]] robes, skirts, socks, and mittens, coats made of [[Fur clothing|badger or fox fur]], duck plumes, and [[slippers]] with inlaid leather, [[pearl]]spearls, and silk lining. Peasants commonly wore clothes made of [[hemp]], [[wool]], and [[ferret]] skins.{{sfnp|Wang|1982|pp=53, 59–63, 206}}{{sfnp|Loewe|1968|p=139}}{{sfnp|Ch'ü|1972|p=128}}

[[File:Chinese Fulu talisman han dynasty 乌程汉简浙江出土.jpg|left|thumb|Han dynasty ''[[fulu]]'' talisman, part of the {{ill|Wucheng Bamboo-bamboo slips ({{lang|zh|乌[[:zh:烏程漢簡|烏程汉简漢簡]]}})]]

[[File:Mawangdui LaoTsu Ms2.JPG|thumb|left|upright=0.7|A fragmentary Daoist manuscript from the 2nd century  BC, ink on silk, unearthed from [[Mawangdui]] tomb #3, Changsha, Hunan]]

Families throughout Han China made ritual sacrifices of animals and food to deities, spirits, and ancestors at [[Temple (Chinese)|temples and shrines]]. They believed that these items could be used by those in the [[Chinese folk religion|spiritual realm]].{{sfnp|Ch'ü|1972|pp=30–31}} It was thought that each person had a [[Hun and po|two-part soul]]: the spirit-soul which journeyed to the afterlife paradise of immortals (''[[Xian (Taoism)|xian]]''), and the body-soul which remained in its grave or tomb on earth and was only reunited with the spirit-soul through a ritual ceremony.{{sfnp|Hansen|2000|p=119}}{{sfnp|Csikszentmihalyi|2006|pp=140–141}}

[[File:Bronze Chimera, Eastern Han Dynasty.jpg|thumb|An Eastern- Han bronze statuette of a ''[[qilin]]'', 1st century  AD]]

It was believed that immortality could be achieved if one reached the lands of the [[Queen Mother of the West]] or [[Mount Penglai]].{{sfnp|Loewe|2005|pp=101–102}}{{sfnp|Csikszentmihalyi|2006|pp=116–117}} Han-era DaoistsTaoists assembled into small groups of hermits who attempted to achieve immortality through breathing exercises, sexual techniques, and the use of [[Elixir of life|medical elixirs]].{{sfnp|Hansen|2000|p=144}}

By the 2nd century  AD, DaoistsTaoists formed large hierarchical religious societies such as the [[Way of the Five Pecks of Rice]]. Its followers believed that the sage-philosopher [[Laozi]] ({{floruit|6th century  BC}}) was a holy prophet who would offer [[salvation]] and good health if his devout followers would [[Confession (religion)|confess their sins]], ban the worship of unclean gods who accepted meat sacrifices, and chant sections of the ''[[Tao Te Ching|Daodejing]]''.{{sfnp|Hansen|2000|pp=144–146}}

Buddhism [[Chinese Buddhism#History|first entered Imperial China]] through the [[Silk Road transmission of Buddhism|through the Silk Road]] during the Eastern Han, and was first mentioned in 65  AD.{{sfnp|Needham|1972|p=112}}{{sfnp|Demiéville|1986|pp=821–822}} [[Liu Ying (prince)|Liu Ying]] ({{died-in|71  AD}}), a half-brother to [[Emperor Ming of Han]] ({{reign|57|75 AD}} AD), was one of its earliest Chinese adherents, although [[Chinese Buddhism]] at this point was heavily associated with [[SocietyHuang–Lao and culture of the Han dynasty#Competing ideologies|Huang-Lao Daoism]]Taoism.{{sfnp|Demiéville|1986|pp=821–822}} China's first known Buddhist temple, the [[White Horse Temple]], was constructed outside the wall of the capital, [[Luoyang]], during Emperor Ming's reign.{{sfnp|Demiéville|1986|p=823}} Important Buddhist canons were translated into Chinese during the 2nd century  AD, including the ''[[Sutra of Forty-two Chapters]]'', ''[[Perfection of Wisdom]]'', ''[[Shurangama Sutra]]'', and ''[[Pratyutpanna Sutra]]''.{{sfnp|Akira|1998|pp=247–251}}{{efn|See also {{harvp|Needham|1972|p=112}}.}}

[[File:Basket from Lo-lang.jpg|thumb|upright=1.5|A scene of historic paragons of filial piety conversing with one another, Chinese painted artwork on a [[Lacquerware|lacqueredlacquerware]] basketwork box, excavated from a tomb of the [[Lelang Commandery]] on the [[Korean Peninsula]] dating to the Eastern Han.]]

Below the emperor were his [[cabinet (government)|cabinet]] members known as the [[Three Councillors of State|Three Councilors of State]]. These were the [[Chancellor of China|Chancellor]] or [[Minister over the Masses]], the Imperial CounselorCounsellor or Excellency of Works (''Yushi dafu'' {{lang|zh|御史大夫}} or ''Da sikong'' {{lang|zh|大司空}}), and Grand Commandant or Grand Marshal (''Taiwei'' {{lang|zh|太尉}} or ''Da sima'' {{lang|zh|大司馬}}).{{sfnp|de Crespigny|2007|p=1221}}{{sfnp|Bielenstein|1980|pp=7–17}}

The Chancellor, whose title had changed in 8  BC to Minister over the Masses, was chiefly responsible for drafting the [[government budget]]. The Chancellor's other duties included managing provincial registers for land and population, leading court conferences, acting as judge in lawsuits, and recommending nominees for high office. He could appoint officials below the salary-rank of 600 bushels.{{sfnp|Wang|1949|pp=143–144, 145–146, 177}}{{sfnp|Bielenstein|1980|pp=7–8, 14}}

The Imperial CounselorCounsellor's chief duty was to conduct disciplinary procedures for officials. He shared similar duties with the Chancellor, such as receiving annual provincial reports. However, when his title was changed to Minister of Works in 8  BC, his chief duty became the oversight of public works projects.{{sfnp|Wang|1949|pp=147–148}}{{sfnp|Bielenstein|1980|pp=8–9, 15–16}}

The Grand Commandant, whose title was changed to Grand Marshal in 119  BC before reverting to Grand Commandant in 51  AD, was the irregularly posted commander of the military and then [[regent]] during the Western Han period. In the Eastern Han era he was chiefly a civil official who shared many of the same censorial powers as the other two CouncilorsCouncillors of State.{{sfnp|Wang|1949|p=150}}{{sfnp|Bielenstein|1980|pp=10–13}}

[[File:Rubbing of a Han Citang.JPG|thumb|left|A rubbing of a Han pictorial stone showing an [[Ancestor worship|ancestralancestor worship]] hall]] (''cítángcítang'' {{lang|zh|祠堂}})]]

[[File:Guardians of Day and Night, Han Dynasty.jpg|thumb|Animalistic guardian spirits of day and night wearing [[Han Chinese clothing|Han-era robes]], Han-era [[Chinese paintings|paintings]] on ceramic tile; [[Michael Loewe]] writes that the [[Hybrid (mythology)|hybrid of man and beast]] in art and religious beliefs predated the Han and remained popular during the first half of Western Han and the Eastern Han.{{sfnp|Loewe|1994|pp=38–52}}]]

The Minister of the Guards (''Weiwei'' {{lang|zh|衛尉}}) was responsible for securing and patrolling the walls, towers, and gates of the imperial palaces.{{sfnp|de Crespigny|2007|p=1223}}{{sfnp|Bielenstein|1980|p=31}} The Minister Coachman (''Taipu'' {{lang|zh|太僕}}) was responsible for the maintenance of imperial stables, horses, carriages, and coach-houses for the emperor and his palace attendants, as well as the supply of horses for the armed forces.{{sfnp|de Crespigny|2007|p=1223}}{{sfnp|Bielenstein|1980|pp=34–35}} The Minister of Justice (''Tingwei'' {{lang|zh|廷尉}}) was the chief official in charge of upholding, administering, and interpreting the law.{{sfnp|Bielenstein|1980|p=38}}{{sfnp|Wang|1949|p=154}} The Minister Herald (''Da honglu'' {{lang|zh|大鴻臚}}) was the chief official in charge of receiving honoredhonoured guests like nobles and [[Foreign relations of Imperial China|foreign ambassadors]] at court.{{sfnp|de Crespigny|2007|pp=1223–1224}}{{sfnp|Bielenstein|1980|pp=39–40}}

[[File:Li Bing Statue 2.JPG|thumb|upright|An Eastern Han devotional stone statue depicting [[Li Bing (Qin)|Li Bing]] ({{fl.}}floruit|3rd century &nbsp;BC}}) in an official's cap (''[[list of Hanfu headwear|jinxian guan]]'') and robe in [[Dujiangyan]], Sichuan]]

A commandery consisted of a group of counties, and was headed by an administrator.{{sfnp|de Crespigny|2007|p=1228}} He was the top civil and military leader of the commandery and handled defensedefence, lawsuits, seasonal instructions to farmers, and recommendations of nominees for office sent annually to the capital in a quota system first established by Emperor Wu.{{sfnp|de Crespigny|2007|pp=1230–1231}}{{sfnp|Bielenstein|1980|p=96}}{{sfnp|Hsu|1965|pp=367–368}} The head of a large county of about 10,000 households was called a Prefect, while the heads of smaller counties were called chiefs, and both could be referred to as [[magistrate]]s.{{sfnp|de Crespigny|2007|p=1230}}{{sfnp|Bielenstein|1980|p=100}} A Magistrate maintained law and order in his county, registered the populace for taxation, mobilized commoners for annual [[corvée]] duties, repaired schools, and supervised public works.{{sfnp|Bielenstein|1980|p=100}}

Kingdoms—roughly the size of [[Commandery (China)|commanderies]]—were ruled exclusively by the emperor's male relatives as semi-autonomous [[fiefdom]]s. Before 157  BC, some kingdoms were ruled by non-relatives, granted to them in return for their services to Emperor Gaozu. The administration of each kingdom was very similar to that of the central government.{{sfnp|Hsu|1965|p=360}}{{sfnp|Bielenstein|1980|pp=105–106}}{{sfnp|Loewe|1986|p=126}} Although the emperor appointed the Chancellor of each kingdom, kings appointed all the remaining civil officials in their fiefs.{{sfnp|Hsu|1965|p=360}}{{sfnp|Bielenstein|1980|pp=105–106}}

However, in 145  BC, after several insurrections by the kings, Emperor Jing removed the kings' rights to appoint officials whose [[Government of the Han dynasty#Salaries|salaries were higher than 400 bushels]].{{sfnp|Bielenstein|1980|pp=105–106}} The Imperial CounselorsCounsellors and Nine Ministers (excluding the Minister Coachman) of every kingdom were abolished, although the Chancellor was still appointed by the central government.{{sfnp|Bielenstein|1980|pp=105–106}}

With these reforms, kings were reduced to being nominal heads of their fiefs, gaining a personal income from only a portion of the taxes collected in their kingdom.{{sfnp|Ch'ü|1972|p=76}} Similarly, the officials in the administrative staff of a full marquess's fief were appointed by the central government. A marquess's Chancellorchancellor was ranked as the equivalent of a county Prefectprefect. Like a king, the marquess collected a portion of the tax revenues in his fief as personal income.{{sfnp|de Crespigny|2007|p=1230}}{{sfnp|Bielenstein|1980|p=108}}

[[File:Flying Horse, East Han Dynasty.Bronze. Gansu Provincial Museum.jpg|thumb|The [[Flying Horse of Gansu]], depicted in full gallop, [[bronze sculpture]], h 34.5 cm in height. [[Wuwei, Gansu]] (25–220  AD)]]

Until the reign of [[Emperor Jing of Han]], the Han emperors had great difficulties controlling their vassal kings, who often switched allegiances to the [[Xiongnu]] whenever they felt threatened by imperial centralization of power. The seven years of Gaozu's reign featured defections by three vassal kings and one marquess, who then aligned themselves with the Xiongnu. Even imperial princes controlling fiefdoms would sometimes invite a Xiongnu invasion in response to the Emperor's threats. The Han moved to secure a treaty with the Xiongnu, aiming to clearly divide authority between them. The Han and Xiongnu now held one another out as the "two masters" with sole dominion over their respective peoples; they cemented this agreement with a marriage alliance (''[[heqin]]''), before eliminating the rebellious vassal kings in 154 &nbsp;BC. This prompted some of the Xiongnu vassals to swap allegiances to the Han, starting in 147. Han court officials were initially hostile to the idea of disrupting the status quo by expanding into Xiongnu territory in the steppe. The surrendered Xiongnu were integrated into a parallel military and political structures loyal to the Han emperor, a step toward a potential Han challenge to the superiority of Xiongnu cavalry in steppe warfare. This also brought the Han into contact with the interstate trade networks through the Tarim Basin in the far northwest, allowing for the Han's expansion from a regional state to a universalist, cosmopolitan empire achieved in part through further marriage alliances with the [[Wusun]], another steppe power.{{sfnp|Lewis|Hsieh|2017|pp=32–39}}

[[File:Dahuting Tomb mural, cavalry and chariots, Eastern Han Dynasty.jpg|thumb|300pxupright=1.4|A mural showing [[Horses in East Asian warfare|chariots and cavalry]] from the [[Dahuting tomb]] near [[Zhengzhou]], Henan, dated to the late Eastern Han]]

{{multiple image|align=right |direction=horizontal |header= |header_align= left/right/center |footer=A Chinese crossbow mechanism with a buttplate from either the late Warring States period or the early Han dynasty; made of bronze and inlaid with silver |footer_align=left |image1=Warring States or Western Han crossbow.jpg |width1=150 |caption1= |image2=Warring States or Western Han crossbow2.jpg |width2=150 |caption2= }}

At the beginning of the Han dynasty, every male commoner aged twenty-three was liable for [[conscription]] into the military. The minimum age was reduced to twenty following the reign of [[Emperor Zhao of Han|Emperor Zhao]] ({{reign|87|74}}).{{sfnp|Chang|2007|pp=70–71}} Conscripted soldiers underwent one year of training and one year of service as non-professional soldiers. The year of training was spent in one of three branches of the armed forces: [[infantry]], [[cavalry]], or [[navy]]. Prior to the abolition of much of the conscription system after 30 &nbsp;AD, soldiers could be called up for future service following the completion of their terms. They had to continue training regularly to maintain their skills, and were subject to annual inspections of their military readiness.{{sfnp|Nishijima|1986|p=599}}{{sfnp|Bielenstein|1980|p=114}} The year of active service was served either on the frontier, in a king's court, or in the capital under the Minister of the Guards. A small professional army was stationed near the capital.{{sfnp|Nishijima|1986|p=599}}{{sfnp|Bielenstein|1980|p=114}}

During the Eastern Han, conscription could be avoided if one paid a commutable tax. The Eastern Han court favoredfavoured the recruitment of a volunteer army.{{sfnp|de Crespigny|2007|pp=564–565, 1234}} The volunteer army comprised the Southern Army (''Nanjun'' {{lang|zh|南軍}}), while the [[standing army]] stationed in and near the capital was the Northern Army (''Beijun'' {{lang|zh|北軍}}).{{sfnp|Bielenstein|1980|pp=114–115}} Led by Colonels (''Xiaowei'' {{lang|zh|校尉}}), the Northern Army consisted of five regiments, each composed of several thousand soldiers.{{sfnp|de Crespigny|2007|p=1234}}{{sfnp|Bielenstein|1980|pp=117–118}} When central authority collapsed after 189  AD, wealthy landowners, members of the aristocracy/nobility, and regional military-governors relied upon their retainers to act as their own personal troops.{{sfnp|Ch'ü|1972|pp=132–133}}

{{multiple image|align=right |direction=horizontal |header= |header_align=left/right/center |footer= |footer_align=left |image1=S-114 W Han wuzhu, Han Wudi, 140-87, 25 5mm.jpg |width1=230 |caption1=A ''wuzhu'' (五銖) coin issued during the reign of [[Emperor Wu of Han|Emperor Wu]] ({{reign|141|87 BC}} BC), 25.5 mm in diameter |image2=|width2=130 |caption2=A spade-shaped bronze coin issued during [[Wang Mang]]'s ({{reign|9|23 AD}} AD) reign.}}

[[File:金饼 海昏侯国遗址.JPG|thumb|Gold coins offrom the Eastern Han dynasty]]

The Han dynasty inherited the ''[[Ancient Chinese coinage#Ban Liang coins|ban liang]]'' coin type from the Qin. In the beginning of the Han, Emperor Gaozu closed the [[Mint (coin)|government mint]] in favorfavour of private minting of coins. This decision was reversed in 186  BC by his widow [[Empress Lü Zhi|Grand Empress Dowager Lü Zhi]] ({{died-in|180  BC}}), who abolished private minting.{{sfnp|Nishijima|1986|p=586}} In 182  BC, Lü Zhi issued a bronze coin that was much lighter in weight than previous coins. This caused widespread [[inflation]] that was not reduced until 175  BC, when Emperor Wen allowed private minters to manufacture coins that were precisely {{cvt|2.6 |g (0.09 oz)}} in weight.{{sfnp|Nishijima|1986|p=586}}

In 144 &nbsp;BC, Emperor Jing abolished private minting in favorfavour of central-government and commandery-level minting; he also introduced a new coin.{{sfnp|Nishijima|1986|pp=586–587}} Emperor Wu introduced another in 120 &nbsp;BC, but a year later he abandoned the ''ban liangs'' entirely in favorfavour of the ''[[Ancient Chinese coinage#Western Han and the Wu Zhu coins|wuzhu]]'' coin, weighing {{cvt|3.2&nbsp;|g (0.11&nbsp;oz)}}.{{sfnp|Nishijima|1986|p=587}} The ''wuzhu'' became China's standard coin until the [[Tang dynasty]] (618–907 AD). Its use was interrupted briefly by several new currencies introduced during Wang Mang's regime until it was reinstated in 40 &nbsp;AD by Emperor Guangwu.{{sfnp|Ebrey|1986|p=609}}{{sfnp|Bielenstein|1986|pp=232–233}}{{sfnp|Nishijima|1986|pp=587–588}}

Since commandery-issued coins were often of inferior quality and lighter weight, the central government closed commandery mints and monopolized the issue of coinage in 113  BC. This central government issuance of coinage was overseen by the [[Government of the Han dynasty#Superintendent of Waterways and Parks|Superintendent of Waterways and Parks]], this duty being transferred to the Minister of Finance during the Eastern Han.{{sfnp|Nishijima|1986|pp=587–588}}{{sfnp|Bielenstein|1980|pp=47, 83}}

Aside from the landowner's [[Land value tax#History|land tax]] paid in a portion of their [[crop yield]], the [[Tax per head|poll tax]] and [[property tax]]es were paid in coin cash.{{sfnp|Nishijima|1986|pp=600–601}} The annual poll tax rate for adult men and women was 120 coins and 20 coins for minors. Merchants were required to pay a higher rate of 240 coins.{{sfnp|Nishijima|1986|p=598}} The poll tax stimulated a money economy that necessitated the minting of over 28,000,000,000 coins from 118  BC to 5  AD, an average of 220,000,000 coins a year.{{sfnp|Nishijima|1986|p=588}}

The small landowner-cultivators formed the majority of the Han tax base; this revenue was threatened during the latter half of Eastern Han when many peasants fell into debt and were forced to work as farming tenants for wealthy [[landlord]]slandlords.{{sfnp|Nishijima|1986|pp=558–601}}{{sfnp|Ebrey|1974|pp=173 174}}{{sfnp|Ebrey|1999|pp=74–75}} The Han government enacted reforms in order to keep small landowner-cultivators out of debt and on their own farms. These reforms included reducing taxes, temporary remissions of taxes, granting loans, and providing landless peasants temporary lodging and work in [[Tuntian|agricultural colonies]] until they could recover from their debts.{{sfnp|Ebrey|1999|p=75}}{{sfnp|Ebrey|1986|pp=619–621}}

In 168  BC, the land tax rate was reduced from one-fifteenth of a farming household's crop yield to one-thirtieth,{{sfnp|Loewe|1986|pp=149–150}}{{sfnp|Nishijima|1986|pp=596–598}} and later to one-hundredth of a crop yield for the last decades of the dynasty. The consequent loss of government revenue was compensated for by increasing property taxes.{{sfnp|Nishijima|1986|pp=596–598}}

The laborlabour tax took the form of [[Conscription|conscripted labor]]labour for one month per year, which was imposed upon male commoners aged fifteen to fifty-six. This could be avoided in Eastern Han with a commutable tax, since hired laborlabour became more popular.{{sfnp|Nishijima|1986|p=599}}{{sfnp|de Crespigny|2007|pp=564–565}}

[[File:Iron ji and knife, Han Dynasty.JPG|thumb|A Han- dynasty iron ''[[ji (polearm)|ji]]'' polearm and [[Chinese swords|iron dagger]]]]

In the early Western Han, a wealthy salt or iron industrialist, whether a semi-autonomous king or wealthy merchant, could boast funds that rivaledrivalled the imperial treasury and amass a peasant workforce numbering overin the 1000thousands. This kept many peasants away from their farms and denied the government a significant portion of its land tax revenue.{{sfnp|Needham|1986c|p=22}}{{sfnp|Nishijima|1986|pp=583–584}} To eliminate the influence of such private entrepreneurs, Emperor Wu nationalized the salt and iron industries in 117  BC and allowed many of the former industrialists to become officials administering the state monopolies.{{sfnp|Nishijima|1986|p=584}}{{sfnp|Wagner|2001|pp=1–2}}{{sfnp|Hinsch|2002|pp=21–22}} By the Eastern Han times, the central government monopolies were repealed in favorfavour of production by commandery and county administrations, as well as private businessmen.{{sfnp|Nishijima|1986|p=584}}{{sfnp|Wagner|2001|pp=15–17}}

[[Liquor]] was another profitable private industry nationalized by the central government in 98  BC. However, this was repealed in 81  BC and a property tax rate of two coins for every {{convert|0.2|L|gal}} was levied for those who traded it privately.{{sfnp|Nishijima|1986|p=600}}{{sfnp|Wagner|2001|pp=13–14}} By 110  BC, Emperor Wu also interfered with the profitable trade in grain when he eliminated speculation by selling government stores of grain at a lower price than that demanded by merchants.{{sfnp|Ebrey|1999|p=75}} Apart from Emperor Ming's creation of a short-lived Office for Price Adjustment and Stabilization, which was abolished in 68  AD, central-government price control regulations were largely absent during the Eastern Han.{{sfnp|de Crespigny|2007|p=605}}

[[File:ChangXingongdeng.jpg|thumb|upright|A [[Gilding|gilded]] bronze [[oil lamp]] in the shape of a kneeling female servant, dated to the 2nd century &nbsp;BC, found in the tomb of [[Dou Wan]], wife of [[Liu Sheng, Prince of Zhongshan|Liu Sheng]], King of [[Zhongshan Kingdom (Han dynasty)|Zhongshan]]; its sliding shutter allows for adjustments in the direction and brightness in light while it also traps smoke within the body.{{sfnp|Ebrey|1999|p=66}}{{sfnp|Wang|1982|p=100}} ]]

In the 1st millennium &nbsp;BC, typical ancient Chinese writing materials were [[Chinese bronze inscriptions|bronzewaresbronzeware]], [[Oracle bone script|animaloracle bones]], and [[bamboo slip]]s or wooden boards. By the beginning of the Han dynasty, the chief writing materials were [[clay tablet]]s, silk cloth, hemp [[History of paper#Paper in China|paper]],{{sfnp|Needham|Tsien|1986|p=38}}{{sfnp|Li|1974}} and rolled scrolls made from bamboo strips sewn together with hempen string; these were passed through drilled holes and secured with clay stamps.{{sfnp|Loewe|1968|pp=89, 94–95}}{{sfnp|Tom|1989|p=99}}{{sfnp|Cotterell|2004|pp=11–13}}

The oldest known Chinese piece of hempen paper dates to the 2nd century  BC.{{sfnp|Buisseret|1998|p=12}}{{sfnp|Needham|Tsien|1986|p=38}} The standard papermaking process was invented by [[Cai Lun]] (AD  50–121) in 105.{{sfnp|Needham|Tsien|1986|pp=1–2, 40–41, 122–123, 228}}{{sfnp|Day|McNeil|1996|p=122}} The oldest known surviving piece of paper with writing on it was found in the ruins of a Han [[watchtower]] that had been abandoned in AD  110, in [[Inner Mongolia]].{{sfnp|Cotterell|2004|p=11}}

[[File:Boucle Han Chine Guimet 2910.jpg|thumb|left|upright|Ornamental belt buckle, decorated with [[List of Chinese mythology#Mythical creatures|Chinese mythical creatures]]. ChiseledChiselled and hammered gold, late Han period.]]

{{multiple image|align=left |direction=horizontal |header= |header_align=left/right/center |footer='''Left image''': A Han-dynasty eradynasty [[MoldingMoulding (process)|moldmould]] for making bronze gear wheels ([[Shanghai Museum]])<br /> '''Right image''': A pair of iron scissors dating from the Eastern Han era |footer_align=left |image1=Mold for bronze gear Han dynasty.jpg |width1=100 |caption1= |image2=Iron scissors, E Han.JPG |width2=70 |caption2= }}

Evidence suggests that [[blast furnace]]s, that convert raw [[iron ore]] into [[pig iron]], which can be remelted in a [[cupola furnace]] to produce [[cast iron]] by means of a [[cold blast]] and [[hot blast]], were operational in China by the late [[Spring and Autumn period]] (722–481 &nbsp;BC).{{sfnp|Wagner|2001|pp=7, 36–37, 64–68, 75–76}}{{sfnp|Pigott|1999|pp=183–184}} The [[bloomery]] was nonexistentnon-existent in ancient China; however, the Han-era Chinese produced [[wrought iron]] by injecting excess oxygen into a furnace and causing [[decarburizationdecarburisation]].{{sfnp|Pigott|1999|pp=177, 191}} Cast iron and pig iron could be converted into wrought iron and [[steel]] using a [[finery forge|fining]] process.{{sfnp|Wang|1982|p=125}}{{sfnp|Pigott|1999|p=186}}

The Han dynasty Chinese used bronze and iron to make a range of weapons, culinary tools, carpenters' tools, and domestic wares.{{sfnp|Wagner|1993|p=336}}{{sfnp|Wang|1982|pp=103–105, 122–124}} A significant product of these improved iron-smelting techniques was the manufacture of new agricultural tools. The three-legged iron [[seed drill]], invented by the 2nd century &nbsp;BC, enabled farmers to carefully plant crops in rows instead of [[sowing]] seeds by hand.{{sfnp|Greenberger|2006|p=12}}{{sfnp|Cotterell|2004|p=24}}{{sfnp|Wang|1982|pp=54–55}} The heavy moldboardmouldboard iron plowplough, also invented during the Han dynasty, required only one man to control it with two oxen to pull it. It had three [[plowshareploughshare]]s, a seed box for the drills, a tool which turned down the soil and could sow roughly 45,730 m² (11.3 acres){{cvt|45730|m2}} of land in a single day.{{sfnp|Nishijima|1986|pp=563–564}}{{sfnp|Ebrey|1986|pp=616–617}}

To protect crops from wind and drought, the grain intendant Zhao Guo ({{lang|zh|趙過}}) created the alternating fields system (''daitianfa'' {{lang|zh|代田法}}) during Emperor Wu's reign. This system switched the positions of furrows and ridges between growing seasons.{{sfnp|Nishijima|1986|pp=561–563}} Once experiments with this system yielded successful results, the government officially sponsored it and encouraged peasants to use it.{{sfnp|Nishijima|1986|pp=561–563}} Han farmers also used the pit field system ({{transliterationtlit|zh|aotian}} {{lang|zh|凹田}}) for growing crops, which involved heavily fertilized pits that did not require plowsploughs or oxen and could be placed on sloping terrain.{{sfnp|Hinsch|2002|pp=67–68}}{{sfnp|Nishijima|1986|pp=564–566}} In the southern and small parts of central Han-era China, [[paddy field]]s were chiefly used to grow rice, while farmers along the [[Huai River]] used [[Transplanting|transplantation]] methods of rice production.{{sfnp|Nishijima|1986|pp=568–572}}

===Structural and geotechnicalgeo-technical engineering===

{{multiple image |align=right |direction=horizontal |header= |header_align= left/right/center |footer='''Left image''': A pottery model of a palace from a Han- dynasty tomb; the entrances to the emperor's palaces were strictly guarded by the Minister of the Guards; if it was found that a commoner, official, or noble entered without explicit permission via a tally system, the intruder was subject to execution.{{sfnp|Ch'ü|1972|pp=68–69}}<br /> '''Right image''': A painted [[Chinese ceramics|ceramic]] [[Chinese architecture|architectural]] model—found in an Eastern- Han tomb at Jiazuo, Henan province—depicting a fortified manor with towers, a [[courtyard]], [[veranda]]s, tiled rooftops, ''[[dougong]]'' support brackets, and a [[covered bridge]] extending from the third floor of the main tower to the smaller watchtower.{{sfnp|Guo|2005|pp=46–48}} |footer_align=left |image1=Han pottery manor 02.jpg |width1=250 |caption1= |image2=七层连阁绘彩陶楼1394.jpg |width2=125 |caption2= }}

{{multiple image |align=right |direction=horizontal |header=|header_align=left/right/center |footer='''Left image''': A ceramic architectural model of a grain storage tower with five layers of tiled rooftops and columns supporting the roofs of balconies on the first two floors, dated from the mid -Western Han (202 BC – 9 AD) to early Eastern Han (25–220 AD) era.<br /> '''Right image''': A Han-dynasty (202 BC – 220 AD) era pottery model of a granary tower with windows and balcony placed several stories above the first-floor courtyard; [[Zhang Heng]] (78–139 &nbsp;AD) described the large imperial park in the suburbs of Chang'an as having tall towers where archers would shoot stringed arrows from the top in order to entertain the Western Han emperors.{{sfnp|Bulling|1962|p=312}} |footer_align=left |image1=Pottery tower 5.JPG |width1=141 |caption1=|image2=Han Dynasty pottery tower.JPG |width2=141 |caption2= }}

Timber was the chief building material during the Han dynasty; it was used to build palace halls, multi-story residential towers and halls, and single-story houses.{{sfnp|Ebrey|1999|p=76}} Because wood decays rapidly, the only remaining evidence of Han wooden architecture is a collection of scattered ceramic roof tiles.{{sfnp|Ebrey|1999|p=76}}{{sfnp|Wang|1982|pp=1–40}} The oldest surviving wooden halls in China date to the [[Tang dynasty]] (618–907).{{sfnp|Steinhardt|2004|pp=228–238}} Architectural historian Robert L. Thorp points out the scarcity of Han-era archeologicalarchaeological remains, and claims that often unreliable Han-era literary and artistic sources are used by historians for clues about lost Han architecture.{{sfnp|Thorp|1986|pp=360–378}}

Though Han wooden structures decayed, some Han- dynasty ruins made of brick, stone, and [[rammed earth]] remain intact. This includes stone pillar-gates, brick tomb chambers, rammed-earth [[Chinese city wall|city walls]], rammed-earth and brick [[beacon]] towers, rammed-earth sections of the [[Great Wall of China|Great Wall]], rammed-earth platforms where elevated halls once stood, and two rammed-earth [[castle]]scastles in [[Gansu]].{{sfnp|Wang|1982|pp=1, 30, 39–40, 148–149}}{{sfnp|Chang|2007|pp=91–92}}{{sfnp|Morton|Lewis|2005|p=56}}{{efn|See also {{harvp|Ebrey|1999|p=76}}; see {{harvp|Needham|1972|loc=Plate V, Fig. 15, for a photo of a Han-era fortress in Dunhuang, Gansu province that has rammed earth ramparts with defensive crenellations at the top}}.}} The ruins of rammed-earth walls that once surrounded the capitals Chang'an and Luoyang still stand, along with their [[Sewage collection and disposal|drainage systems]] of brick arches, ditches, and ceramic [[water pipe]]s.{{sfnp|Wang|1982|pp=1–39}} [[Que (tower)|Monumental stone pillar-gates]], twenty-nine of which survive from the Han period, formed entrances of walled enclosures at shrine and tomb sites.{{sfnp|Steinhardt|2005a|p=279}}{{sfnp|Liu|2002|p=55}} These pillars feature artistic imitations of wooden and ceramic building components such as roof tiles, eaves, and [[balustrades]].{{sfnp|Steinhardt|2005a|pp=279–280}}{{sfnp|Liu|2002|p=55}}

The [[courtyard house]] is the most common type of home portrayed in Han artwork.{{sfnp|Ebrey|1999|p=76}} Ceramic architectural [[Architectural model|models of buildings]], like houses and towers, were found in Han tombs, perhaps to provide lodging for the dead in the afterlife. These provide valuable clues about lost wooden architecture. The artistic designs found on ceramic roof tiles of tower models are in some cases exact matches to Han roof tiles found at archeologicalarchaeological sites.{{sfnp|Steinhardt|2005b|pp=283–284}}

From Han literary sources, it is known that wooden-trestle [[beam bridge]]s, [[arch bridge]]s, [[simple suspension bridge]]s, and floating [[pontoon bridge]]s existed induring Hanthe ChinaHan.{{sfnp|Needham|1986d|pp=161–188}} However, there are only two known references to arch bridges in Han literature.{{sfnp|Needham|1986c|pp=171–172}} There is only one relief sculpture dated to the Han period that depicts an arch bridge; it is located in Sichuan province.{{sfnp|Liu|2002|p=56}}

Underground [[Shaft mining|Underground mine shafts]], some reaching depths over {{cvt|100|m|ft|sp=us}}, were created for the extraction of metal ores.{{sfnp|Loewe|1968|pp=191–194}}{{sfnp|Wang|1982|p=105}} [[Borehole]] drilling and [[derrick]]s were used to lift [[brine]] to iron pans where it was distilled into salt. The distillation furnaces were heated by [[natural gas]] funneledfunnelled to the surface through [[Pipeline transport|bamboo pipelines]].{{sfnp|Loewe|1968|pp=191–194}}{{sfnp|Tom|1989|p=103}}{{sfnp|Ronan|1994|p=91}} These boreholes perhaps reached a depth of 600 m (2000 ft).{{sfnp|Loewe|1968|pp=193–194}}

File:登封汉代少室阙.jpg|A pair of stone-carved [[Que (tower)|''que'' (闕)]] located at the temple of [[Mount Song]] in [[Dengfeng]]. ({{snd}}Eastern Han dynasty.)

File:幽州書佐秦君石闕 17.jpg|A pair of Han period stone-carved [[Que (tower)|''que'' (闕)]] located at {{snd}}Babaoshan, Beijing.

File:Gao Yi Que2.jpg|A stone-carved pillar-gate, or [[Que (tower)|''que'' (闕)]], 6&nbsp;m (20&nbsp;ft) in total height, located at {{snd}}the tomb of Gao Yi in [[Ya'an]]., (Eastern Han dynasty.){{sfnp|Liu|2002|p=55}}

File:Eastern Han tomb, Luoyang 2.jpg|An Eastern- Han [[Vault (architecture)|vaulted]] tomb chamber at [[Luoyang]] made of small bricks

[[File:Winnowing machine and tilt hammer.JPG|thumb|A Han- dynasty pottery model of two men operating a [[Fengshanche|winnowing machine]] with a [[Crank (mechanism)|crank handle]] and a [[Trip hammer|tilt hammer]] used to pound grain.]]

Han-era mechanical engineering comes largely from the choice observational writings of sometimes-disinterested Confucian scholars who generally considered scientific and engineering endeavorsendeavours to be far beneath them.{{sfnp|Fraser|2014|p=370}} Professional artisan-engineers (''jiang'' {{lang|zh|匠}}) did not leave behind detailed records of their work.{{sfnp|Needham|1986c|pp=2, 9}}{{efn|See also {{harvp|Barbieri-Low|2007|p=36}}.}} Han scholars, who often had little or no expertise in mechanical engineering, sometimes provided insufficient information on the various technologies they described.{{sfnp|Needham|1986c|p=2}} Nevertheless, some Han literary sources provide crucial information.

For example, in 15  BC the philosopher and poet [[Yang Xiong (author)|Yang Xiong]] described the invention of the [[Belt (mechanical)|belt drive]] for a [[quilling]] machine, which was of great importance to early textile manufacturing.{{sfnp|Needham|1988|pp=207–208}} The inventions of mechanical engineer and craftsman [[Ding Huan]] are mentioned in the ''Miscellaneous Notes on the Western Capital''.{{sfnp|Barbieri-Low|2007|p=197}} Around AD  180, Ding created a manually operated rotary fan used for [[air conditioning]] within palace buildings.{{sfnp|Needham|1986c|pp=99, 134, 151, 233}} Ding also used [[gimbal]]s as pivotal supports for one of his incense burners and invented the world's first known [[zoetrope]] lamp.{{sfnp|Needham|1986b|pp=123, 233–234}}

Modern archeologyarchaeology has led to the discovery of Han artwork portraying inventions which were otherwise absent in Han literary sources. As observed in Han miniature tomb models, but not in literary sources, the [[Crank (mechanism)|crank handle]] was used to operate the [[Fan (mechanical)|fans]] of [[Fengshanche|winnowing machines]] that separated grain from [[chaff]].{{sfnp|Needham|1986c|pp=116–119, Plate CLVI}} The [[odometer]] cart, invented during the Han period, measured journey lengths, using mechanical figures banging drums and gongs to indicate each distance traveledtravelled.{{sfnp|Needham|1986c|pp=281–285}} This invention is depicted in Han artwork by the 2nd century, yet detailed written descriptions were not offered until the 3rd century.{{sfnp|Needham|1986c|pp=283–285}}

Modern archeologistsarchaeologists have also unearthed specimens of devices used during the Han dynasty, for example a pair of sliding metal [[caliper]]s used by craftsmen for making minute measurements. These calipers contain inscriptions of the exact day and year they were manufactured. These tools are not mentioned in any Han literary sources.{{sfnp|Loewe|1968|pp=195–196}}

The [[waterwheel]] appeared in Chinese records during the Han. As mentioned by Huan Tan {{circa|20  AD}} , they were used to turn gears that lifted iron [[trip hammer]]s, and were used in pounding, [[threshing]], and polishing grain.{{sfnp|Needham|1986c|pp=183–184, 390–392}} However, there is no sufficient evidence for the [[watermill]] in China until about the 5th century.{{sfnp|Needham|1986c|pp=396–400}} The [[Nanyang Commandery]] Administrator, mechanical engineer, and metallurgist [[Du Shi]] ({{died-in|38  AD}}) created a waterwheel-powered [[Reciprocating motion|reciprocator]] that worked the [[bellows]] for the smelting of iron.{{sfnp|de Crespigny|2007|p=184}}{{sfnp|Needham|1986c|p=370}} Waterwheels were also used to power [[chain pump]]s that lifted water to raised [[irrigation]] ditches. The chain pump was first mentioned in China by the philosopher Wang Chong in his 1st-century ''[[Lunheng|Balanced Discourse]]''.{{sfnp|Needham|1986c|pp=89, 110, 342–344}}

The [[armillary sphere]], a three-dimensional representation of the movements in the [[celestial sphere]], was invented in Han China by the 1st century  BC.{{sfnp|Needham|1986a|p=343}} Using a [[water clock]], waterwheel, and a series of gears, the Court Astronomer [[Zhang Heng]] (78–139  AD) was able to mechanically rotate his metal-ringed armillary sphere.{{sfnp|de Crespigny|2007|p=1050}}{{sfnp|Needham|1986c|pp=30, 479 footnote e}}{{sfnp|Morton|Lewis|2005|p=70}}{{sfnp|Bowman|2000|p=595}} To address the problem of slowed [[timekeeping]] in the [[pressure head]] of the inflow water clock, Zhang was the first in China to install an additional tank between the reservoir and inflow vessel.{{sfnp|de Crespigny|2007|p=1050}}{{sfnp|Needham|1986c|p=479 footnote e}}

Zhang also invented a device he termed an "earthquake weathervane" ({{transliterationtlit|zh|houfeng didong yi}} {{lang|zh|候風地動儀}}), which the British sinologist and historian [[Joseph Needham]] described as "the ancestor of all [[seismographs]]".<ref>Cited in {{harvp|Fraser|2014|p=375}}.</ref> This device was able to detect the exact [[Cardinal direction|cardinal]] or ordinal direction of [[earthquake]]searthquakes from hundreds of kilometerskilometres away.{{sfnp|de Crespigny|2007|p=1050}}{{sfnp|Fraser|2014|p=375}}{{sfnp|Morton|Lewis|2005|p=70}} It employed an [[inverted pendulum]] that, when disturbed by ground tremors, would trigger a set of gears that dropped a metal ball from one of eight dragon mouths (representing all eight directions) into a metal toad's mouth.{{sfnp|Needham|1986a|pp=626–631}} The account of this device in the ''[[Book of the Later Han]]'' describes how, on one occasion, one of the metal balls was triggered without any of the observers feeling a disturbance. Several days later, a messenger arrived bearing news that an earthquake had struck in Longxi Commandery (modern Gansu), the direction the device had indicated, which forced the officials at court to admit the efficacy of Zhang's device.{{sfnp|Fraser|2014|p=376}}

Three Han mathematical treatises still exist. These are the ''[[Book on Numbers and Computation]]'', the ''[[Zhoubi Suanjing|Arithmetical Classic of the Gnomon and the Circular Paths of Heaven]],'' and the ''[[Nine Chapters on the Mathematical Art]]''. Han-era mathematical achievements include solving problems with right-angle triangles, [[square root]]s, [[cube root]]s, and [[Matrix (mathematics)|matrix methods]],{{sfnp|Dauben|2007|p=212}}{{sfnp|Liu|Feng|Jiang|Zheng|2003|pp=9–10}} finding more accurate [[Chronology of computation of π|approximations for pi]],{{sfnp|Needham|1986a|pp=99–100}}{{sfnp|Berggren|Borwein|Borwein|2004|p=27}} providing [[mathematical proof]] of the [[Pythagorean theorem]],{{sfnp|Dauben|2007|pp=219–222}}{{sfnp|Needham|1986a|p=22}} use of the [[Fraction (mathematics)|decimal fraction]],<ref>{{harvp|Needham|1986a|pp=84–86}}</ref> [[Gaussian elimination]] to solve [[System of linear equations|linear equations]],{{sfnp|Shen|Crossley|Lun|1999|p=388}}{{sfnp|Straffin|1998|p=166}}{{sfnp|Needham|1986a|pp=24–25, 121}} and [[continued fraction]]s to find the [[root of a function|roots of equations]].{{sfnp|Needham|1986a|pp=65–66}}

One of the Han's greatest mathematical advancements was the world's first use of [[negative number]]s. Negative numbers first appeared in the ''Nine Chapters on the Mathematical Art'' as black [[counting rods]], where positive numbers were represented by red counting rods.{{sfnp|Liu|Feng|Jiang|Zheng|2003|pp=9–10}} Negative numbers were also used by the Greek mathematician [[Diophantus]] around AD  275, and in the 7th-century [[Bakhshali manuscript]] of [[Gandhara]], South Asia,{{sfnp|Teresi|2002|pp=65–66}} but were not widely accepted in Europe until the 16th century.{{sfnp|Liu|Feng|Jiang|Zheng|2003|pp=9–10}}

The Han applied mathematics to various diverse disciplines. In [[musical tuning]], [[Jing Fang]] (78–37 &nbsp;BC) realized that 53 [[perfect fifth]]s was approximate to 31 [[octave]]s. He also created a [[musical scale]] of 60 tones, calculating the difference at ¹⁷⁷¹⁴⁷⁄₁₇₆₇₇₆ (the same value of [[53 equal temperament]] discovered by the German mathematician [[Nicholas Mercator]] [1620–1687], i.e. 3⁵³/2⁸⁴).{{sfnp|McClain|Ming|1979|p=212}}{{sfnp|Needham|1986b|pp=218–219}}

Mathematics were essential in drafting the [[Chinese calendar|astronomical calendar]], a [[lunisolar calendar]] that used the Sun and Moon as time-markers throughout the year.{{sfnp|Cullen|2006|p=7}}{{sfnp|Lloyd|1996|p=168}} During the spring and autumn periods of the 5th century  BC, the Chinese established the Sifen calendar ({{lang|zh-Hant|古四分歷}}), which measured the [[tropical year]] at 365.25 days. This was replaced in 104  BC with the Taichu calendar ({{lang|zh-Hant|太初曆}}) that measured the tropical year at {{fraction|365|385|1539}} (~ 365.25016) days and the [[lunar month]] at {{fraction|29|43|81}} days.{{sfnp|Deng|2005|p=67}} However, Emperor Zhang later reinstated the Sifen calendar.{{sfnp|de Crespigny|2007|p=498}}

Han dynasty astronomers made [[star catalogue]]s and detailed records of comets that appeared in the night sky, including recording the 12 BC appearance of the comet now known as [[Halley's Comet]] in 12 BC.{{sfnp|Loewe|1994|pp=61, 69}}{{sfnp|Csikszentmihalyi|2006|pp=173–175}}{{sfnp|Sun|Kistemaker|1997|pp=5, 21–23}}{{sfnp|Balchin|2003|p=27}} They adopted a [[geocentric model]] of the universe, theorizing that it was [[celestial sphere|shaped like a sphere]] surrounding the Earth in the centercentre.{{sfnp|Dauben|2007|p=214}}{{sfnp|Sun|Kistemaker|1997|p=62}}{{sfnp|Huang|1988|p=64}} They assumed that the Sun, Moon, and planets were spherical and not disc-shaped. They also thought that the illumination of the Moon and planets was caused by sunlight, that [[lunar eclipse]]s occurred when the Earth obstructed sunlight falling onto the Moon, and that a [[solar eclipse]] occurred when the Moon obstructed sunlight from reaching the Earth.{{sfnp|Needham|1986a|pp=227, 414}} Although others disagreed with his model, Wang Chong accurately described the [[water cycle]] of the evaporation of water into clouds.{{sfnp|Needham|1986a|p=468}}

[[File:Western Han Mawangdui Silk Map.JPG|thumb|upright|An early Western Han dynasty silk map found in tombTomb #3 of [[Mawangdui]], depicting the Kingdom of [[Changsha Kingdom|Changsha]] and Kingdom of [[Nanyue]] in southern China. (note: theThe south direction is oriented at the top).]]

[[File:Eastern Han pottery boat.JPG|thumb|upright|An Eastern Han dynasty pottery boat model with a steering [[rudder]] at the stern and anchor at the bow.]]

Evidence found in Chinese literature, and archeologicalarchaeological evidence, show that [[cartography]] existed in China before the Han.{{sfnp|Hsu|1993|pp=90–93}}{{sfnp|Needham|1986a|pp=534–535}} Some of the earliest Han maps discovered were ink-penned silk maps found amongst the [[Mawangdui Silk Texts]] in a 2nd-century- BC tomb.{{sfnp|Hsu|1993|pp=90–93}}{{sfnp|Hansen|2000|p=125}} The general [[Ma Yuan (Han dynasty)|Ma Yuan]] created the world's first known [[raised-relief map]] from rice in the 1st century.{{sfnp|de Crespigny|2007|p=659}} This date could be revised if the tomb of Emperor [[Qin Shi Huang]] is excavated and the account in the ''Records of the Grand Historian'' concerning a model map of the empire is proven to be true.{{sfnp|Needham|1986a|pp=580–581}}

Although the use of the [[Scale (map)|graduated scale]] and [[grid reference]] for maps was not thoroughly described until the published work of [[Pei Xiu]] (AD  224–271), there is evidence that in the early 2nd century, cartographer Zhang Heng was the first to use scales and grids for maps.{{sfnp|de Crespigny|2007|p=1050}}{{sfnp|Hsu|1993|pp=90–93}}{{sfnp|Needham|1986a|pp=538–540}}{{sfnp|Nelson|1974|p=359}}

Although ox-carts and chariots were previously used in China, the [[wheelbarrow]] was first used in Han China in the 1st century  BC.{{sfnp|Needham|1986c|pp=263–267}}{{sfnp|Greenberger|2006|p=13}} Han artwork of horse-drawn chariots shows that the Warring-States-Era heavy wooden yoke placed around a horse's chest was replaced by the softer ''breast strap''.{{sfnp|Needham|1986c|pp=308–312, 319–323}} Later, during the [[Northern Wei]] (386–534), the fully developed [[horse collar]] was invented.{{sfnp|Needham|1986c|pp=308–312, 319–323}}

[[File:Qigong taiji meditation.jpg|thumb|upright|The physical exercise chart; a [[Mawangdui silk texts|painting on silk]] depicting the practice of ''Daoyin''; unearthed in 1973 in Hunan, from theTomb 2nd-century BC Western Han site#3 at [[Mawangdui]], Tomb Number 3.site]]

Han-era medical physicians believed that the human body was subject to the same forces of nature that governed the greater universe, namely the [[cosmological]] cycles of yin and yang and the [[Wuxing (Chinese philosophy)|five phases]]. Each [[Zang-fu|organ of the body]] was associated with a particular phase. Illness was viewed as a sign that ''[[qi]]'', or "vital energy", channels leading to a certain organ had been disrupted. Thus, Han-era physicians prescribed medicine that was believed to counteract this imbalance.{{sfnp|Csikszentmihalyi|2006|pp=181–182}}{{sfnp|Sun|Kistemaker|1997|pp=3–4}}{{sfnp|Hsu|2001|p=75}}

For example, since the wood phase was believed to promote the fire phase, medicinal ingredients associated with the wood phase could be used to heal an organ associated with the fire phase.{{sfnp|Csikszentmihalyi|2006|pp=181–182}} Besides dieting, Han physicians also prescribed [[moxibustion]], [[acupuncture]], and [[calisthenics]] as methods of maintaining one's health.{{sfnp|de Crespigny|2007|p=332}}{{sfnp|Omura|2003|pp=15, 19–22}}{{sfnp|Loewe|1994|p=65}}{{sfnp|Lo|2001|p=23}} When surgery was performed by the Chinese physician [[Hua Tuo]] ({{died-in|AD  208}}), he used [[anesthesia]] to numb his patients' pain and prescribed a rubbing ointment that allegedly sped the process of healing surgical wounds.{{sfnp|de Crespigny|2007|p=332}} Whereas the physician [[Zhang Zhongjing]] ({{circa|AD  150}} – {{circa|219}}) is known to have written the ''[[Shanghan lun]]'' ("Dissertation on Typhoid Fever"), it is thought that both he and Hua Tuo collaborated in compiling the ''[[Shennong Ben Cao Jing]]'' medical text.{{sfnp|de Crespigny|2007|p=1055}}

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