Coordinates: 34°09′21″N 108°56′47″E

Han dynasty
The Han dynasty (Chinese: 漢朝 ; pinyin: Hàncháo) was
Han
the second imperial dynasty of China (202 BC – 220 AD),
established by Liu Bang and ruled by the House of Liu.
Preceded by the short-lived Qin dynasty (221–206 BC) and
漢
a warring interregnum known as the Chu–Han contention 202 BC – 9 AD; 25–220 AD
(206–202 BC), it was briefly interrupted by the Xin (9–23 AD: Xin)
dynasty (9–23 AD) established by the usurping regent
Wang Mang, and was separated into two periods—the
Western Han (202 BC – 9 AD) and the Eastern Han
(25–220  AD)—before being succeeded by the Three
Kingdoms period (220–280 AD). Spanning over four
centuries, the Han dynasty is considered a golden age in
Chinese history, and influenced the identity of the Chinese
civilization ever since.[4] Modern China's majority ethnic
group refers to themselves as the "Han people", the Sinitic
language is known as "Han language", and the written
Chinese is referred to as "Han characters".[5] A map of the Western Han dynasty in
2 AD[1]
The emperor was at the pinnacle of Han society. He   Principalities and centrally-
presided over the Han government but shared power with administered commanderies
both the nobility and appointed ministers who came largely   Protectorate of the Western Regions
from the scholarly gentry class. The Han Empire was (Tarim Basin)
divided into areas directly controlled by the central
Capital Chang'an

government using an innovation inherited from the Qin

(206 BC – 9 AD,
known as commanderies, and a number of semi- 190–195 AD)

autonomous kingdoms. These kingdoms gradually lost all Luoyang

vestiges of their independence, particularly following the (23–190 AD, 196

Rebellion of the Seven States. From the reign of Emperor AD)

Wu (r.  141–87 BC) onward, the Chinese court officially Xuchang

sponsored Confucianism in education and court politics, (196–220 AD)

synthesized with the cosmology of later scholars such as
Common languages Old Chinese
Dong Zhongshu. This policy endured until the fall of the
Qing dynasty in 1912 AD. Religion Daoism

Chinese folk
The Han dynasty saw an age of economic prosperity and religion
witnessed a significant growth of the money economy first
Government Monarchy
established during the Zhou dynasty (c. 1050–256 BC).
The coinage issued by the central government mint in 119 Emperor  
BC remained the standard coinage of China until the Tang • 202–195 BC (first) Emperor Gaozu
dynasty (618–907 AD). The period saw a number of • 141–87 BC Emperor Wu
limited institutional innovations. To finance its military • 74–48 BC Emperor Xuan
campaigns and the settlement of newly conquered frontier • 25–57 AD Emperor
territories, the Han government nationalized the private salt Guangwu
and iron industries in 117 BC, but these government • 189–220 AD (last) Emperor Xian
monopolies were repealed during the Eastern Han dynasty. Chancellor  
• 206–193 BC Xiao He
Science and technology during the Han period saw • 193–190 BC Cao Can
significant advances, including the process of papermaking, • 189–192 AD Dong Zhuo
the nautical steering ship rudder, the use of negative • 208–220 AD Cao Cao
numbers in mathematics, the raised-relief map, the • 220 AD Cao Pi
hydraulic-powered armillary sphere for astronomy, and a Historical era Imperial
seismometer employing an inverted pendulum that could be
• Xiang Yu appointed 206 BC
used to discern the cardinal direction of distant earthquakes. Liu Bang as King
of Han
The Xiongnu, a nomadic steppe confederation,[6] defeated • Battle of Gaixia; Liu 202 BC
the Han in 200  BC and forced the Han to submit as a de Bang proclaimed
facto inferior and vassal partner for several decades, but emperor
continued their military raids on the Han borders. Emperor • Xin dynasty 9–23 AD
Wu launched several military campaigns against them. The • Abdication to Cao 220 AD
ultimate Han victory in these wars eventually forced the Wei
Xiongnu to accept vassal status as Han tributaries. These Area
campaigns expanded Han sovereignty and control into the 50 BC est. (Western 6,000,000 km2
Tarim Basin of Central Asia, divided the Xiongnu into two Han peak)[2] (2,300,000 sq mi)
separate confederations, and helped establish the vast trade 100 AD est. 6,500,000 km2
network known as the Silk Road, which reached as far as (Eastern Han (2,500,000 sq mi)
the Mediterranean world. The territories north of Han's peak)[2]
borders were quickly overrun by the nomadic Xianbei
Population
confederation. Emperor Wu also launched successful
military expeditions in the south, annexing Nanyue in 111 • 2 AD[3] 57,671,400
BC and Dian in 109 BC, and in the Korean Peninsula Currency Ban Liang coins
where the Xuantu and Lelang Commanderies were and Wu Zhu
established in 108 BC. After 92 AD, the palace eunuchs coins
increasingly involved themselves in court politics, engaging
in violent power struggles between the various consort Preceded by Succeeded
by
clans of the empresses and empresses dowager, causing the
Han's ultimate downfall. Imperial authority was also Qin dynasty Cao
seriously challenged by large Daoist religious societies Eighteen Wei
which instigated the Yellow Turban Rebellion and the Five Kingdoms Shu
Pecks of Rice Rebellion. Following the death of Emperor Han
Ling (r.  168–189 AD), the palace eunuchs suffered Eastern
Wu
wholesale massacre by military officers, allowing members
of the aristocracy and military governors to become
Today part of China

warlords and divide the empire. When Cao Pi, king of Wei, Vietnam

usurped the throne from Emperor Xian, the Han dynasty North Korea
ceased to exist.
Han dynasty

Contents
Etymology
History
Western Han
Wang Mang's reign and civil war
"Han" in ancient seal script (top
Eastern Han
left), Han-era clerical script (top
End of the Han dynasty
right), modern Traditional (bottom
Culture and society
 Social class left), and Simplified (bottom right)
Marriage, gender, and kinship Chinese characters
Education, literature, and philosophy Traditional Chinese 漢
Law and order
Food
Simplified Chinese 汉
Clothing Hanyu Pinyin Hàn
Religion, cosmology, and metaphysics Transcriptions

Government and politics Standard Mandarin

Central government Hanyu Pinyin Hàn
Local government Bopomofo ㄏㄢˋ
Kingdoms and marquessates Gwoyeu Romatzyh Hann
Military
Wade–Giles Han4
Economy Tongyong Pinyin Hàn
Currency
Yale Romanization Hàn
Taxation and property
Private manufacture and government monopolies IPA [xân]
Yue: Cantonese
Science and technology
Writing materials Yale Romanization Hon
Metallurgy and agriculture Jyutping Hon3
Structural and geotechnical engineering IPA [hɔ̄ːn]
Mechanical and hydraulic engineering Southern Min
Mathematics Hokkien POJ Hàn
Astronomy
Tâi-lô Hàn
Cartography, ships, and vehicles
Middle Chinese
Medicine
Middle Chinese xàn
See also
Old Chinese
References
Baxter (1992) *xans
Citations
Sources cited Baxter–Sagart (2014) *n̥ˤar-s

Further reading
External links

History of China
Etymology ANCIENT
Neolithic c. 8500 – c. 2070 BC
According to the Records of the Grand Historian, after the
Xia c. 2070 – c. 1600 BC
collapse of the Qin dynasty the hegemon Xiang Yu
appointed Liu Bang as prince of the small fief of Hanzhong, Shang c. 1600 – c. 1046 BC
named after its location on the Han River (in modern Zhou c. 1046 – 256 BC
southwest Shaanxi). Following Liu Bang's victory in the  Western Zhou
Chu–Han Contention, the resulting Han dynasty was named  Eastern Zhou
after the Hanzhong fief.[7]    Spring and Autumn
   Warring States
History IMPERIAL
Western Han Qin 221–207 BC
Han 202 BC – 220 AD
China's first imperial dynasty was the Qin dynasty (221–207   Western Han
BC). The Qin united the Chinese Warring States by
  Xin
conquest, but their regime became unstable after the death of
the first emperor Qin Shi Huang. Within four years, the   Eastern Han

dynasty's authority had collapsed in the face of rebellion.[8] Three Kingdoms 220–280
Two former rebel leaders, Xiang Yu (d. 202 BC) of Chu and   Wei, Shu and Wu
Liu Bang (d. 195 BC) of Han, engaged in a war to decide Jin 266–420
who would become hegemon of China, which had fissured   Western Jin
into 18 kingdoms, each claiming allegiance to either Xiang
  Eastern Jin Sixteen Kingdoms
Yu or Liu Bang.[9] Although Xiang Yu proved to be an
effective commander, Liu Bang defeated him at the Battle of Northern and Southern dynasties
Gaixia (202 BC), in modern-day Anhui. Liu Bang assumed 420–589
the title "emperor" (huangdi) at the urging of his followers Sui 581–618
and is known posthumously as Emperor Gaozu (r. 202–195 Tang 618–907
BC).[10] Chang'an (known today as Xi'an) was chosen as Five Dynasties and Liao 916–1125
the new capital of the reunified empire under Han.[11] Ten Kingdoms
907–979
At the beginning of the Western Han (traditional Chinese:
西漢 ; simplified Chinese:西汉 ; pinyin: Xīhàn), also known Song 960–1279
as the Former Han (traditional Chinese: 前漢 ; simplified   Northern Song
Chinese: 前汉 ; pinyin: Qiánhàn) dynasty, thirteen centrally   Southern Song Jin W. Liao
W. Xia

controlled commanderies—including the capital region— Yuan 1271–1368

existed in the western third of the empire, while the eastern
Ming 1368–1644
two-thirds were divided into ten semi-autonomous
kingdoms.[12] To placate his prominent commanders from Qing 1636–1912
the war with Chu, Emperor Gaozu enfeoffed some of them MODERN
as kings. Republic of China on the mainland 1912–1949

By 196 BC, the Han court had replaced all but one of these People's Republic of China 1949–present
kings (the exception being in Changsha) with royal Liu Republic of China in Taiwan 1949–present
family members, since the loyalty of non-relatives to the Related articles
throne was questioned. [12] After several insurrections by Chinese historiography
Han kings—the largest being the Rebellion of the Seven
Timeline of Chinese history
States in 154 BC—the imperial court enacted a series of
Dynasties in Chinese history
reforms beginning in 145 BC limiting the size and power of
these kingdoms and dividing their former territories into new Linguistic history
centrally controlled commanderies. [13] Kings were no Art history
longer able to appoint their own staff; this duty was assumed Economic history
by the imperial court.[14][15] Kings became nominal heads Education history
of their fiefs and collected a portion of tax revenues as their
Science and technology history
personal incomes.[14][15] The kingdoms were never entirely
abolished and existed throughout the remainder of Western Legal history
and Eastern Han. [16] Media history
Military history
To the north of China proper, the nomadic Xiongnu
Naval history
chieftain Modu Chanyu (r. 209–174 BC) conquered various
tribes inhabiting the eastern portion of the Eurasian Steppe. Women in ancient and imperial China
By the end of his reign, he controlled Manchuria, Mongolia,
and the Tarim Basin, subjugating over twenty states east of
Left image: Western-Han painted ceramic jar garnished with raised reliefs of dragons, phoenixes, and taotie
Right image: Reverse side of a Western-Han bronze mirror with painted designs of a flower motif

Samarkand.[17][18][19] Emperor Gaozu was troubled

about the abundant Han-manufactured iron weapons
traded to the Xiongnu along the northern borders, and
he established a trade embargo against the group.[20]

In retaliation, the Xiongnu invaded what is now

Shanxi province, where they defeated the Han forces
at Baideng in 200 BC.[20][21] 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.[22][23][24]

Thirteen direct-controlled commanderies including

the capital region (Yellow) and ten semi-
autonomous kingdoms of the early periods, 195
BC

Despite the tribute and a negotiation between Belt Buckle with nomadic-inspired zoomorphic
Laoshang Chanyu (r. 174–160 BC) and Emperor Wen design, manufactured in China for the Xiongnu.
(r.  180–157 BC) to reopen border markets, many of Mercury-gilded bronze (a Chinese technique).
the Chanyu's Xiongnu subordinates chose not to obey North China, 3rd-2nd century BC.[25][26]
the treaty and periodically raided Han territories south
of the Great Wall for additional goods.[27][28][29] In a
court conference assembled by Emperor Wu (r.  141–87 BC) in 135 BC, the majority consensus of the
ministers was to retain the heqin agreement. Emperor Wu accepted this, despite continuing Xiongnu
raids.[30][31]
However, a court conference the following year convinced the majority that a limited engagement at Mayi
involving the assassination of the Chanyu would throw the Xiongnu realm into chaos and benefit the
Han.[32][33] When this plot failed in 133 BC,[34] Emperor Wu launched a series of massive military
invasions into Xiongnu territory. The assault culminated in 119 BC at the Battle of Mobei, where the Han
commanders Huo Qubing (d. 117 BC) and Wei Qing (d. 106 BC) forced the Xiongnu court to flee north of
the Gobi Desert.[35][36]

After Wu's reign, Han forces continued to prevail against the Xiongnu. The Xiongnu leader Huhanye
Chanyu (r. 58–31 BC) finally submitted to Han as a tributary vassal in 51 BC. His rival claimant to the
throne, Zhizhi Chanyu (r. 56–36 BC), was killed by Chen Tang and Gan Yanshou ( 甘延壽 甘延寿
/ ) at the
Battle of Zhizhi, in modern Taraz, Kazakhstan.[37][38]

In 121 BC, Han forces expelled the Xiongnu from a

vast territory spanning the Hexi Corridor to Lop Nur.
They repelled a joint Xiongnu-Qiang invasion of this
northwestern territory in 111 BC. In that year, the Han
court established four new frontier commanderies in
this region: Jiuquan, Zhangyi, Dunhuang, and
Wuwei.[39][40][41] The majority of people on the
frontier were soldiers.[42] On occasion, the court
forcibly moved peasant farmers to new frontier
settlements, along with government-owned slaves and
convicts who performed hard labor.[43] The court also
encouraged commoners, such as farmers, merchants,
Map showing the expansion of Han dynasty in the
landowners, and hired laborers, to voluntarily migrate
2nd century BC
to the frontier.[44]

Even before Han's expansion into Central Asia, diplomat Zhang

Qian's travels from 139 to 125 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 (Indus River valley of North India) and
Anxi (the Parthian Empire). All of these countries eventually
received Han embassies.[45][46][47][48][49] These connections
The ruins of a Han-dynasty marked the beginning of the Silk Road trade network that extended
watchtower made of rammed earth at to the Roman Empire, bringing Han items like silk to Rome and
Dunhuang, Gansu province, the Roman goods such as glasswares to China.[50][51]
eastern edge of the Silk Road.
From roughly 115 to 60 BC, Han forces fought the Xiongnu over
control of the oasis city-states in the Tarim Basin. Han was
eventually victorious and established the Protectorate of the Western Regions in 60 BC, which dealt with
the region's defense and foreign affairs.[52][53][54][55] The Han also expanded southward. The naval
conquest of Nanyue in 111 BC expanded the Han realm into what are now modern Guangdong, Guangxi,
and northern Vietnam. Yunnan was brought into the Han realm with the conquest of the Dian Kingdom in
109 BC, followed by parts of the Korean Peninsula with the Han conquest of Gojoseon and colonial
establishments of Xuantu Commandery and Lelang Commandery in 108 BC.[56][57] In China's first known
nationwide census taken in 2  AD, the population was registered as having 57,671,400 individuals in
12,366,470 households.[3]
To pay for his military campaigns and colonial expansion, Emperor Wu nationalized several private
industries. He created central government monopolies administered largely by former merchants. These
monopolies included salt, iron, and liquor production, as well as bronze-coin currency. The liquor
monopoly lasted only from 98 to 81 BC, and the salt and iron monopolies were eventually abolished in
early Eastern Han. The issuing of coinage remained a central government monopoly throughout the rest of
the Han dynasty.[58][59][60][61][62][63]

The government monopolies were eventually repealed when a political faction known as the Reformists
gained greater influence in the court. The Reformists opposed the Modernist faction that had dominated
court politics in Emperor Wu's reign and during the subsequent regency of Huo Guang (d.  68 BC). The
Modernists argued for an aggressive and expansionary foreign policy supported by revenues from heavy
government intervention in the private economy. The Reformists, however, overturned these policies,
favoring a cautious, non-expansionary approach to foreign policy, frugal budget reform, and lower tax-rates
imposed on private entrepreneurs.[64][65][66]

Wang Mang's reign and civil war

Wang Zhengjun (71 BC – 13

AD) was first empress, then
empress dowager, and finally
grand empress dowager during
the reigns of the Emperors Yuan
(r.  49–33 BC), Cheng (r.  33–7
BC), and Ai (r.  7–1 BC),
respectively. During this time, a
succession of her male relatives
held the title of regent.[68][69]
These rammed earth ruins of a granary in Hecang Fortress (Chinese: 河仓
Following the death of Ai,
城 ; pinyin: Hécāng chéng), located ~11 km (7 miles) northeast of the
Western-Han-era Yumen Pass, were built during the Western Han (202 BC
Wang Zhengjun's nephew Wang – 9 AD) and significantly rebuilt during the Western Jin (280–316 AD).[67]
Mang (45 BC – 23 AD) was

Left image: A Western-Han painted ceramic mounted cavalryman from the tomb of a military general at
Xianyang, Shaanxi

Right image: A Western or Eastern Han bronze horse statuette with a lead saddle

appointed regent as Marshall of State on 16 August under Emperor Ping (r. 1 BC – 6 AD).[70]

When Ping died on 3 February 6 AD, Ruzi Ying (d. 25 AD) was chosen as the heir and Wang Mang was
appointed to serve as acting emperor for the child.[70] Wang promised to relinquish his control to Liu Ying
once he came of age.[70] Despite this promise, and against protest and revolts from the nobility, Wang
Mang claimed on 10 January that the divine Mandate of Heaven called for the end of the Han dynasty and
the beginning of his own: the Xin dynasty (9–23 AD).[71][72][73]
Wang Mang initiated a series of major reforms that were ultimately unsuccessful. These reforms included
outlawing slavery, nationalizing land to equally distribute between households, and introducing new
currencies, a change which debased the value of coinage.[74][75][76][77] Although these reforms provoked
considerable opposition, Wang's regime met its ultimate downfall with the massive floods of c. 3 AD and
11 AD. Gradual silt buildup in the Yellow River had raised its water level and overwhelmed the 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
AD.[78][79][80]

The flood dislodged thousands of peasant farmers, many of whom joined roving bandit and rebel groups
such as the Red Eyebrows to survive.[78][79][80] Wang Mang's armies were incapable of quelling these
enlarged rebel groups. Eventually, an insurgent mob forced their way into the Weiyang Palace and killed
Wang Mang.[81][82]

The Gengshi Emperor (r. 23–25 AD), a descendant of Emperor Jing (r. 157–141 BC), attempted to restore
the Han dynasty and occupied Chang'an as his capital. However, he was overwhelmed by the Red
Eyebrow rebels who deposed, assassinated, and replaced him with the puppet monarch Liu Penzi.[83][84]
Gengshi's distant cousin Liu Xiu, known posthumously as Emperor Guangwu (r.  25–57 AD), after
distinguishing himself at the Battle of Kunyang in 23 AD, was urged to succeed Gengshi as
emperor.[85][86]

Under Guangwu's rule the Han Empire was restored. Guangwu made Luoyang his capital in 25 AD, and
by 27 AD his officers Deng Yu and Feng Yi had forced the Red Eyebrows to surrender and executed their
leaders for treason.[86][87] From 26 until 36 AD, Emperor Guangwu had to wage war against other
regional warlords who claimed the title of emperor; when these warlords were defeated, China reunified
under the Han.[88][89]

The period between the foundation of the Han dynasty and Wang Mang's reign is known as the Western
Han (traditional Chinese: 西漢 ; simplified Chinese: 西汉 ; pinyin: Xīhàn) or Former Han (traditional
Chinese: 前漢 ; simplified Chinese: 前汉 ; pinyin: Qiánhàn) (206 BC – 9 AD). During this period the
capital was at Chang'an (modern Xi'an). From the reign of Guangwu the capital was moved eastward to
Luoyang. The era from his reign until the fall of Han is known as the Eastern Han or Later Han (25–220
AD).[90]

Eastern Han

The Eastern Han (traditional Chinese: 東漢 ;

simplified Chinese: 东汉 ; pinyin: Dōnghàn), also
known as the Later Han (traditional Chinese: 後漢 ;
simplified Chinese: 后汉 ; pinyin: Hòuhàn), formally
began on 5 August AD 25, when Liu Xiu became
Emperor Guangwu of Han.[91] During the widespread
rebellion against Wang Mang, the state of Goguryeo
was free to raid Han's Korean commanderies; Han did
not reaffirm its control over the region until AD 30.[92]

The Trưng Sisters of Vietnam rebelled against Han in

Situation of warlords and peasant forces at the
AD 40. Their rebellion was crushed by Han general
beginning of Eastern Han dynasty
Ma Yuan (d.  AD 49) in a campaign from AD 42–
43.[93][94] Wang Mang renewed hostilities against the
比
Xiongnu, who were estranged from Han until their leader Bi ( ), a rival claimant to the throne against his
cousin Punu ( 蒲奴 ), submitted to Han as a tributary vassal in AD 50. This created two rival Xiongnu
states: the Southern Xiongnu led by Bi, an ally of Han, and the Northern Xiongnu led by Punu, an enemy
of Han.[95][96]

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.[97] Dou Gu
(d. 88 AD) defeated the Northern Xiongnu at the Battle of Yiwulu in AD 73, evicting them from Turpan
and chasing them as far as Lake Barkol before establishing a garrison at Hami.[98] After the new Protector
General of the Western Regions Chen Mu (d. AD 75) was killed by allies of the Xiongnu in Karasahr and
Kucha, the garrison at Hami was withdrawn.[98][99]

At the Battle of Ikh Bayan in AD 89, Dou Xian (d. AD 92) defeated the Northern Xiongnu chanyu who
then retreated into the Altai Mountains.[98][100] 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.[101] The Xianbei reached their apogee under Tanshihuai ( 檀石槐 )
(d. AD 180), who consistently defeated Chinese armies. However, Tanshihuai's confederation disintegrated
after his death.[102]

Ban Chao (d.  AD 102) enlisted the aid of the Kushan Empire, occupying the area of modern India,
Pakistan, Afghanistan, and Tajikistan, to subdue Kashgar and its ally Sogdiana.[103][104] When a request
by Kushan ruler Vima Kadphises (r. c. 90 – c. 100 AD) for a marriage alliance with the Han was rejected in
AD 90, he sent his forces to Wakhan (Afghanistan) to attack Ban Chao. The conflict ended with the
Kushans withdrawing because of lack of supplies.[103][104] In AD 91, the office of Protector General of
the Western Regions was reinstated when it was bestowed on Ban Chao.[105]

Foreign travelers to Eastern-Han China include Buddhist monks

who translated works into Chinese, such as An Shigao from
Parthia, and Lokaksema from Kushan-era Gandhara,
India.[107][108] In addition to tributary relations with the Kushans,
the Han Empire received gifts from the Parthian Empire, from a
king in modern Burma, from a ruler in Japan, and initiated an
unsuccessful mission to Daqin (Rome) in AD 97 with Gan Ying as Eastern Han inscriptions on a lead
emissary.[109][110] ingot, using barbarous Greek
alphabet in the style of the Kushans,
A Roman embassy of Emperor Marcus Aurelius (r. 161–180 AD) excavated in Shaanxi, 1st–2nd
is recorded in the Weilüe and Hou Hanshu to have reached the century AD[106]
court of Emperor Huan of Han (r.  146–168 AD) in AD
166,[111][112] yet Rafe de Crespigny asserts that this was most
likely a group of Roman merchants.[113][114] In addition to Roman
glasswares and coins found in China,[115][116] Roman medallions
from the reign of Antoninus Pius and his adopted son Marcus
Aurelius have been found at Óc Eo in Vietnam.[116][117] This was
near the commandery of Rinan (also Jiaozhi) where Chinese
sources claim the Romans first landed, as well as embassies from
Tianzhu (in northern India) in the years 159 and 161.[118][112] Óc
Eo is also thought to be the port city "Cattigara" described by
Ptolemy in his Geography (c. 150 AD) as lying east of the Golden Preserved arrow, Western Han
Chersonese (Malay Peninsula) along the Magnus Sinus (i.e. Gulf of
Thailand and South China Sea), where a Greek sailor had
visited.[119][120][121][122]
Emperor Zhang's (r. 75–88 AD) reign came to be viewed by later Eastern Han scholars as the high point of
the dynastic house.[123] Subsequent reigns were increasingly marked by eunuch intervention in court
politics and their involvement in the violent power struggles of the imperial consort clans.[124][125] In 92
AD, with the aid of the eunuch Zheng Zhong (d. 107 AD), Emperor He (r.  88–105 AD) had Empress
Dowager Dou (d. 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.[126][127] After Emperor He's death, his wife Empress Deng Sui (d. 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.[128][129]

When Empress Dowager Deng died, Emperor An (r. 106–125 AD) was convinced by the accusations of
the eunuchs Li Run ( 李閏 江京
) and Jiang Jing ( ) 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.[130][131]
After An's death, his wife, Empress Dowager Yan (d. 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 (d.  132
AD) masterminded a successful overthrow of her regime to enthrone Emperor Shun of Han (r.  125–144
AD). Yan was placed under house arrest, her relatives were either killed or exiled, and her eunuch allies
were slaughtered.[132][133] The regent Liang Ji (d. 159 AD), brother of Empress Liang Na (d.  150 AD),
had the brother-in-law of Consort Deng Mengnü (later empress) (d.  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.[134][135]

Students from the Imperial University organized a widespread student protest against the eunuchs of
Emperor Huan's court.[136] Huan further alienated the bureaucracy when he initiated grandiose
construction projects and hosted thousands of concubines in his harem at a time of economic
李膺
crisis.[137][138] Palace eunuchs imprisoned the official Li Ying ( ) and his associates from the Imperial
University on a dubious charge of treason. In 167 AD, the Grand Commandant Dou Wu (d.  168 AD)
convinced his son-in-law, Emperor Huan, to release them.[139] However the emperor permanently barred
Li Ying and his associates from serving in office, marking the beginning of the Partisan Prohibitions.[139]

Following Huan's death, Dou Wu and the Grand Tutor Chen Fan (d.  168 AD) attempted a coup d'état
against the eunuchs Hou Lan (d. 172 AD), Cao Jie (d. 181 AD), and Wang Fu ( 王甫
). When the plot was
uncovered, the eunuchs arrested Empress Dowager Dou (d. 172 AD) and Chen Fan. General Zhang Huan
(張奐 ) favored 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.[140]

Under Emperor Ling (r. 168–189 AD) the eunuchs had the partisan prohibitions renewed and expanded,
while also auctioning off top government offices.[141][142] Many affairs of state were entrusted to the
eunuchs Zhao Zhong (d. 189 AD) and Zhang Rang (d. 189 AD) while Emperor Ling spent much of his
time roleplaying with concubines and participating in military parades.[143]

End of the Han dynasty

The Partisan Prohibitions were repealed during the Yellow Turban Rebellion and Five Pecks of Rice
Rebellion in 184 AD, largely because the court did not want to continue to alienate a significant portion of
the gentry class who might otherwise join the rebellions.[141] The Yellow Turbans and Five-Pecks-of-Rice
adherents belonged to two different hierarchical Daoist religious societies led by faith healers Zhang Jue
(d. 184 AD) and Zhang Lu (d. 216 AD), respectively.
Zhang Lu's rebellion, in modern northern Sichuan
and southern Shaanxi, was not quelled until 215
AD.[144] Zhang Jue's massive rebellion across
eight provinces was annihilated by Han forces
within a year, however the following decades saw
much smaller recurrent uprisings.[145] Although
the Yellow Turbans were defeated, many generals
appointed during the crisis never disbanded their
assembled militia forces and used these troops to
amass power outside of the collapsing imperial
authority.[146]

General-in-Chief He Jin (d. 189 AD), half-brother

to Empress He (d. 189 AD), plotted with Yuan Provinces and commanderies in 219 AD, the
Shao (d.  202 AD) to overthrow the eunuchs by penultimate year of the Han dynasty
having several generals march to the outskirts of
the capital. There, in a written petition to Empress
He, they demanded the eunuchs' execution.[147] After a period of hesitation, Empress He consented. When
the eunuchs discovered this, however, they had her brother He Miao ( 何苗 ) rescind the order.[148][149] The
eunuchs assassinated He Jin on September 22, 189 AD.

Yuan Shao then besieged Luoyang's Northern Palace while his brother Yuan Shu (d. 199 AD) besieged the
Southern Palace. On September 25 both palaces were breached and approximately two thousand eunuchs
were killed.[150][151] Zhang Rang had previously fled with Emperor Shao (r. 189–  AD) and his brother
Liu Xie—the future Emperor Xian of Han (r. 189–220 AD). While being pursued by the Yuan brothers,
Zhang committed suicide by jumping into the Yellow River.[152]

General Dong Zhuo (d. 192 AD) found the young emperor and his brother wandering in the countryside.
He escorted them safely back to the capital and was made Minister of Works, taking control of Luoyang
and forcing Yuan Shao to flee.[153] 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.[154]

Dong was killed by his adopted son Lü Bu (d. 198 AD) in a plot hatched by Wang Yun (d. 192 AD).[155]
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.[156][157]

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.[158][159] His brothers
Yuan Shang and Yuan Xi were killed in 207 AD by Gongsun Kang (d. 221 AD), who sent their heads to
Cao Cao.[158][159]

After Cao's defeat at the naval Battle of Red Cliffs in 208 AD, China was divided into three spheres of
influence, with Cao Cao dominating the north, Sun Quan (182–252 AD) dominating the south, and Liu
Bei (161–223 AD) dominating the west.[160][161] Cao Cao died in March 220 AD. By December his son
Cao Pi (187–226 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 three
states: Cao Wei, Eastern Wu, and Shu Han.[162][163]
Culture and society

A late Eastern Han (25–220 CE) Chinese tomb mural showing lively scenes of a banquet (yanyin 宴飲 ), dance
and music (wuyue 舞樂 百戲
), acrobatics (baixi 相撲
), and wrestling (xiangbu ), from the Dahuting Tomb (打虎亭漢
墓 ; Dáhǔtíng hànmù), on the southern bank of the Siuhe River in Zhengzhou, Henan province (just west of Xi
County)

Social class

In the hierarchical social order, the 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.[164] Ranked immediately below the emperor were
the kings who were of the same Liu family clan.[15][165] The rest
of society, including nobles lower than kings and all commoners
excluding slaves belonged to one of twenty ranks (ershi gongcheng
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 fiefdom. Holders of the rank immediately
below, that of ordinary marquess, received a pension, but had no
territorial rule.[166][167] Officials who served in government A mural from an Eastern Han tomb
belonged to the wider commoner social class and were ranked just at Zhucun (朱村 ), Luoyang, Henan
below nobles in social prestige. The highest government officials province; the two figures in the
foreground are playing liubo, with the
could be enfeoffed as marquesses.[168]
playing mat between them, and the
By the Eastern Han period, local elites of unattached scholars, liubo game board to the side of the
teachers, students, and government officials began to identify mat.
themselves as members of a larger, nationwide gentry class with
shared values and a commitment to mainstream
scholarship. [169][170] When the government became noticeably corrupt in mid-to-late Eastern Han, many
gentrymen even considered the cultivation of morally grounded personal relationships more important than
serving in public office.[138][171]

The farmer, or specifically the small landowner-cultivator, was ranked just below scholars and officials in
the social hierarchy. Other agricultural cultivators were of a lower status, such as tenants, wage laborers,
and slaves.[172][173][174][175] The Han dynasty made adjustments to slavery in China and saw an increase
in agricultural slaves. Artisans, technicians, tradespeople and craftsmen had a legal and socioeconomic
status between that of owner-cultivator farmers and common merchants.[176]

State-registered merchants, who were forced by law to wear white-colored clothes and pay high
commercial taxes, were considered by the gentry as social parasites with a contemptible status.[177][178]
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.[178][179]

Wealthy landowners, such as nobles and officials, often provided lodging for retainers who provided
valuable work or duties, sometimes including fighting bandits or riding into battle. Unlike slaves, retainers
could come and go from their master's home as they pleased.[180] Medical physicians, pig breeders, and
butchers had a fairly high social status, while occultist diviners, runners, and messengers had low
status.[181][182]

Brick Relief with Acrobatic Performance, Han Dynasty (202 BCE – 220 CE)

Marriage, gender, and kinship

The Han-era family was patrilineal and typically had four to five
nuclear family members living in one household. Multiple
generations of extended family members did not occupy the same
house, unlike families of later dynasties.[185][186] According to
Confucian family norms, various family members were treated with
different levels of respect and intimacy. For example, there were
different accepted time frames for mourning the death of a father
versus a paternal uncle.[187] Detail of a mural showing two women
wearing Hanfu silk robes, from the
Marriages were highly ritualized, particularly for the wealthy, and
included many important steps. The giving of betrothal gifts,
Dahuting Tomb (打虎亭汉墓 ;
Dáhǔtíng hànmù) of the late Eastern
known as bridewealth and dowry, were especially important. A Han Dynasty (25–220 CE), located in
lack of either was considered dishonorable and the woman would Zhengzhou, Henan
have been seen not as a wife, but as a concubine.[188] Arranged
marriages were normal, with the father's input on his offspring's
spouse being considered more important than the mother's.[189][190]

Monogamous marriages were also normal, although nobles and high officials were wealthy enough to
 Left: a Chinese ceramic statue of a seated woman holding a bronze mirror, Eastern Han period (25–220 CE),
Sichuan Provincial Museum, Chengdu

Right: a pottery dog found in a Han tomb wearing a decorative dog collar, indicating their domestication as
pets,[183] while it is known from written sources that the emperor's imperial parks had kennels for keeping
hunting dogs.[184]

Late Western Han (202 BCE – 9 CE) or Xin Dynasty (9–25 CE) wall murals 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

afford and support concubines as additional lovers.[191][192] Under certain conditions dictated by custom,
not law, both men and women were able to divorce their spouses and remarry.[193][194] However, a woman
who had been widowed continued to belong to her husband's family after his death. In order to remarry, the
widow would have to be returned to her family in exchange for a ransom fee. Her children would not be
allowed to go with her.[188]

Apart from the passing of noble titles or ranks,

Left image: A Han pottery female servant in silk robes
Right image: A Han pottery female dancer in silk robes
inheritance practices did not involve
primogeniture; each son received an equal share of
the family property.[195] Unlike the practice in
later dynasties, the father usually sent his adult
married sons away with their portions of the
family fortune.[196] Daughters received a portion
of the family fortune through their marriage
dowries, though this was usually much less than
the shares of sons.[197] A different distribution of
the remainder could be specified in a will, but it is
unclear how common this was.[198]

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.[199] Women were exempt
from the annual corvée labor duties, but often engaged in a range of income-earning occupations aside from
their domestic chores of cooking and cleaning.[200]

The most common occupation for women was weaving clothes for the family, sale at market or for large
textile enterprises that employed hundreds of women. Other women helped on their brothers' farms or
became singers, dancers, sorceresses, respected medical physicians, and successful merchants who could
afford their own silk clothes.[201][202] Some women formed spinning collectives, aggregating the resources
of several different families.[203]

Education, literature, and philosophy

A Western Han (202 BCE – 9 CE) fresco depicting Confucius (and Laozi), from a tomb of Dongping County,
Shandong province, China

The early Western Han court simultaneously accepted the philosophical teachings of Legalism, Huang-Lao
Daoism, and Confucianism in making state decisions and shaping government policy.[204][205] However,
the Han court under Emperor Wu gave Confucianism exclusive patronage. He abolished all academic
chairs or erudites (bóshì博士 ) not dealing with the Confucian Five Classics in 136 BCE and encouraged
nominees for office to receive a Confucian-based education at the Imperial University that he established in
124 BCE.[206][207][208][209]

Unlike the original ideology espoused by Confucius, or Kongzi (551–479 BCE), Han Confucianism in
Emperor Wu's reign was the creation of Dong Zhongshu (179–104 BCE). Dong was a scholar and minor
official who aggregated the ethical Confucian ideas of ritual, filial piety, and harmonious relationships with
five phases and yin-yang cosmologies.[210][211] Much to the interest of the ruler, Dong's synthesis justified
the imperial system of government within the natural order of the universe.[212]

The Imperial University grew in importance as the student body grew to over 30,000 by the 2nd century
CE.[213][214] A Confucian-based education was also made available at commandery-level schools and
private schools opened in small towns, where teachers earned respectable incomes from tuition
payments.[215] Schools were established in far southern regions where standard Chinese texts were used to
assimilate the local populace.[216]

Some important texts were created and studied by scholars. Philosophical works written by Yang Xiong
(53 BCE – 18 CE), Huan Tan (43 BCE – 28 CE), Wang Chong (27–100 CE), and Wang Fu (78–163 CE)
questioned whether human nature was innately good or evil and posed challenges to Dong's universal
order.[220] The Records of the Grand Historian by Sima Tan (d. 110 BCE) and his son Sima Qian (145–86
BCE) established the standard model for all of imperial China's Standard Histories, such as the Book of
Han written by Ban Biao (3–54 CE), his son Ban Gu (32–92 CE), and his daughter Ban Zhao (45–116
CE).[221][222] There were dictionaries such as the Shuowen Jiezi by Xu Shen (c. 58 – c. 147 CE) and the
Fangyan by Yang Xiong.[223][224]
 Biographies on important figures
were written by various
gentrymen. [225] Han dynasty
poetry was dominated by the fu
genre, which achieved its greatest
prominence during the reign of
Emperor
Wu.[222][226][227][228][229]
Han period inscribed bamboo-slips of
Sun Bin's Art of War, unearthed in
Yinque Mountain, Linyi, Shandong. Law and order

Han scholars such as Jia Yi (201–

169 BCE) portrayed the previous Qin dynasty as a
brutal regime. However, archeological evidence from A fragment of the Xiping
Zhangjiashan and Shuihudi reveal that many of the Stone Classics; these
statutes in the Han law code compiled by Chancellor stone-carved Five Classics
Xiao He (d.  193 BCE) were derived from Qin installed during Emperor
law.[231][232][233] Ling's reign along the
roadside of the Imperial
Various cases for rape, physical abuse and murder University (right outside
were prosecuted in court. Women, although usually Luoyang) were made at the
having fewer rights by custom, were allowed to level instigation of Cai Yong (132–
civil and criminal charges against men.[234][235] 192 CE), who feared the
While suspects were jailed, convicted criminals were Classics housed in the
never imprisoned. Instead, punishments were imperial library were being
commonly monetary fines, periods of forced hard interpolated by University
labor for convicts, and the penalty of death by Academicians.[217][218][219]
A silk banner from beheading.[236] Early Han punishments of torturous
Mawangdui, mutilation were borrowed from Qin law. A series of
Changsha, Hunan reforms abolished mutilation punishments with progressively less-severe beatings by
province. It was
the bastinado.[237]
draped over the
coffin of Lady Dai Acting as a judge in lawsuits was one of many duties of the county magistrate and
(d. 168 BCE), wife Administrators of commanderies. Complex, high-profile or unresolved cases were
of the Marquess
often deferred to the Minister of Justice in the capital or even the emperor.[238] In
Li Cang (利蒼 )
each Han county was several districts, each overseen by a chief of police. Order in
(d. 186 BCE),
the cities was maintained by government officers in the marketplaces and constables
chancellor for the
in the neighborhoods.[239][240]
Kingdom of
Changsha.[230]
Food

The most common staple crops consumed during Han were wheat, barley, foxtail millet, proso millet, rice,
and beans.[243] Commonly eaten fruits and vegetables included chestnuts, pears, plums, peaches, melons,
apricots, strawberries, red bayberries, jujubes, calabash, bamboo shoots, mustard plant, and taro.[244]
Domesticated animals that were also eaten included chickens, Mandarin ducks, 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.[245] Seasonings included sugar, honey, salt, and soy
sauce.[246] Beer and wine were regularly consumed.[247][248]
 Two Han-dynasty red-and-black lacquerwares, 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.[241][242]

Clothing

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 badger or fox fur, duck
plumes, and slippers with inlaid leather, pearls, and
silk lining. Peasants commonly wore clothes made of
Woven silk textiles from Woven silk textiles from
hemp, wool, and ferret skins.[249][250][251]
Tomb No. 1 at Tomb No. 1 at
Mawangdui, Changsha, Mawangdui, Changsha,
Religion, cosmology, and Hunan province, China, Hunan province, China,
2nd century BCE 2nd century BCE
metaphysics

Carved reliefs on stone tomb doors showing men dressed in Hanfu, with one holding a shield, the other a
broom, Eastern Han Dynasty (25–220 CE), from Lanjia Yard, Pi County, Sichuan province, Sichuan Provincial
Museum of Chengdu.

Families throughout Han China made ritual sacrifices of animals and food to deities, spirits, and ancestors at
temples and shrines. They believed that these items could be utilized by those in the spiritual realm.[252] It
魂
was thought that each person had a two-part soul: the spirit-soul (hun ) which journeyed to the afterlife
魄
paradise of immortals (xian), and the body-soul (po ) which remained in its grave or tomb on earth and
was only reunited with the spirit-soul through a ritual ceremony.[248][253]

In addition to his many other roles, the emperor acted as the highest priest in the land who made sacrifices
to Heaven, the main deities known as the Five Powers, and the spirits (shen
[254]
神
) of mountains and
rivers. It was believed that the three realms of Heaven, Earth, and Mankind were linked by natural
cycles of yin and yang and the five phases.[255][256][257][258] If the emperor did not behave according to
 proper ritual, ethics, and morals, he
could disrupt the fine balance of these
cosmological cycles and cause
calamities such as earthquakes, floods,
droughts, epidemics, and swarms of
locusts.[258][259][260]

It was believed that immortality could

be achieved if one reached the lands of
the Queen Mother of the West or An Eastern-Han bronze statuette of a
Mount Penglai.[261][262] Han-era mythical chimera (qilin), 1st century
Daoists assembled into small groups of CE
hermits who attempted to achieve
immortality through breathing
exercises, sexual techniques and use of medical elixirs.[263]

By the 2nd century CE, Daoists formed large hierarchical religious societies
such as the Way of the Five Pecks of Rice. Its followers believed that the sage-
A part of a Daoist philosopher Laozi (fl. 6th century BCE) was a holy prophet who would offer
manuscript, ink on silk, salvation and good health if his devout followers would confess their sins, ban
2nd century BCE, Han the worship of unclean gods who accepted meat sacrifices and chant sections
Dynasty, unearthed from of the Daodejing.[264]
Mawangdui tomb 3rd,
Changsha, Hunan Buddhism first entered Imperial China through the Silk Road during the
Province. Eastern Han, and was first mentioned in 65 CE.[265][266] Liu Ying (d. 71 CE),
a half-brother to Emperor Ming of Han (r. 57–75 CE), was one of its earliest
Chinese adherents, although Chinese Buddhism at this point was heavily
associated with Huang-Lao Daoism.[266] China's first known Buddhist temple, the White Horse Temple,
was constructed outside the wall of the capital, Luoyang, during Emperor Ming's reign.[267] Important
Buddhist canons were translated into Chinese during the 2nd century CE, including the Sutra of Forty-two
Chapters, Perfection of Wisdom, Shurangama Sutra, and Pratyutpanna Sutra.[268][269]

Government and politics

Central government

In Han government, the emperor was the supreme judge and lawgiver, the commander-in-chief of the
armed forces and sole designator of official nominees appointed to the top posts in central and local
administrations; those who earned a 600-bushel salary-rank or higher.[270][271] Theoretically, there were no
limits to his power.

However, state organs with competing interests and institutions such as the court conference (tíngyì 廷議 )
—where ministers were convened to reach majority consensus on an issue—pressured the emperor to
accept the advice of his ministers on policy decisions.[272][273] If the emperor rejected a court conference
decision, he risked alienating his high ministers. Nevertheless, emperors sometimes did reject the majority
opinion reached at court conferences.[274]

Below the emperor were his cabinet members known as the Three Councillors of State (Sān gōng 三公
).
These were the Chancellor or Minister over the Masses (Chéngxiāng 丞相
or Dà sìtú 大司徒
), the Imperial
Counselor or Excellency of Works (Yùshǐ dàfū 御史大夫 or Dà sìkōng 大司空), and Grand Commandant
or Grand Marshal (Tàiwèi 太尉 or Dà sīmǎ 大司
馬 ).[275][276]

The Chancellor, whose title was changed to

'Minister over the Masses' in 8 BC, 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
A scene of historic paragons of filial piety conversing
salary-rank of 600 bushels.[277][278]
with one another, Chinese painted artwork on a
lacquered basketwork box, excavated from an Eastern-
The Imperial Counselor's chief duty was to
Han tomb of what was the Chinese Lelang Commandery
conduct disciplinary procedures for officials. He
in Korean Peninsula.
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 oversight of public works projects.[279][280]

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 Councillors of State.[281][282]

Ranked below the Three Councillors of State were the Nine

Ministers (Jiǔ qīng 九卿 ), who each headed a specialized ministry.
The Minister of Ceremonies (Tàicháng 太常 ) was the chief official
in charge of religious rites, rituals, prayers and the maintenance of
ancestral temples and altars.[283][284][285] The Minister of the
Household (Guāng lù xūn 光祿勳 ) was in charge of the emperor's
security within the palace grounds, external imperial parks and
wherever the emperor made an outing by chariot.[283][286]
A rubbing of a Han pictorial stone
showing an ancestral worship hall The Minister of the Guards (Wèiwèi 衛尉 ) was responsible for
祠堂 securing and patrolling the walls, towers, and gates of the imperial
(cítáng )
palaces.[288][289] The Minister Coachman (Tàipú 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.[288][290] The Minister of Justice (Tíngwèi 廷尉 ) was the chief official in charge of
upholding, administering, and interpreting the law. [291][292] The Minister Herald (Dà hónglú 大鴻臚 ) was
the chief official in charge of receiving honored guests at the imperial court, such as nobles and foreign
ambassadors.[293][294]

The Minister of the Imperial Clan (Zōngzhèng 宗正 ) oversaw the imperial court's interactions with the
empire's nobility and extended imperial family, such as granting fiefs and titles.[295][296] The Minister of
Finance (Dà sìnóng 大司農 ) was the treasurer for the official bureaucracy and the armed forces who
handled tax revenues and set standards for units of measurement.[297][298] The Minister Steward (Shǎofǔ
少府 ) served the emperor exclusively, providing him with entertainment and amusements, proper food and
clothing, medicine and physical care, valuables and equipment.[297][299]
Local government

The Han empire, excluding kingdoms and marquessates, was

divided, in descending order of size, into political units of
provinces, commanderies, and counties.[300] A county was divided
鄉
into several districts (xiang ), the latter composed of a group of
里
hamlets (li ), each containing about a hundred families.[301][302]

The heads of provinces, whose official title was changed from

Inspector to Governor and vice versa several times during Han,
were responsible for inspecting several commandery-level and
kingdom-level administrations.[303][304] On the basis of their Animalistic guardian spirits of day
reports, the officials in these local administrations would be and night wearing Chinese robes,
promoted, demoted, dismissed or prosecuted by the imperial Han dynasty paintings on ceramic
court.[305] tile; Michael Loewe writes that the
hybrid of man and beast in art and
A governor could take various actions without permission from the religious beliefs predated the Han
imperial court. The lower-ranked inspector had executive powers and remained popular during the first
only during times of crisis, such as raising militias across the half of Western Han and the Eastern
commanderies under his jurisdiction to suppress a rebellion.[300] Han.[287]

A commandery consisted of a group of counties, and was headed

by an Administrator.[300] He was the top civil and military leader of the commandery and handled defense,
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.[306][307][308] 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 Magistrates.[309][310] 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.[310]

Kingdoms and marquessates

Kingdoms—roughly the size of commanderies—were ruled exclusively by the emperor's male relatives as
semi-autonomous fiefdoms. 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.[311][312][313] Although the emperor appointed the Chancellor of each kingdom,
kings appointed all the remaining civil officials in their fiefs.[311][312]

However, in 145 BC, after several insurrections by the kings, Emperor Jing removed the kings' rights to
appoint officials whose salaries were higher than 400 bushels.[312] The Imperial Counselors and Nine
Ministers (excluding the Minister Coachman) of every kingdom were abolished, although the Chancellor
was still appointed by the central government.[312]

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.[15] Similarly, the officials in the administrative
staff of a full marquess's fief were appointed by the central government. A marquess's Chancellor was
ranked as the equivalent of a county Prefect. Like a king, the marquess collected a portion of the tax
revenues in his fief as personal income.[309][314]
Up until the reign of Emperor Jing of Han, the Emperors of the
Han had great difficulty bringing the vassal kings under control, as
kings often switched their allegiance to the Xiongnu Chanyu
whenever threatened by Imperial attempts to centralize power.
Within the seven years of Han Gaozu's reign, three vassal kings
and one marquess either defected to or allied with the Xiongnu.
Even imperial princes in control of fiefdoms would sometimes
invite the Xiongnu to invade in response to threats by the Emperor
to remove their power. The Han emperors moved to secure a treaty
with the Chanyu to demarcate authority between them, recognizing
each other as the "two masters" ( 兩主 ), the sole representatives of
The Gansu Flying Horse, depicted in
full gallop, bronze sculpture, h
their respective peoples, cemented with a marriage alliance (heqin), 34.5 cm. Wuwei, Gansu, China, AD
before eliminating the rebellious vassal kings in 154 BC. This 25–220
prompted some vassal kings of the Xiongnu to switch their
allegiance to the Han emperor from 147 BC. Han court officials
were initially hostile to the idea of disrupting the status quo and expanding into the Xiongnu steppe
territory. The surrendered Xiongnu were integrated into a parallel military and political structure under the
Han Emperor, and opened the avenue for the Han dynasty to challenge the Xiongnu cavalry on the steppe.
This also introduced the Han to the interstate networks in the Tarim Basin (Xinjiang), allowing for the
expansion of the Han dynasty from a limited regional state to a universalist and cosmopolitan empire
through further marriage alliances with another steppe power, the Wusun.[315]

Military

At the beginning of the Han dynasty, every male

commoner aged twenty-three was liable for
conscription into the military. The minimum age for
the military draft was reduced to twenty after Emperor
Zhao's (r.  87–74 BC) reign.[316] Conscripted soldiers
underwent one year of training and one year of service
as non-professional soldiers. The year of training was
A mural showing chariots and cavalry, from the
served in one of three branches of the armed forces:
infantry, cavalry or navy. Soldiers who completed
Dahuting Tomb (Chinese: 打虎亭漢墓 , Pinyin:
Dahuting Han mu) of the late Eastern Han Dynasty
their term of service still needed to train to maintain
(25–220 AD), located in Zhengzhou, Henan
their skill because they were subject to annual military
province, China
readiness inspections and could be called up for future

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

service - until this practice was discontinued after 30 AD with the abolishment of much of the conscription
system. [317][318] The year of active service was served either on the frontier, in a king's court or under the
Minister of the Guards in the capital. A small professional (full time career) standing army was stationed
near the capital.[317][318]
 Han dynasty era pottery soldiers, with now-faded coating of paints (including faded armor) and missing
weapons.

During the Eastern Han, conscription could be avoided if one paid a commutable tax. The Eastern Han
court favored the recruitment of a volunteer army.[319] The volunteer army comprised the Southern Army
(Nanjun 南軍 ), while the standing army stationed in and near the capital was the Northern Army (Beijun
北軍 ).[320] Led by Colonels (Xiaowei 校尉 ), the Northern Army consisted of five regiments, each
[321][322]
composed of several thousand soldiers. 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.[323] The latter were known as buqu 部曲
, a special social class in
Chinese history.[324]

During times of war, the volunteer army was increased, and a much larger militia was raised across the
country to supplement the Northern Army. In these circumstances, a General (Jiangjun 將軍 ) led a
division, which was divided into regiments led by Colonels and sometimes Majors (Sima 司馬
). Regiments
[321][325]
were divided into companies and led by Captains. Platoons were the smallest units of soldiers.

Economy

Currency

The Han dynasty inherited the ban liang coin type from the Qin.
In the beginning of the Han, Emperor Gaozu closed the
government mint in favor of private minting of coins. This
decision was reversed in 186 BC by his widow Grand Empress
Dowager Lü Zhi (d. 180 BC), who abolished private
minting.[326] 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 A wuzhu ( 五銖 ) coin issued during the
Emperor Wen allowed private minters to manufacture coins that reign of Emperor Wu (r. 141–87 BC),
were precisely 2.6 g (0.09 oz) in weight.[326] 25.5 mm in diameter
In 144 BC Emperor Jing abolished private minting in favor of
central-government and commandery-level minting; he also
introduced a new coin.[327] Emperor Wu introduced another in 120
BC, but a year later he abandoned the ban liangs entirely in favor
of the wuzhu ( 五銖 ) coin, weighing 3.2  g (0.11  oz).[328] 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 Gold coins of the Eastern Han
AD by Emperor Guangwu.[329][330][331] dynasty

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 Superintendent of Waterways
and Parks, this duty being transferred to the Minister of Finance during Eastern Han.[331][332]

Taxation and property

Aside from the landowner's land tax paid in a portion of their crop yield, the poll tax and property taxes
were paid in coin cash.[333] 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.[334] 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.[335]

The widespread circulation of coin cash allowed successful merchants to invest money in land,
empowering the very social class the government attempted to suppress through heavy commercial and
property taxes.[336] Emperor Wu even enacted laws which banned registered merchants from owning land,
yet powerful merchants were able to avoid registration and own large tracts of land.[337][338]

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 landlords.[339][340][341] 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 agricultural colonies until they could recover from their debts.[61][342]

In 168 BC, the land tax rate was reduced from one-fifteenth of a farming household's crop yield to one-
thirtieth,[343][344] and later to a 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.[344]

The labor tax took the form of conscripted labor 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 labor became more popular.[317][345]

Private manufacture and government monopolies

In the early Western Han, a wealthy salt or iron industrialist, whether a semi-autonomous king or wealthy
merchant, could boast funds that rivaled the imperial treasury and amass a peasant workforce of over a
thousand. This kept many peasants away from their farms and denied the government a significant portion
of its land tax revenue.[346][347] 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.[348][349][350] By
Eastern Han times, the central government monopolies were
repealed in favor of production by commandery and county
administrations, as well as private businessmen.[348][351]

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 0.2  L (0.05
gallons) was levied for those who traded it privately.[352][353] By A Han-dynasty iron ji (polearm) and
110 BC Emperor Wu also interfered with the profitable trade in iron dagger
grain when he eliminated speculation by selling government-stored
grain at a lower price than demanded by merchants.[61] 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.[354]

Science and technology

The Han dynasty was a unique period in the development of premodern
Chinese science and technology, comparable to the level of scientific and
technological growth during the Song dynasty (960–1279).[356][357]

Writing materials

In the 1st millennium BC, typical ancient Chinese writing materials were
bronzewares, animal bones, and bamboo slips or wooden boards. By the
beginning of the Han dynasty, the chief writing materials were clay tablets,
silk cloth, hemp paper,[358][359] and rolled scrolls made from bamboo strips
sewn together with hempen string; these were passed through drilled holes
A gilded bronze oil lamp in
and secured with clay stamps.[360][361][362] the shape of a kneeling
female servant, dated 2nd
The oldest known Chinese piece of hempen paper dates to the 2nd century
century BC, found in the
BC.[363][358] The standard papermaking process was invented by Cai Lun
tomb of Dou Wan, wife of
(AD 50–121) in 105.[364][365] The oldest known surviving piece of paper Liu Sheng, King of
with writing on it was found in the ruins of a Han watchtower that had Zhongshan; its sliding
been abandoned in AD 110, in Inner Mongolia.[366] shutter allows for
adjustments in the direction
and brightness in light while
Metallurgy and agriculture it also traps smoke within
the body.[73][355]
Evidence suggests that blast
furnaces, 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
BC).[367][368] The bloomery was nonexistent in ancient China;
An array of bronze bells, Western however, the Han-era Chinese produced wrought iron by injecting
Han dynasty excess oxygen into a furnace and causing decarburization.[369]
Cast iron and pig iron could be converted into wrought iron and
steel using a fining process.[370][371]
 The Han dynasty Chinese used bronze and iron to make a range of
weapons, culinary tools, carpenters' tools and domestic wares.[372][373] 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 BC, enabled farmers to carefully plant crops in
rows instead of casting seeds out by hand.[374][375][376] The heavy
moldboard iron plow, also invented during the Han dynasty, required only
Ornamental belt buckle, one man to control it, two oxen to pull it. It had three plowshares, a seed
decorated with Chinese box for the drills, a tool which turned down the soil and could sow roughly
mythical creatures. Chiseled 45,730 m2 (11.3 acres) of land in a single day.[377][378]
and hammered gold, late
Han period. To protect crops from wind and drought, the grain intendant Zhao Guo ( 趙
過) created the alternating fields system (daitianfa 代田法
) during Emperor
Wu's reign. This
system switched the
positions of furrows
and ridges between
growing
seasons.[379] Once
Left image: A Han-dynasty era mold for making bronze gear wheels (Shanghai Museum) experiments with
Right image: A pair of Eastern-Han iron scissors this system yielded
successful results,
the government
officially sponsored it and encouraged peasants to use it.[379] Han farmers also used the pit field system
(aotian 凹田 ) for growing crops, which involved heavily fertilized pits that did not require plows or oxen
and could be placed on sloping terrain.[380][381] In southern and small parts of central Han-era China,
paddy fields were chiefly used to grow rice, while farmers along the Huai River used transplantation
methods of rice production.[382]

Structural and geotechnical engineering

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.[383]

Right image: A painted ceramic architectural model—found in an Eastern-Han tomb at Jiazuo, Henan
province—depicting a fortified manor with towers, a courtyard, verandas, tiled rooftops, dougong support
brackets, and a covered bridge extending from the third floor of the main tower to the smaller watchtower.[384]

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.[386] Because wood decays rapidly, the only remaining
evidence of Han wooden architecture is a collection of scattered ceramic roof tiles.[386][387] The oldest
surviving wooden halls in China date to the Tang dynasty (AD 618–907).[388] Architectural historian
 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.

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 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.[385]

Robert L. Thorp points out the scarcity of Han-era archeological remains, and claims that often unreliable
Han-era literary and artistic sources are used by historians for clues about lost Han architecture.[389]

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 city walls, rammed-earth
and brick beacon towers, rammed-earth sections of the Great Wall, rammed-earth platforms where elevated
halls once stood, and two rammed-earth castles in Gansu.[390][391][392] [393] The ruins of rammed-earth
walls that once surrounded the capitals Chang'an and Luoyang still stand, along with their drainage systems
of brick arches, ditches, and ceramic water pipes.[394] Monumental stone pillar-gates, twenty-nine of which
survive from the Han period, formed entrances of walled enclosures at shrine and tomb sites.[395][396]
These pillars feature artistic imitations of wooden and ceramic building components such as roof tiles,
eaves, and balustrades.[397][396]

The courtyard house is the most common type of home portrayed in Han artwork.[386] Ceramic
architectural 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 archeological sites.[398]

Over ten Han-era underground tombs have been found, many of them featuring archways, vaulted
chambers, and domed roofs.[399] Underground vaults and domes did not require buttress supports since
they were held in place by earthen pits.[400] The use of brick vaults and domes in aboveground Han
structures is unknown.[400]

From Han literary sources, it is known that wooden-trestle beam bridges, arch bridges, simple suspension
bridges, and floating pontoon bridges existed in Han China.[401] However, there are only two known
references to arch bridges in Han literature,[402] and only a single Han relief sculpture in Sichuan depicts an
arch bridge.[403]

Underground mine shafts, some reaching depths over 100 meters (330 ft), were created for the extraction of
metal ores.[404][405] Borehole drilling and derricks were used to lift brine to iron pans where it was distilled
into salt. The distillation furnaces were heated by natural gas funneled to the surface through bamboo
pipelines.[404][406][407] These boreholes perhaps reached a depth of 600 m (2000 ft).[408]

闕
A pair of stone-carved que ( ) A pair of Han period stone-
located at the temple of Mount carved que ( 闕
) located at
Song in Dengfeng. (Eastern Babaoshan, Beijing.
Han dynasty.)

A stone-carved pillar-gate, or An Eastern-Han vaulted tomb

que ( 闕 ), 6  m (20  ft) in total chamber at Luoyang made of
height, located at the tomb of small bricks
Gao Yi in Ya'an. (Eastern Han
dynasty.)[396]

Mechanical and hydraulic engineering

Han-era mechanical engineering comes largely from the choice observational writings of sometimes-
disinterested Confucian scholars who generally considered scientific and engineering endeavors to be far
匠
beneath them.[409] Professional artisan-engineers (jiang ) did not leave behind detailed records of their
work.[410][411] Han scholars, who often had little or no expertise in mechanical engineering, sometimes
provided insufficient information on the various technologies they described.[412] Nevertheless, some Han
literary sources provide crucial information.

For example, in 15 BC the philosopher and writer Yang Xiong described the invention of the belt drive for
a quilling machine, which was of great importance to early textile manufacturing.[413] The inventions of
mechanical engineer and craftsman Ding Huan are mentioned in the Miscellaneous Notes on the Western
Capital.[414] Around AD 180, Ding created a manually operated rotary fan used for air conditioning within
palace buildings.[415] Ding also used gimbals as pivotal supports for one of his incense burners and
invented the world's first known zoetrope lamp.[416]

Modern archeology 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 handle was used to operate the fans of winnowing machines that separated grain from chaff.[417] The
odometer cart, invented during Han, measured journey lengths, using mechanical figures banging drums
and gongs to indicate each distance traveled.[418] This invention is depicted in Han artwork by the 2nd
century, yet detailed written descriptions were not offered until the 3rd century.[419]

Modern archeologists have also unearthed specimens of devices used during the Han dynasty, for example
a pair of sliding metal calipers 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.[420]

The waterwheel appeared in Chinese records during the Han. As mentioned by Huan Tan about AD 20,
they were used to turn gears that lifted iron trip hammers, and were used in pounding, threshing and
polishing grain.[421] However, there is no sufficient evidence for the watermill in China until about the 5th
century.[422] The Nanyang Commandery Administrator and mechanical engineer Du Shi (d.  38 AD)
created a waterwheel-powered reciprocator that worked the bellows for the smelting of iron.[423][424]
Waterwheels were also used to power chain pumps that lifted water to raised irrigation ditches. The chain
pump was first mentioned in China by the philosopher Wang Chong in his 1st-century Balanced
Discourse.[425]

The armillary sphere, a three-dimensional representation of the movements in the celestial sphere, was
invented in Han China by the 1st century BC.[426] Using a water clock, waterwheel and a series of gears,
the Court Astronomer Zhang Heng (AD 78–139) was able to mechanically rotate his metal-ringed
armillary sphere.[427][428][429][430] 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.[427][431]

Zhang also invented a device he termed an "earthquake weathervane" (houfeng didong yi 候風地動儀 ),
which the British biochemist, sinologist, and historian Joseph Needham described as "the ancestor of all
seismographs".[432] This device was able to detect the exact cardinal or ordinal direction of earthquakes
from hundreds of kilometers away.[427][433][429] 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.[434]

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 (in modern Gansu Province),
the direction the device had indicated, which forced the officials at court to admit the efficacy of Zhang's
device.[435]


A Han-dynasty pottery model of A modern replica of Zhang

two men operating a winnowing Heng's seismometer
machine with a crank handle
and a tilt hammer used to pound
grain.

Mathematics

Three Han mathematical treatises still exist. These are the Book on Numbers and Computation, the
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 roots, cube roots, and matrix methods,[436][437] finding more accurate approximations for
pi,[438][439] providing mathematical proof of the Pythagorean theorem,[440][441] use of the decimal
fraction,[442] Gaussian elimination to solve linear equations,[443][444][445] and continued fractions to find
the roots of equations.[446]

One of the Han's greatest mathematical advancements was the world's first use of negative numbers.
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.[437] Negative numbers were also used by
the Greek mathematician Diophantus around AD 275, and in the 7th-century Bakhshali manuscript of
Gandhara, South Asia,[447] but were not widely accepted in Europe until the 16th century.[437]

The Han applied mathematics to various diverse disciplines. In musical tuning, Jing Fang (78–37 BC)
realized that 53 perfect fifths was approximate to 31 octaves while creating 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 ).[448][449]

Astronomy

Mathematics were essential in drafting the astronomical calendar, a lunisolar calendar that used the Sun and
Moon as time-markers throughout the year.[450][451] During the spring and autumn periods of the 5th
century BC, the Chinese established the Sifen calendar ( 古四分历 ), which measured the tropical year at
365.25 days. This was replaced in 104 BC with the Taichu calendar ( 太初曆 ) that measured the tropical
year at 365 ⁄1539 (~ 365.25016) days and the lunar month at 29 ⁄81 days.[452] However, Emperor
385 43

Zhang later reinstated the Sifen calendar.[453]

Han Chinese astronomers made star catalogues 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.[454][455][456][457]

Han dynasty astronomers adopted a geocentric model of the universe, theorizing that it was shaped like a
sphere surrounding the earth in the center.[458][459][460] 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 eclipses 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.[461]
Although others disagreed with his model, Wang Chong accurately described the water cycle of the
evaporation of water into clouds.[462]

Cartography, ships, and vehicles

Evidence found in Chinese literature, and archeological evidence, show that cartography existed in China
before the Han.[463][464] Some of the earliest Han maps discovered were ink-penned silk maps found
amongst the Mawangdui Silk Texts in a 2nd-century-BC tomb.[463][465] The general Ma Yuan created the
world's first known raised-relief map from rice in the 1st century.[466] 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.[467]

Although the use of the 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.[427][463][468][469]

Han dynasty Chinese sailed in a variety of ships different from those of previous eras, such as the tower
ship. The junk design was developed and realized during the Han era. Junk ships featured a square-ended
bow and stern, a flat-bottomed hull or carvel-shaped hull with no keel or sternpost, and solid transverse
bulkheads in the place of structural ribs found in Western vessels.[470][471] Moreover, Han ships were the
first in the world to be steered using a rudder at the stern, in contrast to the simpler steering oar used for
riverine transport, allowing them to sail on the high seas.[472][473][474][475][476][477]

Although ox-carts and chariots were previously used in China, the wheelbarrow was first used in Han
China in the 1st century BC.[478][479] 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.[480] Later,
during the Northern Wei (386–534), the fully developed horse collar was invented.[480]


An early Western Han dynasty An Eastern Han dynasty pottery

silk map found in tomb 3 of boat model with a steering
Mawangdui, depicting the rudder at the stern and anchor
Kingdom of Changsha and at the bow.
Kingdom of Nanyue in southern
China (note: the south direction
is oriented at the top).

Medicine

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
five phases. Each 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.[481][482][483]
The physical exercise chart; a
For example, since the wood phase was believed to promote the painting on silk depicting the practice
fire phase, medicinal ingredients associated with the wood phase of Qigong Taiji; unearthed in 1973 in
could be used to heal an organ associated with the fire phase.[481] Hunan Province, China, from the
Besides dieting, Han physicians also prescribed moxibustion, 2nd-century BC Western Han burial
acupuncture, and calisthenics as methods of maintaining one's site of Mawangdui, Tomb Number 3.
health. [484][485][486][487] When surgery was performed by the
Chinese physician Hua Tuo (d. AD 208), he used anesthesia to
numb his patients' pain and prescribed a rubbing ointment that allegedly sped the process of healing
surgical wounds.[484] Whereas the physician Zhang Zhongjing (c. AD 150 – c. 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.[488]

See also
Battle of Jushi
Campaign against Dong Zhuo
Comparative studies of the Roman and Han empires
 Early Imperial China
Han Emperors family tree
Shuanggudui
Ten Attendants

References

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184. Bielenstein (1980), p. 83.
185. Hinsch (2002), pp. 46–47.
186. Ch'ü (1972), pp. 3–9.
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188. Wiesner-Hanks (2011), p. 30.
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219. Huang (1988), p. 57.
220. Ch'en (1986), pp. 773–794.
221. Hardy (1999), pp. 14–15.
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238. Hulsewé (1986), pp. 528–529.
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240. Loewe (1968), pp. 146–147.
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242. Nishijima (1986), pp. 581–583.
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255. Loewe (1994), p. 55.
256. Csikszentmihalyi (2006), p. 167.
257. Sun & Kistemaker (1997), pp. 2–3.
258. Ebrey (1999), pp. 78–79.
259. Loewe (1986), p. 201.
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265. Needham (1972), p. 112.
266. Demiéville (1986), pp. 821–822.
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268. Akira (1998), pp. 247–251.
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270. de Crespigny (2007), p. 1216.
271. Wang (1949), pp. 141–143.
272. Bielenstein (1980), p. 144.
273. Wang (1949), pp. 173–177.
274. Ch'ü (1972), pp. 70–71.
275. de Crespigny (2007), p. 1221.
276. Bielenstein (1980), pp. 7–17.
277. Wang (1949), pp. 143–144, 145–146, 177.
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279. Wang (1949), pp. 147–148.
280. Bielenstein (1980), pp. 8–9, 15–16.
281. Wang (1949), p. 150.
282. Bielenstein (1980), pp. 10–13.
283. de Crespigny (2007), p. 1222.
284. Wang (1949), p. 151.
285. Bielenstein (1980), pp. 17–23.
286. Bielenstein (1980), pp. 23–24.
287. Loewe (1994), pp. 38–52.
288. de Crespigny (2007), p. 1223.
289. Bielenstein (1980), p. 31.
290. Bielenstein (1980), pp. 34–35.
291. Bielenstein (1980), p. 38.
292. Wang (1949), p. 154.
293. de Crespigny (2007), pp. 1223–1224.
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295. Wang (1949), p. 155.
296. Bielenstein (1980), p. 41.
297. de Crespigny (2007), p. 1224.
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299. Bielenstein (1980), p. 47.
300. de Crespigny (2007), p. 1228.
301. Bielenstein (1980), p. 103.
302. Nishijima (1986), pp. 551–552.
303. Bielenstein (1980), pp. 90–92.
304. Wang (1949), pp. 158–160.
305. Bielenstein (1980), p. 91.
306. de Crespigny (2007), pp. 1230–1231.
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308. Hsu (1965), pp. 367–368.
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310. Bielenstein (1980), p. 100.
311. Hsu (1965), p. 360.
312. Bielenstein (1980), pp. 105–106.
313. Loewe (1986), p. 126.
314. Bielenstein (1980), p. 108.
315. Lewis & Hsieh (2017), pp. 32–39.
316. Chang (2007), pp. 70–71.
317. Nishijima (1986), p. 599.
318. Bielenstein (1980), p. 114.
319. de Crespigny (2007), pp. 564–565, 1234.
320. Bielenstein (1980), pp. 114–115.
321. de Crespigny (2007), p. 1234.
322. Bielenstein (1980), pp. 117–118.
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329. Ebrey (1986), p. 609.
330. Bielenstein (1986), pp. 232–233.
331. Nishijima (1986), pp. 587–588.
332. Bielenstein (1980), pp. 47, 83.
333. Nishijima (1986), pp. 600–601.
334. Nishijima (1986), p. 598.
335. Nishijima (1986), p. 588.
336. Nishijima (1986), p. 601.
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341. Ebrey (1999), pp. 74–75.
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343. Loewe (1986), pp. 149–150.
344. Nishijima (1986), pp. 596–598.
345. de Crespigny (2007), pp. 564–565.
346. Needham (1986c), p. 22.
347. Nishijima (1986), pp. 583–584.
348. Nishijima (1986), p. 584.
349. Wagner (2001), pp. 1–2.
350. Hinsch (2002), pp. 21–22.
351. Wagner (2001), pp. 15–17.
352. Nishijima (1986), p. 600.
353. Wagner (2001), pp. 13–14.
354. de Crespigny (2007), p. 605.
355. Wang (1982), p. 100.
356. Jin, Fan & Liu (1996), pp. 178–179.
357. Needham (1972), p. 111.
358. Needham & Tsien (1986), p. 38.
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361. Tom (1989), p. 99.
362. Cotterell (2004), pp. 11–13.
363. Buisseret (1998), p. 12.
364. Needham & Tsien (1986), pp. 1–2, 40–41, 122–123, 228.
365. Day & McNeil (1996), p. 122.
366. Cotterell (2004), p. 11.
367. Wagner (2001), pp. 7, 36–37, 64–68, 75–76.
368. Pigott (1999), pp. 183–184.
369. Pigott (1999), pp. 177, 191.
370. Wang (1982), p. 125.
371. Pigott (1999), p. 186.
372. Wagner (1993), p. 336.
373. Wang (1982), pp. 103–105, 122–124.
374. Greenberger (2006), p. 12.
375. Cotterell (2004), p. 24.
376. Wang (1982), pp. 54–55.
377. Nishijima (1986), pp. 563–564.
378. Ebrey (1986), pp. 616–617.
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380. Hinsch (2002), pp. 67–68.
381. Nishijima (1986), pp. 564–566.
382. Nishijima (1986), pp. 568–572.
383. Ch'ü (1972), pp. 68–69.
384. Guo (2005), pp. 46–48.
385. Bulling (1962), p. 312.
386. Ebrey (1999), p. 76.
387. Wang (1982), pp. 1–40.
388. Steinhardt (2004), pp. 228–238.
389. Thorp (1986), pp. 360–378.
390. Wang (1982), pp. 1, 30, 39–40, 148–149.
391. Chang (2007), pp. 91–92.
392. Morton & Lewis (2005), p. 56.
393. See also Ebrey (1999), p. 76; see Needham (1972), Plate V, Fig. 15, for a photo of a Han-era
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394. Wang (1982), pp. 1–39.
395. Steinhardt (2005a), p. 279.
396. Liu (2002), p. 55.
397. Steinhardt (2005a), pp. 279–280.
398. Steinhardt (2005b), pp. 283–284.
399. Wang (1982), pp. 175–178.
400. Watson (2000), p. 108.
401. Needham (1986d), pp. 161–188.
402. Needham (1986c), pp. 171–172.
403. Liu (2002), p. 56.
404. Loewe (1968), pp. 191–194.
405. Wang (1982), p. 105.
406. Tom (1989), p. 103.
407. Ronan (1994), p. 91.
408. Loewe (1968), pp. 193–194.
409. Fraser (2014), p. 370.
410. Needham (1986c), pp. 2, 9.
411. See also Barbieri-Low (2007), p. 36.
412. Needham (1986c), p. 2.
413. Needham (1988), pp. 207–208.
414. Barbieri-Low (2007), p. 197.
415. Needham (1986c), pp. 99, 134, 151, 233.
416. Needham (1986b), pp. 123, 233–234.
417. Needham (1986c), pp. 116–119, Plate CLVI.
418. Needham (1986c), pp. 281–285.
419. Needham (1986c), pp. 283–285.
420. Loewe (1968), pp. 195–196.
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422. Needham (1986c), pp. 396–400.
423. de Crespigny (2007), p. 184.
424. Needham (1986c), p. 370.
425. Needham (1986c), pp. 89, 110, 342–344.
426. Needham (1986a), p. 343.
427. de Crespigny (2007), p. 1050.
428. Needham (1986c), pp. 30, 479 footnote e.
429. Morton & Lewis (2005), p. 70.
430. Bowman (2000), p. 595.
431. Needham (1986c), p. 479 footnote e.
432. Cited in Fraser (2014), p. 375.
433. Fraser (2014), p. 375.
434. Needham (1986a), pp. 626–631.
435. Fraser (2014), p. 376.
436. Dauben (2007), p. 212.
437. Liu et al. (2003), pp. 9–10.
438. Needham (1986a), pp. 99–100.
439. Berggren, Borwein & Borwein (2004), p. 27.
440. Dauben (2007), pp. 219–222.
441. Needham (1986a), p. 22.
442. Needham (1986a), pp. 84–86
443. Shen, Crossley & Lun (1999), p. 388.
444. Straffin (1998), p. 166.
445. Needham (1986a), pp. 24–25, 121.
446. Needham (1986a), pp. 65–66.
447. Teresi (2002), pp. 65–66.
448. McClain & Ming (1979), p. 212.
449. Needham (1986b), pp. 218–219.
450. Cullen (2006), p. 7.
451. Lloyd (1996), p. 168.
452. Deng (2005), p. 67.
453. de Crespigny (2007), p. 498.
454. Loewe (1994), pp. 61, 69.
455. Csikszentmihalyi (2006), pp. 173–175.
456. Sun & Kistemaker (1997), pp. 5, 21–23.
457. Balchin (2003), p. 27.
458. Dauben (2007), p. 214.
459. Sun & Kistemaker (1997), p. 62.
460. Huang (1988), p. 64.
461. Needham (1986a), pp. 227, 414.
462. Needham (1986a), p. 468.
463. Hsu (1993), pp. 90–93.
464. Needham (1986a), pp. 534–535.
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466. de Crespigny (2007), p. 659.
467. Needham (1986a), pp. 580–581.
468. Needham (1986a), pp. 538–540.
469. Nelson (1974), p. 359.
470. Turnbull (2002), p. 14.
471. Needham (1986d), pp. 390–391.
472. Needham (1986d), pp. 627–628.
473. Chung (2005), p. 152.
474. Tom (1989), pp. 103–104.
475. Adshead (2000), p. 156.
476. Fairbank & Goldman (1998), p. 93.
477. Block (2003), pp. 93, 123.
478. Needham (1986c), pp. 263–267.
479. Greenberger (2006), p. 13.
480. Needham (1986c), pp. 308–312, 319–323.
481. Csikszentmihalyi (2006), pp. 181–182.
482. Sun & Kistemaker (1997), pp. 3–4.
483. Hsu (2001), p. 75.
484. de Crespigny (2007), p. 332.
485. Omura (2003), pp. 15, 19–22.
486. Loewe (1994), p. 65.
487. Lo (2001), p. 23.
488. de Crespigny (2007), p. 1055.

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Further reading
Yap, Joseph P. (2019). The Western Regions, Xiongnu and Han, from the Shiji, Hanshu and
Hou Hanshu. ISBN 978-1-7928-2915-4.

External links
Han dynasty by Minnesota State University (https://web.archive.org/web/20090710041505/h
ttp://www.mnsu.edu/emuseum/prehistory/china/early_imperial_china/han.html)
Han dynasty art with video commentary, Minneapolis Institute of Arts (http://www.artsmia.org/
art-of-asia/history/dynasty-han.cfm)
Early Imperial China: A Working Collection of Resources (http://e-asia.uoregon.edu/earlychi
na/) Archived (https://web.archive.org/web/20100625031315/http://e-asia.uoregon.edu/early
china/) 25 June 2010 at the Wayback Machine
"Han Culture," Hanyangling Museum Website (https://web.archive.org/web/2011101003330
5/http://www.hylae.com/en/hdwh.asp)
The Han Synthesis (https://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/p004y29t), BBC Radio 4 discussion
with Christopher Cullen, Carol Michaelson & Roel Sterckx (In Our Time, Oct. 14, 2004)

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