A Research Of The Han Dynasty And Its Features In China

Han dynasty was found in 202 BC – 220 AD by the emperor Liu Bang, and Gaozu. The dynasty consisted of Western Han, which was found in 202 BC – 24 AD, and Eastern Han, which was found in 25AD – 220AD. It was the second imperial dynasty in China history. It had huge impact on China by starting the trade with eastern countries. This dynasty started the communication with other country. The ideology in the dynasty was Confucianism. In the dynasty horse played huge role in both militarily, and socially.

Han dynasty was shaped by a multi-ethnic group and known as a powerful nation in the world. People would work at important positions even though they are from another ethnic group. The emperor only focused on the people’s ability. The first emperor of the dynasty was Liu Bang, and Gaozu but dynasty was strongest when Liu Che had the power. He sent the generals to take over the land to enlarge the territory of the dynasty. When the emperor Wu took over the power, he found the Silk Road, which was very important to the trading history of China. Han dynasty was over under the lead of Liu Ying because of the revolution, and Wang Mang took the power, and changed the dynasty’s name to Xin dynasty. Han dynasty used same imperial system from the Qing dynasty, but they strengthen the system. In the system emperor had the full control of the dynasty. No one should against the emperor. The title of the imperial prince was given by the king and their territory could give their son until their bloodline dies. The imperial system that were used in the Han Dynasty was used by the other imperial dynasty because the imperial system was completed by Han dynasty, which made Han dynasty became the most powerful dynasty in China’s history. Economy of the dynasty was based on the agriculture, and silk road. Emperor Wudi encouraged people to farm, and the tax revenue was the large portion of Han dynasty’s economy. Another portion of the dynasty’s economy was the trade. Han dynasty trade silk in return they got many new foods, and tools throughout the world. In fact, “grapes, figs, and cucumbers from Southern Asia, furs from Central Asia. Muslin from India, and glass from Rome” (hunter han dynasty). Han dynasty had social hierarchy. The emperor, the upper class, the middle class, and the lower class. The emperor is the most powerful person in the entire kingdom. The upper class are bureaucrats and aristocrats. The middle class are the people who was selected based on their abilities. The lower class are artisans and craftsmen (hierarchy). People believed in immortality in the past. In fact, “Jade burial suits. Made in jade and gold treads. The precious stone jade is believed to promise immortality”. Also, Queen Mother of the west symbolized immortality.

Thing that I found interesting was the horse, and silk road. When I was doing the research, I saw a lot of horses in many places. In Han dynasty horses had huge impact on military, society, and agriculture. In military, horses in the ancient war it was like a tank in modern. There were 36 horse breeding ranches were 300,000 war horses spread over Northwest China. It was very important for Wudi’s defend strategy because they get attack from nomads from north, also called as Xiongnu. About the silk road, it was the first trade with other country, it brought new things and improved economy. Wudi sent a man called Zhang Qian to Afghanistan, and he spent thirteen years to mapped out a route, and that route became Silk Road, and used to trade with other countries.

In Han dynasty there were many inventions that had many impacts throughout China. The first invention was paper. In the past people in China used bamboo strips instead of paper. The invention of paper helped people to record stuff easily. This invention also helped the creation of first Chinese dictionary, made by Xu Shen. This invention also has impact on the modern world. Papers are widely used in modern world. For example, in education when teachers assigned homework and wants printed students print them on the paper. The second invention is seismograph, which is used for testing earthquakes. This invention also has impact on the modern world. The seismograph can predict the time of the earthquake, so people can prepare, or run away from the earthquake to lower the casualty rate. The last invention is use of anesthetic techniques in operations. This was invented by the well-known doctor called Hua Tuo. Anesthesia can help patient to not feel pain during the surgery, or after the surgery. This technique also has impact on the modern world. In modern society almost every surgery that need to open up the body needs to use anesthesia to the patient or else pain during the would be impossible for patient to tolerate. In my personal experience when I was removing wisdom teeth I was also in anesthesia but I still felt a lot of pain because doctor did not had visual on one of the wisdom teeth, so she had to cut my gingiva to remove the teeth, and that caused a lot of pain even I was anesthetic. Therefore, I would not imagine the surgeries without anesthesia. Thing I learned from that period is Han dynasty is the most powerful dynasty, and there were many inventions that are still used in modern world.

Works Cited

• Travel China Guide, Han Dynasty, https://www.travelchinaguide.com/intro/history/han/western.htm 10, March 2018
• Totally History, Han Dynasty Government, http://totallyhistory.com/han-dynasty-government/
• Hunter Han Dynasty, Russell Montalbano, Nicole Rozelman, Phoebe Freedman, Victor Ma, https://hunterhandynasty.weebly.com/economy.html
• Han Dynasty Social Hierarchy, https://www.hierarchystructure.com/han-dynasty-social-hierarchy/
• Han Dynasty, History.com, https://www.history.com/topics/ancient-china/han-dynasty 21, August 2019