The Han Dynasty (汉朝, 202 BCE–220)
Cultural and military achievements
Han Dynasty [Minneapolis Institute of Arts]
After the death of Emperor Qin Shi-huang (秦始皇, reign 221–210 BCE) in 210 BCE, rebel leader Liu Bang (刘邦, 256–195 BCE) reunited China and founded the Han Dynasty.
The Han Dynasty is considered one of the most significant periods in the entire history of china. To this day, China's majority ethnic group call themselves the Han people (汉人), calls their spoken words the Han language (汉语) and calls their written words the Han characters (汉字).
Confucianism as the national religion
Emperor Wu (汉武帝, reign 141–87 BCE) ruled China for 54 years, the longest of any ethnic Chinese emperors. He is considered one of China's most extraordinary emperors because of his strong leadership and effective governance. He developed a strong central government, expanded the Chinese border, and spread Chinese civilisation's influence.
Around 135 BCE, he promoted Confucianism to be the state religion — Confucianism became the sole official philosophy of the ruling regime. To him, the concept that each person had a social position that must be adhered to make people more willing to obey and accept the power of authority.
Emperor Wu (汉武帝) officially established the Silk Road
The Silk Road 丝绸之路 [Zane Archives]
The Han Dynasty was known for its military prowess. Through a series of successful military conquests, Emperor Wu pushed further China’s western borders. The empire expanded westward as far as the Tarim Basin, making possible a relatively safe caravan route across Central Asia. This became known as the Silk Road because it was initially used mainly to export Chinese silk.
The Han protected the travelling caravans from nomad pirates and fostered strong trade and cultural exchange relationships with the vast land to its west, Persia and the Roman Empire. As a result, China received spices, grapes, wine, and even woollen fabrics in return for silk and gold. This ancient trade route which ran both north and south of the Taklamakan Desert (塔克拉玛干沙漠), helped to usher in one of China’s golden ages.
The Silk Road stayed active until the fall of the Mongol Empire around 1360.