The Han Dynasty of China

1
The Han Dynasty of China

• September 24, 2013

2
Review

• What was the impact of iron on the area we now
  call China?
• What is the basic difference between Confucianism
  and Daoist philosophy?
• Why do we say Qin Shihuang created China?

3
The Xiongnu

• A non-Chinese barbarian people on Chinas
  northern borders
• Won some battles with the Qin and the Han, and
  lost some. (Ebrey, 41-42)
• Seen as barbarian because their customs were not
  the same as the people of the central plains
  (China) (Sen, 84-86)
• Through the Xiongnu and people like them, people
  living in China learned how to ride horses, and
  fight from horseback. (Sen, p. 30)

4
The Birth of the Han

• Why did the Qin fall so quickly? (Ebrey, 42)
• Who was Wudi? (Ebrey, 43)
• Who was Wang Mang? (Ebrey, p. 44)
• What sort of government did the Han have? It
  moved from feudalism toward a centralized
  bureaucracy (though aristocrats still dominated).
  Confucianism wasused to justify centralized rule.
  
• Three powerful groups the imperial family, the
  bureaucracy, and the aristocrats. The civil
  service exam was not yet important in selecting
  government officials.

5
Han and its neighbours

• The birth of the tribute system (vassal rulers
  present tribute)
• Han and the Yue (Fujian, Guangdong, Guangxi, and
  northern Vietnam were formally absorbed into the
  Han empire but not Sinified yet) (Ebrey, 54)
• Korea -Han military commandaries
• The Xiongnu--powerful opponents of the Han for a
  couple of centuries.
• The Silk Road linking China and the Kushan
  empire. Brought Buddhism to China. (There was
  also a sea route.)

6
Map of the Han

• See Ebrey, p. 37.

7
Chinese-style government

• legalistic Confucianism proclaim rule by virtue
  and ritual, but keep force available for use when
  needed.
• The mandate of Heaven goes to a royal family-even
  women in such a royal family sometimes ruled as
  empress dowagers.
• Bureaucracy instead of feudalism (Ebrey, 43)
• Supported by gentry in the countryside.
• Scholars, peasants, artisans, and merchants, in
  that order (where are the soldiers?)

8
Ideological Legitimization

• The pattern perspective/ correlative cosmology
  everything is related to everything else in
  dynamic interactions (Ebrey, 45-47)
• The Five phases/agents earth, metal, water,
  wood, fire.
• cycle of production wood? fire? earth? metal?
  water?
• ? ?
• cycle of overcoming fire ?water ?earth ? wood
  ?metal ?
• ? ?
• The magic square 4 9 2
• 3 5 7
• 8
  1 6

9
Han technology

• paper
• the compass
• the wheelbarrow
• the seismograph
• stern-post rudder
• shoulder-harness for horses
• ridge-furrow farming
• decimal system (with counting rods)

10
The Han legacy

• Centralized government, legitimized with
  Confucian rhetoric
• civilian rather than military rule
• Writing history as a state responsibility.
• The important of educated landlords as local
  leaders, and the official denigration of
  merchants.