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 Throughout the Qin Dynasty (221-206 BC) the emperors lived in luxury while oppressing their people. This gave rise to wide opposition to the monarchy from within the country. The despotic rule was finally ended in 207 BC by an uprising led by Liu Bang, a minor official, which overthrew the Qin.
Four years later, Liu Bang defeated his chief rival Xiangyu and established the Han Dynasty, proclaiming himself Emperor Gaozu. Historians called this period the Western Han Dynasty, which made Chang'an as its capital city.
The Earlier Period of the Western Han
Economy
At the beginning of the Han Dynasty, Emperor Gaozu (Liu Bang), having learned a lesson from the fall of the Qin Dynasty, endeavored to bring prosperity to his people. He abolished harsh laws and enacted more humane policies. This included a sharp lowering of both taxes and rents and the reduction of corvee, the practice of giving unpaid labor to a feudal lord. In order to speed the recovery of agricultural production, he reduced conscription and ordered officers, soldiers, and refugees to return home, providing them with houses and fields. He also enacted a law to release slaves and restrict the annexation of the peasantry by the merchant classes.
When Emperors Wen and Jing were in power, they continued to encourage agricultural output by further reducing taxes and corvee. The historical records show that during these reigns the Han Dynasty prospered. Untroubled by wars or natural disaster, the people lived in peace. This resulted in an increase in the population and the development of manufacturing industries and commerce.
Political Policies
The Han retained most of the political systems created by Qin, including centralism, but made them less burdensome.
In the early years of the Han, in order to strengthen his influence, Emperor Gaozu had granted many virtually autonomous vassal states to his relatives and a few generals with military merits. Inevitably, over a period of time these vassal states grew powerful. During the reign of Emperor Jing they sought to change the political structure which resulted in the "Rebellion of the Seven Kingdoms". However, the Emperor succeeded in quelling the rebellion. He took all necessary steps to ensure greater control from the center of empire while at the same time ensuring power within the fiefdoms was considerably weakened.
The Reign of Emperor Wu
Emperor Wu
Emperor Wu succeeded to the throne in 140 BC and his reign is one of the most celebrated in Chinese history.
Political Policies
Emperor Wu continued to weaken the power of the vassal states by eliminating many fiefdoms and restoring central control over the prefectures and counties in the country.
In addition, Emperor Wu pressed on with the cultural reform. With his adoption of advice offered by Dong Zhongshu (179-104 BC) he promoted Confucianism. Other philosophies were rejected. In this way Wu legitimized the new imperial state and elevated his position as emperor. He also encouraged the study of the five Confucian classics, namely the Shijing (Book of Poetry), the Shujing (Book of History), the Liji (Book of Rites), the Yijing (Book of Changes) and the Chunqiu (the Spring and Autumn Annals). He even founded royal schools in Chang'an to teach Confucianism and train government officials. When selecting his administrators, Emperor Wu, followed the Confucian principle of appointing men on the basis of merit rather than birth. He instituted a regular system of written examinations. In this manner he ensured that only those who were adept in Confucian principles were appointed to senior administrative posts.
Economy
Commerce flourished during the reign of Emperor Wu. The government unified the coinage and nationalized the mints. Furthermore, he levied a heavy tax on the merchants and established monopolies for the production of iron, salt and liquor. This had the effect of largely increasing the income of the court.
With the development of the smelting techniques, the iron-smelting industry grew appreciably in this period. Iron tools and weapons were widely used for agricultural and military purposes. The weaving of silk fabrics also excelled in this period. A variety of silk garments and fabrics unearthed at Mawangdui are preserved in the Hunan Provincial Museum, illustrating the highly developed techniques in the silk industry of those days.
Foreign policies
From the Qin Dynasty onwards, the Xiongnu, an ancient tribe that lived in North China, frequently harassed the northern border of the empire. In the earlier years of the Han, the rulers usually adopted a conciliatory attitude towards Xiongnu. When Emperor Wu came to power, substantial resources were available to him as a result of his own successful policies as well as those of his predecessors. Consequently, he was in a position to take an active and offensive stand against threats of invasion. He sent three expeditions against the Xiongnu in 127 BC, 121 BC and 119 BC respectively. By these actions, he drove them into the far north of Gobi, thus maintaining the safety of the Hexi Corridor.
Furthermore, Emperor Wu began to practice land reclamation and built the Great Wall as well as beacon towers on the northwestern frontier, strengthening the military defense against invasions.
At the same time, in order to seek allies to against Xiongnu's invasion, Emperor Wu twice sent diplomatic missions led by Zhangqian to the Western Regions. Thus he initiated the Silk Road that later served as the route not only for goods but also for the transmission of knowledge and ideas between east and west. With the opening of the Silk Road, envoys, merchants and missionaries gradually came to Chang'an, thereby contributing much to the prosperity of the culture and economy of Han.
With his northwest frontier secured, Emperor Wu then extended the empire in a northeasterly direction by conquering Manchuria. With the capture of an area south of the Yangtze River, the territory of Han far exceeded that of the former dynasties. The Han Dynasty then extended its political and cultural influence over Vietnam, Central Asia, Mongolia, Korea and other counties.
The rulers during the Han Dynasty all attached an importance to the relationship between Han and other ethnic groups. Apart from the contribution of the Silk Road, Emperor Yuan, to further a good relationship between Xiongnu and Han people, married Wang Zhaojun, a beauty at that time, to a chief of the Xiongnu tribe. This action not only stabilized the relationship between the Han Dynasty and Xiongnu, but promoted economic and cultural exchanges between them.
Culture and Religion
During the Western Han Dynasty, people made many cultural achievements. For example, a state library was built to collect and store books. Sima Qian, a great historian who lived during the reign of Emperor Wu, completed Records of the Historian, the first chronicle of China recording the history from the Huangdi to the Emperor Wu.
Buddhism arrived from India and became an important religion although Confucianism became the established philosophy-cum-religion.
Decline
Emperor Wu's expansionist policies strengthened the empire, nevertheless they drained the imperial treasury. This resulted in sharp increases in taxes and tight control over the economy. In the long term, this had the effect of undermining the dynastic influence.
When Emperors Zhao and Xuan were in power, potential social crises began to surface despite economic growth. During the last decades of the Western Han Dynasty, a series of child emperors occupied the throne. These necessitated regencies and power fell into the hands of eunuchs and empresses' relatives. This led to corruption and greater class division resulting in frequent peasant uprisings. Ultimately, the Western Han Dynasty fell after the infant Emperor Cheng succeeded to the throne. In 8 AD Wangmang, one of the empress's relatives, deposed Cheng and proclaimed himself emperor of the Xin Dynasty (8-25).
Although condemned as a usurper, Wangmang was a learned Confucian scholar. He wished to retrieve the glory of Han by adopting policies described in the Confucian classics. He renamed offices, outlawed slavery, limited land holdings and monopolized both industry and commerce. He also reduced court expenses. However, Wangmang's unpopularity due to the issue of new coins, nationalization of gold reserves and frequent declarations of war finally led to more serious social turmoil. In 17 AD, a nationwide rebellion broke out. Six years later, in 23 AD Wangmang was killed by rebels.
Very soon after, Liuxiu, a member of the Han imperial family, re-established Han supremacy through what has become known as the Eastern Han Dynasty (25 - 220 AD).
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