Han Dynasty - 漢朝 (han chao)
After Shi Huangdi's death and the civil war that followed, there were two leaders that appeared. Xiang Yu was a general that allowed warlords to keep their territories as long as they acknowledge him as their feudal lord. Liu Bang was one of Xiang Yu's generals that eventually turned against him and won, declaring himself as the first emperor of the Han Dynasty.
Liu Bang worked to destroy the power of the rival kings, establishing a centralized government. When Liu Bang's great grandson, Wudi, became emperor, he continued Liu Bang's centralizing policies. Wudi is called the "Martial Emperor" because he expanded the Chinese empire through war. He sent soldiers to the northwest to force Xiong Nu and the other nomadic raiders to retreat and had the soldiers settle there to try and make the northwest border safer. He also colonized areas in the northeast and sent troops south to conquer mountain tribes. To unify the empire, he encouraged assimilation, saying it was a mandate of heaven, and had Chinese colonies set up all the way to Vietnam. By the end of Wudi's rule, the empire had nearly expanded to all of present-day China.
Liu Bang worked to destroy the power of the rival kings, establishing a centralized government. When Liu Bang's great grandson, Wudi, became emperor, he continued Liu Bang's centralizing policies. Wudi is called the "Martial Emperor" because he expanded the Chinese empire through war. He sent soldiers to the northwest to force Xiong Nu and the other nomadic raiders to retreat and had the soldiers settle there to try and make the northwest border safer. He also colonized areas in the northeast and sent troops south to conquer mountain tribes. To unify the empire, he encouraged assimilation, saying it was a mandate of heaven, and had Chinese colonies set up all the way to Vietnam. By the end of Wudi's rule, the empire had nearly expanded to all of present-day China.
The Chinese emperors relied on a complex bureaucracy during their rule. The bureaucracy included eighteen different ranks of civil service jobs, obtained through examinations, or rewarded to loyal followers by the emperor. Under the Han Dynasty, another way to fill the government posts included testing the applicant's knowledge of Confucianism.
The bureaucracy and imperial army maintenance was expensive, which led to the government levying taxes to raise money. As part of their payment to the taxes, Chinese peasants owed part of their yearly crops to the government and also owed the government a month's worth of labor or military service, which helped the Han emperors build roads and dig canals and irrigation ditches. They also expanded the Great Wall Of China across the northern frontier.
The government established monopolies on salt mining, iron forging, coin minting, and alcohol brewing to help with trade since only one group had exclusive control over the production and distribution and also ran huge silk mills because silk was a valuable item of trade and was a closely guarded state secret. With the growing demand for silk, the Silk Road was expanded through most of Asia and India, all the way to Rome.
The bureaucracy and imperial army maintenance was expensive, which led to the government levying taxes to raise money. As part of their payment to the taxes, Chinese peasants owed part of their yearly crops to the government and also owed the government a month's worth of labor or military service, which helped the Han emperors build roads and dig canals and irrigation ditches. They also expanded the Great Wall Of China across the northern frontier.
The government established monopolies on salt mining, iron forging, coin minting, and alcohol brewing to help with trade since only one group had exclusive control over the production and distribution and also ran huge silk mills because silk was a valuable item of trade and was a closely guarded state secret. With the growing demand for silk, the Silk Road was expanded through most of Asia and India, all the way to Rome.