1. Who Was Wudi? (Time Period, Location, Key Achievements)

Name: ______

Date: ______Period: ______

Chapter 7.3 Reading Quiz

1. Who was Wudi? (Time Period, Location, Key Achievements)

 141-87BCE

 Great-grandson of Liu Bang…longest reign of all Han emperors

 Called martial emperor- expanded Chinese empire through war

 Defeated the Xiongnu

 Favored Confucianists

2. List 4 achievements that occurred during the Han Dynasty.

 Invention of paper

 Collar harness

 Two-blade plow

 Invented the wheelbarrow

 Used watermills to grind grain

3. Who was Ban Zhao? (Time Period, Location, Key Achievements)

 1st century CE  Female historian who took over the work of her father, Ban Baio- finishing History of the Former Han Dynasty

 Also wrote Lessons for Women where she reinforced traditional Confucian roles for women in Chinese society.

Chapter 7.3 Han Emperors in China

I. The Han Restore Unity to China

 Following Qin Shi Huangdi’s death, the peasants rebelled, angry over high taxes, harsh labor quotas, and severe penal system

 Rival kings raised armies and fought over territory

A. The Founding of the Han Dynasty

 During the ensuing civil war- Xiang Yu (aristocratic general who would allow warlords to keep their territories in exchange for recognizing him as their feudal lord) and Liu Bang (one of Xiang Yu’s generals)

 202BCE- Xiang Yu and Liu Bang fought against eachother, Liu Bang won and declared himself the first emperor of the Han Dynasty

 Former Han (202BCE to 9CE) and Later Han to about 200CE

 Liu Bang wanted to destroy the rival king’s power

o Established a centralized government (central authority controls the running of a state)

o Included hundreds of local officials of provinces called commanderies

o Nicknamed Gaozu= exalted founder

 Liu Bang departed from strict legalism…lowered taxes, softened harsh punishments

B. The Empress Lu

 Liu Bang died in 195BCE- his son became emperor, but Empress Lu ruled as regent (boy’s mother)

o Empress outlived her son and kept naming infant after infant as emperor (with herself as regent) o Empress Lu died in 180BCE…Liu Bang’s family regained control and killed the old empress’s relatives

o Han emperors had multiple wives, would choose favorite, and name her son as successor, caused a lot of intrigue and power plays

C. The Martial Emperor

 Wudi (141-87BCE) Liu Bang’s great-grandson who took power and ruled longer than any other Han emperor…called the martial emperor because he expanded the Chinese empire through war.

 Xiongnu (fierce nomads- arrow-shooting warriors on horseback) raided China’s settled farmland…initially early Han tried to pay off the Xiongnu, but it didn’t work

o After defeat by Wudi, the Xiongnu retreated into Asia…displacing others like the Huns and the White Huns, which would in turn invade the Roman Empire and the Guptas

o Wudi also made allies of the Xiongnu enemies

o Wudi colonized former Xiongnu lands, as well as Manchuria and Korea…also into Vietnam…by the end of Wudi’s reign the empire was almost as large as modern-day China

II. A Highly Structured Government

 Han emperors tried to control the people they conquered, and the Chinese people themselves.

 Chinese considered their emperor to be semidivine…therefore, accepted his power…in charge of keeping order on a cosmic level…natural disasters could be a sign that the ruler was failing

A. Structures of Han Government

 Chinese emperor relied on a complex bureaucracy to him rule

 Bureaucracy and imperial army was expensive to run…government levied taxes

o Farmers owed part of their yearly crops to the government and merchants paid taxes

o Peasants also owed the government a month’s worth of labor or military service every year.

o Expanded the Great Wall

B. Confucianism, the Road to Success

 Early Han emperors employed Confucian scholars as court advisers…Wudi actively favored them  Wudi set up a school where hopeful job applicants could come to study Confucius’s works.

 Civil Service Examination…technically a meritocracy…though usually only the sons of the wealthy could be educated in order to pass the exam

o Civil Service Exam continued until 1912

III. Han Technology, Commerce, and Culture

 400 years of Han- improvements in education and great advancements in Chinese technology and culture

 Centralized government exerted more control over commerce and manufacturing

A. Technology Revolutionizes Chinese Life

 Paper was invented in 105CE…books became readily available…helped spread education in China…also used for record-keeping by the government

 Collar harness- made it possible for horses to pull heavy loads

 Plow with 2 blades, improved iron tools and invented the wheelbarrow…watermills to grind grain.

B. Agriculture Versus Commerce

 During the Han Dynasty- population of China swelled to 60 million

 Agriculture was considered the most important and honored occupation (commerce as least important occupation- merchants considered parasites)

 Government established monopolies on the mining of salt, forging of iron, minting of coins, and brewing of alcohol

o Monopoly= group has exclusive control over the production and distribution of certain goods

 Government also ran huge silk mills…techniques of silk production became a closely guarded state secret

 Silk Roads to Mediterranean Sea

C. Unifying Chinese Culture

 With expansion of trade networks, Chinese learned about foreign foods, animals, and fashions

 Many different cultures were brought under Chinese rule o Government encouraged Assimilation

o Chinese farmers were encouraged to settle newly colonized areas and intermarry with local peoples

o Government officials set up schools to train local people in the Confucian philosophy… appointed local scholars to government posts

 Sima Qian (145 to 85BCE)- called the “Grand Historian” compiled a history of China from ancient dynasties to Wudi…often visited historical sites, and interviewed eyewitnesses, researched official records, and examined artifacts- book: Records of the Grand Historian

 Ban Biao (AD3 to 54)…Ban Gu and Ban Zhao all wrote the History of the Former Han Dynasty

 Ban Zhao- extraordinary life as a court historian…also wrote Lessons for Women

D. Wives, Nuns, and Scholars

 Women were expected to leave quiet lives at home…Five Relationships of Confucianism- women as submissive

 Women could become Daoist or Buddhist nuns…could be educated, alternative to marriage

IV. Rebellion and Restoration

 Han emperors also faced grave problems…economic imbalance caused by customs that allowed the rich to gain more wealth at the expense of the poor

A. The Rich Take Advantage of the Poor

 Custom: family’s land was divided equally among all of the father’s male heirs…each generation inherited smaller plots…harder to subsist on food raised to feed the family…small farmers often went into debt…borrowed money from wealthy…could have their land confiscated

 Large landholders didn’t have to pay taxes, therefore, as their holdings increased, money to government decreased

 Gap between rich and poor increased

B. Wang Mang Overthrows the Han

 Political instability grew

 Lots of plots over succession

 32 BCE to 9CE- succession of inexperienced emperors…chaos, discontent  Wang Mang- Confucian scholar and member of court decided he needed to restore order…9CE Wang Mang took imperial title for himself and overthrew the Han (Former Han)

 Wang Mang minted new money to relieve the treasury’s shortage

 Set up public granaries to help feed China’s poor

 Took large landholdings from the rich and planned to redistribute it to the poor…wealthy were angry

 AD 11- great flood left thousands dead and millions homeless…huge peasant revolts rocked the land…wealthy joined the rebellion against Wang Mang

 Rebels assassinated Wang Mang in AD23…Later Han began

C. The Later Han Years

 First decades of Later Han Dynasty was prosperous, secured the Silk Roads

 Still had weaknesses

 220 Later Han Dynasty disintegrated into three rival kingdoms.