1.+Han+Dynasty

Han Dynasty  __Han Dynasty__-, was broken up into two time periods. The Former Han ruled for about two centuries, untill A.D. 9. The Han were out of power for a brief period of time, then many Chinese people call themselves "people of the Han". __Centralized government__- a central authority controls the running of a state. Liu Bang followed Shi Huangdi's policy of this to accomplish his first goal of destroying the rival kinds' power. __Civil Service Exams__- examinations taken by civilians to obtain government jobs. __Assimilation__- the process of making conquered peoples part of Chinese culture. Chinese government encouraged this to unify the empire. __Silk Roads__- a system of ancient caravan routes across Central Asia, along which traders carried silk and other trade goods. **Dates & Significant Leaders** The Han empire began in 206 B.C. The Han government wanted new citizens to join their dynasty. They sent Chinese farmers to settle newly colonized areas. This helped them to intermarry with local peoples. Writers also helped assimilate. A famous writer Sima Qian (A.D. 3-54) taught Chinese culture through reading.This spread to other areas and made people become more interested in the Han Dynasty.  A lot of culture was flowering during the Han Dynasty in Poetry, paintings, music, philosophy, literature and writing. This led to the invention of paper.  **Trade & Economy**  Liu Bang wanted an expansion of military. He expanded the borders into Vietnam and Korea. This expansion led to trade with the people of inner Asia. This developed the Silk Road. There was more than one route. Agriculture grew with the development of better tools. The government established monopolies on the mining of salt, the forging of iron, the mining of coins, and the brewing on alcohol. There were 60 million people to feed and they had silk that was very valuable.  **Military & Warfare**  China ’s government fell apart, after Shi Huangdi died in 210 B.C. Peasants rebelled and raised armies and fought over territories. This caused a Civil War. Two leaders entered the picture, Xiang Yu (willing to allow the warlords to keep territories) and Liu Bang was his general. In 202 B.C. Liu Bang turned against Xiang Yu and fought their final battle. Liu Bang won and declared himself the first emperor on the Han Dynasty.  External Threats The Han Dynasty was very good with dealing with outsiders. They didn’t have very many threats.  Internal Threats  Liu Bang, prince of Han, defeated the Qin army in the valley of Wei.  **Gender Roles**  Woman’s role in the Han dynasty was to devote themselves to their families. They all made important contributions to their family’s economy by working on the farm. Upper-class woman pursued education and culture. Some ran small shops and also practiced medicine.  **Religion/Belief Systems**  Confucius was a scholar that lived 400 years before the Han Dynasty. He taught that gentlemen should practice "Respect, generosity, truthfulness, diligence, and kindness". Wudi set up a school where the teachings of Confucianism. The teachings were very important to people in his empire because Wudi favored them. [] [] World History Book
 * Vocabulary**
 * Social Structure**