The Chinese Qin and Han dynasties ruled the country in 221 BC. e. - 220 g. e. At this time, the state survived several civil wars, adopted Buddhism from India, and regularly repelled the attacks of the aggressive northern nomadic Huns.
Qin Foundation
The ancient Qin dynasty united China in 221 BC. e. Her reign took place in a very short period of 15 years, but even for this short period of time, a huge number of changes took place in the country, affecting the entire future history of the East Asian region. Qin Shihuang put an end to the centuries-old era of the Warring Kingdoms. In 221 BC e. he conquered the numerous principalities of Inner China and proclaimed himself emperor.
Qin Shihuang created a well-governed centralized state, equal to which in that era there was neither Asia nor the Mediterranean. The dominant ideology of the empire was legism - a philosophical doctrine, also known as the "school of lawyers." An important principle of it was that state titles and posts began to be distributed according to the real merits and talents of a person. This rule was contrary to the established Chinese order, according to which high appointments were received by representatives of aristocratic noble families.
The emperor proclaimed the equality of all the inhabitants of the country before the law. Public and clan self-government was subordinated to a single state system with a multi-level administration. The laws of Qin Shihuang was very kind. The most severe punishments were imposed for their violations. The proclamation of legism as the dominant ideology led to mass repressions of supporters of the philosophy of Confucianism. For the propaganda or possession of prohibited written sources, people were burned at the stake.
Heyday of the dynasty
Under Qin Shihuang, internal civil wars ceased. Enormous quantities of weapons were confiscated from the feudal princes, and their armies were directly subordinated to the emperor. The power divided the entire territory of the Chinese state into 36 provinces. Unification was observed in all spheres of public life. The system of measures and weights was streamlined, a single standard for writing hieroglyphs was introduced. Thanks to this, China for the first time in a long time felt like one country. Provinces have become easier to interact with each other. To revitalize economic and trade relations in the empire, an extensive network of roads was built. Society has become more mobile and communicative.
Most of the population participated in the renewal of the country. A huge number of peasants and workers were involved in the construction of important infrastructure. The most significant project of the Qin era was the construction of the Great Wall of China, the length of which reached almost 9 thousand kilometers. "Construction of the century" was necessary to protect the country from the northern nomads. Prior to this, they unhinderedly attacked scattered Chinese principalities, which, because of their political hostility, could not give the enemy a significant rebuff. Now not only a wall appeared on the way of the steppes, but also many garrisons quickly interacting with each other. Another important symbol of the Qin Dynasty was the Terracotta Army - the burial of 8 thousand statues of soldiers with horses in the emperor's mausoleum.
Shihuang's death
Qin Shihuang passed away in 210 BC e. He died during another trip to China. The entire effective state system that ensured the country's prosperity was created thanks to the emperor. Now that he is gone, China is on the edge of the abyss. The emperor’s close ones tried to smooth the blow - for some time they hid the news of the ruler’s death and fabricated a new testament, according to which the youngest son of the deceased became the heir.
The new emperor Ershi Juan was a weak-willed man. He quickly became a puppet with his adviser Zhao Gao. This official under Qin Shihuang was the head of his office and had enormous ambitions. The country shook with discontent with this gray cardinal and his behind-the-scenes intrigues. Several uprisings broke out. The rebellion was also caused by the disobedience of the workers involved in the construction of the Great Wall of China. 900 people because of the debauchery and bad roads did not have time to arrive on time at their site. By law, they were to be executed. Workers, not wanting to part with life, organized in a rebel detachment. Soon they were joined by numerous dissatisfied with the new regime. The protest turned from social into political. Soon this army grew to 300 thousand people. She was led by a native of the peasants named Liu Bang.
Ershi Juan in 207 BC e. committed suicide. This led to even greater anarchy in China. A dozen pretenders to the throne appeared. In 206 BC e. the army of Liu Bang overthrew the last emperor of the Qin Ziying dynasty. He was executed.
The rise to power of the Han Dynasty
Liu Bang became the founder of the new Han Dynasty, which eventually ruled the country until 220 AD. e. (with a short break). She managed to last longer than all other Chinese empires. Such success was made possible through the creation of an effective bureaucratic system of government. Many of her features were adopted from Shihuang. The Qin and Han dynasties are political relatives. The only difference is that one ruled the country for 15 years, and the other for 4 centuries.
Historians divide the Han Dynasty into two parts. The first occurred in 206 BC. e. - 9 g. e. This is the early Han or Western Han with its capital in Chang'an. This was followed by a short period of the Xin Empire, when power belonged to another dynasty. From 25 to 220 g. e. Han reigned over China. The capital was moved to Luoyang. This period is also called Late Han or Eastern Han.
Board of Liu Bang
With the coming to power, the Han Dynasty initiated significant changes in the life of the country, which allowed society to consolidate and calm down. The old ideology of legism was left in the past. The authorities proclaimed the dominant role of Confucianism, popular among the people. In addition, the laws of the beginning of the Han Dynasty stimulated the development of agriculture. Peasants (the vast majority of the population of China) received a noticeable relief in taxes collected by the states. Instead of the old source of replenishment of the treasury, Liu Bang went to increase fees from the merchants. He introduced many trade duties.
The laws of the beginning of the Han Dynasty also regulated the relations between the political center and the provinces in a new way. A new administrative division of the country was adopted. Liu Bang throughout his life struggled with the rebel governors in the provinces (van). The emperor replaced many of them with his own relatives and loyal supporters, which gave additional stability to power.
At the same time, the Han Dynasty faced a serious problem in the face of the Huns (or Huns). These wild nomads of the northern steppes were dangerous even in the time of Qin. In 209 BC e. they had their own emperor named Mode. He united the nomads under his rule and was now going to war on China. In 200 BC e. Huns captured the large city of Shanxi. Liu Bang personally led the army in order to expel the savages. The size of the army was colossal. It included about 320 thousand soldiers. However, even such forces could not scare Mode. During a decisive clash, he conducted a deceptive maneuver and surrounded the squad of Liu Bang, representing the vanguard of the imperial army.
A few days later, the parties agreed to start negotiations. So in 198 BC e. the Chinese and the Huns concluded the Peace and Kinship Treaty. The nomads agreed to leave the Han empire. In return, Liu Bang admitted to being a tributary of the northern neighbors. In addition, he gave his daughter out for Mode. The tribute was an annual gift sent to the court of the ruler of the Huns. It was gold, jewelry and other values that a civilized country was famous for. Subsequently, the Chinese and Huns fought for several centuries. The Great Wall, designed to protect against nomads and begun during the Qin Dynasty, was completed during Han. The first emperor of this kind, Liu Bang, died in 195 BC. e.
Empire Xin
In subsequent years, China lost the stability that distinguished the early Han Dynasty. The emperors spent most of their money on the fight against the Huns, unsuccessful intervention in the west and palace intrigues. Each new generation of rulers paid less attention to economic issues, the rule of law and the well-being of their subjects.
The Western Han Dynasty died out by itself. In 9 g. e. after the death of Emperor Pin-di, the power, due to the absence of a direct heir, passed to the late father-in-law's van Wang Manu. He created the new Xin Dynasty, but it did not last long. Van Man tried to carry out fundamental reforms. In particular, he wanted to curb slave owners and large magnates. His policy was aimed at helping the poorest. It was a bold and risky course, given the fact that the new emperor did not belong to the previous ruling family and was actually a usurper.
Time has shown that Van Man was wrong. First, he set up an influential aristocracy against himself. Secondly, its transformation led to chaos in the provinces. Local riots began. Peasant fermentation soon received the name of the Red-brow rebellion. The cause of discontent was the spill of the great Yellow River. Natural disaster left a huge number of poor people without housing and livelihoods.
Soon, these rebels united with other rebels who were supporters of the former Han dynasty. In addition, they were supported by the Huns, who were glad of any opportunity for war and robberies in China. As a result, Van Man was defeated. He was overthrown and executed in 23 year.
Eastern han
Finally, in the year 25 after the end of the war and the Red Brow revolt, the second era of the Han Dynasty began. It lasted until 220 g. This period is also known as the Eastern Han. On the throne was a distant relative of the former emperors Guan U-di. The old capital during the war was completely destroyed by peasants. The new ruler decided to move his residence to Luoyang. Soon this city, among other things, became the main Chinese center of Buddhism. In 68, the Baymasa Temple (or the White Horse Temple) was founded in it. This religious building was erected with the support and patronage of the Ming-di descendant and successor of Guan Wu-di.
The then history of the Han Dynasty was an example of political calm and stability. Palace intrigues are a thing of the past. The emperors managed to defeat the Huns and drive them into their empty northern steppes for a long time. The centralization and strengthening of power allowed the rulers to extend their power far to the west up to the limits of Central Asia.
At that time, China achieved economic prosperity. They got rich private entrepreneurs who were engaged in salting and mining of metals. A huge number of peasants worked for them. These people, leaving for the enterprises of magnates, stopped paying taxes to the treasury, which caused the state to incur significant losses. Economic interest forced Emperor Wu Di to nationalize metallurgy and salt production in 117. Another profitable state monopoly was the production of alcohol.
External contacts
It was in the I – II century. every emperor of the Han dynasty was known far abroad. At this time, on the other side of the ancient world, another civilization — Rome — was flourishing. During the period of greatest hegemony between the two states were only the Kushan kingdom and Parthia.
China was primarily interested in the inhabitants of the Mediterranean as the birthplace of silk. The secret of the production of this fabric for many centuries did not leave the East. Thanks to this, the Chinese emperors earned untold wealth through the sale of valuable material. It was in Han times that the Great Silk Road became busy, along which unique goods went west from the east. The embassy from China first arrived in Rome during the reign of Octavian Augustus at the beginning of the 1st century AD. e. Travelers spent almost four years on the road. In Europe, they were amazed at the yellow color of their skin. The Romans because of this believed that in China "a different heaven."
In 97, the army of the eastern emperor, led by the talented military leader Ban Chao, went on a raid west to punish the nomads who robbed merchants who transported their goods along the Silk Road. The army overcame the inaccessible Tien Shan and ravaged Central Asia. After this campaign, ambassadors went far to the west, leaving their own descriptions of the Roman Empire, which in China was called "Daqin." Mediterranean travelers also reached eastern countries. In 161, an embassy sent by Anthony Pius arrived in Luoyang. Interestingly, the delegation traveled to China by sea along the Indian Ocean.
During the Han Dynasty, a convenient route to India was discovered, which ran through Bactria on the territory of modern Uzbekistan. Emperors were attentive to the southern country. In India, there were many outlandish goods that interested the Chinese (from metals to rhino horns and shells of giant turtles). However, the religious connection of the two regions has become much more important. It was from India that China entered Buddhism. The more intensively the contacts of the inhabitants of these countries became, the more religious and philosophical teachings spread among the subjects of the Han empire. The authorities even sent expeditions that were supposed to find a land route to India through modern Indochina, but these attempts were unsuccessful.
Rise of the Yellow Armbands
The late Eastern Han Dynasty was distinguished by the fact that almost all its rulers were on the throne in childhood. This led to the dominance of all kinds of regents, advisers and relatives. Monarchs were appointed and deprived of power by eunuchs and newly-minted gray cardinals. So at the beginning of the II century, the Han dynasty entered a period of gradual decline.
The absence of a single centralized power in the person of an adult and strong-willed monarch did not bode well for the state. In 184, an uprising of the Yellow Armbands broke out across China . It was organized by members of the popular Taipingdao sect. Its supporters preached among the poor peasantry, dissatisfied with their position and the dominance of the rich. The doctrine of the sect claimed that the Han dynasty should be overthrown, after which the era of prosperity will begin. The peasants believed that the messiah of Lao Tzu would come, who would help build an ideal and just society. An open armed rebellion occurred when there were already several million members in the sect, and its army was tens of thousands, and this figure was growing steadily. The fall of the Han Dynasty was largely due to this popular uprising.
The end of the Han Dynasty
The peasant war lasted two decades. The rebels were defeated only in 204. The paralyzed imperial power could not organize and finance its own army to defeat the fanatical poor. And this is not surprising, because the eastern Han dynasty was weakened by regular metropolitan intrigues. To her rescue came aristocrats and magnates, who gave money for the army.
The commanders who controlled these troops quickly became independent political figures. Among them, the warlords Cao Cao and Dong Zhuo stood out especially. They helped the empire defeat the peasants, but after the onset of peace, they ceased to obey the orders of the authorities and did not want to disarm. The Chinese Han Dynasty lost its leverage over the armies, which in two decades felt themselves to be independent forces. The military leaders began uninterrupted wars with each other over influence and resources.
In the north of the country Cao Cao established himself, who in 200 was able to defeat all his opponents in this region. In the south, two more new rulers appeared. These were Liu Bei and Sun Quan. The confrontation between the three generals led to the division of the once united China into three parts.
The last ruler of the Han Xian-di dynasty formally abdicated the throne in 220. So the split of the country into several parts was already fixed legally, although in fact such a political system developed at the end of the II century. The reign of the Han Dynasty ended, and the Three Kingdoms began. This era lasted 60 years and led to a decline in the economy and even longer bloodshed.