The peasant class became frustrated by massive flooding and by 23 A.D., their anger manifested in rebels called the Red Eyebrows.Īn uprising ensued, resulting in the destruction of Chang’an and the beheading of Wang Mang. Wang Mang broke apart the aristocratic estates and redistributed them among the peasants. Wang Mang took power through this method, but broke with tradition by declaring “the New Dynasty.” The last several emperors had died young and their power had consistently transferred to their maternal uncles in the role of commander in chief. when government official Wang Mang took advantage of long-term internal disarray to seize the throne and try to stabilize the empire. The tomb are believed to have survived with their treasures intact because their outside areas were not adorned in any special way, but marked only by a large pile of dirt. Two suits with 2,000 pieces of jade in each were discovered in the tomb.įound often in Han Dynasty tombs are models of houses in pottery form, with varying degrees of sophistication. The site contained about 3,000 examples of Han Dynasty art figures, utilizing silver, bronze, gold, jade, silk and pottery. With two underground chambers beneath four shrines, the tomb features 70 carved stones and painted ceilings and walls depicting historical figures. The Wu Family site in Jiaxiang is one of the most famous. Most knowledge of Han Dynasty art comes from the tombs of ruling families. The orange line marks Zhang Qians travels.

Map showing the expansion of Han dynasty in 2nd century BC. The map and this route was used more and more, and developed into the international trade route known as the Silk Road. Thirteen years after he had left, Zhang Qian made his way back to the Emperor, told him of what he had seen and mapped out a route to send an expedition back there. He was told that the items came from a kingdom in Afghanistan called Shendu. In Bactria, Zhang Qian saw bamboo and textiles brought from China and asked how they had gotten there. He reached Afghanistan, in an area known as Bactria, which was under Greek control. He and his party were captured by the Xiognu tribe, but Zhang Qian escaped and continued west. In 138 B.C., a man named Zhang Qian was sent on a mission by Emperor Wu to make contact with tribes to the west.

By the year second century A.D., the university had 30,000 students studying Confucianism. In 136 B.C., a program in the imperial university was created for teaching the Five Classics of Confucianism-five books called the Book of Changes, the Book of Documents, the Book of Odes, the Book of Rites and the Spring and Autumn Annals- translated into modern script. Some were in the possession of kings, while others were found in the walls of Confucius’ home. Many Confucian texts had been confiscated by the Qin Dynasty and then permanently lost when the imperial library was burned down in a civil war in 210 B.C.įu Sheng had saved The Book of Documents, and the Han Dynasty put forth a forceful effort to round-up remaining Confucian documents. Confucianism had stayed alive in China thanks to the efforts of intellectuals like Fu Sheng, who managed to keep some Confucian literature during the Qin Dynasty and beyond. Confucian RevivalĬonfucianism gained popularity among Han royalty around 135 B.C. The power struggle lasted for 15 years, ending when Gaozu’s son, Emperor Wan, slaughtered Lu Zhi’s family and became emperor. Lu Zhi also personally mutilated and murdered her mother and Gaozu’s preferred mistress, Lady Qi, before throwing her body into a privy and showing it off to visitors. Following Gaozu’s death, the Empress Lu Zhi made an attempt to take control by murdering a few of Gaozu’s sons.

Little markings on architect rulers