THE HAN DYNASTY

IN THE BEGINNING

WHO WAS LIU BANG?

• Liu bang was the first emperor and founder of the Han dynasty.
• He ruled from 202-195 B.C, He was one of the few emperors that came from peasant class.
• He rebelled against the Qin government some time during 210-200 B.C
• Liu Bang formed his very own army and took part in the insurrection

WHY DID LIU BANG CALL THE NEW DYNASTY HAN?

• The new dynasty was called Han in opposition to liu bang's greatest rival.
• His rival was called Xi "Chu" ba wang
• The opposite of "Chu" on the chinese checker board is Han, thus the han dynasty
• He named his new land to condemn his greatest rival

HAN WUDI

WHAT EDUCATIONAL SYSTEM DID THE "MARTIAL EMPEROR" PUT IN PLACE?

• He put many schools/universities in place to train officials(5 classes of universities)
• Emperor Wudi wanted to train officials in confucianism and its beliefs
• Confucianism became the most common ideology in china's successive dynasties
• Emperor wudi also advocated the development of music/literature
• He also made confucianism the state religion of china

EXPLAIN THE KEY CONCEPTS OF HAN WUDI'S FOREIGN POLICY

• Emperor Wudi's foreign policy was put in place to keep the Xiongnu at bay.
• Wudi would exchange large quantities of silver/food/silk in return there would be peace
• However this appeasement did not stop the occasional xiongnu raid
• The key concept was trade/bartering in exchange for peace

LAND AND REFORM

WHAT KINDS OF PROBLEMS DID SMALL LANDOWNERS FACE IN CHINA?

• Many peasants were forced to become laborers or tenants after they fell into debt
• The small poor farmers were forced to compete with the wealthy merchants
• The wealthy land owners became more powerful and dominated the rural peasants
• The people were forced to pay the rent or work for the merchant

EXPLAIN THE DIFFERENT REFORMS PUT IN PLACE BY WANG MANG

• Wang Mang's reforms ultimately led to his downfall
• Wang Mang wanted to divide land more evenly between the wealthy and the poor
• Wang Mang's land reform causes many problems/revolts
• His currency reform caused property value to greatly decline

THE END