Han dynasty
Post-Qin imperial era
The Han dynasty ruled China from 206 BCE to 220 CE, one of the longest and most influential imperial periods in Chinese history.
It established Confucianism as state ideology, expanded territory along the Silk Road, and created administrative systems that shaped Chinese governance for centuries.
The ethnic majority in China still call themselves Han Chinese after this era.
Creating sheets from fibers
- seismographEarthquake measuring device
- wheelbarrowOne-wheeled carrying cart
- iron plowMetal farming tillage tool
- crossbowStock-mounted bow mechanism
water clock · blast furnace · steel production · acupuncture · astronomy · bronze casting · porcelain · silk weaving
Historic transcontinental trade network
- caravansGroups traveling together
- merchantsThose who conduct commerce
- silkFine woven insect fiber
- spicesAromatic food flavorings
jade · lacquerware · trade routes · cultural exchange · commerce · oasis towns · Central Asia · diplomacy
Chinese ethical philosophy
- filial pietyRespect owed to parents
- mandate of heavenCosmic approval for sovereignty
- scholar-officialsExam-selected Chinese administrators
- civil serviceGovernment's administrative workforce
meritocracy · bureaucracy · classics · ancestor worship · humaneness · statecraft · ethics · rituals
Unifying control in one place
- territorial expansionIncreasing a state's domain
- Great WallMassive Chinese defensive structure
- censusOfficial population count
- coinageInvented term or currency
conscription · military campaigns · dynastic succession · eunuchs · court intrigue
Study of history-writing
- poetryMetrical literary composition
- calligraphyOrnamental handwriting art
- bronze mirrorsReflective metal discs
- festivalsOrganized communal celebrations
papermaking
Creating sheets from fibers
- seismographEarthquake measuring device
- wheelbarrowOne-wheeled carrying cart
- iron plowMetal farming tillage tool
crossbow · water clock · blast furnace · steel production · acupuncture · astronomy · bronze casting · porcelain · silk weaving
Silk Road
Historic transcontinental trade network
spices · jade · lacquerware · trade routes · cultural exchange · commerce · oasis towns · Central Asia · diplomacy · expansion
Confucianism
Chinese ethical philosophy
- filial pietyRespect owed to parents
- mandate of heavenCosmic approval for sovereignty
- scholar-officialsExam-selected Chinese administrators
civil service · meritocracy · bureaucracy · classics · ancestor worship · humaneness · statecraft · ethics · rituals · legalism
centralization
Unifying control in one place
- territorial expansionIncreasing a state's domain
- Great WallMassive Chinese defensive structure
- censusOfficial population count
coinage · conscription · military campaigns · dynastic succession · eunuchs · court intrigue
historiography
Study of history-writing
- poetryMetrical literary composition
- calligraphyOrnamental handwriting art
- bronze mirrorsReflective metal discs
- East Asian DynastiesMing, Qing dynasty, Shang dynasty, Yuan, Tang
- Chinese cultureConfucianism, Chinese calligraphy, Beijing, Chinese New Year, Daoism
- East AsiaChina, Japan, South Korea, North Korea, Korea
- historical erasStone Age, Bronze Age, Iron Age, Middle Ages, Renaissance
- Ancient ChinaShang dynasty, Confucius, Warring States period, oracle bones, Chinese characters
- Asian artink painting, Chinese art, Japanese art, brush painting, scroll painting
Hanzi, Han, Hans, Han Chinese