1.3 The Rise of the Han and Its Governance

Given that Liu Bang was enfeoffed as the King of Han by Xiang Yu in 206 B.C., Liu Bang called his dynasty the Han. He changed his title from the King of Han to the Emperor of Han in 202 B.C.after crushing Xiang Yu.

penalties and oppressive laws. For instance, Emperor Wendi（汉文帝, r. 180 B.C.—157 B.C.）abolished mutilation punishments that had existed in China for many centuries. Generally, the early Han emperors, from Liu Bang to his grandson Emperor Jingdi（汉景帝, r.157 B.C.—141 B. C）, adopted a laissez-faire policy and significantly reduced taxes to let ordinary people, especially farmers, relax and enjoy some sort of social and economic freedom. In addition, the Han rulers also encouraged entrepreneurs to develop private businesses and allowed them to issue coins to facilitate trade.

The Chinese economy was soon stimulated. For instance, the capital Chang’an（present-day Xi’an）became one of the most affuent cities in the ancient world. In 201 B.C., a market called Grand Market（dashi大市）was established. Then, the Western Market（xishi西市）was found in 189 B.C. Soon, along with the expansion of the city and the growth of its population, seven more markets were opened. Those markets were very large in scale. For instance, archaeologists excavated two market areas in the site of the Han Chang’an city; one is approximately 0.4875 square kilometers, almost the size of ten soccer fields, and the other is approximately 0.2475 square kilometers. A special market even emerged to serve college students, called the Market under Locust Trees（huai shi槐市）. The market was located in the wood next to the Imperial Academy. The students of the academy were allowed to gather in the market twice a month to trade goods and exchange ideas.

As a result of those shrewd and lenient policies, the Chinese economy and society recovered from the poor situation that followed the collapse of the Qin and the chaos of the civil wars. Chinese civilization reached a new stage of development.

1.3.1　The Promotion of Confucianism

Confucius was an ancient philosopher who lived during the 6th-5th century B.C., and his philosophy emphasizes the values of humanity（ren仁）and social responsibilities（yi义）. His ideas became mainstream thoughts in Emperor Wudi’s（汉武帝, r.141 B.C.—87 B.C.）time and deeply influenced China and beyond.

Owing to the official promotion and reverence of Confucianism, a group of influential Confucian scholars emerged and attempted to assume moral authority to assist and check the imperial power. For instance, Dong Zhongshu（董仲舒，179 B.C.—104 B.C.）advocated a new interpretation of Confucian teachings by assimilating ideas from other schools such as Yin-Yang（阴阳）and Five Phases（wuxing五行）that discussed the correlations and interactions among different elements and forces. Dong argued that the human realm and heaven always interacted with each other. For instance, disasters in the natural world were actually signs admonishing the ruling emperor for his poor performance as a ruler. In this way, Dong attempted to check the power of the emperor and assume some sort of moral authority.

The strategy sometimes worked and sometimes did not. An anecdote recorded in the Shiji（《史记》）, which was written by the great ancient historian Sima Qian（司马迁, c.145 B.C.—?）, says that a disaster once struck the Temple of Gaozu. Dong Zhongshu interpreted this incident as a warning from heaven to the reigning emperor, Wudi.

However, this interpretation was harshly criticized by one of his uninformed disciples as nonsense and almost incurred the death penalty on Dong. Nevertheless, Dong’s theory inspired his fellow Confucians to speak out and admonish their emperors to rectify their misdeeds when things went wrong. This feature distinguished the Chinese monarchy from others where imperial power was more absolute.

1.3.2　The Flourishing of Han Culture

The Han Dynasty successfully governed China for more than four centuries and greatly developed Chinese civilization. History witnessed the steady growth of aspects such as commerce, agriculture, literature, technology, art, and governmental institutions. According to the census of 2 A.D., the Chinese population reached approximately 60 million, which accounted for more than a quarter of the world population at the time. Great thinkers, outstanding rulers, historians, statesmen and generals, creative inventors, and genius writers who greatly influenced China and were always admired by later generations shone on the stage. For example, the grand historian Sima Qian recounted the outstanding people, historical events, and important institutions of China from the time of the Yellow Emperor to Emperor Wudi, initiating the tradition of Chinese standard history; thus, he has been revered as the father of Chinese historiography. Cai Lun（蔡伦，61-121）, on the other hand，“invented” paper, which greatly facilitated the spread of knowledge（Chapter 6 will provide further details）.

With the blessing of long-lasting peace and prosperity, Han culture integrated and renovated the rich regional cultures that developed during the Warring States period and deeply shaped Chinese civilization. For instance, Chinese characters are called Han characters, the Chinese language is called the Han language, and the majority of the Chinese population today are called Han-Chinese.