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The Han Dynasty ( Traditional Chinese characters: 漢朝, Simplified Chinese characters: 汉朝, pinyin Hàncháo 202 BCE - 220 CE) followed the Qin Dynasty and preceded the Three Kingdoms in China.
During the Han Dynasty, China officially became a Confucian state and prospered domestically: agriculture, handicrafts and commerce flourished, and the population reached 50 million. Meanwhile, the empire extended its political and cultural influence over Vietnam, Central Asia, Mongolia, and Korea before it finally collapsed under a mixture of domestic and external pressures. The first of the two periods of the dynasty, namely the Former Han Dynasty (Qian Han 前漢) or the Western Han Dynasty (Xi Han 西漢) 206 BCE - 9 CE seated at Chang'anFor the town in the Guangdong province of China, see Chang'an Town Chang'an (; , Pinyin: Chang'n, Wade-Giles: Ch'ang-an now Xi'an, Shaanxi) is the ancient capital of more than 10 dynasties in China. Chang'an" means "Perpetual Peace" in Classical Chinese. (now Xi'anXi'an (; Hanyu Pinyin: Xi'n, Wade-Giles: Hsi-An literal meaning: "Western Peace") is the capital of Shaanxi province, in China and a sub-provincial city. It was one of the Four Great Ancient Capitals of China because it has been the capital of 12 dynastie). The Later Han Dynasty (Hou Han 後漢) or the Eastern Han Dynasty (Dong Han 東漢) 25Alternate uses, see Number 25 Centuries: 1st century BC 1st century 2nd century Decades: 20s BC 10s BC 0s BC 0s 10s 20s 30s 40s 50s 60s 70s Years: 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28 29 30 Events Han dynasty was restored in China as Liu Xiu proclaimed himself empe - 220 seated at LuoyangLuoyang (, pinyin: luo yang) is a city in Henan province, China. Its GDP per capita was ¥13845 (ca. US$1670) in 2003, ranked no. 152 among 659 Chinese cities. History Located on the central plain of China, Luoyang is one of the seven ancient capitals of C. The western-eastern Han convention is used nowadays to avoid confusion with the Later Han Dynasty of the Period of the Five Dynasties and the Ten Kingdoms although the former-later nomenclature was used in history texts including Sima GuangSima Guang ( py. Sim Gung wg. Ssuma Kuang t. s. 1019- 1086) was a renowned historian and statesman during the Song Dynasty. He is remembered for his most celebrated work, Zizhi Tongjian and his rivalry with contemporary statesman Wang Anshi.'s Zizhi TongjianZizhi Tongjian ( traditional Chinese character: ; simplified Chinese character: ; pinyin Zizhi Tongjian, Wade-Giles Tzu-chih t'ung-chien) is known to be the first Chinese history text of annual chronology. Sima Guang was the major contributor, from collec. The dynasty was founded by the LiuLiu is a Chinese family name. The transliteration Liu can represent several Chinese characters, the family names ( in Simplified Chinese) Lau in Cantonese), , and. In Cantonese transliteration, Liu is yet another name,. is an extremely popular name, as it family.
Intellectual, literary, and artistic endeavors revived and flourished during the Han Dynasty. The Han period produced China's most famous historian, Sima Qian ( 145 - 87 BCE?), whose Records of the Grand Historian provides a detailed chronicle from the time of legendary Xia emperor to that of the Emperor Wu ( 141- 87 BCE). Technological advances also marked this period. Two of the great Chinese inventions, paper and porcelain, date from Han times.
It is fair enough to state that contemporary empires of the Han Dynasty and the Roman Empire were the two superpowers of the known world. Nonetheless Hou Hanshu (History of the Later Han) recounted that only one Roman convoy set out by emperor Antoninus Pius reached the Chinese capital Luoyang in 166 and was greeted by Emperor Huan.
The Han dynasty, after which the members of the ethnic majority in China, the " people of Han," are named, was notable also for its military prowess. The empire expanded westward as far as the rim of the Tarim Basin (in modern Xinjiang-Uyghur Autonomous Region), making possible relatively secure caravan traffic across Central Asia. The paths of caravan traffic are often called the " Silk Road" because the route was used to export Chinese silk. Chinese armies also invaded and annexed parts of northern Vietnam and northern Korea ( Wiman Joseon) toward the end of the second century BCE. Han control of peripheral regions was generally insecure, however. To ensure peace with non-Chinese local powers, the Han court developed a mutually beneficial "tributary system." Non-Chinese states were allowed to remain autonomous in exchange for symbolic acceptance of Han overlordship. Tributary ties were confirmed and strengthened through intermarriages at the ruling level and periodic exchanges of gifts and goods.