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Han Dynasty: Chinese Buddhism
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The Han Dynasty, after which the members of the ethnic majority in China, the "people of Han," are named, was notable ... 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 to Antioch, Baghdad, and Alexandria. The paths of caravan traffic are often called the "silk route" because the route was used to export Chinese silk to the Roman Empire. Chinese armies also invaded and annexed parts of northern Vietnam and northern Korea toward the end of the second century BC. 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".
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The Qing Dynasty (清朝, 1644–1911) was founded after the defeat of the Ming, the last Han Chinese dynasty, by the Manchus (滿æ—). The Manchus were formerly known as the Jurchen and invaded from the north in the late seventeenth century. For many decades, historians did not understand the differences between the Manchu rulers and their Chinese subjects. Even though the Manchus started out as alien conquerors, they quickly adopted the Confucian norms of traditional Chinese government. They eventually ruled in the manner of traditional native dynasties.
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The Han was a period of prosperity that would not be seen again in China until the rise of the Tang (T’ang) dynasty in 618. Chinese Buddhism flourished, and Confucianism was adopted as the state's official doctrine. In addition, many of the governmental standards in use until the 20th century, such as a strong central government that ruled with the help of a large, efficient bureaucracy, flowered in Han China. Although its eventual collapse was followed by almost three centuries of disunity and war, the Han dynasty managed to set a standard that would be adopted by almost all of the later imperial Chinese dynasties.
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During the Han Dynasty, contacts were made with Central Asian cultures and ... with civilizations from the Mediterranean region. Indeed, stories emerge periodically of fair-haired slaves who are supposed to be located in Chinese territory, supposedly being Romans captured by someone or other and shunted eastwards over a period of years. Attempts were also made by Han emperors to control the Tarim Basin region, where Tibet was emerging as a powerful neighbour. This area became increasingly important in subsequent dynasties.
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Wu Di, the Chinese emperor responsible for the development of the Silk Road, hailed from the Han Dynasty, which rose to power in 206 BC and lasted until 220 AD. According to Richard Hooker, the Han Dynasty "defines Chinese culture…the Chinese…refer to themselves as the "'the people of the Han'" (Hooker "Former Han", par. 1).
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The intellectual, literary, and artistic endeavors revived and flourished during the Han Dynasty. The Han period produced by birth China's most famous historian, Sima Qian (145–90 BC), 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 BC). Technological advances ... marked this period. One of the great Chinese inventions, paper, dates from the Han Dynasty, largely attributed to the court eunuch Cai Lun (50 - 121 AD). By the 1st century BC, the Chinese had discovered how to forge the highly durable metal of steel, by melting together wrought iron with cast iron. There were great mathematicians, astronomers, statesmen, and technological inventors such as Zhang Heng (78 - 139 AD), who invented the world's first hydraulic-powered armillary sphere.[4][5] He was also largely responsible for the early development of the shi poetry style in China.
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