The Han Dynasty Essays - Han Dynasty, 87 BC, Zhang Qian, Qin

The Han Dynasty The next dynasty to come into power in ancient China was the Han dynasty. Their first ruler was Liu Bang who began his rule in 207BC. He defeated the last leader of the Qin dynasty and declared himself ruler. He originally was the son of a peasant farmer so he understood what it was like to not have everything he wanted. He took this into consideration when forming the government of his new empire. They used same type of government as the Qin dynasty without the heavy taxes and harshness of rule. During this time it was equal to the famous Roman Empire. Wudi was the greatest leader of the Han Empire. He ruled from 141 BC to 87 BC. He is considered to be one of the greatest leaders in all the history of China. He would supervise all the areas of his government and make sure no one was treated badly. He also sent out his armies to conquer people from the north, in areas such as current day Korea and Manchuria. Wudi sent out parties of men to explore different parts of the world but there was one party that didn't come as scheduled. Zhang Qian arrived back at the kingdom in 126 BC, thirteen years after his departure. Most of his army was dead and he had been in prison for the last ten years. During his adventure he discovered the Rome Empire and described this to Wudi. It was the first time they even thought that there was another civilization as advanced as them. This sparked an interest in Wudi, which caused him to make a trade route to the east. This route was called the Silk Road; it traveled through mountains, deserts, and other treacherous terrain. They traded their silk for glassware, wool, and other fabrics. Wudi created a system to deal with bad harvest years and food shortages. During years when there was extra food it was stored in large food bunkers for later use. Wudi was a grand leader and showed that by the way he ran his dynasty. Bibliography None History Essays