What is Han dynasty?
The '''Han dynasty''' came to power in 202 BC. They followed the laws of [[Confucianism]] and [[legalism]]. This was called 'the Han synthesis'. Under this dynasty, [[China]] made progress in arts and science. The [[empire]] also became larger and larger. China started trading with a number of other countries. They started the [[Silk Road]]. Merchants used the Silk Road to reach China. During this dynasty [[Buddhism]] was introduced in China. Today, the dominant ethnic group of China calls themselves the [[Han Chinese]] since this was the dynasty where many of the features of Chinese culture found a firm foundation, including Confucianism and [[Chinese characters]]. The first emperor of the Han dynasty is Liu Bang, known in Chinese as [[Emperor Gaozu of Han]]. The Han dynasty was considered the [[golden age]] of early China. The Han dynasty ruled China from 206 B.C. to 220 A.D. The new emperor maintained a legalist ideology just like the [[Qin dynasty]] but also had ideas of Confucianism to have a centralized system showing benevolence. After eighty years, [[Emperor Wu of Han]] launched a period of military expansion. The Han armies controlled many territories, including Silk Road in Mongolia and Xinjiang. The Silk Road helped make it a political, economic, military, and cultural center, but it was very expensive to manage and further expansion was cut off. Several factors contributed to the fall of the Han dynasty, including uprisings of desperate and hungry people, the spread of attacks by nomadic groups, and official corruption. == Literature == Fairbank, John King and Merle Goldman 1992. ''China: a new history''. 2nd enlarged edition 2006. Cambridge: MA; London: The Belknap Press of Harvard University Press. {{ISBN|0-674-01828-1}} == Other websites == {{Commons category|Han Dynasty}} * [http://www.mnsu.edu/emuseum/prehistory/china/early_imperial_china/han.html Han Dynasty by Minnesota State University] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090710041505/http://www.mnsu.edu/emuseum/prehistory/chi