Better lives It was in the period of Emperor Yuan Di and his three short-lived successors that the political situation began to slip out of control, with power falling into the hands of the imperial consorts and their families. But for society at large, after more than a century of stability under Han rule, life was getting better and culture was flourishing.
西漢在昭、宣之後，由於成、哀、平帝三君皆短壽，所謂「國統三絕」，政治上劉姓天下才逐漸無力控制，權力旁落於外戚，但社會生活與文化藝術在百年深厚的築基下益形豐碩。