Western Han Dynasty (206 BC-25 AD)
The Western Han Dynasty (206 BC-8 AD) was the first unified and powerful empire in China. In the nearly 400-year history of the Western Han Dynasty, through a series of political and economic reforms, the national strength was strong and the people were happy, showing a scene of peace and prosperity. During this period, China has been standing in the world as a world power.
At the end of Qin Dynasty, Xiang Yu and Liu Bang supported Chu Huaiwang's anti-Qin campaign. After several years of fighting, Liu Xiangjun seized the world, and Xiang Yu abandoned Wang Huai as the overlord of the place of Chu, and enfeoffed the land of the world to dozens of princes, among whom Liu Bang was named Hanwang and Nanzheng. However, Liu Bang was not satisfied with living under Xiang Yu. With the help of counselors, Xiao He, general Han Xin and others, he defeated Xiang Yu in 202 BC and ascended the throne, with the title of Han, with Chang 'an as his capital, and became Emperor Wu of the Han Dynasty.
During the seven years of Emperor Gaozu, Han Xin, Ying Bu, Peng Yue and other generals were deprived of their military power and titles, so as to weaken the power of princes with different surnames and strengthen centralized rule. At the same time, he formulated a series of political policies of "sharing interest with the people", which consolidated his rule and laid the foundation for the strong prosperity of the Han Dynasty. 159, Gao Zuqiu was transferred to Liu Ying, Hui Di, but at this time, the regime was actually in the hands of Lv Zhi, the Queen of Henkel. Lv Hou was in power for 16 years and was one of the few female rulers in Chinese history. Before 183, Liu Heng ascended the throne as Wendi, and both he and Jingdi (son of Wendi, former 156- 143 reigned) continued to implement the policy of "sharing interest with the people" formulated by Gaozu, reducing people's taxes, making the economy of the Han Empire prosperous, people's lives stable and national strength greatly enhanced. Historians call this stage.
Through the "rule of cultural scene", the national strength of the Han Dynasty gradually became stronger. 14 1 years ago, Jingdi died and his son acceded to the throne. Liu Che is also one of the famous emperors in Chinese history. During his reign, Wei Qing and Huo Qubing defeated the Huns, expanded the rule of the Western Han Dynasty, and ensured the economic and cultural development of the northern Han region. However, after years of fighting, the national strength declined, so Emperor Wu of the Han Dynasty called a truce in his later years and vigorously developed agriculture, so that the economy of the Western Han Dynasty continued to develop. Zhao, the son of Emperor Wu of the Han Dynasty, inherited his father's policy, continued to practice inaction politics and developed the economy, which brought the peak of the Western Han Dynasty.
After Emperor Zhao of the Han Dynasty (reigned in 73-48 years ago) implemented the policy of "sharing interest with the people" for 38 years, the national strength of the Western Han Dynasty increased, but at the same time, the local power also increased, which seriously affected the rule of the Han Empire, from (reigned in 48-32 years ago) to becoming an emperor (reigned in 32-8 years ago) and mourning the emperor (reigned in 6 years ago). When Liu Ying ascended the throne, North Korea's power had fallen into the hands of Wang Mang's consorts. In the eighth year, Wang Mang usurped the throne and changed his title to a new country, ending the Western Han Dynasty's rule over China.
The Western Han Dynasty was one of the more powerful empires in China's history. Rulers focus on agricultural development, and have been practicing the policy of "rest and recuperation" throughout the ages. The people have plenty of food and clothing and live and work in peace and contentment, so the politics of the Han Dynasty has been relatively stable. During the Liang Wudi period, Minister Dong Zhongshu put forward the proposal of "ousting a hundred schools of thought and respecting Confucianism alone", which was adopted by Liang Wudi. Since then, Confucianism and Confucianism have formed the general plan of governing the country that China has followed since the Han Dynasty. Due to political and economic stability, handicrafts, commerce, humanities and arts and natural sciences have all developed by leaps and bounds. With the improvement of science and technology, the production efficiency of handicraft industry dominated by metallurgy and textile in the Western Han Dynasty has been greatly improved. Take textile as an example, there were embroidery machines that were close to forming in the Western Han Dynasty, which showed that some production at that time was separated from pure manual labor and improved productivity. The development of handicraft industry has promoted the prosperity of commerce, and many commercial cities have been formed with Chang 'an as the center, and diplomatic and commercial exchanges with western Asian countries have been opened up through the Silk Road.
In the field of humanities and arts in Han Dynasty, an outstanding great historian-Sima Qian appeared. He completed China's first general history "Historical Records", which was praised by later generations as "a masterpiece of historians, with no rhyme in Li Sao". In addition, the artistic level of the Han Dynasty reached a fairly high level. Judging from some cultural relics unearthed from Han tombs in recent years, their workmanship and craftsmanship are as fine as today. For example, the pottery figurines with hoes unearthed in Guanghan, Sichuan, and the wooden boat model of Han Dynasty unearthed in Guangzhou are all rare art treasures with fine craftsmanship.
In the Western Han Dynasty, since the founding of Emperor Gaozu Liu Bang, it has gone through fourteen generations (including Wang Mang's new dynasty) for more than 230 years, making China once a powerful and wealthy empire. Therefore, the Western Han Dynasty is regarded as the first revival in the history of China.
Eastern Han Dynasty
The Eastern Han Dynasty (AD 25-220) was founded by Liu Xiu, Emperor Guangwu of Han Dynasty. He overthrew the new dynasty established by Wang Mang and restored the Han Dynasty ruled by Liu, known as the Eastern Han Dynasty.
In AD 25, with the help of outlaws, Liu Xiu defeated the usurper Wang Mang by force and won the throne. As the royal family of the Western Han Dynasty, Han was still the title of the country, but Luoyang was the capital and Emperor Guangwu of Han Dynasty was the Jianwu year. In the second year of Jianwu, Emperor Guangwu ordered a comprehensive reform of the old policy carried out by Wang Mang, rectified the bureaucracy, and set up six ministers to take charge of state affairs, in order to further weaken the authority of the three fairs (Qiu, Situ, and); Abolish "official slaves"; Check the land and gradually stabilize people's lives. By the middle of 1 century, the Eastern Han Dynasty gradually recovered the strength of the former Han Dynasty after three generations of governance, namely, Emperor Guangwu (reigned in 58-76 AD) and Zhang (reigned in 76-89 AD). This period was called "the revival of Emperor Guangwu" by later generations.
In 89 AD, Emperor Gaozu Zhang ascended the throne at the age of ten, with the title of Yongyuan. Because He Di was young, the rule was entirely in the hands of Zhang Di's queen Dou Shi and younger brother Dou Xian. The autocratic power of the Dou family aroused the dissatisfaction of officials from top to bottom. In 92 AD, He Di joined forces with eunuch Zheng Zhong and others to destroy Dou's family, and Zheng Zhong was sealed for his merits. Since then, eunuchs have increasingly participated in the political rule of the Eastern Han Dynasty. In addition, eunuchs have always been favored by the imperial capitals of the Han Dynasty, and their rights reached an unbounded level during the period of Huan (132- 167) and Ling (168- 189).
In A.D. 189, Emperor Ling died and He Taihou came to Korea. At that time, the eunuch in the palace was authoritarian, and Dong Zhuo of Liangzhou led the troops into Luo, deposed Bian, killed He Taihou, and made Liu Xie emperor, offering the emperor to Han. In fact, Xian Di did not have any rights after he acceded to the throne. Dong Zhuo monopolized power and was cruel and overbearing, which made local officials rise up and rebel, gradually forming a separatist situation, and the unified dynasty actually ceased to exist. Later Xian Di was controlled by Cao Cao; In 220 AD, Cao Cao's second son, Cao Pi, forced Xian Di to abdicate, and the Eastern Han Dynasty was declared dead, which was followed by another long-term division in the history of China-the Three Kingdoms period. .
The Eastern Han Dynasty followed many principles and policies of the Western Han Dynasty, and made adjustments and reforms in some aspects to make it more suitable for the social situation at that time. In the early Eastern Han Dynasty, the regime further strengthened its integration with local forces, which made the country tend to be stable and surpassed the level of the Western Han Dynasty in economy, culture, science and technology. In A.D. 105, Cai Lun reformed the paper-making technology on the basis of predecessors, which made China's writing record way out of the era of using bamboo slips. At the same time, papermaking, as one of the well-known four great inventions of ancient china, has been passed down to this day. Another contribution of the Eastern Han Dynasty to the later generations was the development of ceramic industry, which made China get rid of the material bondage of the Bronze Age completely and brought some items that were previously only owned by the rich and nobles into the homes of ordinary people.
In natural science, the academic circles of the Eastern Han Dynasty, represented by Zhang Heng, made great achievements. However, Zhang Heng made scientific instruments such as "armillary sphere" and "seismograph" with superb technology, and the principles of making these instruments are still widely used today. In addition, Hua Tuo, a famous doctor at the end of the Eastern Han Dynasty, was the first surgeon to perform surgical treatment on anesthesia patients since records began, and his "Five-Animal Play" was the first set of gymnastics fitness activities in China.
By the Eastern Han Dynasty, calligraphy and painting were not only used as characters and graphic symbols, but also their artistic status was gradually revealed. Although the number of artworks handed down in the Eastern Han Dynasty is small, we can still get a glimpse of China culture.
The Eastern Han Dynasty lasted for twelve emperors, and in 95 * * *.
Brief introduction of Tang dynasty
The Tang Dynasty (AD 6 18-907) was a powerful dynasty established by Li Yuan of Tang Gaozu. Together with the Han Dynasty, it became two eras of Chinese national rejuvenation, and opened a new era in China with its unprecedented brilliance and prosperity.
At the end of Sui Dynasty, when Emperor Yang Di was running around, Tang Guogong Li Yuan, who was stationed in Taiyuan, led an army into Guanzhong. In 6 18 AD, he proclaimed himself the emperor and founded the country, with the title of Wude and its capital in Chang 'an, which opened the history of Li Tang dynasty ruling China. Li Yuan, the emperor gaozu of the Han Dynasty, immediately set out to eliminate the anti-Sui forces of other ministries and defeated Xue Ju and Xue Gaoren of Shangguan (Tianshui) successively. Wang is in Luoyang; Dou Jiande and other opposition forces in Hebei achieved the great cause of reunification.
On the fourth day of June in the ninth year of Wude (626), Li Shimin, the second son of Li Yuan, with the help of ministers Wei Chi, Jing De, Duan and Wuji, launched the "Xuanwumen Change", killing his rival Prince Li and his fourth brother Li Yuanji, thus forcing his father Li Yuan to abdicate. In August of the same year, with the support of most courtiers and military commanders, Li Shimin, king of Qin, became emperor, with the title of Zhenguan. He is a famous Emperor Taizong in history, and Li Shimin is one of the more enlightened emperors in China history. In the second year of Zhenguan, Emperor Taizong ordered the general of the Ministry of War, Li Jing, to crusade against the Turks and won a great victory. Since then, the threat of all ethnic groups in the western regions to the Central Plains has been eliminated. At the same time, Emperor Taizong used talented people, with Gao Shilian, Fang, Du Ruhui, Wuji and others as prime ministers, to assist in handling state affairs. Under its rule, through a series of political, economic, cultural and educational reforms, the Tang Dynasty empire prospered unprecedentedly, which was called "the rule of Zhenguan" in history.
In the 23rd year of Emperor Taizong and the 23rd year of Zhenguan (649), Li Shimin died of illness. Li Zhi, the ninth son, acceded to the throne, with the title of eternal emblem, Tang Gaozong. After Emperor Gaozong succeeded to the throne, he still carried out the "way of governing the country" of Emperor Taizong, so Tang Yonghui still had a legacy of chastity. In the sixth year of Yonghui (655), Gao Zongli made Wu Zetian the queen. After that, Wu Zetian came to power. In the first year of Hongdao (683), Emperor Gaozong died of illness and his third son, Li Xian, acceded to the throne. Later, it was abolished by Wu Zetian and another four sons Li Dan were established. In September of the first year of God-given, 67-year-old Wu Zetian announced that she would "die a natural death", changed her name to Zhou, officially proclaimed herself emperor, and became the only female emperor in history.
During the reign of Wu Zetian, the political and economic development of the Tang Dynasty went further. She vigorously developed agricultural production, and wrote the agricultural book Zhaoren Ben Ye Ji, which created conditions for the accumulation of material wealth in the Tang Dynasty. However, at the end of her reign, she was partial to courtiers and deeply dissatisfied with ministers; In the first year of Shenlong, Prime Minister Di Renjie staged a coup, forcing Wu Zetian to abdicate, and Emperor Li Xian of Zhongzong was reinstated and changed to Shenlong. Thus ending the history of a queen ruling China.
Li Longji, the son of Li Dan, defeated the Wei Hou Group, that is, the emperor, and changed his position to Kaiyuan for the sake of Emperor Xuanzong of the Tang Dynasty. Emperor Xuanzong of the Tang Dynasty was another enlightened monarch after Li Shimin. During the Kaiyuan period, Xuanzong made a major adjustment to the political power: he divided the whole country into fifteen roads, reformed the official system and the military system, and at the same time vigorously developed the economy, reformed the tax system, built water conservancy projects, and made the whole country unprecedentedly prosperous. At this point, China has become a prosperous empire among the contemporary countries in the world, which is known as the "Kaiyuan Prosperous Age" in history.
During the early Tang Dynasty (from the founding of the People's Republic to Kaiyuan), several generations of enlightened monarchs, including Wu Zetian, appeared. It promoted the development of the Tang Dynasty politically and economically. Politically, the Tang Dynasty followed the Sui system, and gradually replaced the previous "three divisions" and "three fairs" with Zhongshu, Menxia and Shangshu provinces, which strengthened the emperor's ruling power. At the same time, the imperial examination system in Sui Dynasty was perfected, making it the main means and way to select officials. In addition, in order to strengthen unity and cooperation with border ethnic minorities, Emperor Taizong married Princess Wencheng to Songzan Gambu in the fifteenth year of Zhenguan (64 1), which further strengthened the relationship between Tubo and Datang. In addition, the famous "Silk Road" in China's history also became an important channel for the Central Plains' external development at that time, which played an important role in improving foreign relations and mutual economic exchanges.
Because there were no internal troubles and foreign invasion, the economy of the Tang Dynasty got unprecedented development. From Zhenguan to Kaiyuan, the population, land and grain output of the Tang Dynasty greatly exceeded that of the previous dynasty. People live and work in peace. This also provides a strong guarantee for the vigorous development of handicrafts in the future. The level of handicrafts in the Tang Dynasty is superb, even comparable to that of modern handicrafts. We can get a glimpse of one or two works of art in the Tang Dynasty, such as Three Colors in the Tang Dynasty.
The humanities and arts developed rapidly in the early Tang Dynasty. Famous poets, books and paintings come forth in large numbers. Among them, Wang Wei (699-759), the representative figure of "Four Masters in Early Tang Dynasty" and "Pastoral Landscape School"; Cen Can (7 15-770), a "frontier school" poet, and Li Bai (707-762), a great poet in the Tang Dynasty, who is known as a "poetic immortal", and so on. In addition, the famous "painting saints" Wu Daozi, Li Sixun, Li Guinian, etc. are all representatives of the weather in the prosperous Tang Dynasty.
The Tang Dynasty has been developing vigorously since the establishment of Li Yuan, and entered its heyday during the Kaiyuan period. However, with Xuanzong becoming increasingly endangered politically, the prosperous Tang Dynasty began to decline. In 742 AD, Xuanzong changed to Yuan Tianbao and appointed Li and Yang Weixiang successively. An Lushan and others were widely used, and the military power was marginalized, which eventually led to the famous "An Shi Rebellion" in history. In November of the 14th year of Tianbao (755), An Lushan launched a rebellion and captured Chang 'an, Tang Dou in the 15th year. Xuanzong retreated to Chengdu, Sichuan, and Prince Li Hengbei took Lingwu. In July, after Hengli arrived in Lingwu, he acceded to the throne and proclaimed himself emperor, changing Yuan to virtue, respecting Xuanzong as the emperor's father and Su Zong. From the fourteenth year of Tianbao to the first year of Guangde (763), the "Anshi Rebellion" was put down. After seven years and two months, this rebellion greatly weakened the strength of the Tang Dynasty and directly led to the separatist situation of later generations.
In the late Tang dynasty, the long-term separatist regime of the buffer region made the ruling power of the Tang dynasty exist in name only. Throughout the country, the local government and most of the military power are in the hands of our local officials, and most of them have become hereditary and are not ruled by the Tang Dynasty. Therefore, the regime in the late Tang Dynasty mainly suppressed the rebellion and had no time to take into account the development of economy and culture. Coupled with the Anshi rebellion, the national strength of the Tang Dynasty went from bad to worse. Therefore, the Li and Tang dynasties never recovered their previous prosperity. Su Zong (756-762) and his successors Dai Zong (762-780) and De Zong (780-805) were incompetent. They favored traitors and alienated sages, which made the rule of the Tang Empire worse. Tubo, Uighur and other foreigners constantly threatened the Tang Empire. At this time, the Tang dynasty was at home and abroad. In 806 AD, Tang Xianzong Chun Liu (806-82 1 reigned) acceded to the throne, and with the help of courtiers, he recovered Huaixi and other places that were separated by the buffer region, temporarily unifying the Tang Dynasty. However, Xian Zong believed in his merits, acted arbitrarily and trusted eunuchs, and was eventually harmed by eunuchs. After that, the eunuch's status was even comparable to that of the emperor and became the real ruler of the Tang Dynasty empire.
Tang Xianzong died in February 828, and the following year, Mu Zong acceded to the throne. After Mu Zong, the emperor of the Tang Dynasty believed in taking elixir of life. Among the next ten emperors, three died only because of taking elixir, which accelerated the demise of the Li and Tang Dynasties. Until 874 AD, Huang Chao, Wang Xianzhi and others rose up against the Tang Dynasty, and some of them persisted for more than ten years, which dealt a heavy blow to the rule of the Tang Dynasty. Since then, the Tang dynasty has been blocked in a small circle centered on Chang' an, and the rule of the Tang empire is in jeopardy. In 907, Huang Chao's subordinate, Zhu Quanzhong, the King of Liang who later surrendered to the Tang Dynasty, forced Tang Aidi to abdicate, proclaimed himself emperor and established the Liang Dynasty. At this point, the Li and Tang Dynasties' rule over China came to an end, and China entered another split period-Five Dynasties and Ten Kingdoms.
In the late Tang Dynasty, due to years of war in the north, the land was barren and the population was sparse. The relatively stable south gradually became the economic center of the Tang Dynasty. Different from the north, handicrafts play a more important role in the southern economy. Handicraft industry after the middle Tang Dynasty developed on the basis of the previous generation's production. As far as shipbuilding, casting and silk weaving are concerned, they have surpassed the early Tang Dynasty in technology, and with the progress and improvement of handicraft industry, commercial trade has also flourished. Most of the emerging cities in the middle and lower reaches of the Yangtze River are mainly commercial, such as Hongzhou and Suzhou, which were all commercial centers at that time. In the late Tang Dynasty, a number of outstanding literati appeared, among which Du Fu and Bai Juyi were the most famous. Du Fu's Car Shop and Bai Juyi's Three Officials and Three Farewells not only have high literary appreciation value, but also reflect the turbulent reality of society at that time from another aspect.
The Tang Dynasty lasted 22 generations, lasting 289 years. Together with the Han Dynasty, it is called one of the two powerful dynasties in the history of China. In the early Tang Dynasty, from Li Shimin of Emperor Taizong to Kaiyuan of Emperor Xuanzong of Tang Dynasty, the country was in a stage of great development, with unprecedented prosperity in economy, politics, military affairs, diplomacy and culture. During this period, "Zhenguan rule" and "Kaiyuan Shi Sheng" formed the prosperous weather of the Tang Dynasty that the Chinese nation was proud of. Therefore, China once stood out in the world. Up to now, some foreign countries and places still call China Tangshan, and China people are called Tang people. The Anshi Rebellion in the later period of Xuanzong in Tang Dynasty made the Tang Dynasty gradually decline. In the middle and late Tang dynasty, the emperor had no real power in economy, politics and military affairs, which led to the formation of the separatist situation in the buffer regions. Finally, all parties broke away from the rule of the Tang Dynasty and became independent regimes.