Han+Dynasty

Han Dynasty
The **Han Dynasty** (simplified Chinese: 汉朝; traditional Chinese: 漢朝; pinyin: //Hàn Cháo//; Wade–Giles: Han Ch'ao; IPA: [xân tʂʰɑ̌ʊ̯] ; 206 BCE – 220 CE) was the second imperial dynasty of China, preceded by the Qin Dynasty (221–206 BCE) and succeeded by the Three Kingdoms (220–265 CE). It was founded by the peasant rebel leader Liu Bang, known posthumously as Emperor Gaozu of Han. It was briefly interrupted by the Xin Dynasty (9–23 CE) of the former regent Wang Mang. This interregnum separates the Han into two periods: the Western Han (207 BCE – 9 CE) and Eastern Han (25–220 CE). Spanning over four centuries, the period of the Han Dynasty is considered a golden age in Chinese history. To this day, China's majority ethnic group refers to itself as the "Han people". The Han Empire was divided into areas directly controlled by the central government, known as commanderies, and a number of semi-autonomous kingdoms. These kingdoms gradually lost all vestiges of their independence, particularly following the Rebellion of the Seven States. The Xiongnu, a nomadic confederation which dominated the eastern Eurasian Steppe, defeated the Han army in battle in 200 BCE. Following the defeat, a political marriage alliance was negotiated in which the Han became the //de facto// inferior partner. When, despite the treaty, the Xiongnu continued to raid Han borders, Emperor Wu of Han (r. 141–87 BCE) launched several military campaigns against them. The ultimate Han victory in these wars eventually forced the Xiongnu to accept vassal status as Han tributaries. These campaigns expanded Han sovereignty into the Tarim Basin of Central Asia and helped establish the vast trade network known as the Silk Road which reached as far as the Mediterranean world. Han forces managed to divide the Xiongnu into two competing nations, the Southern and Northern Xiongnu, and forced the Northern Xiongnu across the Ili River. Despite these victories, the territories north of Han's borders were quickly overrun by the nomadic Xianbei Confederation. After 92 CE, the palace eunuchs increasingly involved themselves in court politics, engaging in violent power struggles between the various consort clans of the empresses and empress dowagers, causing the Han's ultimate downfall. Imperial authority was also seriously challenged by large Daoist religious societies which instigated the Yellow Turban Rebellion and the Five Pecks of Rice Rebellion. Following the death of Emperor Lingn (r. 168–189 CE), the palace eunuchs suffered wholesale massacre by military officers, allowing members of the aristocracy and military governors to become warlords and divide the empire. When Cao Pi, King of Wei, usurped the throne from Emperor Xian, the Han Dynasty ceased to exist. The Han Dynasty was an age of economic prosperity and saw a significant growth of the money economy first established during the Zhou Dynasty(c. 1050–256 BCE). The coinage issued by the central government mint in 119 BCE remained the standard coinage of China until the Tang Dynasty (618–907 CE). To pay for its military campaigns and the settlement of newly conquered frontier territories, the government nationalized the private salt and iron industries in 117 BCE. These government monopolies were repealed during the Eastern Han period, and the lost revenue was recouped through heavily taxing private entrepreneurs. The emperor was at the pinnacle of Han society. He presided over the Han government but shared power with both the nobility and appointed ministers who came largely from the scholarly gentry class. From the reign of Emperor Wu onward, the Chinese court officially sponsored Confucianism in education and court politics, synthesized with the cosmology of later scholars such as Dong Zhongshu. This policy endured until the fall of the Qing Dynasty in 1911 CE. Science and technology during the Han period saw significant advances, including papermaking, the nautical steering rudder , the use of negative numbers in mathematics , the raised-relief map , the hydraulic -powered armillary sphere for astronomy , and a seismometer employing an inverted pendulum. **History ** Main article: History of the Han Dynasty Further information: List of Emperors of the Han Dynasty **Western Han **  China 's first imperial dynasty was the Qin Dynasty (221–206 BCE). The Qin had unified the Chinese Warring States by conquest, but their empire became unstable after the death of the first emperor Qin Shi Huangdi. Within four years, the dynasty's authority had collapsed in the face of rebellion. Two former rebel leaders, Xiang Yu (d. 202 BCE) of Chu and Liu Bang (d. 195 BCE) of Han, engaged in a war to decide who would become hegemon of China, which had fissured into 18 kingdoms , each claiming allegiance to either Xiang Yu or Liu Bang. Although Xiang Yu proved to be a capable commander, Liu Bang defeated him at the Battle of Gaixia, in modern-day Anhui. Liu Bang assumed the title "emperor" (//huangdi//) at the urging of his followers and is known posthumously as Emperor Gaozu (r. 202–195 BCE). Chang'an was chosen as the new capital of the reunified empire under Han.

A silk banner from Mawangdui, Changsha , Hunan province. It was draped over the coffin of the Lady Dai (d. 168 BCE), wife of the Marquess Li Cang ( 利蒼 ) (d. 186 BCE), chancellor for the Kingdom of Changsha.

At the beginning of the Western Han Dynasty, thirteen centrally controlled commanderies —including the capital region—existed in the western third of the empire, while the eastern two-thirds was divided into ten semi-autonomous kingdoms. To placate his prominent commanders from the war with Chu, Emperor Gaozu enfeoffed some of them as kings. By 157 BCE, the Han court had replaced all of these kings with royal Liu family members, since the loyalty of non-relatives to the throne was questioned. After several insurrections by Han kings—the largest being the Rebellion of the Seven States in 154 BCE—the imperial court enacted a series of reforms beginning in 145 BCE, limiting the size and power of these kingdoms and dividing them into smaller ones or new commanderies. Kings were no longer able to appoint their own staff; this duty was assumed by the imperial court. Kings became nominal heads of their fiefs and collected a portion of tax revenues as their personal incomes. The kingdoms were never entirely abolished and existed throughout the remainder of Western and Eastern Han. To the north of China proper, the nomadic Xiongnu chieftain Modu Chanyu (r. 209–174 BCE) conquered various tribes inhabiting the eastern portion of the Eurasian Steppe. By the end of his reign, he controlled Manchuria, Mongolia , and the Tarim Basin , subjugating over twenty states east of Samarkand. Emperor Gaozu was troubled about the abundant Han-manufactured iron weapons traded to the Xiongnu along the northern borders, and he established a trade embargo against the group. In retaliation, the Xiongnu invaded what is now Shanxi province, where they defeated the Han forces at Baideng in 200 BCE. After negotiations, the // heqin // agreement in 198 BCE nominally held the leaders of the Xiongnu and the Han as equal partners in a royal marriage alliance, but the Han were forced to send large amounts of tribute items such as silk clothes, food, and wine to the Xiongnu. Despite the tribute and a negotiation between Laoshang Chanyu (r. 174–160 BCE) and Emperor Wen (r. 180–157 BCE) to reopen border markets, many of the // Chanyu 's// Xiongnu subordinates chose not to obey the treaty and periodically raided Han territories south of the Great Wall for additional goods. In a court conference assembled by Emperor Wu (r. 141–87 BCE) in 135 BCE, the majority consensus of the ministers was to retain the //heqin// agreement. Emperor Wu accepted this, despite continuing Xiongnu raids. However, a court conference the following year convinced the majority that a limited engagement at Mayi involving the assassination of the Chanyu would throw the Xiongnu realm into chaos and benefit the Han. When this plot failed in 133 BCE, Emperor Wu launched a series of massive military invasions into Xiongnu territory. The assault culminated in 119 BCE at the Battle of Mobei, where the Han commanders Huo Qubing (d. 117 BCE) and Wei Qing (d. 106 BCE) forced the Xiongnu court to flee north of the Gobi Desert. After Wu's reign, Han forces continued to prevail against the Xiongnu. The Xiongnu leader Huhanye Chanyu ( 呼韓邪 ) (r. 58–31 BCE) finally submitted to Han as a tributary vassal in 51 BCE. His rival claimant to the throne, Zhizhi Chanyu (r. 56–36 BCE), was killed by Chen Tang and Gan Yanshou ( <span style="color: black; font-family: 宋体; font-size: 12pt;">甘延壽 <span style="color: black; font-family: 'Times New Roman','serif'; font-size: 12pt;">/ <span style="color: black; font-family: 宋体; font-size: 12pt;">甘延寿 <span style="color: black; font-family: 'Times New Roman','serif'; font-size: 12pt;">) at the Battle of Zhizhi, in modern Taraz , Kazakhstan.

<span style="color: black; font-family: 'Times New Roman','serif'; font-size: 12pt; line-height: normal; margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">A gilded bronze oil lamp in the shape of a kneeling female servant, dated 2nd century BCE, found in the tomb of Dou Wan, wife of the Han prince Liu Sheng ; its sliding shutter allows for adjustments in the direction and brightness in light while it also traps smoke within the body.

<span style="color: black; font-family: 'Times New Roman','serif'; font-size: 12pt; line-height: normal; margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">In 121 BCE, Han forces expelled the Xiongnu from a vast territory spanning the Hexi Corridor to Lop Nur. They repelled a joint Xiongnu- Qiang invasion of this northwestern territory in 111 BCE. In that year, the Han court established four new frontier commanderies in this region: Jiuquan, Zhangyi , Dunhuang , and Wuwei. The majority of people on the frontier were soldiers.On occasion, the court forcibly moved peasant farmers to new frontier settlements, along with government-owned slaves and convicts who performed hard labor. The court also encouraged commoners, such as farmers, merchants, landowners, and hired laborers, to voluntarily migrate to the frontier. <span style="color: black; font-family: 'Times New Roman','serif'; font-size: 12pt; line-height: normal; margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">Even before Han's expansion into Central Asia, diplomat Zhang Qian 's travels from 139 to 125 BCE had established Chinese contacts with many surrounding civilizations. Zhang encountered Dayuan ( Fergana ), Kangju ( Sogdiana ), and Daxia ( Bactria, formerly the Greco-Bactrian Kingdom ); he also gathered information on Shendu ( Indus River valley of North India ) and Anxi (the Parthian Empire ). All of these countries eventually received Han embassies. These connections marked the beginning of the Silk Road trade network that extended to the Roman Empire, bringing Han items like silk to Rome and Roman goods such as glasswares to China. From roughly 115 to 60 BCE, Han forces fought the Xiongnu over control of the oasis city-states in the Tarim Basin. Han was eventually victorious and established the Protectorate of the Western Regions in 60 BCE, which dealt with the region's defense and foreign affairs. The naval conquest of Nanyue in 111 BCE expanded the Han realm into what are now modern Guangdong, Guangxi , and northern Vietnam. Yunnan was brought into the Han realm with the conquest of the Dian Kingdom in 109 BCE, followed by parts of the Korean Peninsula with the colonial establishments of Xuantu Commandery and Lelang Commandery in 108 BCE. In China's first known nationwide census taken in 2 CE, the population was registered as having 57,671,400 individuals in 12,366,470 households. <span style="color: black; font-family: 'Times New Roman','serif'; font-size: 12pt; line-height: normal; margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">To pay for his military campaigns and colonial expansion, Emperor Wu nationalized several private industries. He created central government monopolies administered largely by former merchants. These monopolies included salt, iron, and liquor production, as well as bronze-coin currency. The liquor monopoly lasted only from 98 to 81 BCE, and the salt and iron monopolies were eventually abolished in early Eastern Han. The issuing of coinage remained a central government monopoly throughout the rest of the Han Dynasty. The government monopolies were eventually repealed when a political faction known as the Reformists gained greater influence in the court. The Reformists opposed the Modernist faction that had dominated court politics in Emperor Wu's reign and during the subsequent regency of Huo Guang (d. 68 BCE). The Modernists argued for an aggressive and expansionary foreign policy supported by revenues from heavy government intervention in the private economy. The Reformists, however, overturned these policies, favoring a cautious, non-expansionary approach to foreign policy, frugal budget reform, and lower tax rates imposed on private entrepreneurs. **<span style="color: black; font-family: 'Times New Roman','serif'; font-size: 13.5pt;">Wang Mang's reign and civil war **

<span style="color: black; font-family: 'Times New Roman','serif'; font-size: 12pt; line-height: normal; margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">**Left image**: A Western-Han painted ceramic mounted cavalryman from the tomb of a military general at Xianyang, Shaanxi province <span style="color: black; font-family: 'Times New Roman','serif'; font-size: 12pt; line-height: normal; margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">**Right image**: A Western or Eastern Han bronze horse statuette with a lead saddle

<span style="color: black; font-family: 'Times New Roman','serif'; font-size: 12pt; line-height: normal; margin: 0in 0in 10pt;"> Wang Zhengjun (71 BCE–13 CE) was first empress, then empress dowager, and finally grand empress dowager during the reigns of the Emperors Yuan (r. 49–33 BCE), Cheng (r. 33–7 BCE), and Ai (r. 7–1 BCE), respectively. During this time, a succession of her male relatives held the title of regent. Following the death of Ai, Wang Zhengjun's nephew Wang Mang (45–23 CE) was appointed regent for Emperor Ping (r. 1 BCE – 6 CE). When Ping died in 6 CE, the Empress Dowager appointed Wang Mang to act as emperor for the child Liu Ying (d. 25 CE). Wang promised to relinquish his control to Liu Ying once he came of age. Despite this promise, and against protest and revolts from the nobility, Wang Mang claimed that the divine Mandate of Heaven called for the end of the Han Dynasty and the beginning of his own: the Xin Dynasty (9–23 CE). <span style="color: black; font-family: 'Times New Roman','serif'; font-size: 12pt; line-height: normal; margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">Wang Mang initiated a series of major reforms that were ultimately unsuccessful. These reforms included outlawing slavery, nationalizing land to equally distribute between households, and introducing new currencies , a change which debased the value of coinage. Although these reforms provoked considerable opposition, Wang's regime met its ultimate downfall with the massive floods of c. 3 CE and 11 CE. Gradual silt buildup in the Yellow River had raised its water level and overwhelmed the flood control works. The Yellow River split into two new branches: one emptying to the north and the other to the south of the Shandong Peninsula, though Han engineers managed to dam the southern branch by 70 CE. The flood dislodged thousands of peasant farmers, many of whom joined roving bandit and rebel groups such as the Red Eyebrows to survive. Wang Mang's armies were incapable of quelling these enlarged rebel groups. Eventually, an insurgent mob forced their way into the Weiyang Palace and killed Wang Mang. <span style="color: black; font-family: 'Times New Roman','serif'; font-size: 12pt; line-height: normal; margin: 0in 0in 0pt; text-decoration: none; textunderline: none;">Blocked Ad <span style="color: black; font-family: 'Times New Roman','serif'; font-size: 12pt; line-height: normal; margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">A spade-shaped bronze coin issued during Wang Mang 's (r. 9–23 CE) reign period

<span style="color: black; font-family: 'Times New Roman','serif'; font-size: 12pt; line-height: normal; margin: 0in 0in 10pt;"> Emperor Gengshi of Han (r. 23–25 CE), a descendant of Emperor Jing (r. 157–141 BCE), attempted to restore the Han Dynasty and occupied Chang'an as his capital. However, he was overwhelmed by the "Red Eyebrow" rebels who deposed, assassinated, and replaced him with the puppet monarch Liu Penzi Emperor Gengshi's brother Liu Xiu, known posthumously as Emperor Guangwu (r. 25–57 CE), after distinguishing himself at the Battle of Kunyang in 23 CE, was urged to succeed Gengshi as emperor. Under Guangwu's rule the Han Empire was restored. Guangwu made Luoyang his capital in 25 CE, and by 27 CE his officers Deng Yu and Feng Yi had forced the Red Eyebrows to surrender and executed their leaders for treason .From 26 until 36 CE, Emperor Guangwu had to wage war against other regional warlords who claimed the title of emperor; when these warlords were defeated, China reunified under the Han. <span style="color: black; font-family: 'Times New Roman','serif'; font-size: 12pt;">The period between the foundation of the Han Dynasty and Wang Mang's reign is known as the Western Han Dynasty ( simplified Chinese : <span style="color: black; font-family: 宋体; font-size: 12pt;">西汉 <span style="color: black; font-family: 'Times New Roman','serif'; font-size: 12pt;">; traditional Chinese : <span style="color: black; font-family: 宋体; font-size: 12pt;">西漢 <span style="color: black; font-family: 'Times New Roman','serif'; font-size: 12pt;">; pinyin : //Xī Hàn//) or Former Han Dynasty ( simplified Chinese : <span style="color: black; font-family: 宋体; font-size: 12pt;">前汉 <span style="color: black; font-family: 'Times New Roman','serif'; font-size: 12pt;">; traditional Chinese : <span style="color: black; font-family: 宋体; font-size: 12pt;">前漢 <span style="color: black; font-family: 'Times New Roman','serif'; font-size: 12pt;">; pinyin : //Qiánhàn//) (202 BCE – 9 CE). During this period the capital was at Chang'an (modern Xi'an ). From the reign of Guangwu the capital was moved eastward to Luoyang. The era from his reign until the fall of Han is known as the Eastern Han Dynasty ( simplified Chinese : <span style="color: black; font-family: 宋体; font-size: 12pt;">东汉 <span style="color: black; font-family: 'Times New Roman','serif'; font-size: 12pt;">; traditional Chinese : <span style="color: black; font-family: 宋体; font-size: 12pt;">東漢 <span style="color: black; font-family: 'Times New Roman','serif'; font-size: 12pt;">; pinyin : //Dōng Hàn//) or the Later Han Dynasty ( simplified Chinese : <span style="color: black; font-family: 宋体; font-size: 12pt;">后汉 <span style="color: black; font-family: 'Times New Roman','serif'; font-size: 12pt;">; traditional Chinese : <span style="color: black; font-family: 宋体; font-size: 12pt;">後漢 <span style="color: black; font-family: 'Times New Roman','serif'; font-size: 12pt;">; pinyin : //Hòu Hàn//) (25–220 CE). **<span style="color: black; font-family: 'Times New Roman','serif'; font-size: 13.5pt;">Eastern Han **

<span style="color: black; font-family: 'Times New Roman','serif'; font-size: 12pt; line-height: normal; margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">**Left image**: Western-Han painted ceramic jar decorated with raised reliefs of dragons, phoenixes , and // taotie // <span style="color: black; font-family: 'Times New Roman','serif'; font-size: 12pt; line-height: normal; margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">**Right image**: Reverse side of a Western-Han bronze mirror with painted designs of a flower motif

<span style="color: black; font-family: 'Times New Roman','serif'; font-size: 12pt;">During the widespread rebellion against Wang Mang, the Korean state of Goguryeo was free to raid Han's Korean commanderies; Han did not reaffirm its control over the region until 30 CE. The Trưng Sisters of Vietnam rebelled against Han in 40 CE. Their rebellion was crushed by Han general Ma Yuan (d. 49 CE) in a campaign from 42–43 CE. Wang Mang renewed hostilities against the Xiongnu, who were estranged from Han until their leader Bi ( <span style="color: black; font-family: 宋体; font-size: 12pt;">比 <span style="color: black; font-family: 'Times New Roman','serif'; font-size: 12pt;">), a rival claimant to the throne against his cousin Punu ( <span style="color: black; font-family: 宋体; font-size: 12pt;">蒲奴 <span style="color: black; font-family: 'Times New Roman','serif'; font-size: 12pt;">), submitted to Han as a tributary vassal in 50 CE. This created two rival Xiongnu states: the Southern Xiongnu led by Bi, an ally of Han, and the Northern Xiongnu led by Punu, an enemy of Han. <span style="color: black; font-family: 'Times New Roman','serif'; font-size: 12pt;">During the turbulent reign of Wang Mang, Han lost control over the Tarim Basin, which was conquered by the Northern Xiongnu in 63 CE and used as a base to invade Han's Hexi Corridor in Gansu. Dou Gu (d. 88 CE) defeated the Northern Xiongnu at the Battle of Yiwulu in 73 CE, evicting them from Turpan and chasing them as far as Lake Barkol before establishing a garrison at Hami. After the new Protector General of the Western Regions Chen Mu (d. 75 CE) was killed by allies of the Xiongnu in Karasahr and Kucha, the garrison at Hami was withdrawn. At the Battle of Ikh Bayan in 89 CE, Dou Xian (d. 92 CE) defeated the Northern Xiongnu chanyu who then retreated into the Altai Mountains. After the Northern Xiongnu fled into the Ili River valley in 91 CE, the nomadic Xianbei occupied the area from the borders of the Buyeo Kingdom in Manchuria to the Ili River of the Wusun people. The Xianbei reached their apogee under Tanshihuai ( <span style="color: black; font-family: 宋体; font-size: 12pt;">檀石槐 <span style="color: black; font-family: 'Times New Roman','serif'; font-size: 12pt;">) (d. 180 CE), who consistently defeated Chinese armies. However, Tanshihuai's confederation disintegrated after his death.

<span style="color: black; font-family: 'Times New Roman','serif'; font-size: 12pt; line-height: normal; margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">An Eastern Han green-glazed pottery dog, 25-220 CE

<span style="color: black; font-family: 'Times New Roman','serif'; font-size: 12pt; line-height: normal; margin: 0in 0in 10pt;"> Ban Chao (d. 102 CE) enlisted the aid of the Kushan Empire, occupying the area of modern India , Pakistan , Afghanistan , and Tajikistan , to subdue Kashgar and its ally Sogdiana. When a request by Kushan ruler Vima Kadphises (r. c. 90–c. 100 CE) for a marriage alliance with the Han was rejected in 90 CE, he sent his forces to Wakhan (Afghanistan) to attack Ban Chao. The conflict ended with the Kushans withdrawing because of lack of supplies. In 91 CE, the office of Protector General of the Western Regions was reinstated when it was bestowed on Ban Chao. <span style="color: black; font-family: 'Times New Roman','serif'; font-size: 12pt; line-height: normal; margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">In addition to tributary relations with the Kushans, the Han Empire received gifts from the Parthian Empire, from a king in modern Burma , from a ruler in Japan , and initiated an unsuccessful mission to Daqin ( Rome ) in 97 CE with Gan Ying as emissary. A Roman embassy of Emperor Marcus Aurelius (r. 161–180 CE) is believed to have reached the court of Emperor Huan of Han (r. 146–168 CE) in 166 CE, yet Rafe de Crespigny asserts that this was most likely a group of Roman merchant. Other travelers to Eastern-Han China included Buddhist monks who translated works into Chinese, such as An Shigao of Parthia, and Lokaksema from Kushan-era Gandhara , India.

<span style="color: black; font-family: 'Times New Roman','serif'; font-size: 12pt; line-height: normal; margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">A female servant and male advisor dressed in silk robes, ceramic figurines from the Western Han Era **<span style="color: black; font-family: 'Times New Roman','serif'; font-size: 13.5pt;">Eunuchs in state affairs ** <span style="color: black; font-family: 'Times New Roman','serif'; font-size: 12pt; line-height: normal; margin: 0in 0in 10pt;"> Emperor Zhang's (r. 75–88 CE) reign came to be viewed by later Eastern Han scholars as the high point of the dynastic house. Subsequent reigns were increasingly marked by eunuch intervention in court politics and their involvement in the violent power struggles of the imperial consort clans. With the aid of the eunuch Zheng Zhong (d. 107 CE), Emperor He (r. 88–105 CE) had Empress Dowager Dou (d. 97 CE) put under house arrest and her clan stripped of power. This was in revenge for Dou's purging of the clan of his natural mother— Consort Liang —and then concealing her identity from him. After Emperor He's death, his wife Empress Deng Sui (d. 121 CE) managed state affairs as the regent empress dowager during a turbulent financial crisis and widespread Qiang rebellion that lasted from 107 to 118 CE. <span style="color: black; font-family: 'Times New Roman','serif'; font-size: 12pt;">When Empress Dowager Deng died, Emperor An (r. 106–125 CE) was convinced by the accusations of the eunuchs Li Run ( <span style="color: black; font-family: 宋体; font-size: 12pt;">李閏 <span style="color: black; font-family: 'Times New Roman','serif'; font-size: 12pt;">) and Jiang Jing ( <span style="color: black; font-family: 宋体; font-size: 12pt;">江京 <span style="color: black; font-family: 'Times New Roman','serif'; font-size: 12pt;">) that Deng and her family had planned to depose him. An dismissed Deng's clan members from office, exiled them and forced many to commit suicide. After An's death, his wife, Empress Dowager Yan (d. 126 CE) placed the child Marquess of Beixiang on the throne in an attempt to retain power within her family. However, palace eunuch Sun Cheng (d. 132 CE) masterminded a successful overthrow of her regime to enthrone Emperor Shun of Han (r. 125–144 CE). Yan was placed under house arrest, her relatives were either killed or exiled, and her eunuch allies were slaughtered. The regent Liang Ji (d. 159 CE), brother of Empress Liang Na (d. 150 CE), had the brother-in-law of Consort Deng Mengnü (later empress) (d. 165 CE) killed after Deng Mengnü resisted Liang Ji's attempts to control her. Afterward, Emperor Huan employed eunuchs to depose Liang Ji, who was then forced to commit suicide.

<span style="color: black; font-family: 'Times New Roman','serif'; font-size: 12pt; line-height: normal; margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">Western-Han pottery tomb statuettes of unclothed servants that once had wooden arms and miniature silk clothes, which have eroded over time and since disappeared. <span style="color: black; font-family: 'Times New Roman','serif'; font-size: 12pt;">Students from the Imperial University organized a widespread student protest against the eunuchs of Emperor Huan's court. Huan further alienated the bureaucracy when he initiated grandiose construction projects and hosted thousands of concubines in his harem at a time of economic crisis. Palace eunuchs imprisoned the official Li Ying ( <span style="color: black; font-family: 宋体; font-size: 12pt;">李膺 <span style="color: black; font-family: 'Times New Roman','serif'; font-size: 12pt;">) and his associates from the Imperial University on a dubious charge of treason. In 167 CE, the Grand Commandant Dou Wu (d. 168 CE) convinced his son-in-law, Emperor Huan, to release them. However the emperor permanently barred Li Ying and his associates from serving in office, marking the beginning of the Partisan Prohibitions. <span style="color: black; font-family: 'Times New Roman','serif'; font-size: 12pt;">Following Huan's death, Dou Wu and the Grand Tutor Chen Fan ( <span style="color: black; font-family: 宋体; font-size: 12pt;">陳蕃 <span style="color: black; font-family: 'Times New Roman','serif'; font-size: 12pt;">) (d. 168 CE) attempted a coup d'état against the eunuchs Hou Lan (d. 172 CE), Cao Jie (d. 181 CE), and Wang Fu ( <span style="color: black; font-family: 宋体; font-size: 12pt;">王甫 <span style="color: black; font-family: 'Times New Roman','serif'; font-size: 12pt;">). When the plot was uncovered, the eunuchs arrested Empress Dowager Dou (d. 172 CE) and Chen Fan. General Zhang Huan ( <span style="color: black; font-family: 宋体; font-size: 12pt;">張奐 <span style="color: black; font-family: 'Times New Roman','serif'; font-size: 12pt;">) favored the eunuchs. He and his troops confronted Dou Wu and his retainers at the palace gate where each side shouted accusations of treason against the other. When the retainers gradually deserted Dou Wu, he was forced to commit suicide. <span style="color: black; font-family: 'Times New Roman','serif'; font-size: 12pt; line-height: normal; margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">Under Emperor Ling (r. 168–189 CE) the eunuchs had the partisan prohibitions renewed and expanded, while themselves auctioning off top government offices. Many affairs of state were entrusted to the eunuchs Zhao Zhong (d. 189 CE) and Zhang Rong (d. 189 CE) while Emperor Ling spent much of his time roleplaying with concubines and participating in military parades. **<span style="color: black; font-family: 'Times New Roman','serif'; font-size: 13.5pt;">End of the Han ** <span style="color: black; font-family: 'Times New Roman','serif'; font-size: 12pt; line-height: normal; margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">Main article: End of the Han Dynasty <span style="color: black; font-family: 'Times New Roman','serif'; font-size: 12pt; line-height: normal; margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">Further information: Liangzhou Rebellion

<span style="color: black; font-family: 'Times New Roman','serif'; font-size: 12pt; line-height: normal; margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">A Chinese crossbow mechanism with a buttplate from either the late Warring States Period or the early Han Dynasty; made of bronze and inlaid with silver

<span style="color: black; font-family: 'Times New Roman','serif'; font-size: 12pt; line-height: normal; margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">The Partisan Prohibitions were repealed during the Yellow Turban Rebellion and Five Pecks of Rice Rebellion in 184 CE, largely because the court did not want to continue to alienate a significant portion of the gentry class who might otherwise join the rebellions. The Yellow Turbans and Five-Pecks-of-Rice adherents belonged to two different hierarchical Daoist religious societies led by faith healers Zhang Jiao (d. 184 CE) and Zhang Lu (d. 216 CE), respectively. Zhang Lu's rebellion, in modern northern Sichuan and southern Shanxi, was not quelled until 215 CE. Zhang Jiao's massive rebellion across eight provinces was annihilated by Han forces within a year, however the following decades saw much smaller recurrent uprisings. Although the Yellow Turbans were defeated, many generals appointed during the crisis never disbanded their assembled militia forces and used these troops to amass power outside of the collapsing imperial authority.

<span style="color: black; font-family: 'Times New Roman','serif'; font-size: 12pt; line-height: normal; margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">Animalistic guardian spirits of day and night wearing Chinese robes, Han Dynasty paintings on ceramic tile ; Michael Loewe writes that the hybrid of man and beast in art and religious beliefs predated the Han and remained popular during the first half of Western Han and the Eastern Han.

<span style="color: black; font-family: 'Times New Roman','serif'; font-size: 12pt;">General-in-Chief He Jin (d. 189 CE), half-brother to Empress He (d. 189 CE), plotted with Yuan Shao (d. 202 CE) to overthrow the eunuchs by having several generals march to the outskirts of the capital. There, in a written petition to Empress He, they demanded the eunuchs' execution. After a period of hesitation, Empress He consented. When the eunuchs discovered this, however, they had her brother He Miao ( <span style="color: black; font-family: 宋体; font-size: 12pt;">何苗 <span style="color: black; font-family: 'Times New Roman','serif'; font-size: 12pt;">) rescind the order. The eunuchs assassinated He Jin on September 22, 189 CE. Yuan Shao then besieged Luoyang's Northern Palace while his brother Yuan Shu (d. 199 CE) besieged the Southern Palace. On September 25 both palaces were breached and approximately two thousand eunuchs were killed. Zhang Rang had previously fled with Emperor Shao (r. 189 CE) and his brother Liu Xie—the future Emperor Xian of Han (r. 189–220 CE). While being pursued by the Yuan brothers, Zhang committed suicide by jumping into the Yellow River.