Western Han Dynasty: Did you mean...?

A jar in the shape of a bear, Shaanxi / Henan Region, China. Western Han Dynasty, 2nd/1st century BCE. Exhibited in Museum Rietberg, Zurich, Switzerland.

A carved jade dragon. Han dynasty, 2nd-1st century BCE. The British Museum, London.

A Han dynasty iron sword and scabbard with wood and lacquer decoration, China, 2nd century BCE. (British Museum, London)

Until about the 2nd century BCE, Chinese tombs featured chambers made of heavy wooden logs. Thereafter, tombs were made of stone and brick. This stone-made example from the Han Dynasty (206 BCE-220 CE) makes clear that the tombs of the wealthy...

The Song (aka Sung) dynasty ruled China from 960 to 1279 CE with the reign split into two periods: the Northern Song (960-1125 CE) and Southern Song (1125-1279 CE). The Northern Song ruled a largely united China from their capital at Kaifeng...

The Carolingian Dynasty (751-887) was a family of Frankish nobles who ruled Francia and its successor kingdoms in Western and Central Europe during the Early Middle Ages. The dynasty expanded from Francia as far as modern Italy, Spain, and...

The Silk Road was a network of ancient trade routes, formally established during the Han Dynasty of China in 130 BCE, which linked the regions of the ancient world in commerce between 130 BCE-1453 CE. The Silk Road was not a single route...

The Ptolemaic dynasty was a Macedonian royal family that ruled Ptolemaic Egypt from 323 to 30 BCE. It was founded by Ptolemy I, a general and successor of Alexander the Great. They built Alexandria, including the Lighthouse of Alexandria...

Chinese literature is among the most imaginative and interesting in the world. The precision of the language results in perfectly realized images whether in poetry or prose and, as with all great literature, the themes are timeless. The Chinese...

Confucianism is a philosophy developed in 6th-century BCE China, which is considered by some a secular-humanist belief system, by some a religion, and by others a social code. The broad range of subjects touched on by Confucianism lends itself...