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The Early Three Kingdoms Period
The Early Three Kingdoms Period in ancient China, from 184 CE to 190 CE for the purposes of this article, was one of the most turbulent in China's history. With an ailing Han government unable to control its empire, brutal localised wars...
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Han Empire - Opening up the Silk Road (138 BCE)
This documentary video describes the onset of the Han Empire in ancient Chinese history.
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Chu-Han Contention Map
Map showing an attempted reconstruction of the movements of the troops of the Chinese Han and Chu dynasties during the Chu-Han Contention (206-202 BCE), in which Liu Bang of Han and Xiang Yu of Chu repeatedly battled each other. The conflict...
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Tomb Entrance from Han Dynasty China
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...
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Bear-Shaped Jar from the Han Dynasty
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.
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Eastern Han Pig Sculpture
A dolomite sculpture of a recumbent pig. Eastern Han Dynasty, 25-220 CE. Height: 3 cm. Length: 10.6 cm. (Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York)
Definition
Legalism
Legalism in ancient China was a philosophical belief that human beings are more inclined to do wrong than right because they are motivated entirely by self-interest and require strict laws to control their impulses. It was developed by the...
Video
The Rise & Fall of China's Han Dynasty Empire...and it's Rise & Fall Again
The Han Dynasty Empire, it's Rise & Fall…and it’s Rise & Fall Again (Chinese History Documentary)
Definition
Sima Qian
Sima Qian (l. 145/135-86 BCE) was a court scribe, astrologer, and historian of the Han Dynasty (202 BCE - 220 CE) of ancient China, famous for his historical work Records of the Grand Historian for which he is remembered as the Father of...
Definition
Qin Dynasty
The Qin Dynasty (221-206 BCE) was the first dynasty of Imperial China (defined as the era of centralized, dynastic government in China between 221 BCE and 1912 CE) which united the separate states following the Warring States Period (c. 481-221...