The Two-Han Period
206 BCE–220 CE (about 400 years)

the Western or Former
Han (206 B.C.–9 A.D.)
西汉/前汉

The Western Han
capital, Chang‘an 长安
in present-day Shaanxi
Province 陕西省
【Shǎnxīshěng】
one of the two largest
cities in the ancient
world (Rome being the
other).


the Eastern or Later
Han (25–220 A.D.)
东汉/后汉

City of Luoyang 洛
阳

The two-capital
system: What are
the advantages?
楚漢相爭 206 BC–202 BC
Chu–Han Contention (Ebrey 41)
刘邦【liúbāng】 the first emperor of Han
Dynasty (206 BC - AD 220)



Liu Bang’s reign:
202 BC-195 BC
A minor official under the
Qin rule, Liu Bang was
escorting some convicts or
prisoners assigned to Mount
Li to build the Mausoleum of
Qin Shi Huang, the first
emperor. Overnight, some
prisoners escaped. Liu
assembled his remaining
prisoners, telling them he
would free them if they
followed him…Then he
became a rebel against the
Qin Rule.
The Tragedy of Xiang Yu
"Hegemon-King of Western Chu“
西楚霸王【xīchǔbàwáng】




Xiang Yu boasted
400,000 troops
The tragedy of Xiang Yu
lies in that as someone
whose talents are to be
used or utilized by others,
Xiang Yu accidently sits
on the hot seat to employ
others…
Wang Liqun 王立群
Chinese professor at
Henan University
Banquet at Hongmen 鸿门宴(206 BCE)
Read The Basic Annals of Xiang Yu online
Sima Qian_Xiang Yu vs. Liu Bang


After his victory in the Battle of Julu which wiped out
the main Qin army (207 BC), Xiang Yu 项羽
prepared for an invasion on Guanzhong 关中, the
heartland of China. In the winter of 207 BC, the last
(3rd) Qin ruler Ziying 子婴 (on the throne for 46 days)
surrendered to Liu Bang's army in Xianyang 咸阳.
When Xiang Yu arrived at Hangu Pass, the eastern
gateway to Guanzhong, he saw that the pass was
occupied by Liu Bang's troops, a sign that
Guanzhong was already under Liu's control.
Liu‘s left general 左司马 Cao Wushang 曹无伤 sent a
messenger to see Xiang Yu, reporting that Liu Bang
would become King of Guanzhong, with Ziying
appointed as Liu's Prime Minister or chancellor. (8086)
項莊舞劍 意在沛公 Course Reader 83
【xiàngzhuāngwǔjiànyìzàipèigōng】

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
Xiang Zhuang performed a sword dance as a coverup for his attempt on Liu Bang's life - act with a
hidden motive.
The Banquet at Hongmen 鸿门宴 refers to a dinner
party that harbors evil designs or malicious
intentions to have the guest killed but after all the
guest could escape, a revelation of Xiang Yu’s
personality;
Role of Fan Zeng 范增 as Xiang Yu’s “Second
Father” 亚父
Xiang Zhuang vs. Xiang Bo (Zhang Liang’s friend):
Whenever Xiang Zhuang got close to Liu Bang,
Xiang Bo would shield Liu Bang…
Hongmen Banquet (206 BCE)
Feast at Hong Gate
垓下之战【gāixià zhīzhàn】
The Battle of Gaixia in 202 BCE

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
“Oriental Waterloo” at
Gaixia, He County,
Anhui Province
四面楚歌: four sides,
Chu songs
【sìmiànchǔgē】 be
besieged on all sides;
be utterly isolated.
The Battle of Waterloo
(18 June 1815) marks a
fiasco for Napoleon
1st Duke of Wellington
is instrumental in
defeating Napoleon.
霸王别姬【bàwángbiéjī】
Farewell to My Concubine

Lady Yu joined her
voice with his. Tears
streamed down his
face…
四面楚歌【sìmiànchǔgē】 be besieged on all
sides; be utterly isolated
On four sides Songs of Chu (State)
stirred up homesickness among the Chu soliders

In 202 BC, Han armies led by Liu Bang, Han Xin and
Peng Yue attacked Western Chu from three sides and
trapped Xiang Yu‘s army, which was low on supplies, in
the Battle of Gaixia. Liu ordered his troops to sing folk
songs from the Chu region, to create a false impression
that Xiang’s native land of Chu had been conquered by
the Han forces. The morale of the Chu army plummeted
and many of Xiang‘s troops deserted in despair. Xiang
sank into a state of depression and he sang the famous
Song of Gaixia. His beloved concubine Consort Yu (虞姬)
committed suicide. The next morning, Xiang Yu led about
800 of his best cavalry 骑兵 troops on a desperate
attempt to break out of the siege, with 5,000 enemy
troops hot on pursuit.
Potential Problems, Ebrey 41
Embedded in Liu Bang’s Rule



The western half was
ruled by Liu through a
system of local
administration, with
officials appointed by
the emperor
Nepotism: favoritism
shown to relatives or
close friends by those
with power or influence
Bloodline/inheritance/h
ereditary system


In the eastern half, power
was held by military
strongmen who had followed
Liu Bang in his earlier years;
Over time, those strongmen
began to manifest separatist
behavior, as in Zhou’s time.
Meritocracy, a political
philosophy that holds power
should be vested in
individuals according to
merit
The White-Horse Confederation
白马之盟 for Liu’s Family Rule




In the ancient times an oath
was taken by spreading the
blood of a white horse on
one’s lips.
See Shiji v. 9 on “The Basic
Annals of the Empress Lu”
Later, with the help of his
wife, Liu Bang got rid of
those founding generals one
by one to strengthen his
rule.
Han Xin’s story stood out as
a classical example



It is a deal Liu Bang cut with
his (7) founding generals.
Liu Bang made them take an
oath that only Lius can be
kings.
In return, Liu Bang enfeoffed
them with titles equivalent to
a duke in a state.
In nature, Liu Bang actually
adopted the Western Zhou’s
system of enfeoffment.
Usurpation of the Empress Lǚ
Ebrey 42




In 180 BCE, the family of the
empress, named Lǚ, gained
great power at court and
almost usurped the throne
before being suppressed.
The empress actually ruled
for about 15 years.
美人心计【měirén xīnjì】
Beauty's calculation;
scheming; planning,
cunning.
No. 1 TV series at
http://tv.sohu.com/hottelepla
y/
In His Old Age,
Liu Bang Changed his Mind




The Crown Prince Liu
Ying 刘盈
The empress asked help
from Zhang Liang 张良,
Zhang Liang pointed out
only the four famous
hermits at Mt. Shang
商山四皓 can
dramatically change the
situation. They did.

Ruyi 如意, son of Liu
Bang’s favorite
concubine Qi Ji 戚姬
Four Hermits at Mount Shang
商山四皓




博士【bóshì】 Ph.D; court ‘acade’mician (in feudal
China on the five Confucian classics).
These hermits were court academicians under the
Qin rule (total 70 “PhDs”)
Tang Bing, Cui Guang, Wu Shi and Zhou Shu
Emperor Wu of Han established 五经博士
【wǔjīngbóshì】 court ‘acade’mician (in feudal
China, comparable to PhDs) on the Five Classics
(The Book of
Songs/Documents/Rites/Changes/Spring & Autumn
Annals)
人彘【rénzhì】
<formal> pig; swine.


In 195 BCE, after Liu Bang
died, the empress had Qi
Ji’s four limbs cut off, her
eyes gouged, and her ears
burned; She also made Qi Ji
戚姬 dumb/mute by some
drugs. Left in a toilet, Qi Ji
was moaning and groaning
like a pig…
The young emperor Liu Ying
could not stand his mother’s
cruelty. He quit ruling.
The Han Synthesis
Emperor Wu of Han 汉武帝刘彻
141 BC - 87 BC (54 years 20 days)


the seventh emperor
of the Han Dynasty,
ruled from 141 BC to
87 BC—54 years on
the throne.
The Han Synthesis
pioneered a model
that later dynasties
followed till 1911.
Emperor Wu of Han (Ebrey 49-50)
Liu Che 汉武帝 (r. 141 BC to 87 BC)
(54 years 20 days)

Emperor Wu is best remembered for the vast
terri’torial expansion that occurred under his reign,
as well as the strong and centralized Confucian state
he organized. He is cited in Chinese history as the
greatest emperor of the Han dynasty and one of the
greatest emperors in Chinese history. Emperor Wu's
effective rule transformed his dynasty that parallels
Rome.
Headache about Xiongnu 匈奴


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


Dongfang Shuo 东方朔
(154-93 BCE)
From time to time,
单于【chányú】 chief of the
Xiongnu in ancient China,
demanded the Han give him
a wife.
The court was divided in
between pacifists 主和派and
militants 主战派. The young
emperor had no idea how to
handle the case.
Dongfang Shuo plotted a
scheme that silenced those
who advocated interracial
marriages.
The Siege of Baideng
白登之围, Ebrey 41



In 200, Liu Bang led his
troops to attack Xiongnu.
单于【chányú】 chief of
the Xiongnu in ancient
China
Chanyu Mao Dun faked
a retreat, thus leading
Liu Bang to Baideng
where 400,000
cavalryman 骑兵 formed
a siege for 7 days and 7
nights
Liu Bang’s Waterloo
and its Consequences
(ripple effect)


The siege was only
relieved after seven
days when the Han
royal court, under Chen
Ping's (陳平)
suggestion, sent spies
to bribe Mao Dun's
wife.
Consequence: Han
promised to send its
women on a regular
basis!
The Policy of Interracial Marriage
a political marriage


和亲【héqīn】 (of some feudal
dynasties) attempt to cement relations
with rulers of minority nationalities in
the border areas by marrying daughters
of the Han imperial family to them.
Those poor princesses, being unable to
stand a rough life style, died quickly.
Zhang Qian 张骞 & the Silk Road
200 BCE - 114 BCE, Ebrey 51
The Silk Road (61)
Lifespan of a silkworm
The Han Synthesis
(pluot—plum + Apricot)
The Intellectual Architect
(Ebrey 43/46)



Dong Zhongshu 董仲舒
(179–104 BC) was a
Han Dynasty scholar
who is traditionally
associated with the
promotion of
Confucianism as the
official ideology of the
Chinese imperial state.
The victory of
Confucianism and its
consequences:
“intellectual diversity” is
dead ever since.
“Correlative Cosmology”
The Son of Heaven


The philosopher Dong
Zhongshu developed a
theory of correlative
cosmology 天人感应 to
explain how natural
phenomena were
omens of political
changes.
This rhetoric functions
as a leash on those
emperors who have to
pay attention to their
personal conduct.



Dong Zhongshu
shrewdly placed the son
of heaven under heaven,
not above heaven, thus
calf-roping a leash on
one’s
ambition/inclination
(desire);
Read the Han Synthesis
online
Luxuriant Gems of the
Spring and Autumn
Annals 〖春秋繁露〗
Three-Way Thought
Woven Together: Confucianism


Confucianism: a theory of social contract with
its five-folds human relationships which is
featured with hierarchy and reci’procity; rule
by rite and benevolence; yet there is no
guarantee that everybody will become a
Confucius’ ideal gentleman 君子, therefore it
is idealistic at its best, naïve at its worst;
a five-fold web of relationships: king vs.
subjects; father vs. son; husband vs. wife;
elder brother vs. younger brother; friend vs.
friend;
Confucian Core Virtues
Ebrey 26
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
Fill in the blanks
Three models in American higher education:
British (Gentleman), German
(Scholar/research), American (the Wisconsin
Idea—Service)
Kongzi or Confucius—the Analects 论语, put
together by his disciples,
Mengzi 孟子 (human nature is good 性善论),
Xunzi 荀子 (human nature is evil 性恶论)
Daoism/Taoism




Daoism/Taoism provided a larger framework
for understanding the nature of the world in
which men lived; It is a rule by the natural
way;
Co-founders: Laozi 老子—Daodejing 道德经
Zhuangzi 庄子 – Inner Chapters/Outer
Chapters/Miscellaneous Chapters
How to carve an ox?
Legalism

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
Legalism: rule by law; effective in
administration yet seems too harsh;
Premise: human nature is evil;
Two handles: rewards and punishments
Representatives: Shang Yang (Lord Shang);
Li Si and Han Fei;
Li Si and Han Fei are Xunzi’s students;
Confucianism vs. Taoism



Confucianism is rooted
in the human world,
focusing on the order of
a family-based on
thisness--society;
Family is seen as a
microcosm of how
relationships linking
people together;
The assumption is a
well behaved son is not
likely to become a rebel
against an authority;



Taoism implies that
there is something
much larger than a
human world
Taoism challenges us
to reevaluate our
position within the
entire universe;
Fan Kuan 范宽’s
painting
Fan Kuan’s Painting
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Travelers_Among_Mou
ntains_and_Streams.png
proportion (technical) and proposition (philosophical)


Travelers amid
Mountains and Streams
(谿山行旅; ink and
slight color on silk;
dimensions of 6¾ ft by
2½ ft. National Palace
Museum, Taipei
http://uwch4.humanities.washingto
n.edu/~WG/~134/Famo
us%20Paintings/
Becoming One with Nature


Fan Kuan 范寬 (fl. 990–1020) was a Chinese
landscape painter of the Song Dynasty (960–1279).
Travelers amid Mountains and Streams, a large
hanging scroll, is Fan Kuan's best known work. Fan
based the painting on the Taoist principle of
becoming one with nature. When looking at the
painting, the viewer realizes how small he/she is
compared to the big picture of nature. The painting
focuses on the big picture of nature and the world
as a whole instead of the individual.
historian Patricia Ebrey
on the painting

[the]...foreground, presented at eye level, is
executed in crisp, well-defined brush strokes. Jutting
boulders, tough scrub trees, a mule train on the road,
and a temple in the forest on the cliff are all vividly
depicted. There is a suitable break between the
foreground and the towering central peak behind,
which is treated as if it were a backdrop, suspended
and fitted into a slot behind the foreground. There
are human figures in this scene, but it is easy to
imagine them overpowered by the magnitude and
mystery of their surroundings.
The (Natural) Way



无为而治—Govern by
doing nothing that is
against nature; or
govern by noninterference.
This Wuwei should be
translated as with no
wrong actions. It
implies there is a
natural way to do things
instead of fighting it.
Wrong actions are
counterproductive.
Appositional vs. Oppositional
Complementary vs. Competitive




A central theme of the
Daodejing is that correlatives
are the expressions of the
movement of dao, the way
Correlatives in Chinese
philosophy are not opposites,
mutually excluding each other;
they represent the ebb and flow
of the forces of reality: yin/yang,
male/female; excess/defect;
leading/following;
active/passive.—
In other words, opposites are
not oppositional; instead, they
are complementary to each
other.
Both…And--holistic



As opposed to the Western
way of thinking (Aristotelian
categories and genre
studies-- In Poetics, Aristotle
proposes to treat poetry in
itself and of its various kinds,
noting the essential quality
of each.) that treats a thing
in itself and of itself has
philosophical implications in
many ways.
(Western dualism 二元论
tends to be binary and
oppositional)
Either…Or
Gestalt Switch
EdgarRubin’s Vase and
Joseph Jastrow’s “Duck-Rabbit”
Young Girl-Old Woman Illusion
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7f1G6Nx5
VDw
M. C. Escher’ Tessellations
棋盘形布置, 嵌石装饰
1898 – 1972
Sima Qian 司馬遷 & Shi ji
(ca. 145 or 135 BC–86 BC)
Records of the Grand Historian


a Prefect of the Grand Scribes (
太史令) of the Han Dynasty.
He is regarded as the father of
Chinese historiography 历史编
纂学 because of his highly
praised work, Records of the
Grand Historian/Scribes (史記
or 史记)
In 110BC, Sima Tan fell ill and
could not attend the imperial
sacrificial ceremony. Thinking
he was about to die, he
summoned his son to carry on
the family tradition and to
complete the work he had
begun.
The Range of his Work (Ebrey 46-47)


Upon his father's death, Sima Qian inherited
his office and took on an ambitious project
started by his father - production of the first full
history of China, the Shiji (historical records).
Shiji, or Records of the Grand Historian, covers
the period from the five sages of prehistoric
times, through the Xia, Shang, Zhou, and Qin
dynasties to the Han Dynasty of Sima Qian's
own time.
The Layout of Shiji
Records of the Grand Historian








There are five
sections:
The Basic Annals
Chronological Tables
Treatises
He’reditary Houses
Memoirs/Biographies
Example: “The Basic
Annals of Xiang Yu”
(online)





本紀
表
書
世家
列傳
Castration



In 99 BC, Sima Qian became embroiled in the Li Ling Affair: Li
Ling (李陵) and Li Guangli (李廣利), two military officers who
led a campaign against the Xiongnu in the north were defeated
and taken captive. Emperor Han Wudi attributed 归结 the
defeat to Li Ling, and all the officials in the government
condemned Li Ling for the defeat.
Sima was the only person to defend Li Ling, who had never
been his friend but whom he respected. Emperor Han Wudi
interpreted Sima’s defence of Li Ling as an attack on his
brother-in-law, who had also fought against the Xiongnu without
much success, and sentenced Sima to death.
At that time, execution could be commuted 减刑, 用……交换
either by money or castration. Since Sima did not have enough
money to atone his "crime", he chose the latter and was then
thrown into prison, where he endured three years.
The Debate on Salt and Iron
Monopolies 《盐铁论》(Ebrey 42-43)




Wudi adopted Sang
Hongyang’s proposal
and had liquor, salt and
iron controlled by the
government.
Emperor Zhao of Han 汉
昭帝 (94 BC–74 BC)
called for the famous
debate in 81 BCE;
Huan Kuan 桓宽
compiled a book;
Consult the source book
360 to 362



An Invisible Hand (regulated
by demand and supply) in The
Wealth of Nation 富国论
by Adam Smith
first published in 1776. It is an
account of economics at the
dawn of the Industrial
Revolution, as well as a
rhetorical piece written for the
generally educated individual
of the 18th century advocating a free market
economy as more productive
and more beneficial to society.
The book is often considered to
have laid the basic groundwork
for modern economic theory.
Wang Mang’s Usurpation (Ebrey 43)
reign: 9 - 23
(Killed by Lülin Force 绿林军)
After Emperor Ai died
childless, the throne was
passed to his cousin
Emperor Ping—then a
child of nine years old.
Wang Mang was
appointed regent.
Later, Emperor Ping
started to show
dissatisfaction;
In 6 AD, Wang Mang
had Emperor Ping
poisoned.
The Green Forest Rebellion &
Red Eyebrow Uprising




绿林好汉
【lùlínhǎohàn】
Chinese Robin Hoods
heroes of the
greenwood; forest
outlaws; a band of
bandits entrenched in a
mountain stronghold;
brigands.

Chimei (赤眉, red
eyebrows) refers, as an
umbrella term, to one of
the two major agrarian
rebellion movements
against Wang Mang‘s
Xin (New) Dynasty 王莽
新政, initially active in
the modern Shandong
and northern Jiangsu
region, that eventually
led to Wang Mang's
downfall by draining his
resources…
Liu Xiu刘秀 Emperor Guangwu of Han
The Eastern Han Dynasty

Emperor Guangwu (13
January 5 BC – 29 March
57), born Liu Xiu, was an
emperor of the Chinese Han
Dynasty, restorer of the
dynasty in AD 25 and thus
founder of the Later Han or
Eastern Han (the restored
Han Dynasty). He ruled over
parts of China at first, and
through suppression and
conquest of regional
warlords, the whole of China
was consolidated by the
time of his death in 57.
The Battle of Kunyang
June–July in 23 AD 昆阳之战

Liu Xiu is instrumental in the key victory that
sealed Wang Mang's fate. Wang, aware that
Emperor Gengshi was becoming a major
threat, sent his cousin Wang Yi (王邑) and
his chancellor Wang Xun (王尋) with what he
considered to be overwhelming force, some
430,000 men, intending to crush the newly
constituted Han regime.
Battle of Kunyang
Siege besieged






About 8,000 soldiers stationed in Kunyang,
County Ye, Henan Province;
Wang Mang laid a siege;
Liu Xiu sneaked out and persuaded others:
United we stand; divided, we fall.
Liu Xiu summoned about 10,000 to rescue
Kunyang;
Wang Mang’s army got exhausted from the
siege;
Liu Xiu counter-cornered Wang Mang’s troops
Liu Xiu Took City of Luoyang Whole
without shedding one drop of blood






In 25 AD, Liu Xiu took an oath by the Yellow
River, promising no revenge;
Zhu Wei and his troops guarding the city
surrendered without any fight;
For the next century and half, the empire was
both stable and prosperous
Read The Art of War
Definition of the most intelligent battle
兵不血刃 win a victory without battle, without
bloodshed
The Second Unified Dynasty after Qin
Western Han Achievements






The boundaries established by the Qin and
maintained by the Han have more or less defined the
nation of China up to the present day.
Have the Xiongnu (The Huns) under control;
Unified in political system, language and cultural
practice;
The Han Synthesis: weaving together Confucianism,
Daoism (broader vision) and Legalism (modified)
Han Fu in poetry writing, see Han Fu
Best Translation: David R. Knechtges
东汉【dōnghàn】 the Eastern Han
or the Latter Han (25-220).




Xiongnu driven westward to Europe;
Cai Lun 蔡伦 (ca. 50 AD – 121) improved
papermaking (writing used to be inscriptions on
bronze objects/stones, writings on bamboo strips 竹
简, Ebrey 40)
Ban Gu—(32-92 AD) (Ebrey 57): Han Shu or History
of the Former Han, pioneered history writing in 断代
史【duàndàishǐ】 division of history into periods,
specializing in one particular period .
通史 comprehensive history, chronologically
sequenced;
Achievements
Eastern Han

Scientific sage: Zhang Heng 张衡, a
polymath, a person of great learning in
several fields of study; a renaissance man-Houfeng Seismograph (132 AD), an
instrument for measuring and recording
the vibrations of earthquakes.
Houfeng Seismograph
候风地动仪 132 AD

According to the Book
of Later Han后汉书
(compiled by Fan Ye in
the 5th century), his
bronze urn-shaped
device, with a swinging
pendulum inside, was
able to detect the
direction of an
earthquake hundreds of
miles/kilometers away.
Xu Shen许慎
ca. 58 CE – ca. 147 CE
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Linguistic sage: Shuōwén Jiězì
《说文解字》(100 AD)
说【shuō】 talk; explain;
解【jiě】 explain, interpret;
文【wén】 writing
字【zì】 word; character;
First Chinese dictionary, containing 9353
characters organized by (540) radicals (Latin
Radix for Root), semantic meaning
Six Categories of Chinese
Characters or Sinograms
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Xu Shen, 100 AD
whose etymological
dictionary Shuowen
Jiezi (說文解字/说文
解字) divides the
script into six
categories, the
liùshū (六書/六书)
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1. Pictographic 象形
2. Self-explanatory or Simple
ideograms
指事 (expressing an abstract
idea in an iconic form)
3. Associative Compounds/
Ideogrammatic compounds
會意/logical association
4. Pictophonetic 形聲 (90%)
5. Mutually Explanatory or
synonymous characters
轉注
Phonetic Loans/ characters
adopted to represent
homophones 假借
Medical Science
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Medical sage: Zhang Zhongjing 张仲景
treatise on Typhoid fever & other
miscellaneous diseases/
Hua Tuo 华佗, the first to use anesthetic fullscale or the whole body; later hired by Cao
Cao during the Three Kingdoms Period
起死回生【qǐsǐhuíshēng】 (of a doctor's skill)
bring the dying back to life; snatch a patient
from the jaws of death.