Advances in Science

    

        The Han Dynasty was very advanced in science. Scientists were well aware of the existence of other planets and the causes of natural disasters. They were even able to calculate the different times of a planets orbit with 99 percent accuracy and that the sun was the reason of the moon’s light. They were not right about everything, like the incorrect assumption of the planets placement around the sun, but they way ahead of their time. In 132 AD an earthquake detector was made by a man named Zang Heng. It was a huge bronze container with eight dragons wrapped around in different directions. The dragons each had a bronze ball in its mouth with a toad underneath it. The toads mouths were open ready to catch the balls. There was a stick in the bronze container that dropped if rattled by an earthquake. Once the stick dropped it would hit a dragon in the direction of the earthquake causing the it to open its mouth and drop a ball into the mouth of the toad. The invention of the seismoscope (earthquake detector)  was only one of the many great inventions invented in the Han Dynasty.

Confucianism

    

      The Han Dynasty was the first Dynasty to adopt the beliefs of Confucianism. Confucianism is a religion created from a Chinese philosopher named, Confucius. It was the general law and Beliefs of China. Confucianism has lead to many major decisions such as the abolishment of Legalism and the decision to educate government officials. Before the decision to educate government officials, emperors chose family members or people of high classes to help maintain order. This lead to many downfalls and even the end of other Dynasties. Overall Confucianism helped lead the Han Dynasty into a Dynasty of wealth and prosperity.

Invention of Paper

     
     Han Dynasty has had many inventions made to better the lives of the people, but paper was one of the greatest and it was invented by a man named Cai Lun in 105 AD . Paper was, cheap, portable and easy to write on (nothing like the strips of bamboo or silk they used before). It was made of many inexpensive materials including unused net, cloth and twine. Shortly after paper was invented it was used to transfer information onto documents. A surplus of paper allowed all sorts of people to write down there thoughts. This helped promote new ideas for the Dynasty. Lastly, paper was a great invention used and invented by the Han Dynasty for all purposes.

The Empress Takes Control

 

       Emperor Gaodi has just been killed in battle leaving his fifteen year old son next for the throne. He is an inexperienced boy, clearly incapable of maintaining order within the Dynasty. Hudi left all the major decisions to his mother, Empress Lu. Over come by power she took control of the throne and imprisoned anyone who she thought would get in her way. "I only imprisoned them for the good of my people, she said, but it is obvious that her statement is not true." After a short time in control her son died and she was forced to find someone else that she could manipulate to regain power. She chose boy younger  than Hudi but he didn't want to share the throne, so Empress Lu locked him up and found a new child to control. After the Empress's death her remaining sons killed the Lu clan and chose their half brother, Wendi, as Emperor because she didn't have any powerful family members left.

Interview

 Catherine: Hello Emperor, How are you?

Emperor Wudi: Fine thank you! Shall we start?

Catherine: Okay.

Catherine: How did the discovery of other civilizations effect the Han Dynasty?

    

    Emperor Wudi: Well, this discovery allowed advances in our military and trade. We captured herds of horses from Ferghana and brought them back to the empire. This allowed us to move armed men on horseback. We could not do this before because Mongolian’s only breed small ponies that could barely carry an unarmored man. Camels allowed the merchants to carry very heavy piles of silk cloth to Persia. They could also smell the water and detect sandstorms. Camels warned the followers by acting out of burying their heads in the sand.

Catherine: What is the purpose of educated government officials, and what did they have to do to take part in the government.

   

      Emperor Wudi: The purpose of well educated government officials was to make sure that the power that I was giving would no be wasted. What I mean by this is, giving power to an man that is not experienced would not make any sense at all, it would just led to complications within the Dynasty. Now if I gave the same power and land to an educated man it would make a huge difference. Allowing things to run more smoothly. Because I put an educated man in charge, he would not panic and become hysterical like an uneducated man would

   The exams that were given were extremely difficult.  To study for the exam men were told to memorize The Five Classics and The Analects. An ordinary man had an easier exam than a rich man because rich men had more of an idea of what the exam was going to be like.

Catherine: What were the different ranks among the Han.

   

    Emperor Wudi: Men are the foundation of the Han and are always ranked higher than women because men can work and provide for a family, while a women was considered a misfortune. Women only cause money loss, unless they can bear many sons. A women’s main responsibility is to get married and dedicate her life to her new family. The older the person the higher up they are, for example, a child always had to do what someone older than them told them too, even I it was an older brother or sister. A family member was always referred to as  Elder Sister or Second Brother. The oldest son was always the best role, for he would go on to take over the power from his father.

Catherine Walsh: Did music of any importance within the Dynasty?

    

     Emperor Wudi: Music was important for religious ceremonies and many other things such and relaxation. I formed the Imperial Bureau of Music. This wasn’t a band or anything like that, they taught people had to compose music but they did perform. I also believe that music help can help bring unification of the people and peace. There are different types of music performed by different people for different ranks. The people who would play for me would stand in a square, and for the lord ,a triangle, a minister, two people, and one person for someone of a lower class. 

Catherine:  Has the Dynasty experienced a shortage of surplus in money.

    Emperor Wudi: Actually, I did start buying more expensive this, such items for the palace, and artificial landforms which cause the government to pay higher taxes to the people, but this did not help as much. We were still low in money. Because of such high taxes powerful families attacked my family and killed everyone but me and my sister, who committed suicide. I when I escaped I promised live without luxury and had a son named, Zhaodi. His mother was a

OP/ED Article

Daoism is the official religion of the Han Dynasty. It allows people to have freedom and appreciate nature. If the people of the Han have to much freedom they could rebel against the government, which would lead to the destruction of the Dynasty. Daoism is a religion that believes in evil spirits and immortality. The Celestail Master gathered priests, both men and women to get rid of the evil spirits.Daoism should not be the official religion because there isn't ant proof that evil spirits exist and is just putting false beliefs in the minds of the people. Overall Daoism is a false religion that is brainwashing the minds of the people, it even killed Emperor Wudi because of the false teachings of immortality.

Map of the Han Dynasty

             This is a map of the Han Dynasty from the years 206 BC-220 AD. The Han Dynasty conquered parts of modern day, Mongolia and North Korea. The border lines between Modern day China and the Han Dynasty are different because the Han did not conquer all of China. The names of the rivers are the same the Jiang river is also now known as the Yangtze River and the Huang He is know as the Yellow River. The great wall of China was not built in the Han Dynasties rule, it was built in the previous Dynasty, the Qin.