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
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