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Essay On The Destruction Of The Han Dynasty

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The destruction of the Han Dynasty began many years ago.The Han empire's institutions were destroyed by the warlord Dong Zhuo, and fractured into regional regimes ruled by various warlords. Eventually, one of those warlords, Cao Cao, was able to gradually reunify the empire. However, the empire was controlled by Cao Cao himself, not Emperor Xian. Cao Cao's efforts to completely reunite the Han empire were rejected at the Battle of Red Cliffs in 208-209AD, when his armies were defeated by the allied forces of Sun Quan and Liu Bei. The Han dynasty officially ended today when Cao Pi, Cao Cao's son and heir, forced Emperor Xian to abdicate in his favour. Overall, our civilization as a whole has been deteriorating; being eroded from without: and …show more content…

It was under their rule that people remained happy and the country also prospered. Things went fine until the ninth emperor, after which came the downfall of the Shang dynasty. Family members of the tenth emperor made several attempts to overthrow him and take charge of the throne. However this led to social issues and gradually the emperor’s power declined. The Shang dynasty was no more.

According to the dynastic cycle, dynasties always came to an end. Therefore a new dynasty wrested power from the Shang: the Zhou dynasty. Zhou kings were smart: they thought that trouble would come if rulers lost heaven’s favor. As a justification for their conquest, the Zhou leaders stated that the last Shang king had been a poor ruler. They believed that the gods had given the Mandate of Heaven to them. This idea that a good ruler had approval from the gods integrated into Chinese culture.

The Zhou, however, didn't have a strong central government either. Relatives or trusted people were put in charge of regions, and became known as lords. The king would promise to protect their land. They, to thank their king, owed loyalty and military service in the form of troops to the king in time of

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