ipl-logo

Essay On Han Dynasty

1146 Words5 Pages
bulb-icon

Recommended: Compare and contrast the qin and han dynasty

China is one of the world’s oldest civilizations, spanning over three thousand years. It was home to several influential civilizations and dynasties. Many times in Chinese history, the country was divided but dynasties would come along and reunite China. Many people have wondered: Which dynasty united China best? Arguably the most efficient and effective dynasty to unite China was the Han dynasty. Evidence can prove that the Qin dynasty was not the most effective. After the Zhou dynasty collapsed in 256 BCE. The period after its collapse was known as the warring states period. Many philosophies started getting thought up before and during the warring states era, but the most famous ones were Confucianism and Legalism. Confucianism believes …show more content…

Qin Shihuangdi ruled with an iron fist because he was a staunch Legalist. After his death, the dynasty fell but not for long. After the Qin fell, the Han came into power and used the Confucian government. This dynasty was one of the longest-lasting in Chinese history, unlike the Qin who didn't even get a second emperor before it broke apart.
The Han dynasty’s Confucian government system is better for unifying the people of China than the Qin and their legalistic government style. The Qin dynasty used the system of legalism in its government. Legalism gives the emperor and his government full control. The family unit was seen as a threat to this control. Therefore, Qin Shihuangdi sought to weaken the family unit to maintain his position of power. When Qin Shihuangdi attempted to do so his efforts were met with heavy opposition because most people valued the family unit. Confucianism aims to strengthen it. The people didn’t like rulers who tried to take away their rights like Qin Shihuangdi. This is why right after Qin Shihuangdi passed away a “period of civil war” emerged but “it didn’t last …show more content…

When Qin Shihuangdi reached his throne during the warring states period of Chinese history, he was very young, only 13 when he came to power in 246 BCE. He only took control of all the Chinese lands in 221 BCE after he defeated the last of the rival states. Compared to the Han dynasty, which after the fall of the Qin “quickly established” its control over the former Qin dynasty and the other warring states. Qin Shihuangdi, as stated before, was a very harsh leader. He had harsh punishments for every crime and did not pay attention to his people unless they were doing something that he didn't like. This is because in his mind the common people were as stated by Han Fei, “The intelligence of the people is not to be relied upon any more than the mind of a baby." This shows he only united his peers and fellow intellectuals. If he truly united China, he would listen to all of his people. This is why the Han united China because the Han would listen to all of his people. During Qin Shihuangdi’s reign over China, he was described by Sima Qian to have “killed men as though he could never finish” and how he would "punish men as though he were afraid he would never get around to them all” because of that “the whole world revolted against him.” All of this evidence implies that he did not have full control because of how many people he would kill just to keep his control. If he unified China he wouldn’t have to kill so

Show More
Related
1294 Words | 6 Pages

He united them together to create China and proclaim himself Emperor in 221 B.C. He vastly expanded the Chinese Empire and standardized Chinese writing as well as created a bureaucracy in China. He was said to be a cruel Emperor he burned all the books that remained from previous Chinese civilizations and killed anyone who differed with his ideas. We know Qin was obsessed with wanting to live forever he constantly was trying to find herbs and resources to extend his life. Archeologist can only

Read More
170 Words | 1 Pages

Qin Shi Huangdi was the first emperor to unify all regions of China into one single empire, taking drastic steps and measures to achieve this aim. He conquered six kingdoms and survived many attempts on his life. Through his barbarity and brutality, he had earned himself the title of the most successful and influential man of China. The State of Qin believed in a political philosophy called Legalism, which justified strict and centralized control and using the people to strengthen Qin. They believed that part of strengthening his rule was to force everyone to simply obey, not speak out against him and by decreeing even how people could write, what they could believe and what they could do.

Read More
337 Words | 2 Pages

The foundation of Legalism which he forced his subjects to conform to lead to the development of Chinses civilizations because the Qin dynasty was able to use it to unify China and inspire the Han dynasty. Although Emperor Zheng led the Qin army to fight with the same weapons as their rivals, but because of their meritocracy, they were undefeated. The meritocracy allowed soldiers and officials to be promoted strictly on the of accomplishment no matter the ranking of your family. Similar to Ashoka's way of providing people with the hopeful possibility of a change in status to get what he wanted, Zheng follows the same principle. A skilled soldier may rise to become a general, but the one lacking in skill may remain a common footed soldier.

Read More
575 Words | 3 Pages

Taylor Burke Mrs.Schweighardt World History, Period 6 8 February 2023 In what ways did the Han Dynasty improve government and daily life in China? The Han Dynasty was one of the first Dynasties that brought back the idea of Confucianism into their government and ruling system. After many years of following Legalism, the Han Dynasty decided to Soften the harsh rules that the Quinn Dynasty left behind and introduce Confucianism which helped influence the people to have moral standards that they show to elders, friends, and family.

Read More
571 Words | 3 Pages

The Qin Dynasty was ruled by a legalist who came to power and strongly led China. Qin Shi Huang worked tirelessly to try and come to power for the vision he had, never had China been so vast and powerful. He built magnificent palaces for himself, constructed defenses, directed campaigns, and traveled on extensive tours just to come up with the power to rule China and follow his vision. Source 3 shows that Qin Shi Huang took over

Read More
599 Words | 3 Pages

Standardization and Centralization: Qin and Han China Out of the Warring States period, the king of the Qin consolidated power and established a legalist state, taking the title Shihuangdi, or first emperor. Some characteristics of the Qin Dynasty was the standardization of life within the empire, a focus on security by constructing the Great Wall, and establishing a bureaucracy to run a smooth government. The Han Dynasty built its foundation from the Qin by continuing with standardization, as well as adapting the bureaucracy to align with their Confucian beliefs, especially with the civil service exams. The Grand Historian Sima Qian details some of Shihuangdi’s accomplishments, including “Tools and measures are made uniform, / The written

Read More
639 Words | 3 Pages

Additionally, previous dynasties, like the Shang, Zhou, and Qin, created a bureaucratic precedent for a centralized government. Therefore, the Han

Read More
1126 Words | 5 Pages

“Document #2” entitled “The Emperor with an ego big enough for all time” proves that Emperor Shi Huangdi had many reforms that focused on the betterment of society by discussing his “most significant reforms” such as a “standardize Chinese script [writing], weights, measures, and even the length of the cart axles”(Doc. 2). Additionally, Qin Shi Huangdi also created an extensive network of roads and canals that improved the trade and communication of troops between provinces (Doc 2). The reason why he did this was to improve everyday life for the citizens of the Qin dynasty. For example, the standardized axle length made travel much safer, easier and faster since everyone’s cart took up the same amount of space on the road. As well as creating standardized axle, Qin Shi Huangdi created a standardized currency that was used throughout the empire.

Read More
719 Words | 3 Pages

The Qin dynasty succeeded the Warring States Period (475 BCE - 221) (Britannica, Warring States, 2014, 2018), and the Spring and Autumn Period (770–476 BC) (Britannica, Spring and Autumn Period, 2017, 2018). During the Warring States and Spring and Autumn Periods, there was a massive power vacuum and several different states were locked in a struggle for control over China. The most prominent state during the Warring States Period was the Qin state, they revised the governing methods of the once influential state of Zhou. They made changes to land distribution, power distribution, education of the common folk, trade, and units of measurement throughout China. The changes made by Qin Shi Huang are what made him successfully unify China.

Read More
160 Words | 1 Pages

I think I am at the Pseudo-Independence stage of Janet Helm’s model of racial identity development. The town where I grew up didn’t really have much diversity and when I was younger I was oblivious to racism. I didn’t realize that racism existed until I went to high school and started working. One day at work last year the store manager told me to keep an eye on a customer.

Read More
1525 Words | 7 Pages

The Han Dynasty in China and the Roman Empire shared many similarities and differences when it came to political rule and the nature of their political authority. The most significant difference between the two is how the Han dynasty enacted policies that were shaped to counter the wrongdoings of the previous Qin dynasty, whereas the Roman Empire enacted policies shaped to create and promote peace and stability. The difference in the two empire’s coming to power was to account for their variance in political rule. After the Qin dynasty, the Han ruled China for four centuries, enacting numerous political changes and governing one of the most efficacious dynasties in Chinese history.

Read More
425 Words | 2 Pages

However, before he unified China, he faced a challenge while becoming king of the state of Qin. When he finally came of age and was able to become king, he faced a coup from his father’s chancellor and his mother as well as others (“Shi Huangdi Becomes Emperor”). If he had not been able to overcome this challenge, the whole history of China could have turned out completely differently. Of course, once he became king, he faced the challenge of actually unifying the six endlessly warring states. With Li Si as his adviser, Qin was able to conquer the other kingdoms between 230 B.C. and 221 B.C. and was able to unify China into one country, becoming the first emperor (“Qin Shi Huang-Di”).

Read More
1369 Words | 6 Pages

They believed that the government should use law and punishment to end civil disorder. They also believed that a strong government was key to the system of legalism. After the Zhou dynasty was replaced by the Qin dynasty, legalist ideals were employed within the new dynasty. The Emperor of this new dynasty was named Shi Huangdi, which translates to " the

Read More
556 Words | 3 Pages

There where many factors that led China to political unification in contrast to India. One factor is, dynasties such as the Zhou Dynasty who kept the same political system as its predecessors, where India had changed many things and continued to change political and social systems. India was very fragmented in political unification because, India was and still is a land of diversity. Ancient India was also not as organized as Ancient China in ruling. When the Zhou kingdom had started to end and break apart into many powerful states a “relativity young state of Qin located in the original homeland of the Zhou, emerged as a key player in conflicts”(p.

Read More
1233 Words | 5 Pages

China, up until the Qin Dynasty, consisted of independent states controlled by kings fighting each other for land and power. This time period was called The Era of Warring States, which lasted two hundred years. After this time, the Qin Dynasty rose to power. They conquered all other dynasties, and established a centralized government, unifying China for the first time. The dynasty that succeeded the Qin, the Han, continued the centralized government and they started a westward expansion that would encourage trade and cultural diffusion.

Read More

More about Essay On Han Dynasty

Related Topics

Open Document