The Former Han dynasty

Bibliographic Data

ID23178571
AuthorsMichael Loewe (0000-0002-3555-165X, corresponding author)
Year1986
Pages103-222
Publication date1986-12-26
Peer ReviewedYes
Open AccessYes
TypeCHAPTER
VenueThe Cambridge History of China (SOURCE_BOOK)
PublisherCambridge University Press (PUBLISHER • US)
DOI10.1017/chol9780521243278.004
OpenAlexW2503766624
Open LibraryOL7734132M
ISBN9780521243278
LanguageEN
Citations received20
References cited173

The Han dynasty bequeathed to China an ideal and a concept of empire that survived basically intact for two thousand years. Modernist policies derived from the unification of China by Ch'in and the operation of imperial government under the principles of Shang Yang, Shen Pu-hai, and Han Fei. The first century of the Han empire witnessed the implementation, modification, or extension of these policies in a number of ways. The imperial institutions and intellectual framework of the Han empire were evolved and modified as a result of controversy, violence, or rebellion. Ch'en She and Wu Kuang are named as the two men who were the first to challenge the authority of the Ch'in empire. The major difference between the systems of government of Ch'in and Han lay in the organization of the provinces. During the last fifty years of the Former Han period, foreign policy was marked at times by a refusal to engage potential enemies.

Ancient history · China · Empire · Extension (predicate logic) · Government (linguistics) · Ideal (ethics) · Political science · Unification · Chinese history and philosophy · Computer Science · Eurasian Exchange Networks · History · Law · Philosophy