HIST 10800 Lecture Notes - Lecture 13: Sima Qian, Emperor Gaozu Of Han, Xiongnu
Document Summary
Liu bang proclaimed himself emperor of the han dynasty. , which ruled china for more than 400 years, divided into two periods. The former han ruled for two centuries until 9 c. e. He followed the example of a centralized government created provincials known as commanderies lowered taxes and softened punishments; peace and stability. He was replaced with wu di, the martial emperor, who reigned from 141 to 87 b. c. e. Wu di expanded china through war against the xiongnu, nomads from the north & West wu di aligned with their enemies and pushed the nomads back. He recruited scholarly talent for his administration. The government levied taxes to raise money peasants owed yearly crops, and merchants paid taxes. Peasants also owed a month"s worth of labor/military service per year peasants constructed roads/canals/irrigation and others filled army ranks. Bureaucracy led way to civil service jobs, which people were tested for through their knowledge of confucianism.
