The Eastern Han Dynastry
The Eastern Han Dynastry
The Eastern Han Dynastry
Wang Mang (the empress's brother) forced Emperor RuZi to abdicate and proclaiming himself as emperor, ending the Western Han Dynasty and starting the Xin dynasty. However the beginning of his rule was filled with controversial reforms, and led to mass revolts. Some of his resented reforms were the banning of slavery and the redistribution of land however his biggest mistake was the continuing reforms (up to 7 times) of the currency system which bankrupted many people. This resentment coupled with mass droughts throughout China and a dubious ascension to the throne triggered large scale uprisings.
The hatred for Emperor Wang Mang was so strong that in 17 AD, 2 major insurgents groups formed; the Green Wood men and the red brow men. A man named Liu Xiu and his elder brother (members of the Han royal family) joined the Green Wood Army under the leadership of Liu Xian who after defeating Wang Mang and ended the Xin Dynasty declared himself Emperor Gengshi.
Even though the Xin dynasty was defeated China was not united. During the uprising many stated declared their independents. Emperor Gengshi sent Liu Xiu to rebel any rebellion factions and to govern many states. Liu Xiu's states were the only states that were governed effectively and as Emperor Gengshi's power declined Liu Xiu power increased. In 25 AD Emperor Gengshi government collapse through war and incompetents and Liu proclaimed himself Emperor Geng Wu, making LuoYang City the capital. He restored the Han Dynasty and referred to his dynasty as the Eastern Han Dynasty, to distinguish it from the Western Han Dynasty.
In 37, Emperor Guang Wu (Formerly known as Liu Xiu) destroyed Chi Mei, Wei Xiao, Gong Sunshu and the other independent states and united the country. Emperor Guang Wu abolished Wang Mang's misrules, stopped the wars, and strengthened the culture and education. During that period the social was stable and this period was named 'Guang Wu Zhong Xing'.
The period from 57 to 88 AD was Emperor Zhang's reign and Eastern Han scholars came to view this time as the high point of the dynasty, as later emperors had the ever increasingly involvement of eunuchs and relatives because of the early age of the emperors.
In 88, when Emperor Zhang was only 31 he suddenly died. His 10-year old son, Liu Zhao came to the throne and was named Emperor He. During the early age of his reign, Empress Dowager Dou took control of his political power, giving power to her family and making the court corrupt.
At the age of 14 Emperor He grew annoyed with the Dou family group that Empress Dowager had created with her relatives. So Emperor He used trusted eunuchs to weaken and imprisoned some of the Dou family group. These actions caused the politics of Eastern Han Dynasty to be divided into two forces, the eunuch and the empress relatives.
During the late Eastern Han, relatives of the empress and eunuchs controlled all of the power, which led to intense court fighting. This grabbing and swapping of court power left no room for talented progressive people to rise into important positions. So the government turned both corrupt and incompetent.
While this court fighting continued, the forgotten Chinese population started to resent the government. This resentment led to the Yellow Turban Uprising in 189 AD, once this uprising has been put down the court fighting continued. He Jin the regent of Emperor Shao tried to eliminate all of the eunuchs however this plot back fired and he himself perished. Dong Zhuo appointed himself Prime Minster, removed Emperor Shao and all the eunuchs, install Emperor Xian and monopolized all the power of the Emperor. Thus continuing with decline of the Han dynasty as more revolts and uprising were triggered and warlords started grabbing land and power.
In 196 AD, Cao Cao, one of the most powerful warlords, captured Emperor Xian and used the name of the emperor and the dynasty to endorse his actions, as Cao went on a conquest to conquer and control other land. However in 208 AD he was defeat at the naval battle of Red cliffs
When Cao Cao died in 220 AD, China had 3 spheres of power. The North was control by Cao's family, the south dominated by Sun Quan and Liu Bei occupied the West.
After the death of Cao Cao, his son Cao Pi removed Emperor Xian and proclaimed himself Emperor of the Wei. This ended the Western Han Dynasty and started a new chapter in Chinese's history called The Three States.
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