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93-598: The Cangjiepian , also known as the Three Chapters ( 三 倉 , sāncāng ), was a c. 220 BCE Chinese primer and a prototype for Chinese dictionaries . Li Si , Chancellor of the Qin dynasty (221–206 BCE), compiled it for the purpose of reforming written Chinese into the new orthographic standard Small Seal Script . Beginning in the Han dynasty (206 BCE – 221 CE), many scholars and lexicographers expanded and annotated
186-628: A limited engagement at Mayi involving the assassination of the Chanyu would throw the Xiongnu realm into chaos and benefit the Han. When this plot failed in 133 BC, Emperor Wu launched a series of massive military invasions into Xiongnu territory. The assault culminated in 119 BC at the Battle of Mobei , when Han commanders Huo Qubing ( d. 117 BC ) and Wei Qing ( d. 106 BC ) forced
279-530: A (165 BCE) Han dynasty tomb at Shuanggudui and discovered a cache of texts written on bamboo strips, including the Yijing and Chuci . The Cangjiepian version has 541 characters, nearly 20 percent of the complete work, and is longer and more legible than the other fragments; Theobald provides pictures of these strips. The Cangjiepian fragments excavated from Northwest China during 1930s and 1970s repeatedly state that "Cang Jie invented writing" in order to instruct
372-595: A Greek sailor had visited. Emperor Zhang 's ( r. 75–88 AD ) reign came to be viewed by later Eastern Han scholars as the high point of the dynastic house. Subsequent reigns were increasingly marked by eunuch intervention in court politics and their involvement in the violent power struggles of the imperial consort clans . In 92 AD, with the aid of the eunuch Zheng Zhong ( d. 107 AD ), Emperor He ( r. 88–105 AD ) had Empress Dowager Dou ( d. 97 AD ) put under house arrest and her clan stripped of power. This
465-457: A change which debased the value of coinage. Although these reforms provoked considerable opposition, Wang's regime met its ultimate downfall with the massive floods of c. 3 AD and 11 AD. Gradual silt build-up in the Yellow River had raised its water level and overwhelmed the flood control works . The Yellow River split into two new branches: one emptying to the north and
558-445: A coalition of former officials and officers against Dong, who burned Luoyang to the ground and resettled the court at Chang'an in May 191 AD. Dong Zhuo later poisoned Emperor Shao. Dong was killed by his adopted son Lü Bu ( d. 198 AD ) in a plot hatched by Wang Yun ( d. 192 AD ). Emperor Xian fled from Chang'an in 195 AD to the ruins of Luoyang. Xian
651-461: A common radical, and furthermore, the sequence of radicals generally resembles the sequence of the 540 radicals in the Shuowenjiezi . For one example, the " door radical " 門 (which is generally used to write words semantically related to "doors") is seen in the sequence kāi 開 "open", bì 閉 "close", mén 門 "door", and lǘ 閭 "town" all fall under the heading of, for their meanings are all related to
744-416: A coup against the eunuchs Hou Lan ( d. 172 AD ), Cao Jie ( d. 181 AD ), and Wang Fu ( 王甫 ). When the plot was uncovered, the eunuchs arrested Empress Dowager Dou ( d. 172 AD ) and Chen Fan. General Zhang Huan ( 張奐 ) favoured the eunuchs. He and his troops confronted Dou Wu and his retainers at the palace gate where each side shouted accusations of treason against
837-523: A decree of Shutongwen 書同文 "Writing the Same Character". It mandated using a consistent writing system based on the Small Seal Script , which was comparatively simpler and easier to write than Large Seal Script. In a logographic language like Chinese, correct character writing is fundamental for efficiency of information transfer. The emperor ordered his chancellor and two other ministers to compile
930-516: A descendant of Emperor Jing ( r. 157–141 BC ), attempted to restore the Han dynasty and occupied Chang'an as his capital. However, he was overwhelmed by the Red Eyebrow rebels who deposed, assassinated, and replaced him with the puppet monarch Liu Penzi . Gengshi's distant cousin Liu Xiu, known posthumously as Emperor Guangwu ( r. 25–57 AD ), after distinguishing himself at
1023-561: A request by Kushan ruler Vima Kadphises ( r. c. 90 – c. 100 AD – ) for a marriage alliance with the Han was rejected in AD ;90, he sent his forces to Wakhan (modern-day Afghanistan) to attack Ban Chao. The conflict ended with the Kushans withdrawing because of lack of supplies. In AD 91, the office of Protector General of the Western Regions
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#17328546506251116-428: A series of reforms that limited the power of these kingdoms in 145, dividing their former territories into new commanderies under central control. Kings were no longer able to appoint their own staff; this duty was assumed by the imperial court. Kings became nominal heads of their fiefs and collected a portion of tax revenues as their personal incomes. The kingdoms were never entirely abolished and existed throughout
1209-500: A standard Small Seal character wordbook in three parts. The 7-chapter Cangjiepian compilation was overseen by Li Si, the 6-chapter Yuanlipian 爰歷篇 "Explanation of Difficult Words" by Zhao Gao , and the 7-chapter Boxuepian 博學篇 "Extensive Knowledge of Words" by Humu Jing 胡毋敬. They simplified, standardized, and disseminated a national standard script for the first time in China. These three textbooks were officially issued and circulated during
1302-545: A successful overthrow of her regime to enthrone Emperor Shun of Han ( r. 125–144 AD ). Yan was placed under house arrest, her relatives were either killed or exiled, and her eunuch allies were slaughtered. The regent Liang Ji ( d. 159 AD ), brother of Empress Liang Na ( d. 150 AD ), had the brother-in-law of Consort Deng Mengnü ( d. 165 AD ) killed after Deng Mengnü resisted Liang Ji's attempts to control her. Afterward, Emperor Huan employed eunuchs to depose Liang Ji, who
1395-474: A war to determine who would have hegemony over China, which had fissured into Eighteen Kingdoms , each claiming allegiance to either Xiang Yu or Liu Bang. Although Xiang Yu proved to be an effective commander, Liu Bang defeated him at the Battle of Gaixia (202 BC) in modern-day Anhui . Liu Bang assumed the title of Emperor at the urging of his followers and is known posthumously as Emperor Gaozu ( r. 202–195 BC ). Chang'an (modern Xi'an)
1488-588: Is a common Chinese surname . The character 頡/颉 is only pronounced jié in this name, and is usually pronounced xié "stretch the neck; fly up (of birds)". The piān 篇 in Cangjiepian originally meant " bamboo strips used for writing (before the invention of paper)", which was semantically extended to "sheet (of paper/etc.); piece of writing; article; chapter; section; book". The sinologists Li Feng and David Branner describe pian as "separate textual unit". The original Cangjiepian , like most Qin and Han era books,
1581-558: Is a first textbook for teaching of reading , such as an alphabet book or basal reader . The word also is used more broadly to refer to any book that presents the most basic elements of any subject. Secular primer textbooks developed out of medieval religious primer prayer books and educationally-oriented revisions of these devotionals proliferated during the English Reformation . The Latin Enschedé Abecedarium of
1674-423: Is more than the original Cangjiepian . The Book of the Han further says that about 60 BCE, during the reign of Emperor Xuan of Han (r. 74–49 BCE), the Cangjiepian was "filled with obsolete characters that are difficult for ordinary teachers to read". The emperor called for scholars who could pronounce them correctly, and Zhang Chang was chosen. After he died in 48 BCE, his grandson-in-law Du Lin 杜林 completed
1767-486: Is now northern Sichuan and southern Shaanxi , was not quelled until 215 AD. Zhang Jue's massive rebellion across eight provinces was annihilated by Han forces within a year; however, the following decades saw much smaller recurrent uprisings. Although the Yellow Turbans were defeated, many generals appointed during the crisis never disbanded their assembled militias and used these troops to amass power outside of
1860-541: Is recorded in the Weilüe and Book of Later Han to have reached the court of Emperor Huan of Han ( r. 146–168 AD ) in AD 166, yet Rafe de Crespigny asserts that this was most likely a group of Roman merchants . In addition to Roman glasswares and coins found in China, Roman medallions from the reign of Antoninus Pius and his adopted son Marcus Aurelius have been found at Óc Eo in Vietnam. This
1953-748: Is semantically grouped and graphic radical -oriented. First, the Cangjiepian format has rhymed (in Qin period Old Chinese ), 4-character phrases/sentences that are easy for children to recite and memorize. Take the Preface for example, Cangjie creates characters [* s-ta 書] for educating the young [* sə.lə-s 嗣]. The youth are summoned [* taw-s 詔] and they should learn to be serious, cautious, respectful, and self-disciplined [* kˤrək-s 戒]. They should make up their mind and study hard [* sə-loŋ-s 誦] and show perseverance [ sic ] in reading and reciting day and night [* trək-s 置]. If selected to serve as officials in
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#17328546506252046-530: The Yiqie jing yinyi "Pronunciation and Meaning in the Tripitaka " quotes the Cangjiepian to say, 痏創也 音如鮪魚之鮪, " Wěi 痏 [also pronounced yáng or yòu ] means chuàng 創 "wound", and is pronounced like the fish wěi 鮪 "sturgeon"." Primer (textbook) A primer (in this sense usually pronounced / ˈ p r ɪ m ər / , sometimes / ˈ p r aɪ m ər / , usually the latter in modern British English )
2139-526: The Battle of Kunyang in 23 AD, was urged to succeed Gengshi as emperor. Under Guangwu's rule, the Han Empire was restored. Guangwu made Luoyang his capital in 25 AD, and by 27 his officers Deng Yu and Feng Yi had forced the Red Eyebrows to surrender and executed their leaders for treason . From 26 until 36 AD, Emperor Guangwu had to wage war against other regional warlords who claimed
2232-517: The Battle of Zhizhi , in modern Taraz , Kazakhstan. In 121 BC, Han forces expelled the Xiongnu from a vast territory spanning the Hexi Corridor to Lop Nur . They repelled a joint Xiongnu- Qiang invasion of this northwestern territory in 111 BC. In that same year, the Han court established four new frontier commanderies in this region to consolidate their control: Jiuquan , Zhangyi , Dunhuang , and Wuwei . The majority of people on
2325-715: The Buyeo Kingdom in Manchuria to the Ili River of the Wusun people. The Xianbei reached their apogee under Tanshihuai ( d. AD 181 ), who consistently defeated Chinese armies. However, Tanshihuai's confederation disintegrated after his death. Ban Chao ( d. AD 102 ) enlisted the aid of the Kushan Empire , which controlled territory across South and Central Asia, to subdue Kashgar and its ally Sogdiana. When
2418-719: The Cangjiepian (inclusive Sancang version) The Cangjie Primer , Cangjiezhuan 倉頡傳 The Biography of Cangjie , both Yang Xiong's and Du Lin's Cangjiexunzuan 倉頡訓纂 Collections of Cangjie Exegesis , and the Cangjiegu 倉頡故 The Exegesis of the Cangjie Primer . The Cangjiepian was continuously used until the end of the Tang dynasty, when the last remaining copies were destroyed during the Huang Chao Rebellion (874–884). Various Qing dynasty (1644–1912) scholars partially reconstructed
2511-549: The Cangjiepian collated characters on the basis of semantic fields (already used in the 3rd-century BCE Erya dictionary) and graphic radicals (later used in the 121 CE Shuowen Jiezi ). Some sections give characters for words that are synonyms , antonyms , or otherwise semantically related. An example of words meaning "length" is: cùn 寸 "inch", báo 薄 "thin", hòu 厚 "thick", guǎng 廣 "wide", xiá 狹 "narrow", hǎo 好 "good", chǒu 醜 "ugly", cháng 長 "long", and duǎn 短 "short". Other sections give characters that share
2604-587: The Cangjiepian . By the end of the Tang dynasty (618–907), it had become a lost work , but in 1977, archeologists discovered a cache of (c. 165 BCE) texts written on bamboo strips , including fragments of the Cangjiepian . The eponymous Cangjiepian title derives from the culture hero Cangjie , the legendary Yellow Emperor 's historian and inventor of Chinese writing . According to Chinese mythology , Cangjie, who had four eyes and remarkable cognizance, created Chinese characters after observing natural phenomena such as
2697-748: The Chu–Han Contention , the resulting Han dynasty was named after the Hanzhong fief. China's first imperial dynasty was the Qin dynasty (221–207 BC). The Qin united the Chinese Warring States by conquest, but their regime became unstable after the death of the first emperor Qin Shi Huang . Within four years, the dynasty's authority had collapsed in a rebellion. Two former rebel leaders, Xiang Yu ( d. 202 BC ) of Chu and Liu Bang ( d. 195 BC ) of Han , engaged in
2790-621: The Collections of Cangjie Exegesis , which was lost by the Sui dynasty (518–618). The Cangjiepian had a serious pedagogical shortcoming: some Chinese characters could only be understood with the help of specialized annotations, and many came forth. The Han philosopher and philologist Yang Xiong (53 BCE – 18 CE) first revised the Cangjiepian and wrote the Cangjiexunzuan 倉頡訓纂 Collections of Cangjie Exegesis supplement, which had 5,340 characters. In
2883-539: The Eastern Han (25–220 AD). Spanning over four centuries, the Han dynasty is considered a golden age in Chinese history , and had a permanent impact on Chinese identity in later periods. The majority ethnic group of modern China refer to themselves as the " Han people " or "Han Chinese". The spoken Chinese and written Chinese are referred to respectively as the "Han language" and " Han characters ". The Han emperor
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2976-729: The Greco-Bactrian Kingdom ); he also gathered information on Shendu (the Indus River valley) and Anxi (the Parthian Empire ). All of these countries eventually received Han embassies. These connections marked the beginning of the Silk Road trade network that extended to the Roman Empire , bringing goods like Chinese silk and Roman glasswares between the two. From c. 115 BC until c. 60 BC , Han forces fought
3069-607: The Picang 埤倉 The Augmented Cangjie Glossary , Guangya The Broad Ready Guide [ sic ], and Gujin zigu 古今字詁 The Exegesis of Ancient and Contemporary Characters . Guo Pu (276–324) wrote a commentary to the Sancang , which is lost. Fan Ye 's Book of the Later Han says that when Xu Shen started compiling the Shuowen jiezi , he used ten dictionaries and primers, including
3162-526: The Rebellion of the Seven States . From the reign of Emperor Wu ( r. 141–87 BC ) onward, the Chinese court officially sponsored Confucianism in education and court politics, synthesized with the cosmology of later scholars such as Dong Zhongshu . The Han dynasty oversaw periods of economic prosperity as well as significant growth in the money economy that had first been established during
3255-462: The Xiongnu , a nomadic confederation centred in the eastern Eurasian steppe . The Xiongnu defeated the Han in 200 BC , prompting the Han to appease the Xiongnu with a policy of marriage alliance and payments of tribute, though the Xiongnu continued to raid the Han's northern borders. Han policy changed in 133 BC, under Emperor Wu , when Han forces began a series of military campaigns to quell
3348-564: The Xiongnu , who were estranged from Han until their leader Bi ( 比 ), a rival claimant to the throne against his cousin Punu ( 蒲奴 ), submitted to Han as a tributary vassal in AD 50. This created two rival Xiongnu states: the Southern Xiongnu led by Bi, an ally of Han, and the Northern Xiongnu led by Punu, an enemy of Han. During the turbulent reign of Wang Mang, China lost control over
3441-565: The Yellow Turban Rebellion and Five Pecks of Rice Rebellion in 184 AD, largely because the court did not want to continue to alienate a significant portion of the gentry class who might otherwise join the rebellions. The Yellow Turbans and Five-Pecks-of-Rice adherents belonged to two different hierarchical Taoist religious societies led by faith healers Zhang Jue ( d. 184 AD ) and Zhang Lu ( d. 216 AD ), respectively. Zhang Lu's rebellion, in what
3534-553: The Zhou dynasty ( c. 1050 – 256 BC). The coinage minted by the central government in 119 BC remained the standard in China until the Tang dynasty (618–907 AD). The period saw a number of limited institutional innovations. To finance its military campaigns and the settlement of newly conquered frontier territories, the Han government nationalised private salt and iron industries in 117 BC, creating government monopolies that were later repealed during
3627-494: The Eastern period. There were significant advances in science and technology during the Han period, including the emergence of papermaking , rudders for steering ships, negative numbers in mathematics , raised-relief maps , hydraulic -powered armillary spheres for astronomy , and seismometers that discerned the cardinal direction of distant earthquakes by use of inverted pendulums . The Han dynasty had many conflicts with
3720-448: The Han as equal partners in a royal marriage alliance, but the Han were forced to send large amounts of tribute items such as silk clothes, food, and wine to the Xiongnu. Despite the tribute and negotiation between Laoshang Chanyu ( r. 174–160 BC ) and Emperor Wen ( r. 180–157 BC ) to reopen border markets, many of the Chanyu 's subordinates chose not to obey
3813-669: The House of Liu. The dynasty was preceded by the short-lived Qin dynasty (221–206 BC) and a warring interregnum known as the Chu–Han Contention (206–202 BC), and it was succeeded by the Three Kingdoms period (220–280 AD). The dynasty was briefly interrupted by the Xin dynasty (9–23 AD) established by the usurping regent Wang Mang , and is thus separated into two periods—the Western Han (202 BC – 9 AD) and
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3906-689: The Imperial University on a dubious charge of treason. In 167 AD, the Grand Commandant Dou Wu ( d. 168 AD ) convinced his son-in-law, Emperor Huan, to release them. However, the emperor permanently barred Li Ying and his associates from serving in office, marking the beginning of the Partisan Prohibitions . Following Huan's death, Dou Wu and the Grand Tutor Chen Fan ( d. 168 AD ) attempted
3999-666: The Tarim Basin, which was conquered by the Northern Xiongnu in AD 63 and used as a base to invade the Hexi Corridor in Gansu . Dou Gu ( d. 88 AD ) defeated the Northern Xiongnu at the Battle of Yiwulu in AD 73, evicting them from Turpan and chasing them as far as Lake Barkol before establishing a garrison at Hami. After the new Protector General of the Western Regions Chen Mu ( d. AD 75 )
4092-508: The Xiongnu court to flee north of the Gobi Desert , and Han forces reached as far north as Lake Baikal . After Wu's reign, Han forces continued to fight the Xiongnu. The Xiongnu leader Huhanye ( r. 58–31 BC ) finally submitted to the Han as a tributary vassal in 51 BC. Huhanye's rival claimant to the throne, Zhizhi Chanyu ( r. 56–36 BC ), was killed by Han forces under Chen Tang and Gan Yanshou ( 甘延壽 ) at
4185-476: The Xiongnu over control of the oasis city-states in the Tarim Basin. The Han was eventually victorious and established the Protectorate of the Western Regions in 60 BC, which dealt with the region's defence and foreign affairs. The Han also expanded southward . The naval conquest of Nanyue in 111 BC expanded the Han realm into what are now modern Guangdong , Guangxi , and northern Vietnam. Yunnan
4278-481: The Xiongnu. The Xiongnu were eventually defeated and forced to accept a status as Han vassals , and the Xiongnu confederation fragmented. The Han conquered the Hexi Corridor and Inner Asian territory of the Tarim Basin from the Xiongnu, helping to establish the Silk Road . The lands north of the Han's borders were later overrun by the nomadic Xianbei confederation. Emperor Wu also launched successful conquests in
4371-536: The Yuan brothers, Zhang committed suicide by jumping into the Yellow River. General Dong Zhuo ( d. 192 AD ) found the young emperor and his brother wandering in the countryside. He escorted them safely back to the capital and was made Minister of Works , taking control of Luoyang and forcing Yuan Shao to flee. After Dong Zhuo demoted Emperor Shao and promoted his brother Liu Xie as Emperor Xian, Yuan Shao led
4464-540: The birth of ancient Chinese dictionaries". During the Warring States period (475–221 BCE), there was a wide and confusing variety of unstandardized Large Seal Script characters, with the same word being written in several different ways. After Emperor Qin Shi Huang had conquered all other Warring States and unified China in 221 BCE, he adopted a language-reform proposal made by the Legalist Li Si and promulgated
4557-415: The book into fifty-five chapters, each chapter containing sixty characters. This new textbook retained the original title The Cangjie Primer . This 3,300-character Cangjiepian , commonly called the Sancang 三倉 "Three Cangs", became popular and was widely recognized as the standard textbook for character learning. Scribes at the beginning of the Han were expected to be able to recite 5,000 characters, which
4650-517: The capital was moved eastward to Luoyang. The era from his reign until the fall of Han is known as the Eastern Han or Later Han (25–220 AD). The Eastern Han ( traditional Chinese : 東漢 ; simplified Chinese : 东汉 ; pinyin : Dōnghàn ), also known as the Later Han ( 後漢 ; 后汉 ; Hòuhàn ), formally began on 5 August AD 25, when Liu Xiu became Emperor Guangwu of Han . During
4743-434: The collapsing imperial authority. General-in-chief He Jin ( d. 189 AD ), half-brother to Empress He ( d. 189 AD ), plotted with Yuan Shao ( d. 202 AD ) to overthrow the eunuchs by having several generals march to the outskirts of the capital. There, in a written petition to Empress He, they demanded the eunuchs' execution. After a period of hesitation, Empress He consented. When
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#17328546506254836-746: The concept of "door". For another, " sickness radical " 疒 (seen in many characters denoting "illness; sickness") is seen in all but one of the series bìng 病 "illness", kuáng 狂 (with the " dog radical " 犭) "madness", cī 疵 "blemish", gāng 疕 "head sores", chèn 疢 "fever", and yáng 瘍 "sore". In addition, some Cangjiepian passages explain semantic extensions and polysemy , such as "措 means 置 "to handle", also 安 "arrange", and also 施 "implement". The original Cangjiepian did not have explanatory notes for difficult characters and words, but some received editions have interpretations and glosses added to characters, which are obviously accretions from scholars of later periods. The Tang dynasty dictionary by Xuan Ying (玄應),
4929-490: The emperor was often a minor, ruled over by a regent such as the empress dowager or one of her male relatives. Ranked immediately below the emperor were the kings who were of the same Liu family clan. The rest of society, including nobles lower than kings and all commoners excluding slaves, belonged to one of twenty ranks ( ershi gongcheng 二十公乘 ). Each successive rank gave its holder greater pensions and legal privileges. The highest rank, of full marquess , came with
5022-576: The empire . The Han dynasty came to an end in 220 AD when Cao Pi , king of Wei , usurped the throne from Emperor Xian . According to the Records of the Grand Historian , after the collapse of the Qin dynasty the hegemon Xiang Yu appointed Liu Bang as prince of the small fief of Hanzhong , named after its location on the Han River (in modern southwest Shaanxi ). Following Liu Bang's victory in
5115-483: The empresses and empresses dowager . Imperial authority was also seriously challenged by large Taoist religious societies which instigated the Yellow Turban Rebellion and the Five Pecks of Rice Rebellion . Following the death of Emperor Ling ( r. 168–189 AD ), the palace eunuchs were massacred by military officers, allowing members of the aristocracy and military governors to become warlords and divide
5208-633: The eunuchs discovered this, however, they had her brother He Miao ( 何苗 ) rescind the order. The eunuchs assassinated He Jin on 22 September 189. Yuan Shao then besieged Luoyang's Northern Palace while his brother Yuan Shu ( d. 199 AD ) besieged the Southern Palace. On September 25 both palaces were breached and approximately two thousand eunuchs were killed. Zhang Rang had previously fled with Emperor Shao ( r. 189 AD ) and his brother Liu Xie—the future Emperor Xian of Han ( r. 189–220 AD ). While being pursued by
5301-445: The eye of a modern lexicographer". Nevertheless, they admit it is undeniable that the Cangjiepian "laid a solid foundation and initiated an enlightening start in character standardization, corpus construction, and source material accumulation". The excavated Han dynasty bamboo-slip Cangjiepian edition has two outstanding features in layout: rhymed 4-character phrases that are easy to recite and remember, and character collation that
5394-427: The family inheritance. His brothers Yuan Shang and Yuan Xi were killed in 207 AD by Gongsun Kang ( d. 221 AD ), who sent their heads to Cao Cao. After Cao's defeat at the naval Battle of Red Cliffs in 208 AD, China was divided into three spheres of influence, with Cao Cao dominating the north, Sun Quan (182–252 AD) dominating the south, and Liu Bei (161–223 AD) dominating
5487-452: The footprints of birds and animals. In Modern Standard Chinese usage, the name "Cangjie" is most commonly known and used in the Cangjie method of inputting Chinese characters into a computer , rather than for the ancient Cangjiepian proto-dictionary. In the name Cāngjié or Cāng Jié, cāng 倉/仓 means "storehouse; warehouse" and is sometimes written 蒼/苍 "dark green; blue; gray; ashy", which
5580-601: The frontier were soldiers. On occasion, the court forcibly moved peasant farmers to new frontier settlements, along with government-owned slaves and convicts who performed hard labour. The court also encouraged commoners, such as farmers, merchants, landowners, and hired labourers, to voluntarily migrate to the frontier. Even before the Han's expansion into Central Asia, diplomat Zhang Qian 's travels from 139 to 125 BC had established Chinese contacts with many surrounding civilizations. Zhang encountered Dayuan ( Fergana ), Kangju ( Sogdiana ), and Daxia ( Bactria , formerly
5673-426: The government [* s-rəʔ 史], they should be qualified in calculating, accounting, discriminating good from evil, and ruling [* C.lrə 治]. They should be trained to be the elites [* [ɡ]ur 群] and the exceptional but not the deviants [* ɢək-s 異]. The Cangjiepian adapted the prevalent style of writing Chinese poetry in 4-character lines, which dates back to the (11th–7th centuries BCE) Classic of Poetry . Later poetry
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#17328546506255766-500: The late 15th century, translated into English as the Salisbury Prymer , has been identified as the earliest example of a printed primer. It presented the alphabet and several Catholic prayers . Other historical examples of primers for children include: Han dynasty The Han dynasty was an imperial dynasty of China (202 BC – 9 AD, 25–220 AD) established by Liu Bang and ruled by
5859-400: The later generations. The presence of the Cangjiepian in several early Han tombs shows that it was, "if not a common manual for elementary instruction, at least not a rare work." While some academics conclude that the Cangjiepian "demonstrated the prototype of a modern Chinese dictionary", believe this character-learning textbook's format was "not particularly standardized and consistent to
5952-411: The nobility, Wang Mang claimed on 10 January that the divine Mandate of Heaven called for the end of the Han dynasty and the beginning of his own: the Xin dynasty (9–23 AD). Wang Mang initiated a series of major reforms that were ultimately unsuccessful. These reforms included outlawing slavery, nationalizing and equally distributing land between households, and introducing new currencies,
6045-666: The other to the south of the Shandong Peninsula , though Han engineers managed to dam the southern branch by 70 AD. The flood dislodged thousands of peasant farmers, many of whom joined roving bandit and rebel groups such as the Red Eyebrows to survive. Wang Mang's armies were incapable of quelling these enlarged rebel groups. Eventually, an insurgent mob forced their way into the Weiyang Palace and killed Wang Mang. The Gengshi Emperor ( r. 23–25 AD ),
6138-560: The other. When the retainers gradually deserted Dou Wu, he was forced to commit suicide. Under Emperor Ling ( r. 168–189 AD ) the eunuchs had the partisan prohibitions renewed and expanded, while also auctioning off top government offices. Many affairs of state were entrusted to the eunuchs Zhao Zhong ( d. 189 AD ) and Zhang Rang ( d. 189 AD ) while Emperor Ling spent much of his time roleplaying with concubines and participating in military parades. The Partisan Prohibitions were repealed during
6231-444: The reign of Emperor He of Han (88–105 CE), Jia Fang 賈魴 compiled another supplement named the Pangxipian 滂喜篇. During the Jin dynasty (266–420) period, the Cangjiepian , Xunzuanpian , and Pangxipian were combined into one 3-chapter book with the title Cangjiepian , also called the Sancang . According to the Records of the Three Kingdoms (biography of Jiang Shi), in the early Cao Wei dynasty, Zhang Yi (fl. 227–232) wrote
6324-421: The remainder of Western and Eastern Han. To the north of China proper , the nomadic Xiongnu chieftain Modu Chanyu ( r. 209–174 BC ) conquered various tribes inhabiting the eastern portion of the Eurasian Steppe . By the end of his reign, he controlled the Inner Asian regions of Manchuria , Mongolia , and the Tarim Basin , subjugating over twenty states east of Samarkand . Emperor Gaozu
6417-441: The salt and iron monopolies were eventually abolished in the early Eastern Han. The issuing of coinage remained a central government monopoly throughout the rest of the Han dynasty. The government monopolies were eventually repealed when a political faction known as the Reformists gained greater influence in the court. The Reformists opposed the Modernist faction that had dominated court politics in Emperor Wu's reign and during
6510-459: The short-lived Qin dynasty (221–206 BCE). Scholars in the early Han dynasty (206 BCE – 220 CE) combined these three Qin texts into one book, and transcribed the original Small Seal script into the standard Han Clerical script . Ban Gu 's Book of Han records, the teachers and learned people in the towns and villages combined The Cangjie Primer , The Yuanli Primer , and The Scholarly Primer [i.e., Boxuepian ] under one cover and segmented
6603-427: The south , annexing Nanyue in 111 BC and Dian in 109 BC . He further expanded Han territory into the northern Korean Peninsula , where Han forces conquered Gojoseon and established the Xuantu and Lelang commanderies in 108 BC. After 92 AD, palace eunuchs increasingly involved themselves in the dynasty's court politics, engaging in violent power struggles between various consort clans of
6696-479: The subsequent regency of Huo Guang ( d. 68 BC ). The Modernists argued for an aggressive and expansionary foreign policy supported by revenues from heavy government intervention in the private economy. The Reformists, however, overturned these policies, favouring a cautious, non-expansionary approach to foreign policy, frugal budget reform, and lower tax-rates imposed on private entrepreneurs. Wang Zhengjun (71 BC – 13 AD)
6789-729: The text by collecting fragments quotations of the Cangjiepian in works such as the Wenxuan and Taiping Imperial Reader . Archeologists have discovered Cangjiepian fragments in several locations, including the Dunhuang manuscripts from the Mogao Caves in Gansu province, at Juyan Lake Basin in westernmost Inner Mongolia , and most notably at the Shuanggudui archeological site, located near Fuyang in Anhui province. In 1977, archeologists excavated
6882-455: The title of emperor; when these warlords were defeated, China reunified under the Han. The period between the foundation of the Han dynasty and Wang Mang's reign is known as the Western Han ( 西漢 ; 西汉 ; Xīhàn ) or Former Han ( 前漢 ; 前汉 ; Qiánhàn ) (206 BC – 9 AD). During this period the capital was at Chang'an (modern Xi'an ). From the reign of Guangwu
6975-466: The treaty and periodically raided Han territories south of the Great Wall for additional goods. In a court conference assembled by Emperor Wu ( r. 141–87 BC ) in 135 BC, the majority consensus of the ministers was to retain the heqin agreement. Emperor Wu accepted this, despite continuing Xiongnu raids. However, a court conference the following year convinced the majority that
7068-400: The war with Chu, Emperor Gaozu enfeoffed some of them as kings. By 196, the Han court had replaced all of these kings with royal Liu family members, with the lone exception of Changsha . The loyalty of non-relatives to the emperor was questioned, and after several insurrections by Han kings—with the largest being the Rebellion of the Seven States in 154—the imperial court began enacting
7161-483: The west. Cao Cao died in March 220 AD. By December his son Cao Pi (187–226 AD) had Emperor Xian relinquish the throne to him and is known posthumously as Emperor Wen of Wei . This formally ended the Han dynasty and initiated an age of conflict between the Three Kingdoms : Cao Wei , Eastern Wu , and Shu Han . In the hierarchical social order, the emperor was at the apex of Han society and government. However,
7254-411: The widespread rebellion against Wang Mang , the state of Goguryeo was free to raid Han's Korean commanderies ; Han did not reaffirm its control over the region until AD 30. The Trưng Sisters of Vietnam rebelled against Han in AD 40. Their rebellion was crushed by Han general Ma Yuan ( d. AD 49 ) in a campaign from AD 42 to 43. Wang Mang renewed hostilities against
7347-438: Was appointed regent as Marshall of State on 16 August under Emperor Ping ( r. 1 BC – 6 AD). When Ping died on 3 February 6 AD, Ruzi Ying ( d. 25 AD ) was chosen as the heir and Wang Mang was appointed to serve as acting emperor for the child. Wang promised to relinquish his control to Liu Ying once he came of age. Despite this promise, and against protest and revolts from
7440-456: Was at the pinnacle of Han society and culture . He presided over the Han government but shared power with both the nobility and the appointed ministers who came largely from the scholarly gentry class . The Han Empire was divided into areas directly controlled by the central government called commanderies , as well as a number of semi-autonomous kingdoms . These kingdoms gradually lost all vestiges of their independence, particularly following
7533-937: Was brought into the Han realm with the conquest of the Dian Kingdom in 109 BC, followed by parts of the Korean Peninsula with the Han conquest of Gojoseon and establishment of the Xuantu and Lelang commanderies in 108 BC. The first nationwide census in Chinese history was taken in 2 AD; the Han's total population was registered as comprising 57,671,400 individuals across 12,366,470 households. To pay for his military campaigns and colonial expansion, Emperor Wu nationalised several private industries. He created central government monopolies administered largely by former merchants . These monopolies included salt, iron, and liquor production, as well as bronze coinage . The liquor monopoly lasted only from 98 to 81 BC, and
7626-546: Was chosen as the new capital of the reunified empire under Han. At the beginning of the Western Han ( traditional Chinese : 西漢 ; simplified Chinese : 西汉 ; pinyin : Xīhàn ), also known as the Former Han ( 前漢 ; 前汉 ; Qiánhàn ), thirteen centrally-controlled commanderies —including the capital region—existed in the western third of the empire, while the eastern two-thirds were divided into ten semi-autonomous kingdoms . To placate his prominent commanders from
7719-405: Was composed in 5- and 7-character lines. Some Cangjiepian passages seem incongruous for a children's primer, for instance (quoted by Yan Zhitui ), "The Han Dynasty annexes the whole world and all the kingdoms observe its decrees. Its ruling will be like slaughtering the pigs and pulling down the fences. For those kingdoms that disobey, they will be denounced, suppressed, and destroyed". Second,
7812-490: Was convinced by the accusations of the eunuchs Li Run ( 李閏 ) and Jiang Jing ( 江京 ) that Deng and her family had planned to depose him. An dismissed Deng's clan members from office, exiled them, and forced many to commit suicide. After An's death, his wife, Empress Dowager Yan ( d. 126 AD ) placed the child Marquess of Beixiang on the throne in an attempt to retain power within her family. However, palace eunuch Sun Cheng ( d. 132 AD ) masterminded
7905-480: Was first empress, then empress dowager , and finally grand empress dowager during the reigns of the Emperors Yuan ( r. 49–33 BC ), Cheng ( r. 33–7 BC ), and Ai ( r. 7–1 BC ), respectively. During this time, a succession of her male relatives held the title of regent. Following the death of Ai, Wang Zhengjun's nephew Wang Mang (45 BC – 23 AD)
7998-446: Was in revenge for Dou's purging of the clan of his natural mother— Consort Liang —and then concealing her identity from him. After Emperor He's death, his wife Empress Deng Sui ( d. 121 AD ) managed state affairs as the regent empress dowager during a turbulent financial crisis and widespread Qiang rebellion that lasted from 107 to 118 AD. When Empress Dowager Deng died, Emperor An ( r. 106–125 AD )
8091-625: Was killed by allies of the Xiongnu in Karasahr and Kucha , the garrison at Hami was withdrawn. At the Battle of Ikh Bayan in AD 89, Dou Xian ( d. AD 92 ) defeated the Northern Xiongnu chanyu who then retreated into the Altai Mountains . After the Northern Xiongnu fled into the Ili River valley in AD 91, the nomadic Xianbei occupied the area from the borders of
8184-642: Was near the commandery of Rinan where Chinese sources claim the Romans first landed, as well as embassies from Tianzhu in northern India in 159 and 161. Óc Eo is also thought to be the port city " Cattigara " described by Ptolemy in his Geography ( c. 150 AD ) as lying east of the Golden Chersonese ( Malay Peninsula ) along the Magnus Sinus (i.e. the Gulf of Thailand and South China Sea ), where
8277-450: Was persuaded by Cao Cao (155–220 AD), then Governor of Yan Province in modern western Shandong and eastern Henan , to move the capital to Xuchang in 196 AD. Yuan Shao challenged Cao Cao for control over the emperor. Yuan's power was greatly diminished after Cao defeated him at the Battle of Guandu in 200 AD. After Yuan died, Cao killed Yuan Shao's son Yuan Tan (173–205 AD), who had fought with his brothers over
8370-595: Was reinstated when it was bestowed on Ban Chao. Foreign travellers to the Eastern Han empire included Buddhist monks who translated works into Chinese , such as An Shigao from Parthia, and Lokaksema from Kushan-era Gandhara . In addition to tributary relations with the Kushans, the Han empire received gifts from sovereigns in the Parthian Empire , as well as from kings in modern Burma and Japan . He also initiated an unsuccessful mission to Rome in AD 97 with Gan Ying as emissary. A Roman embassy of Emperor Marcus Aurelius ( r. 161–180 AD )
8463-413: Was then forced to commit suicide. Students from the imperial university organized a widespread student protest against the eunuchs of Emperor Huan's court. Huan further alienated the bureaucracy when he initiated grandiose construction projects and hosted thousands of concubines in his harem at a time of economic crisis. Palace eunuchs imprisoned the official Li Ying ( 李膺 ) and his associates from
8556-399: Was troubled about the abundant Han-manufactured iron weapons traded to the Xiongnu along the northern borders, and he established a trade embargo against the group. In retaliation, the Xiongnu invaded what is now Shanxi , where they defeated the Han forces at Baideng in 200 BC. After negotiations, the heqin agreement in 198 BC nominally held the leaders of the Xiongnu and
8649-465: Was written on bamboo and wood strips. In the traditional history of Chinese lexicography, the first proto-dictionary primers were the Eastern Zhou dynasty Shizhoupian "Historian Zhou's Chapters", the Qin dynasty Cangjiepian , and the Han dynasty Jijiupian . The Chinese lexicographers Heming Yong and Jing Peng say these texts that arranged characters into categories "acted as the catalyst for
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