LESSON 7.8 Why did the Han dynasty rise and fall?
LEARNING INTENTION By the end of this lesson you should be able to explain how the Han dynasty grew, how trade connections developed, and why the Han eventually fell.
Tune in Cavalry became a major part of the Han army because of the mobility it gave Chinese armies ýghting mounted nomads.
SOURCE1 Terracotta ýgures representing Han dynasty cavalry
1. Discuss why you think the ýgures shown in SOURCE 1 would have been created. 2. Is anything similar created for the modern military? Brainstorm examples with a partner and compare with the class. 3. What do you think about the Han Dynasty when you see these ýgures?
7.8.1 Reforms, expansion and trade After the Qin dynasty fell, a civil war lasted four years. Liu Bang won and started the Han dynasty, which lasted for centuries. The Han made great achievements in education, science and trade. Today, Chinese people still call themselves ‘Han’. Han reforms Liu Bang worked to make China prosperous after the Qin dynasty. He reduced the army, lowered taxes for peasants and encouraged farming. By the ýrst century BCE, the population reached 60 million. He also started state education, where boys studied Confucian books to become civil servants, but girls were not allowed to attend. Did you know? The Han dynasty was generally kinder than the Qin dynasty. But when a historian, Sima Qian, defended an ofýcer who was unfairly blamed for a Chinese defeat, Emperor Wudi had Sima Qian castrated and thrown into prison.
210 Jacaranda Humanities Alive 7 Victorian Curriculum Third Edition
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