PRESENTATION OUTLINE
Liu Bang
A. Who was Liu Bang?
The founder and first emperor of the Han Dynasty, and ruled China from 202-195 BCE. He was a Chinese peasant at first, and helped overthrow the Qin Empire, and was the person to originally create the Han Dynasty.
B. Why did Liu Bang call the new dynasty the Han?
He named in that in honor of his native land.
Han Wudi
A. What educational system did the “Martial Emperor” put in place?
In 124 BCE he created an imperial university that prepared young men for government service.
B. The key components of Han Wudi’s foreign policy.
He had a vigorous foreign policy that centralized on imperial expansion. He invaded northern Vietnam and Korea, subjected them to Han rule, and forced them into Chinese society. Also, he ruled these two lands through his Chinese-style government and made them into new colonies.
Land and Reform
A. What kinds of problems did small landowners face in China? (1st Century)
Most of the land was being owned by the wealthy and elite class, which created society tensions, rebellion, and banditry. This was what eventually brought the Han Dynasty to an end in the early third century C.E, the society and political problems becoming too much to handle.
B. Explain the different reforms put in place by Wang Mang.
Wang Mang limited the amount of land a family could own and ordered his officials to break up estates and redistribute them to other families. He also provided these people with property to cultivate. But even though his intentions were good, things went wrong and created chaos with land owners resisting the places that threatened their holdings, and created an environment that even peasants found unsatisfactory.
