View source for Society and culture of the Han dynasty

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|footer=Murals of the [[c:Category:Dahuting Tomb murals|Dahuting Tomb]] ({{zh|links=no|c=打虎亭汉墓|p=Dahuting Han mu}}) of the late [[History of the Han dynasty|Eastern Han dynasty]] (25–220 CE), located in [[Zhengzhou]], [[Henan]] province, China, showing scenes of daily life.
|image1=Dahuting mural, Eastern Han Dynasty.jpg |caption1=Women dressed in ''[[Hanfu]]'' [[silk]] robes
|image2=Dahuting tomb mural detail of a woman, Eastern Han.jpg |caption2=A woman with an Eastern Han hairstyle
|image3=Dahuting mural detail of a dancer, Eastern Han Dynasty.jpg |caption3=A [[Music of China|dancer and musician]], detail from a banquet scene
|image4=Dahuting Tomb mural, cavalry and chariots, Eastern Han.jpg |caption4=[[Horses in East Asian warfare|Cavalry]] and [[chariot]]s
|image5=Dahuting Tomb mural of two women dressed in Hanfu, displaying domestic wares, Eastern Han Dynasty (cropped).jpg |caption5=Women (perhaps court attendants) dressed in ''Hanfu'' and displaying their domestic wares
|image6=Dahuting Eastern Han Tombs Mural - 20.jpg
|caption6=Attendants dressed in ''Hanfu'' and displaying their domestic wares
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|footer = [[Chinese ceramics|Chinese ceramic]] figurines of the [[Eastern Han]] (25–220 CE) period, exhibits from the Sichuan Provincial Museum, [[Chengdu]], [[Sichuan]], China
|image1=Laborer,_China,_unearthed_at_Xinjin_County,_Sichuan,_Eastern_Han_dynasty,_25-220_AD,_ceramic_-_Sichuan_Provincial_Museum_-_Chengdu,_China_-_DSC04757.jpg |caption1=A laborer, unearthed from a tomb of [[Xinjin County]], Sichuan
|image2=Storyteller,_China,_unearthed_at_Songjialin,_Pixian,_Sichuan,_Eastern_Han_dynasty,_25-220_AD,_ceramic_-_Sichuan_Provincial_Museum_-_Chengdu,_China_-_DSC04763.jpg |caption2=A storyteller, unearthed from a tomb of Songjialin, [[Pi County]], Sichuan
|image3=Woman_with_a_mirror,_China,_unearthed_at_Songjialin,_Pixian,_Sichuan,_Eastern_Han_dynasty,_25-220_AD,_ceramic_-_Sichuan_Provincial_Museum_-_Chengdu,_China_-_DSC04768.jpg |caption3=A seated woman with a [[bronze mirror]], unearthed from a tomb of Songjialin, [[Pi County]], Sichuan
|image4=Woman with broom and dustpan, China, unearthed at Cuiping Mountain, Yibin City, Sichuan, Eastern Han dynasty, 25-220 AD, ceramic - Sichuan Provincial Museum - Chengdu, China - DSC04760.jpg |caption4=A woman with a broom and dustpan, unearthed from a tomb of Cuiping Mountain, [[Yibin]], Sichuan
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The [[Han dynasty]] (202&nbsp;BCE{{snd}}220&nbsp;CE) was a period of [[History of China#Imperial China|Imperial China]] divided into the Western Han (202&nbsp;BCE{{snd}}9&nbsp;CE) and Eastern Han (25–220&nbsp;CE) periods, when the capital cities were located at [[Chang'an]] and [[Luoyang]], respectively. It was founded by [[Emperor Gaozu of Han]] and briefly interrupted by [[Xin dynasty|the regime]] of [[Wang Mang]] (r.&nbsp;9–23&nbsp;CE) who usurped the throne from a child Han emperor.
The Han dynasty was an age of great [[Economy of the Han dynasty|economic]], [[Science and technology of the Han dynasty|technological]], cultural, and social progress in China. Its society was governed by [[Emperor of China|an emperor]] who shared power with an [[Scholar-bureaucrat|official bureaucracy]] and [[Chinese nobility|semi-feudal nobility]]. Its [[Traditional Chinese law|laws]], [[Culture of China|customs]], [[Chinese literature|literature]], and [[History of education in China|education]] were largely guided by the philosophy and ethical system of [[Confucianism]], yet the influence of [[Legalism (Chinese philosophy)|Legalism]] and [[Taoism|Daoism]] (from the previous [[Zhou dynasty]]) could still be seen. Members of the [[Gentry (China)|scholarly-gentry class]] who aspired to hold [[Civil service|public office]] were required to receive a Confucian-based education. A new synthetic ideology of Han Confucianism was created when the scholar [[Dong Zhongshu]] (179–104&nbsp;BCE) united the [[Five Classics|Confucian canon]] allegedly edited by Kongzi, or [[Confucius]] (551–479&nbsp;BCE), with cosmological cycles of [[yin and yang]] and the [[Wuxing (Chinese philosophy)|Chinese five elements]].
Although the social status of [[Four occupations|nobles, officials, farmers, and artisan-craftsmen]] was considered above the station of the lowly [[Four occupations|registered merchant]], wealthy and successful businessmen acquired huge fortunes which allowed them to rival the social prestige of even the most powerful nobles and highest officials. [[Slave]]s were at the bottom of the social order, yet they represented only a tiny portion of the overall population. [[Retainer (medieval)|Retainer]]s attached themselves to the estates of wealthy landowners, while [[Traditional Chinese medicine|medical physicians]] and state-employed religious [[Occultism|occultists]] could make a decent living. People of all social classes believed in various [[Chinese folk religion|deities, spirits, immortals, and demons]]. While Han Taoists were organized into small groups chiefly concerned with achieving immortality through various means, by the mid 2nd century&nbsp;CE they formed large hierarchical religious societies that challenged imperial authority and viewed [[Laozi]] (fl.&nbsp;6th century&nbsp;BCE) as a holy [[prophet]].
The typical Han-era Chinese household contained a [[nuclear family]] with an average of four to five members, unlike in later dynasties when multiple generations and [[extended family]] members commonly lived in the same household. Families were [[patrilineal]], which made the father the supreme head of the house. [[Arranged marriage]]s were the norm, while a new wife was expected to join the clan of her husband. Having sons over daughters was considered extremely important for the sake of carrying on [[ancestor worship]]. Although girls and women were expected by custom and Confucian tradition to behave passively towards their male relatives, mothers were given a familial status above that of their sons. Women also engaged in various professions in and outside of the home and were given protection under the law. The [[empress]] was superior in status to the male relatives of her [[consort clan]], while the mother of the emperor—the [[empress dowager]] had the authority to override his decisions and choose [[Heir apparent|his successor]] (if one had not been appointed before his death).
==Social class==
[[File:Cernuschi Museum 20060812 060.jpg|thumb|left|A Western-Han bronze column [[Inlay|inlaid with silver]] and used to prop up a sunshade [[awning]]; aristocrats were wealthy enough to own luxury items such as this.]]
===Royal family, regents, nobles, and eunuchs===
{{See also|Chinese nobility|Duke_Yansheng#Qin_dynasty_.28221.E2.80.93206_BCE.29_and_the_Western_and_Eastern_Han_dynasties_.28206_BCE_.E2.80.93_220_CE.29|label 2=Marquis Baocheng|Zhou_dynasty#Claimed_descendants|label 3=Zhou Zi Nan Jun}}
[[File:China.Terracotta statues007.jpg|thumb|right|Western-Han painted [[Chinese ceramics|pottery figurines]] of a female servant and male adviser from the lower or middle class; figures such as these were often placed in the tombs of nobles to serve them in the afterlife.]]
At the apex of Han society was [[Emperor of China|the emperor]], a member of the [[Liu]] family and thus a descendant of the founder [[Emperor Gaozu of Han|Emperor Gaozu]] (r. 202 –195 BCE).<ref>Ch'ü (1972), 66–67.</ref> His subjects were not allowed to address him by name; instead they used indirect references such as "under the steps to the throne" (''bixia'' 陛下) or "superior one" (''shang'' 上).<ref>Wilkinson (1998), 106; Ch'ü (1972), 68–69.</ref> If a commoner, government minister, or noble entered [[Chinese Palaces|the palace]] without official permission, the punishment was execution.<ref name="chu 1972 68 69">Ch'ü (1972), 68–69.</ref> Although the Commandant of Justice—one of the central government's [[Nine Ministers]]—was in charge of meting out sentences in court cases, the emperor not only had the ability to override the Commandant's decision, but also had the sole ability to draft new laws or repeal old ones.<ref name="chu 1972 70">Ch'ü (1972), 69–70.</ref> An emperor could pardon anyone and grant [[Amnesty|general amnesties]].<ref name="chu 1972 70"/> Although the emperor often obeyed the [[Consensus decision-making|majority consensus]] of his ministers in court conferences (''tingyi'' 廷議), his approval was still needed for any state policy decision and he sometimes even rejected the majority opinion.<ref>Ch'ü (1972), 70–71.</ref>
The emperor's most powerful relative was the [[empress dowager]], widow to the previous emperor and usually the natural mother of the emperor.<ref name="chu 1972 71"/> If the grandmother of an emperor—the [[grand empress dowager]]—was still alive during his reign, she enjoyed a superior position over the empress dowager.<ref name="chu 1972 71"/> Emperors often sought the approval of the empress dowager for their decisions.<ref name="chu 1972 72"/> If an emperor was only a child, he acted merely as a [[figurehead]] while the empress dowager dominated court politics.<ref name="chu 1972 72">Ch'ü (1972), 72.</ref> She not only had the right to issue edicts and pardons, but if the emperor died without a designated heir, she had the sole right to appoint a new emperor.<ref name="chu 1972 74">Ch'ü (1972), 74.</ref> Below the empress dowager were the [[empress]] and imperial [[concubine]]s.<ref name="chu 1972 74"/> Although she was the wife of the emperor, the empress's position at court was not secure and she could be removed by the emperor.<ref name="chu 1972 75">Ch'ü (1972), 75.</ref> However, the empress did enjoy the submission of concubines as her subordinates, who advocated the elevation of their sons over the empress's at their own peril.<ref name="chu 1972 75"/>
In the early Western Han, imperial relatives and some military officers who had served Emperor Gaozu [[Kings of the Han dynasty|were made kings]] who ruled over large semi-autonomous fiefs, but once the non-related kings had died off, an imperial edict outlawed all non-Liu family members from becoming kings.<ref name="chu 1972 76 bielenstein 1980 105">Ch'ü (1972), 76; Bielenstein (1980), 105.</ref> The emperor's brothers, paternal cousins, brother's sons, and emperor's sons—excluding the [[heir apparent]]—were made kings.<ref name="chu 1972 76 bielenstein 1980 105"/> The emperor's sisters and daughters were made [[princess]]es with fiefs.<ref>Bielenstein (1980), 107.</ref> Although the central government eventually stripped away the political power of the kings and appointed their administrative staffs, kings still had a right to collect a portion of the taxes in their territory as personal income and enjoyed a social status that ranked just below the emperor.<ref>Ch'ü (1972), 76; Bielenstein (1980), 106–107.</ref> Each king had a son designated to be heir apparent, while his other sons and brothers were given the rank of [[marquess]] and ruled over small marquessates where a portion of the taxes went to their private purse.<ref name="chu 1972 76">Ch'ü (1972), 76.</ref> Although [[Chinese nobility|kings and marquesses]] enjoyed many privileges, the imperial court was at times aggressive towards them to check their power. Starting with Emperor Gaozu's reign, thousands of noble families, including those from the royal houses of [[Qi (state)|Qi]], [[Chu (state)|Chu]], [[Yan (state)|Yan]], [[Zhao (state)|Zhao]], [[Han (Warring States)|Han]], and [[Wei (state)|Wei]] from the [[Warring States period]], were forcibly moved to the vicinity of the capital [[Chang'an]].<ref name="nishijima 1986 555"/> In the first half of Western Han, resettlement could also be imposed on powerful and wealthy officials as well as individuals who owned property worth more than a million cash.<ref name="nishijima 1986 555"/>
The position of [[regent]] (officially known as General-in-Chief 大將軍) was created during [[Emperor Wu of Han|Emperor Wu's]] reign (r. 141–87 BCE) when he appointed three officials to form a [[triumvirate]] regency over the central government while the child [[Emperor Zhao of Han|Emperor Zhao]] (r. 87–74 BCE) sat on the throne.<ref>Wang (1949), 166–168; Loewe (1968), 50–51; Bielenstein (1980), 5, 10–12, 116–117, 124.</ref> Regents were often relatives-in-law to the emperor through his empress's family, but they could also be men of lowly means who depended on the emperor's favor to advance their position at court.<ref name="wang 1949 166 168">Wang (1949), 166–168.</ref> [[Eunuch (court official)|Eunuchs]] who maintained the [[harem]] of the palace could also gain a similar level of power. They often came from the middle class and had links to trade.<ref>Adshead (2004), 32.</ref> In the Western Han, there are only a handful of examples where eunuchs rose to power since the official bureaucracy was strong enough to suppress them.<ref>Loewe (1986), 200.</ref> After the eunuch Shi Xian (石顯) became the Prefect of the Palace Masters of Writing (中尚書), [[Emperor Yuan of Han|Emperor Yuan]] (r. 48–33 BCE) relinquished much of his authority to him, so that he was allowed to make vital policy decisions and was respected by officials.<ref>Wang (1949), 171–172.</ref> However, Shi Xian was expelled from office once [[Emperor Cheng of Han|Emperor Cheng]] (33–7 BCE) took the throne.<ref>Wang (1949), 173.</ref> No palace eunuch would obtain comparable authority again until after 92 CE, when the eunuchs led by [[Zheng Zhong]] (d. 107 CE) sided with [[Emperor He of Han|Emperor He]] (r. 88–105 CE) in a coup to overthrow the Dou 竇 clan of the empress dowager.<ref>de Crespigny (2007), 589; Bielenstein (1986), 282–283.</ref> Officials complained when eunuchs like [[Sun Cheng]] (d. 132 CE) were awarded by [[Emperor Shun of Han|Emperor Shun]] (r. 125–144 CE) with marquessates, yet after the year 135 CE the eunuchs were given legal authority to pass on fiefs to adopted sons.<ref>Bielenstein (1986), 287–288; de Crespigny (2007), 475.</ref> Although [[Emperor Ling of Han|Emperor Ling]] (r. 168–189 CE) relinquished a great deal of authority to eunuchs [[Zhao Zhong]] (d. 189 CE) and [[Zhang Rang]] (d. 189 CE), the eunuchs were slaughtered in 189 CE when [[Yuan Shao]] (d. 202 CE) besieged and stormed the palaces of Luoyang.<ref>de Crespigny (2007), 513–514; Beck (1986), 345.</ref>
===Gentry scholars and officials===
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| image1 = Han dynasty scholars relief 讲学画 砖四川成都青杠坡出土 重庆市博物馆藏.jpg|thumb|left
| image2 = Confucian scholars of Wu Family Shrines, tracing from Jinshisuo CADAL09010673 金石索(九).jpg
| footer = Scholars depicted on Han dynasty pictorial brick and stone-relief. [[Scholar-official|Scholars and officials]] wore headwear called ''"Jinxian Guan"'' (进贤冠) to denominate educational status.<ref>{{cite book|url=https://zh.wikisource.org/zh-hans/%E5%BE%8C%E6%BC%A2%E6%9B%B8/%E5%8D%B7120|title=Book of Later Han|chapter=120|quote=进贤冠，古缁布冠也，文儒者之服也。前高七寸，后高三寸，长八寸。公侯三梁，中二千石以下至博士两梁，自博士以下至小史私学弟子，皆一梁。宗室刘氏亦两梁冠，示加服也。}}</ref>
}}
[[File:Qin-Han Model Room of Lacquered Articles (10163492564).jpg|thumb|Museum restoration of a lacquered furniture and furbishing. [[Lacquerware]] became a common luxury item in the Han dynasty.]]
[[File:Han Canopy (11867722256).jpg|thumb|Tracing of Han dynasty canopy and table used by the gentry.]]
[[File:Pottery game players.JPG|thumb|left|Han pottery figurines of gentrymen playing and arguing over a divinational [[board game]] of ''[[liubo]]'', which became popular during the Han dynasty.]]
Those who served in government had a privileged position in Han society that was just one tier below the nobles (yet some high officials were also ennobled and had fiefs).<ref name="chu 1972 84">Ch'ü (1972), 84.</ref> They could not be arrested for crimes unless permission was granted by the emperor.<ref>Ch'ü (1972), 94–95.</ref> However, when officials were arrested, they were imprisoned and [[Fetters|fettered]] like commoners.<ref>Ch'ü (1972), 96.</ref> Their punishments in court also had to gain the approval of the emperor.<ref name="chu 1972 97">Ch'ü (1972), 97.</ref> Officials were not exempt from execution, yet they were often given a chance to commit suicide as a dignified alternative.<ref name="chu 1972 97"/> The most senior posts were the [[Three Excellencies]]—excluding the Grand Tutor, a post that was irregularly occupied.<ref name="bielenstein 1980 5">Bielenstein (1980), 5.</ref> The individual titles and functions of the Three Excellencies changed from Western to Eastern Han. However, their annual salaries remained at 10,000 ''dan'' (石<!-- pronounced "dan" when used as a unit of measurement -->) of grain, largely commuted to payments in [[Ancient Chinese coinage|coin cash]] and luxury items like [[silk]].<ref>Ch'ü (1972), 84, 89–90.</ref> Below them were the [[Nine Ministers]], each of whom headed a major government bureau and earned 2,000 bushels a year.<ref name="chu 1972 84"/> The lowest-paid government employees made Equivalent to 100 bushels annually.<ref>Bielenstein (1980), 4–5.</ref> It was thought that wealthy officials would be less tempted by bribes. Therefore, in the beginning of the dynasty, having a total assessed taxable wealth of one hundred thousand coins was a prerequisite for holding office.<ref name="chang 2007 62">Chang (2007), 62.</ref> This was reduced to forty thousand coins in 142 BCE, yet from Emperor Wu's reign onwards this policy was no longer enforced.<ref name="chang 2007 62"/>
Starting in Western Han was a [[Xiaolian|system of recommendation]] where local officials submitted proposals to the capital on which of their subordinates were worthy candidates for holding office; this created a [[Patronage|patron-client relationship]] between former superiors and successful nominees to higher office.<ref name="ebrey 1986 640 642">Ebrey (1986), 640–642.</ref> With the enhanced prestige of the consort clan under [[Empress Dou (Zhang)|Empress Dowager Dou]] (d. 97 CE), a succession of regents from her clan and others amassed a large number of clients whose chances of promotion hinged on the political survival of the empress dowager's clan, which was often short-lived.<ref name="ebrey 1986 641 642">Ebrey (1986), 641–642.</ref> Aside from patron-client relationships, one could use family connections to secure office.<ref>Ch'ü (1972), 94.</ref> Patricia Ebrey writes that in the Western Han, access to [[Civil service|public office]] and promotion through [[social mobility]] were open to a larger segment of the populace than in Eastern Han.<ref name="ebrey 1986 631">Ebrey (1986), 631.</ref> A third of the two hundred and fifty-two Eastern Han government officials who had biographies in the ''[[Book of Later Han]]'' were sons or grandsons of officials, while a fifth came from prominent provincial families or had ancestors who had served as officials.<ref name="ebrey 1986 635">Ebrey (1986), 635.</ref> For forty-six of the one hundred and ten years between 86 and 196 CE, at least one post of the Three Excellencies was occupied by a member of either the Yuan or Yang clan.<ref name="ebrey 1986 636">Ebrey (1986), 636.</ref>
[[File:Li Bing Statue 2.JPG|thumb|left|An Eastern Han devotional stone statue depicting [[Li Bing (Qin)|Li Bing]] (fl. 3rd century BC) in an official's cap and robe in [[Dujiangyan]], Sichuan]]
[[File:Painted figures on a lacquer basket, Eastern Han Dynasty2.jpg|thumb|right|Paragons of [[filial piety]] painted on a [[lacquer]]ed basketwork box that was excavated from an Eastern Han tomb in what was the Chinese [[Lelang Commandery]] (in modern [[North Korea]]).]]
Many central government officials also began their careers as subordinate officers for [[Commandery (China)|commandery]]-level administrations.<ref name="ebrey 1986 638 639">Ebrey (1986), 638–639.</ref> There are only rare cases (i.e. involving military merit during [[History of the Han dynasty|rebellions of late Eastern Han]]) when subordinate officers of [[Counties of the People's Republic of China#History|county]]-level administrations advanced to the level of central government.<ref name="ebrey 1986 638 639"/> Even if one secured an office by these means, an official was still expected to be competent, thus a formal education became the hallmark of those aspiring to fill public office.<ref name="ebrey 1986 644">Ebrey (1986), 644.</ref> In addition to private tutoring, [[Taixue|the Imperial University]] was established in 124 BCE which then accommodated only fifty pupils, but by the 2nd century CE the student body had reached about thirty thousand.<ref>Ebrey (1999), 77–78; Kramers (1986), 757.</ref> These students could be appointed by the emperor to various government posts according to their examination grades.<ref>Ch'ü (1972), 101–102.</ref>
Despite a decline in social mobility for those of less prominent clans, the local elites became far more integrated into a nationwide upper class social structure during the Eastern Han period, thus expanding the classification of who belonged to the upper class.<ref name="ebrey 1986 631"/> The emerging [[Four occupations|gentry class]]—which became fully consolidated during the Eastern Han—consisted of unemployed scholars, teachers, students, and government officials.<ref name="ebrey 1986 631"/> These men, although geographically separated and mired in local activities, started to view themselves as participants in wider national affairs of politics and scholarship.<ref>Ebrey (1986), 643; Ebrey (1999), 80.</ref> They recognized shared values of [[filial piety]], deference, and emphasizing study in the [[Five Classics]] over holding public office.<ref name="ebrey 1986 643 644">Ebrey (1986), 643–644.</ref> Emperors Yuan and Cheng were forced to abandon their resettlement schemes for officials and their families around the royal tombs settlement in 40 BCE and 15 BCE, respectively; unlike the days of Emperor Wu, historian [[Cho-Yun Hsu]] asserts that at this point officials and scholars had so much influence in both local and national-level politics that to forcibly relocate them became unthinkable.<ref name="hsu 1965 370">Hsu (1965), 370.</ref>
{{multiple image
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| image1 = Confucius, fresco from a Western Han tomb of Dongping County, Shandong province, China.jpg
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| image2 = Confucius and Laozi, fresco from a Western Han tomb of Dongping County, Shandong province, China.jpg
| width2 = 220
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| footer = A [[Western Han]] (202 BCE – 9 CE) [[fresco]] depicting [[Confucius]] (and [[Laozi]]), from a tomb of [[Dongping County]], [[Shandong province]], China
}}
In a show of solidarity against the eunuchs' interference in court politics with the coup against the regent [[Liang Ji]] (d. 159 CE), a widespread [[student protest]] broke out where Imperial University students took to the streets and chanted the names of the eunuchs they opposed.<ref name="hansen 2000 141 142">Hansen (2000), 141–142.</ref> At the instigation of the eunuchs, [[Emperor Huan of Han|Emperor Huan]] (r. 146–168 CE) initiated the [[Disasters of Partisan Prohibitions|Partisan Prohibitions]] in 166 CE, a wide-scale proscription against Li Ying (李膺) and his associates in the Imperial University and in the provinces from holding office (branded as [[Partisan (political)|partisan]]s: 黨人).<ref name="de crespigny 2007 602">de Crespigny (2007), 602.</ref> With the suicide of regent [[Dou Wu]] (d. 168 CE) in his confrontation with the eunuchs shortly after [[Emperor Ling of Han|Emperor Ling]] (r. 168–189 CE) was placed on the throne, the eunuchs banned hundreds more from holding office while selling offices at the highest bidder.<ref>Hinsch (2002), 25–26; de Crespigny (2007), 511; Beck (1986), 323.</ref> Repulsed by what they viewed as a corrupted government, many gentrymen considered a moral, scholarly life superior to holding office, and thus rejected nominations to serve at court.<ref>Hansen (2000), 141–142; de Crespigny (2007), 601–602.</ref> Until they were repealed in 184 CE (to garner gentry support against the [[Yellow Turban Rebellion]]), the partisant prohibitions created a large independent, disaffected portion of the gentry who did not simply return to a reclusive life in their hometowns, but maintained contacts with other gentry throughout China and actively engaged in the protest movement.<ref name="ebrey 1986 646">Ebrey (1986), 646.</ref> Acknowledging that the gentry class was able to recruit and certify itself, the Chancellor [[Cao Cao]] (155–220 CE) established the [[nine-rank system]] where a distinguished gentry figure in each county and commandery would assign local gentlemen a rank that the government would use to evaluate nominees for office.<ref name="ebrye 1986 647 648">Ebrey (1986), 647–648.</ref>
===Farmers and landowners===
[[File:0025 - 0220 Brick Relief with Rice-husking Scene Eastern Han Dynasty National Museum of China anagoria.jpg|thumb|Pictorial brick scene of farmers rice-husking.]]
[[File:Shooting and havesting Sichuan Han dynasty.jpg|thumb|Rubbing of brick relief with Shooting and Harvesting]]
Many scholars who needed additional funds for education or vied for political office found farming as a decent profession which, although humble, was not looked down upon by fellow gentrymen.<ref name="ch'u 1972 104 105">Ch'ü (1972), 104–105.</ref> Wealthy nobles, officials, and merchants could own land, but they often did not cultivate it themselves and merely acted as absentee [[landlord]]s while living in the city.<ref name="ch'u 1972 107 109">Ch'ü (1972), 107–109.</ref> They mostly relied on poor [[tenant farmer]]s (''diannong'' 佃農) who paid rent in the form of roughly fifty percent of their produce in exchange for land, tools, draft animals, and a small house.<ref>Hinsch (2002), 28; Ch'ü (1972), 107–109; Ebrey (1986), 625–626.</ref> [[Day labor|Wage laborers]] (''gunong'' 雇農) and [[slave]]s were also employed on the estates of the wealthy, although they were not as numerous as tenants.<ref>Nishijima (1986), 556–557; Hinsch (2002), 28.</ref> During Western Han, the small independent owner-cultivator represented the majority of [[Four occupations|farming peasants]], yet their economic struggle to remain independent during times of war, natural disaster and crisis drove many into debt, banditry, slavery, and dramatically increased the number of landless tenants by late Eastern Han.<ref>Hinsch (2002), 28; Ebrey (1986), 621–622; Ebrey (1974), 173–174; Ch'ü (1972), 109–111.</ref> The social status of poor independent owner-cultivators was above tenants and wage laborers, yet below that of wealthy landowners.<ref>Ch'ü (1972), 111.</ref> While wealthy landowners employed tenants and wage laborers, landowners who managed small to medium-sized estates often acted as managers over their sons who tilled the fields and daughters who weaved clothes and engaged in [[sericulture]] to produce silk for the home or sale at market.<ref name="ebrey 1986 625 626">Ebrey (1986), 625–626.</ref>
During the Western Han, farming peasants formed the majority of those who were [[Conscription|conscripted]] by the government to perform [[corvée]] labor or military duties. For the labor service (''gengzu'' 更卒), males aged fifteen to fifty-six would be drafted for one month out of the year to work on construction projects and perform other duties in their commanderies and counties.<ref name="nishijima 1986 599">Nishijima (1986), 599.</ref> For the military obligation (''zhengzu'' 正卒), all males aged twenty-three were to train for one year in one of three branches of the military: [[Military history of China (pre-1911)|infantry, cavalry, or navy]].<ref name="nishijima 1986 599"/> Until they reached age fifty-six, they were liable to perform one year of active service as troops sent to guard the frontiers from hostile nomads or to act as guards in the capital city.<ref name="nishijima 1986 599"/> Significant changes were made to this system during Eastern Han; a commuting tax could be paid by peasants if they wanted to avoid the one-month labor obligation, since hired labor became more popular in construction and other projects.<ref>de Crespigny (2007), 564–565; Ebrey (1986), 613.</ref> The military service obligation could even be avoided if a peasant paid a commuting tax, since the [[Army of the Han dynasty|Eastern Han military]] became largely a [[volunteer military|volunteer force]].<ref name="de crespigny 2007 564 565">de Crespigny (2007), 564–565.</ref> Other commoners such as merchants were also able to join the army.<ref>Ch'ü (1972), 119–121.</ref>
===Artisans and craftsmen===
[[File:Jade wine cup, Western Han Dynasty.jpg|thumb|right|A Western-Han [[Chinese jade|jade-carved wine cup]]; jade-carving was one of many professions that artisans engaged in.]]
[[File:Bronze bird with ring from tomb of Dou Wan.jpg|left|thumb|Bronze bird with jade inlays and ring in its beak and two cups, from the tomb of [[Dou Wan]] at Mancheng.]]
[[Four occupations|Artisans and craftsmen]] during the Han had a socio-economic status between that of farmers and merchants.<ref>Barbieri-Low (2007), 36–38; Ch'ü (1972), 112.</ref> Yet some were able to obtain a valuable income, such as one craftsman who made knives and swords and was able to eat food fit for nobles and officials.<ref name="ch'u 1972 112">Ch'ü (1972), 112.</ref> Artisans and craftsmen also enjoyed a legal status that was superior to merchants. Unlike lowly merchants, artisans were allowed by law to wear fancy silks, ride on horseback, and ride in carriages.<ref name="ch'u 1972 112"/> There were also no laws which barred artisans from becoming officials. An artisan painter who worked at the Imperial Academy turned down many offers to become nominated for public office.<ref name="ch'u 1972 112 113">Ch'ü (1972), 112–113.</ref> In contrast, a bureaucrat who appointed a merchant as an official could suffer impeachment from office, while some even avoided nominations by claiming they were merchants.<ref name="ch'u 1972 112 113"/>
Despite their legal privileges over that of merchants, the work of artisans was considered by Han Confucian scholars to be of secondary importance to that of farmers.<ref name="barbieri low 2007 40">Barbieri-Low (2007), 40.</ref> This is perhaps largely because scholars and officials could not survive without the farmer's product and taxes paid in grain.<ref>Barbieri-Low (2007), 38.</ref> The government relied on taxed grain to fund its military campaigns and stored surplus grain to mitigate widespread famine during times of poor harvest.<ref name="barbieri low 2007 40"/> Despite the prominence given to farmers, Confucian scholars did accept that artisans performed a vital economic role.<ref name="barbieri low 2007 40"/> This view was only rejected by a small minority of [[Legalism (Chinese philosophy)|Legalists]], who advocated a society of only soldiers and farmers, and certain [[Daoism|Daoists]] who wanted everyone to live in self-sufficient villages and without commercial interests.<ref name="barbieri low 2007 40"/>
Artisans could be privately employed or they could work for the government. While government workshops employed convicts, corvée laborers, and state-owned slaves to perform menial tasks, the [[master craftsman]] was paid a significant income for his work in producing luxury items such as [[TLV mirror|bronze mirrors]] and [[lacquerware]]s.<ref>Nishijima (1986), 581–583; Wang (1982), 83–85.</ref>
===Merchants and industrialists===
{{multiple image
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| image1 = Cernuschi Museum 20060812 068.jpg
| width1 = 130
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| caption1 =
| image2 = Fresco of a Horseman from a Han Dynasty Tomb in Sian, Shensi.jpg
| width2 = 290
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| caption2 =
| footer = '''Left:''' a [[Western Han|Western-Han]] [[Chinese ceramics|ceramic model]] of a horse and rider; '''right:''' fresco of a horseman in red hunting dress from a Western-Han-dynasty tomb in [[Xi'an]] (ancient [[Chang'an]]), [[Shaanxi province]]; although registered merchants were legally barred from riding on horseback, Han writers note that such laws were largely ignored.
}}
[[File:0025-0220 Brick Relief with Market Scene Eastern Han Dynasty National Museum of China anagoria.jpg|thumb|Pictorial brick relief of a market scene ]]
[[File:Mawangdui Han Lacquerware (10112517894).jpg|thumb|Lacquerware [[Ding_(vessel)|Ding]] from [[Mawangdui]]]]
With the exception of the [[Bookselling|bookseller]] and [[apothecary]], the scholarly gentry class did not engage in trade professions, since scholars and government officials viewed the [[Four occupations|merchant class]] as lowly and contemptible.<ref>Ch'ü (1972), 104–105; Hinsch (2002), 29.</ref> Sympathetic to the plight of farming peasants who had lost their land, a court edict of 94 CE stipulated that farming peasants who had been reduced to selling wares as street [[peddler]]s were not to be taxed as registered merchants, since the latter were heavily taxed by the state.<ref name="ebrey 1986 620 621">Ebrey (1986), 620–621.</ref> Registered merchants, the majority being small urban [[shopkeeper]]s, were obligated to pay commercial taxes in addition to the [[Tax per head|poll tax]].<ref name="nishijima 1986 576">Nishijima (1986), 576.</ref>
Registered merchants were forced by law to wear white-colored clothes, an indication of their low status,<ref name="ch'u 1972 119 120">Ch'ü (1972), 119–120.</ref> and could be singled out for conscription into the armed forces and forced to resettle in lands to the deep south where [[malaria]] was known to be prevalent.<ref name="hinsch 2002 29">Hinsch (2002), 29.</ref> In contrast, itinerant merchants were often richer due to their trade between a network of towns and cities and their ability to avoid registering as merchants.<ref name="nishijima 1986 576"/> Starting with Emperor Gaozu's reign, registered merchants were banned from wearing silk clothes, riding on horseback, or holding public office. This is in stark contrast to unregistered itinerant merchants who [[Chao Cuo]] (d. 154 BCE) states wore fine silks, rode in carriages pulled by fat horses, and whose wealth allowed them to associate with government officials.<ref>Nishijima (1986), 576–577; Ch'ü (1972), 114; see also Hucker (1975), 187.</ref>
Although these laws were relaxed over time, Emperor Wu renewed the state's persecution of merchants when in 119 BCE he made it illegal for registered merchants to purchase land.<ref name="nishijima 1986 577">Nishijima (1986), 577.</ref> If they violated this law, their land and slaves would be confiscated by the state.<ref name="nishijima 1986 577"/> The effectiveness of this law is questionable, since contemporary Han writers mention merchants owning huge tracts of land.<ref>Ch'ü (1972), 113–114.</ref> A merchant who owned property worth a thousand [[catty|catties]] of gold—equivalent to ten million cash coins—was considered a great merchant.<ref name="ch'u 1972 114">Ch'ü (1972), 114.</ref> Such a fortune was one hundred times larger than the average income of a middle class landowner-cultivator and dwarfed the annual 200,000 cash-coin income of a marquess who collected taxes from a thousand households.<ref name="ch'u 1972 114 115">Ch'ü (1972), 114–115.</ref> Some merchant families made fortunes worth over a hundred million cash, which was equivalent to the wealth acquired by the highest officials in government.<ref name="ch'u 1972 115 117">Ch'u (1972), 115–117.</ref>
Merchants engaged in a multitude of private trades and industries. A single merchant often combined several trades to make greater profits, such as [[animal breeding]], farming, manufacturing, trade, and [[loan|money-lending]].<ref>Ch'ü (1972), 113.</ref> Some of the most profitable commodities sold during the Han were salt and iron, since a wealthy salt or iron distributor could own properties worth as much as ten million cash.<ref name="ch'u 1972 115 116">Ch'ü (1972), 115–116.</ref> In the early Western Han period, powerful merchants could muster a workforce of over a thousand peasants to work in [[salt mine]]s and marshes to evaporate [[brine]] to make salt, or at [[ironworks]] sites where they operated [[bellows]] and [[Science and technology of the Han dynasty|cast iron implements]].<ref>Needham (1986), Volume 4, Part 2, 22.</ref> To curb the influence of such wealthy industrialists, Emperor Wu [[Nationalization|nationalized]] these industries by 117 BCE and for the first time drafted former merchants with technical know-how such as [[Sang Hongyang]] (d. 80 BCE) to head these government monopolies.<ref>Ebrey (1999), 75; Hinsch (2002), 21–22; Wagner (2001), 1–2, 9–12; Ch'ü (1972), 119–120; Hucker (1975), 188–189.</ref> However, by the Eastern Han period the central government abolished the state monopolies on salt and iron.<ref>Wagner (2001), 15–17; Hucker (1975), 190.</ref> Even before this, the state must have halted its employment of former merchants in the government salt and iron agencies, since an edict of 7 BCE restated the ban on merchants entering the bureaucracy.<ref name="ch'u 1972 119 120"/> However, the usurper [[Wang Mang]] (r. 9–23 CE) did employ some merchants as low-level officials with a salary-rank of 600 bushels.<ref name="ch'u 1972 119 120"/> Another profitable industry was [[Chinese alcoholic beverages|brewing wine and liquor]], which the state briefly monopolized from 98 to 81 BCE, yet relinquished its production to private merchants once again (with alcohol taxes reinstalled).<ref>Wagner (2001), 13–14.</ref> The official Cui Shi (催寔) (d. 170 CE) started a [[brewery]] business to help pay for his father's costly funeral, an act which was heavily criticized by his fellow gentrymen who considered this sideline occupation a shameful one for any scholar.<ref>Ebrey (1986), 615.</ref> [[Cinnabar]] mining was also a very lucrative industry.<ref name="ch'u 1972 115 116"/>
===Guests and retainers===
[[File:Servante Han Guimet 2910.jpg|thumb|right|Western-Han painted ceramic figurines (with [[polychrome]]) of servants in attendance, from [[Shaanxi]], 2nd century BCE]]
[[File:Tomb mural of servants, Han Dynasty.jpg|thumb|left|A painted mural of servants and other subordinates in silk robes, from a Han dynasty tomb at Wangdu, [[Hebei]] province.]]
Commoners known as [[Retainer (medieval)|guests and retainers]] (''binke'' 賓客) who lived on the property of a host in exchange for services had existed since the Warring States period.<ref name="ch'u 1972 127 128">Ch'ü (1972), 127–128.</ref> Retainers often originally belonged to other social groups, and sometimes they were fugitives seeking shelter from authorities.<ref name="ch'u 1972 128">Ch'ü (1972), 128.</ref> Hosts were often wealthy nobles and officials, yet they were sometimes wealthy commoners.<ref>Ch'ü (1972), 130.</ref> In a typical relationship, a host provided lodging, food, clothing, and carriage transport for his retainers in return for occasional and non-routine work or services such as an advisory role, a post as bodyguard, menial physical labor around the house, and sometimes more dangerous missions such as committing assassinations, fighting off roving bandits, or riding into battle to defend the host.<ref>Ch'ü (1972), 128–129 & 130–132.</ref> Others could work as spies, scholarly protégés, or [[Chinese astrology|astrologers]].<ref name="hucker 1975 177">Hucker (1975), 177.</ref>
A host treated his retainers very well and showered them with luxury gifts if he wanted to boast his wealth and status.<ref name="ch'u 1972 128"/> One retainer even received a sword scabbard decorated with jade and pearls, while others were given items like shoes decorated with pearls.<ref name="ch'u 1972 128"/> However, not all retainers shared the same status, as those showered with gifts often provided highly skilled work or greater services; retainers who were not as skilled were given lesser gifts and seated in less honorable positions when meeting the host.<ref name="ch'u 1972 129">Ch'ü (1972), 129.</ref> Regardless of status, any retainer was allowed to come and go from his host's residence as he or she pleased, unlike a slave who was the property of his master and permanently attached to the estate.<ref>Ch'ü (1972) 129; Hucker (1975), 177.</ref> There was no official government policy on how to deal with retainers, but when they broke laws they were arrested, and when their master broke the law, sometimes the retainers were detained alongside him.<ref>Ch'ü (1972), 135.</ref>
Retainers formed a large portion of the fighting forces amassed by the future [[Emperor Guangwu of Han|Emperor Guangwu]] (r. 25–57 CE) during the civil war against Wang Mang's failing regime.<ref name="ch'u 1972 131 132">Ch'ü (1972), 131–132.</ref> The military role of retainers became much more pronounced by the late 2nd century CE during the political turmoil that would eventually split the empire into [[Three Kingdoms|three competing states]].<ref name="ch'u 1972 131 132"/> By then, hosts began to treat retainers as their personal troops (''buqu'' 部曲), which undercut the freedoms of mobility and independence that earlier retainers had enjoyed.<ref name="ch'u 1972 132 133 hucker 1975 177">Ch'ü (1972), 132–133; see also Hucker (1975), 177.</ref> Whereas individual retainers had earlier joined a host by their own personal decision, by the late 2nd century CE the lives of the retainers' entire families became heavily controlled by the host.<ref name="ch'u 1972 132 133 hucker 1975 177"/>
===Slaves===
[[History of slavery|Slaves]] (''nuli'' 奴隸) comprised roughly 1% of the population,<ref>Loewe (1968), 58–59; Hulsewé (1986), 524–525.</ref> a proportion far less than the contemporary [[Greco-Roman world]] which relied on the labor of a large slave population.<ref name="hucker 1975 177"/> Slaves were classified into two categories: those who were privately owned, and those who were owned by the state.<ref name="nishijima 1986 557">Nishijima (1986), 557.</ref> Privately owned slaves were often former peasants who fell into debt and sold themselves into slavery, while others were former government slaves bestowed to nobles and high officials as rewards for their services.<ref>Nishijima (1986), 557; Ch'ü (1972), 141.</ref> State-owned slaves were sometimes prisoners of war (yet not all were made slaves).<ref name="chu 1972 136 139">Ch'ü (1972), 136–139.</ref> However, most slaves were tributary gifts given to the court by foreign states, families of criminals who committed treason against the state, and former private slaves who were either donated to authorities (since this would exempt the former slaveholder from labor obligations) or confiscated by the state if their master had broken a law.<ref>Nishijima (1986), 557; Ch'ü (1972), 136–139.</ref> In both Western and Eastern Han, arrested criminals became [[convict]]s and it was only during the reign of Wang Mang that [[counterfeit]]ing criminals were made into slaves.<ref name="chu 1972 136 139"/>
[[File:Guerrier Chine Guimet 2910.jpg|thumb|left|A Han pottery [[Army of the Han dynasty|figurine of a soldier]], dated 2nd century BCE; slaves were expected to defend their masters and sometimes rode into battle alongside them during times of war.<ref name="chu 1972 149 151">Ch'ü (1972), 149–151.</ref>]]
State-owned slaves were put to work in palaces, offices, workshops, stables, and sometimes state-owned agricultural fields, while privately owned slaves were employed in domestic services and sometimes farming.<ref>Nishijima (1986), 557; Ch'ü (1972), 141–145.</ref> However, the vast majority of non-independent farmers working for wealthy landowners were not hired laborers or slaves, but were landless peasants who paid rent as tenants.<ref>Nishijima (1986), 557; Ch'ü (1972), 149.</ref> It might have been more economically feasible to maintain tenants instead of slaves, since slave masters were obligated to pay an annual [[Tax per head|poll tax]] of 240 coins for each slave they owned (the same rate merchants had to pay for their poll tax).<ref name="nishijima 1986 598">Nishijima (1986), 598.</ref> Government slaves were not assigned to work in the government's monopolized industries over iron and salt (which lasted from Emperor Wu's reign until the beginning of Eastern Han).<ref>Ch'ü (1972), 143 & 146.</ref> Privately owned slaves were usually assigned to kitchen duty while others fulfilled roles as armed bodyguards, mounted escorts, acrobats, jugglers, dancers, singers, and musicians.<ref>Loewe (1968), 58–59; Ch'ü (1972), 149–151.</ref>
The children of both government and private slaves were born slaves.<ref>Ch'ü (1972), 156.</ref> Government slaves could be granted freedom by the emperor if they were deemed too elderly, if the emperor pitied them, or if they committed a meritous act worthy of a [[manumission]].<ref name="chu 1972 156 157">Ch'ü (1972), 156–157.</ref> In one exceptional case, the former slave [[Jin Midi]] (d. 86 BCE) became one of the regents over the government.<ref>Ch'ü (1972), 139 & 155.</ref> Private slaves could buy their freedom from their master, while some masters chose to free their slaves.<ref>Ch'ü (1972), 157–158.</ref> Although slaves were subject to beatings if they did not obey their masters, it was against the law to murder a slave; kings were stripped of their kingdoms after it was found that they had murdered slaves, while Wang Mang even forced one of his sons to commit suicide for murdering a slave.<ref name="chu 1972 151 152">Ch'ü (1972), 151–152.</ref> An edict of 35 CE repealed the death penalty for any slave who killed a commoner.<ref name="chu 1972 152 153">Ch'ü (1972), 152–153.</ref>
Not all slaves had the same social status. Some slaves of wealthy families lived better than commoners since they were allowed to wear luxurious clothes and consume quality food and wine.<ref name="chu 1972 152 153"/> Slaves of high officials could even be feared and respected. The slaves of regent [[Huo Guang]] (d. 68 BCE) sometimes came armed to the marketplace and fought commoners, forced the Imperial Secretary to [[kowtow]] and apologize (after a scuffle with his slaves over the right-of-way on the street), and were provided services by some officials who sought a promotion through Huo Guang's influence.<ref>Ch'ü (1972), 154–155.</ref>
===Other occupations===
[[File:Cernuschi Museum 20060812 056.jpg|thumb|right|Western-Han ceramic vessels showing acrobats balancing by hand on their rims; the professional entertainer was one of many occupations during Han.]]
In addition to officials, teachers, merchants, farmers, artisans, and retainers, there were many other occupations. The [[Domestic pig|pig-breeder]] was not seen as a lowly profession if it was merely utilized by a poor scholar to pay for a formal education.<ref name="ch'u 1972 106">Ch'ü (1972), 106.</ref> For example, the first [[Chancellor of China|chancellor]] in Han to lack either a military background or a title as marquess was the pig-breeder Gongsun Hong (公孫弘) of Emperor Wu's reign.<ref name="ch'u 1972 106"/> [[Physician]]s who [[Traditional Chinese medicine|practiced medicine]] and [[Science and technology of the Han dynasty|studied medical classics]] could not only make a decent income, but were also able to gain an education and become officials.<ref name="ch'u 1972 123">Ch'ü (1972), 123.</ref> The physician [[Hua Tuo]] (d. 208 CE) was nominated for office while another became Prefect of the Gentlemen of the Palace (郎中令).<ref name="ch'u 1972 123"/> Those who practiced [[Occultism|occult arts]] of [[Chinese alchemy]] and [[mediumship]] were often employed by the government to conduct religious sacrifices, while on rare occasions—such as with [[Luan Da]] (d. 112 BCE)—an occultist might marry a princesses or be enfeoffed as a marquess.<ref name="ch'u 1972 123 125">Ch'ü (1972), 123–125.</ref> While it was socially acceptable for gentry scholars to engage in the occult arts of [[divination]] and [[Chinese astrology]], career diviners were of a lower status and earned only a modest income.<ref>Ch'ü (1972), 123–125; Csikszentmihalyi (2006), 172–173 & 179–180.</ref> Other humble occultist professions included [[Magic (paranormal)|sorcery]] and [[physiognomy]]; like merchants, those who practiced sorcery were banned from holding public office.<ref name="ch'u 1972 126">Ch'ü (1972), 126.</ref> Being a [[butcher]] was another lowly occupation, yet there is one case where a butcher became an official during Emperor Gaozu's reign, while [[Empress He (Han dynasty)|Empress He]] (d. 189 CE) and her brother, the regent [[He Jin]] (d. 189 CE), came from a family of butchers.<ref name="ch'u 1972 126 127">Ch'ü (1972), 126–127.</ref> Runners and messengers who worked for the government were also considered to have a lowly status, yet some later became government officials.<ref name="ch'u 1972 126 127"/>
===Twenty ranks===
[[File:"Five stars rising in the East" armband.jpg|thumb|250px|[["Five stars rising in the East" armband]], Eastern Han or early [[Jin dynasty (265-420)|Jin]] era [[Sichuan embroidery|Sichuan brocade]] [[armband]]]]
{{multiple image
| align = right
| image1 = Holding Shield and Holding Broom tomb doors, 1 of 2, China, unearthed from Lanjia Yard, Pixian County, Sichuan, Eastern Han dynasty, 25-220 AD, stone - Sichuan Provincial Museum - Chengdu, China - DSC04745.jpg
| width1 = 150
| alt1 =
| caption1 =
| image2 = Holding Shield and Holding Broom tomb doors, 2 of 2, China, unearthed from Lanjia Yard, Pixian County, Sichuan, Eastern Han dynasty, 25-220 AD, stone - Sichuan Provincial Museum - Chengdu, China - DSC04747.jpg
| width2 = 150
| alt2 =
| caption2 =
| footer = Carved [[relief]]s on stone tomb doors showing men dressed in ''[[Hanfu]]'', with one holding a shield, the other a broom, [[Eastern Han Dynasty]] (25–220 CE), from Lanjia Yard, [[Pi County]], [[Sichuan province]], [[Sichuan Provincial Museum]] of [[Chengdu]]
}}
The Han court upheld a socio-economic ranking system for commoners and nobles, which was based on the twenty-ranks system installed by the statesman [[Shang Yang]] (d. 338 BCE) of the [[Qin (state)|State of Qin]].<ref name="nishijima 1986 552 553 hinsch 2002 27"/> All males above the age of 15 (excluding slaves) could be promoted in rank up to level eight.<ref name="nishijima 1986 552 553"/> When a commoner was promoted in rank, he was granted a more honorable place in the seating arrangements of hamlet banquets, was given a greater portion of hunted game at the table, was punished less severely for certain crimes, and could become exempt from labor service obligations to the state.<ref name="nishijima 1986 552 553"/> This system favored the elderly, since a longer lifespan meant more opportunities to become promoted.<ref name="nishijima 1986 552 553 hinsch 2002 27">Nishijima (1986), 552–553; Hinsch (2002), 27.</ref> In addition to an increase in salary (see table to the right), newly promoted men were granted wine and ox-meat for a celebratory banquet.<ref name="nishijima 1986 552 553">Nishijima (1986), 552–553.</ref> The 19th and 20th ranks were both marquess ranks, yet only a 20th rank allowed one to have a marquessate fief.<ref name="ch'u 1972 16">Ch'ü (1972), 16.</ref>
Promotions in rank were decided by the emperor and could occur on special occasions, such as installation of a new emperor, inauguration of a new [[Chinese era name|reign title]], the wedding of a new empress, or the selection of a royal [[heir apparent]].<ref name="nishijima 1986 552 553 hinsch 2002 27"/> The central government sometimes sold ranks to collect more revenues for the state.<ref name="nishijima 1986 591">Nishijima (1986), 591.</ref> The official [[Chao Cuo]] (d. 154 BCE) once wrote that anyone who presented a substantial amount of agricultural grain to the government would also be promoted in rank.<ref name="nishijima 1986 596 597">Nishijima (1986), 596–597.</ref>
{| class="wikitable" align="center"
|-
! colspan=3 align="center" |The twenty-ranks system (二十公乘)<ref>Names taken from Hardy and Kinney (2005), 89.</ref>
|-
!Rank level<br> and Chinese name
!English translation
!Annual salary measured in <br> [[bushel]]s or ''shi'' (石) of [[millet]]
|-
| 1. 公士 ''Gongshi''
|Gentleman
| 50
|-
| 2. 上造 ''Shangzao''
|Distinguished Accomplishment
| 100
|-
| 3. 簪袅 ''Zanniao''
|Ornamented Horses
| 150
|-
| 4. 不更 ''Bugeng''
|No Conscript Service
| 200
|-
| 5. 大夫 ''Dafu''
|Grandee
| 250
|-
| 6. 官大夫 ''Guan Dafu''
|Government Grandee
| 300
|-
| 7. 公大夫 ''Gong Dafu''
|Gentleman Grandee
| 350
|-
| 8. 公乘 ''Gongcheng''
|Gentleman Chariot
| 400
|-
| 9. 五大夫 ''Wu Dafu''
|Grandee
| 450
|-
| 10. 左庶长 ''Zuo Shuzhang''
|Chief of the Multitude on the Left
| 500
|-
| 11. 右庶长 ''You Shuzhang''
|Chief of the Multitude on the Right
| 550
|-
| 12. 左更 ''Zuo Geng''
|Chieftain of Conscripts on the Left
| 600
|-
| 13. 中更 ''Zhong Geng''
|Chieftain of Conscripts in the Center
| 650
|-
| 14. 右更 ''You Geng''
|Chieftain of Conscripts on the Right
| 700
|-
| 15. 少上造 ''Shao Shangzao''
|Second-Order Distinguished Accomplishment
| 750
|-
| 16. 大上造 ''Da Shangzao''
|Most Distinguished Accomplishment
| 800
|-
| 17. 驷车庶长 ''Siju Shuzhang''
|Chieftain of the Multitude Riding a Four-Horse Chariot
| 850
|-
| 18. 大庶长 ''Da Shuzhang''
|Grand Chieftain of the Multitude
| 900
|-
| 19. 关内侯 ''Guannei Hou''
|Marquis of the Imperial Domain
| 950
|-
| 20. 彻侯 ''Che Hou''
|Full Marquis
| 1,000
|}
==Urban and rural life==
[[File:护乌桓校尉幕府图 东汉 盛乐博物馆 和林格尔, Horinger Eastern Han mural of Commandant protector of the Wuhuan's manor.png|300px|thumb|[[Eastern Han dynasty|Eastern Han]] mural of the manor grounds of the Commandant-protector of the Wuhuan (护乌桓校尉), from [[Horinger]] Han-Tomb.]]
During the Han, the empire was divided into large administrative units of [[Kingdoms of the Han dynasty|kingdoms]] and [[Commandery (China)|commanderies]]; within a commandery there were [[Counties of the People's Republic of China#History|counties]], and within counties there were [[District (China)|districts]] that contained at least several [[Hamlet (place)|hamlets]].<ref name="nishijima 1986 551 552">Nishijima (1986), 551–552.</ref> An average hamlet contained about a hundred families and usually was enclosed by a wall with two gates.<ref name="nishijima 1986 551 552"/> At the center of social life in the hamlet was the religious altar (built in honor of [[Chinese folk religion|a local deity]]) where festivities could be staged.<ref name="nishijima 1986 551 552"/> Each district and county also had an official religious altar.<ref name="nishijima 1986 551 552"/> The official reach of government extended no further than the district level, where county-appointed officials included the [[chief of police]] who maintained law and order and the district tax collector.<ref name="nishijima 1986 552 553"/> However, the government was able to control local society at the hamlet level with their bestowal of twenty ranks.<ref name="nishijima 1986 552 553"/>
[[File:Han Pottery Tower 1 (better image).jpg|thumb|A Han ceramic tomb model of a multiple-story residential tower with a first-floor gatehouse and courtyard, mid-floor balcony, windows, and clearly distinguished ''[[dougong]]'' support brackets]]
The government funded [[flood control]] projects involving the building of [[:Category:Canals in China|new canals]], thus aiding the speed of waterborne transport and allowing undeveloped areas to become [[Irrigation|irrigated farmlands]].<ref>Nishijima (1986), 554.</ref> These conscription labor projects allowed for the building of new hamlets which were dependent on the government for their livelihoods.<ref name="nishijima 1986 555">Nishijima (1986), 555.</ref> When the authority of the central government declined in the late Eastern Han period, many commoners living in such hamlets were forced to flee their lands and work as tenants on large estates of wealthy landowners.<ref name="nishijima 1986 555"/> The people of older hamlets which never had to rely on central government projects for their wellbeing or existence often sought support from powerful local families.<ref name="nishijima 1986 555"/>
The Western Han capital at [[Chang'an]] was divided into one hundred and sixty walled [[Ward (country subdivision)|residential wards]].<ref name="nishijima 1986 575">Nishijima (1986), 575.</ref> Affairs of each ward were overseen by a low-ranking official.<ref name="nishijima 1986 575"/> Influential families within the wards usually maintained social order.<ref name="nishijima 1986 575"/> Historians are still unsure as to how many government-controlled marketplaces existed in Chang'an.<ref name="nishijima 1986 575"/> Although there are claims of nine markets, it is possible that seven of them were actually divisible parts of two main markets: the East Market and West Market.<ref name="nishijima 1986 575"/> Both the East Market and West Market had a two-story government office with a flag and drum placed on the roof.<ref name="nishijima 1986 576" /> A market chief and deputy were headquartered in each of these buildings, yet not much is known about their involvement in the marketplace.<ref name="nishijima 1986 576"/> In the Eastern Han capital of [[Luoyang]], the market chief's office employed thirty-six sub-officers who ventured into the marketplace daily to maintain law and order.<ref name="nishijima 1986 576"/> They also collected taxes on commercial goods, assigned standard prices for specific commodities on the basis of monthly reviews, and authorized [[contract]]s between merchants and their customers or clients.<ref name="nishijima 1986 576"/> Besides merchants engaging in marketplace violations, other crimes were committed by adolescent street gangs who often wore clothes distinguishing their gang.<ref name="loewe 1968 146 147"/> The maintenance of law and order outside the market and in slum areas was conducted by [[constable]]s; Han officials sometimes argued for increasing their salaries which they assumed would encourage them to reject bribes from criminals.<ref name="loewe 1968 146 147">Loewe (1968), 146–147.</ref>
There were many amusements in the cities which could attract audiences rich and poor, such as trained animals performing tricks, [[cockfighting]] and caged animal fights between tigers, [[horse racing]], [[Puppetry|puppet shows]], [[Music of China|musical performances]] with dancing, [[acrobatics|acrobatic feats]], and [[juggling]].<ref>Loewe (1968), 141–145.</ref> Wealthy families could afford their own house choirs and five-piece orchestras with bells, drums, flutes, and stringed instruments.<ref name="loewe 1968 141">Loewe (1968), 141.</ref> [[Gambling]] and [[board game]]s such as ''[[liubo]]'' also provided entertainment.<ref>Loewe (1968), 144–145.</ref>
{{clear}}
==Marriage, gender, and kinship==
[[File:CMOC Treasures of Ancient China exhibit - pictorial brick depicting a courtyard scene.jpg|left|thumb|This brick, from the chamber wall of an Eastern-Han family tomb in what is now modern [[Sichuan]], depicts the home of a wealthy, influential Han official; it features [[Science and technology of the Han dynasty|a walled courtyard, house, bedrooms, halls, kitchen, well, and a watchtower]]. The host and his guest sit and drink in the inner courtyard, while two [[Fighting cocks|roosters]] fight and two cranes dance.]]
===Patrilineal, nuclear family===
[[File:Eastern han husband and wife banquet mural BM2 Zhucun Luoyang 洛阳朱村东汉墓BM2夫妇宴饮图.jpg|thumb|alt=Eastern Han mural of husband and wife's banquet, discovered in Zhucun, Luoyang|Eastern Han tomb mural depicting a husband and wife in a banquet attended by servants.]]
Chinese kinship relations during the Han were influenced by [[Confucianism|Confucian]] mores and involved both immediate [[nuclear family]] and [[extended family]] members.<ref name="hinsch 2002 46 47"/> The Chinese family was [[patrilineal]], since a father's sons did not consider a mother's kin to be part of their clan; instead, they were considered 'outside relatives'.<ref name="ch'u 1972 3">Ch'ü (1972), 3.</ref> The Han dynasty law code inherited the [[Qin dynasty]] (221–206 BCE) law that any family with more than two sons had to pay extra taxes. This was not repealed until the [[Cao Wei]] period (220–265 CE). The average Han family under one household typically had about four or five immediate family members, which was unlike the large extended families under one household in later dynasties.<ref name="hinsch 2002 46 47">Hinsch (2002), 46–47.</ref><ref>Ch'ü (1972), 4–6, 8–9.</ref> It was common during Han to send adult married sons away with a portion of the family fortune and visit them occasionally, yet in all dynasties during and after the [[Tang dynasty]] (618–907 CE), a son who moved away and lived separately from his living parents would be considered a criminal.<ref name="ch'u 1972 6 9">Ch'ü (1972), 6–9.</ref> Larger families appeared during the Eastern Han when some married brothers chose to live with each other's families. However, a household with three generations living under its roof was incredibly rare. This is in contrast to the [[Jin dynasty (266–420)]], when having three or more generations under one roof was commonplace.<ref>Ch'ü (1972), 9; Hucker (1975), 176–177; Hinsch (2002) 46–47.</ref>
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===Clan and lineage===
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| footer = '''Left:''' a Han ceramic figurine of a lady servant with hands placed in front and covered in long silk sleeves <br>'''Right:''' a [[Western Han]] fresco of a woman in ''[[Hanfu]]'' robes, from a tomb of [[Xi'an]] ([[Chang'an]]), [[Shaanxi province]]
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The [[Chinese clan]] or lineage involved men who shared a common patrilineal ancestor, yet were divided into subgroups whose behavior towards each other was regulated according to Confucian mores which dictated what relative should be closer and more intimate.<ref name="ch'u 1972 9 10">Ch'ü (1972), 9–10.</ref> The four different subgroups were: (1) brother, brother's sons, and brother's grandsons; (2) father's brothers, father's brother's sons and grandsons; (3) paternal grandfather's brothers, their sons, and grandsons; and (4) paternal great-grandfather's brothers, their sons, grandsons, and great-grandsons.<ref name="ch'u 1972 9 10"/> While one was expected to mourn for an entire year over the death of any relative in the first subgroup, one was expected to mourn for only five months when a relative in the second subgroup had died.<ref name="ch'u 1972 9 10"/> No ritual mourning was expected at all for relatives in the third and fourth subgroups.<ref name="ch'u 1972 9 10"/> While a son mourned three years for a father's death, he only mourned one year for his mother's.<ref name="ch'u 1972 52 53">Ch'ü (1972), 52–53.</ref> Since carrying on the patrilineal line meant the continuation of ancestor worship, it was important to have at least one son, even if he was [[adoption|adopted]] from another family (although it was considered imperative that he share the [[Chinese surname|same surname]], otherwise his ancestral sacrifices could be considered null and void).<ref name="ch'u 1972 18 20">Ch'ü (1972), 18–20.</ref>
The majority of clan or lineage groups were not very influential in local society.<ref name="ebrey 1986 627">Ebrey (1986), 627.</ref> However, prominent kinship groups could enjoy a great deal of ad hoc influence, especially if a member served as a government official.<ref name="ebrey 1986 627"/> Wealthy scholars or officials often shared the same kinship group with poor commoners.<ref name="ebrey 1986 639 640">Ebrey (1986), 639–640.</ref> Since clan members were expected to defend fellow members (even to the point of murder), government authorities constantly struggled to suppress powerful kinship groups.<ref name="ebrey 1986 627"/> Local lineage groups formed the backbone of rebel forces in the popular uprising against Wang Mang in the early 1st century CE.<ref name="hsu 1965 370"/> When central government authority broke down in the late Eastern Han, less-developed areas of the country remained relatively stable due to entrenched kinship groups, while in heavily developed areas (where kinship groups had been effectively broken down by the state) there were many more peasants willing to turn to rebel movements for protection and survival.<ref>Hinsch (2002), 27; Ebrey (1986), 628.</ref>
===Marriage and divorce===
[[File:Bronze gaming vessel with incised decoration, Western Han Dynasty.jpg|right|thumb|A Western-Han [[bronze]] gaming vessel dated c. 150–50 BCE, which was used during festivities by guests who would attempt to throw darts down its narrow neck]]
Although romantic love was not discouraged, marriages [[Arranged marriage|were arranged]] as agreements and bonds formed between two clans (with property as the chief concern), not necessarily two individuals.<ref>Ch'ü (1972), 34; Hinsch (2002), 35.</ref> A father's input on who his sons and daughters should marry carried more weight than the mother, although a grandfather could override a father's decision.<ref name="ch'u 1972 34">Ch'ü (1972), 34.</ref> Once a couple had married, the new wife was obligated to visit the family temple so she could become part of the husband's clan and be properly worshipped by her descendants after death.<ref>Ch'ü (1972), 34–35.</ref> However, she retained her natal surname.<ref>Hinsch (2002), 37–38.</ref> The vast majority of people during Han practiced [[monogamy]], although wealthy officials and nobles could afford to support one or many [[concubine]]s in addition to their legal wife.<ref>Ch'ü (1972), 44–47; Hinsch (2002), 38–39.</ref>
Although the ideal ages for marriage were thirty for a man and twenty for a woman, it was common for a male to marry at age sixteen and a female at age fourteen.<ref name="ch'u 1972 33 34">Ch'ü (1972), 33–34.</ref> To encourage families to marry off their daughters, a law was introduced in 189 BCE that increased the poll tax rate fivefold for unmarried women between the ages of fifteen and thirty.<ref name="ch'u 1972 33 34"/> People of the Han practiced a strict form of [[exogamy]] where one could not marry a person who had the same surname, even if both partners could not be traced back to a common ancestor (however, this excluded the royal family, who sometimes married distant relatives for political reasons).<ref name="ch'u 1972 35">Ch'ü (1972), 35.</ref> Officials often married into families with officials of equal status and sometimes married royal princesses or had their daughters marry kings and even the emperor.<ref>Ch'ü (1972), 86.</ref>
By custom there were seven conditions where a man could divorce his wife. These were: (1) disobedience to parents-in-law, (2) barrenness (unable to continue family line), (3) adultery (mixing another clan's blood into the family), (4) jealousy (of concubines), (5) incurable disease (unable to continue family line), (6) loquacity (not getting along with brothers-in-law or sisters-in-law), and (7) theft.<ref>Ch'ü (1972), 37–40; Hinsch (2002), 40–41.</ref> However, a husband was not allowed to divorce his wife if she had completed three years of mourning for one of his deceased parents, if there were no living relatives in her father's family to return to, or if the husband's family was originally poor but became rich after marriage.<ref name="ch'u 1972 41">Ch'ü (1972), 41.</ref> Sometimes women were also able to initiate the divorce and remarry if the husband's family was in poverty, he was diseased, or his in-laws were too abusive.<ref>Ch'ü (1972), 41; Hinsch (2002), 41.</ref> Although remarriage was frowned upon (especially since divorce meant a wife took away her dowry wealth from her ex-husband's family), it was nonetheless common amongst divorcees and widowers in all social groups.<ref>Ch'ü (1972), 42–43; Hinsch (2002), 41–45.</ref>
===Inheritance===
[[File:Chongqing 2007 852.jpg|thumb|upright|[[Chinese ceramics|Ceramic figures]] of grotesque grave guardian heads, [[Eastern Han]] period (25–220 CE), [[Three Gorges Museum]], [[Chongqing]]]]
The two types of inheritance during Han included the common inheritance of property from the deceased, which all social groups (except for slaves) participated in, and the inheritance of titles, which only the people of twenty ranks, nobility, and royalty could enjoy.<ref name="ch'u 1972 13">Ch'ü (1972), 13.</ref> In the first form, officials and commoners bequeathed an equal share of property to each of their sons in their will.<ref name="ch'u 1972 17">Ch'ü (1972), 17.</ref> This excluded daughters, who married into other families and thus did not carry on the family name. However, daughters did receive a portion of the family property in the form of their marriage [[Dowry|dowries]], which were sometimes equal to a brother's share of wealth in the will.<ref name="ch'u 1972 17 18">Ch'ü (1972), 17–18.</ref> The second type of inheritance involved the practice of [[primogeniture]], where the official title was inherited by only one son.<ref name="ch'u 1972 13 17">Ch'ü (1972), 13–17.</ref> This was as true of the emperor as it was for any king, marquess, or commoner of the twenty ranks.<ref name="ch'u 1972 13 17"/> However, to limit the power of the kings while still upholding primogeniture, an imperial edict of 127 BCE stated that kings had to divide the territories of their kingdoms between the chosen successor (i.e. heir apparent) and the kings' brothers, who were made marquesses, thus establishing new marquessates and effectively reducing the size of every kingdom with each generation.<ref>Ch'ü (1972), 15–16.</ref>
===Status and position of women===
[[File:Cernuschi Museum 20060812 069.jpg|thumb|A Western-Han painted [[Chinese ceramics|ceramic figurine]] of a female servant in silk robes]]
Historian [[Ban Zhao]] (45–116 CE) wrote in her ''[[Lessons for Women]]'' that, like the opposite and complementary forces of [[yin and yang]], men's great virtues were strength and rigidity, while a woman's great virtues were respect and compliance.<ref>Ch'ü (1972), 49–50.</ref> Throughout her life, a Han woman was to bend to the will of first her father, then her husband, and then her adult son (三從四德).<ref name="ch'u 1972 50 51">Ch'ü (1972), 50–51.</ref> However, there are many recorded deviations from this rule, as some Han women are written to have engaged in heated arguments with their husbands over concubines (sometimes beating concubines out of jealousy and to punish the husband), wrote essays and letters for husbands serving as government officials, and sometimes husbands turned to their wives for advice on political affairs of the court.<ref name="ch'u 1972 51 52">Ch'ü (1972), 51–52.</ref> When a father died, the eldest son was theoretically the senior member of the family, yet as hinted in various works of Han literature, they still had to obey the will of their mother and she could even force them to kowtow to her when apologizing for an offense.<ref>Ch'ü (1972), 53.</ref> Deviations from common customs regarding gender were especially pronounced in the imperial family. The empress was able to give orders to her male relatives (even her father) and if they disobeyed her, she could publicly reprimand and humiliate them.<ref name="ch'u 1972 58 59">Ch'ü (1972), 58–59.</ref>
Certain occupations were traditionally reserved for women, while they were also exempted from corvée labor duties.<ref>Hinsch (2002), 74–75.</ref> Women were expected to rear children, weave clothes for the family, and perform domestic duties such as cooking; although farming was considered men's work, sometimes women tilled fields alongside their husbands and brothers.<ref>Ch'ü (1972), 54; Hinsch (2002), 51, 59–60, 65–68.</ref> Some women formed communal spinning and weaving groups to pool resources together to pay for candles, lamp oil, and heat during night and winter.<ref>Hinsch (2002), 70–71.</ref> A successful textile business could employ hundreds of women.<ref name="hinsch 2002 29"/> Singing and dancing to entertain wealthy patrons were other common professions open for women.<ref name="ch'u 1972 55 56">Ch'ü (1972), 55–56.</ref> When a husband died, sometimes the widow became the sole supporter of her children, and thus had to make a living weaving silk cloths or making straw sandals to sell in the market.<ref name="ch'u 1972 54">Ch'ü (1972), 54</ref> Some women also turned to the humble profession of sorcery for income.<ref name="ch'u 1972 55">Ch'ü (1972), 55.</ref> Other more fortunate women could become renowned medical physicians who provided services to the families of high officials and nobility.<ref>Ch'ü (1972), 55; Hinsch (2002), 77–78.</ref> Some wealthy women engaged in luxury trade, such as one who frequently sold pearls to a princess.<ref>Ch'ü (1972), 54; Hinsch (2002), 72.</ref> Some even aided in their husband's business decisions.<ref name="hinsch 2002 72 74"/> Female merchants dressed in silk clothes which rivaled even female nobles' attire were considered immoral compared to the ideal woman weaver.<ref name="hinsch 2002 72 74">Hinsch (2002), 72–74.</ref>
==Education, literature, and philosophy==
===Competing ideologies===
[[File:Mawangdui silk banner from tomb no1.jpg|thumb|right|This {{convert|6+3/4|ft|m|adj=mid|-long}} Western-Han painting on [[silk]] was found draped over the coffin in the grave of Lady Dai (d. 168 BCE) at [[Mawangdui]] in [[Changsha]], [[Hunan]] province, China. The scenes depicted on it seem to illustrate the journey of the woman's soul. The top section shows the heavenly realm, complete with dragons, leopards, and hybrid creatures. At the corners are the crow that symbolizes the Sun and the toad that symbolizes the Moon, the pairing of the Sun and Moon representing the cosmic forces of [[yin and yang]].<ref>Ebrey (1999), 73; Hansen (2000), 121–123.</ref>]]
The historian [[Sima Tan]] (d. 110 BCE) wrote that the [[Legalism (Chinese philosophy)|Legalist tradition]] inherited by Han from the previous Qin dynasty taught that imposing severe man-made laws which were short of kindness would produce a well-ordered society, given that human nature was innately immoral and had to be checked.<ref name="csikszentmihalyi 2006 24 25">Csikszentmihalyi (2006), 24–25.</ref> 'Legalism' was the label created by Han scholars to describe the socio-political philosophy formulated largely by [[Shen Buhai]] (d. 340 BCE), [[Shang Yang]] (d. 338 BCE), and [[Han Fei]] (c. 280 – c. 233 BCE), a philosophy which stressed that government had to rely on a strict system of punishments and rewards to maintain law and order.<ref name="csikszentmihalyi 2006 24 25"/> Some early Western Han officials were influenced by the tenet of [[Wu wei|'nonaction']] apparent in Han Fei's work and the Daoist ''[[Laozi]]''.<ref name="csikszentmihalyi 2006 25 26">Csikszentmihalyi (2006), 25–26.</ref> By utilizing this concept, they argued that once laws and administrative systems were set in place, the government functioned smoothly and intervention on behalf of the ruler became unnecessary.<ref name="csikszentmihalyi 2006 25 26"/> This school of thought was known as [[Huang-Lao|'Yellow Emperor and Laozi']] (''Huang-Lao'' 黃老), which gained full acceptance at court under the patronage of [[Empress Dou (Wen)|Empress Dowager Dou]] (d. 135 BCE).<ref>Csikszentmihalyi (2006), 26–27; Loewe (1994), 128.</ref> Its followers believed that the originator of ordered civilization was the mythical [[Yellow Emperor]], a view that contradicted later Confucian scholars' views that the mythological [[Yao (ruler)|Yao]] and [[Shun (Chinese leader)|Shun]] were responsible for bringing man out of a state of anarchy.<ref name="loewe 1994 128">Loewe (1994), 128.</ref> Works such as the ''[[Huainanzi]]'' (presented in 139 BCE) introduced new systematic ideas about the cosmos which undercut the message of Huang-Lao thought.<ref name="loewe 1994 128 129">Loewe (1994), 128–129.</ref> Scholars such as [[Shusun Tong]] (叔孫通) began to express greater emphasis for ethical ideas espoused in 'Classicist' philosophical works such as those of [[Confucius|Kongzi]] (i.e. Confucius, 551–479 BCE), an ideology anachronistically known as [[Confucianism]].<ref>Csikszentmihalyi (2006), 24–25; Loewe (1994), 128–130.</ref> Emperor Gaozu found Shusun Tong's Confucian reforms of court rituals useful so long as they further exalted his status, yet it was not until Emperor Wu's reign that Confucianism gained exclusive patronage at court.<ref>Ebrey (1999), 77; Kramers (1986), 752–753.</ref>
===Confucianism becomes paramount===
At the core of Confucian ethics were the selected virtues of [[filial piety]], [[Ren (Confucianism)|harmonious relationships]], [[Li (Confucian)|''ritual'']], and righteousness. The amalgamation of these ideas into a [[Theology|theological]] system involving earlier cosmological theories of [[yin and yang]] as well as the five phases (i.e. natural cycles which governed Heaven, Earth, and Man) was first pioneered by the official [[Dong Zhongshu]] (179–104 BCE).<ref>Kramers (1986), 753–755; Loewe (1994), 134–140.</ref> Although full authenticity of Dong's authorship of the ''[[Luxuriant Dew of the Spring and Autumn Annals]]'' comes into question with hints that parts were rewritten around the time of [[Liu Xiang (scholar)|Liu Xiang]] (79–8 BCE) or [[Liu Xin (scholar)|Liu Xin]] (d. 23 CE), three of his original [[memorials to the throne|memorials sent to the throne]] discussing his syncretic version of Confucianism were preserved in the 1st-century-CE ''[[Book of Han]]''.<ref>Csikszentmihalyi (2006), 7–8 & 175–176; Loewe (1994), 134–137.</ref>
Since his model incorporated and justified the imperial government into the natural order of the universe, it appealed to Emperor Wu, who in 136 BCE abolished non-Confucian academic chairs or erudites (博士) not dealing with the Confucian [[Five Classics]]: the ''[[Shi Jing|Classic of Poetry]]'', the ''[[I Ching|Classic of Changes]]'', the ''[[Classic of Rites]]'', the ''[[Classic of History]]'', and the ''[[Spring and Autumn Annals]]''.<ref>Kramers (1986), 754–756; Csikszentmihalyi (2006), 7–8; Loewe (1994), 121–125.</ref> Expanding on the position of [[Mencius|Mengzi]] (c. 372 – 289 BCE) that human nature was innately good, Dong wrote that people needed external nourishment of education to become 'awakened' and develop morality.<ref>Csikszentmihalyi (2006), 5–6.</ref> To produce morally sound officials, Emperor Wu further sponsored Confucian education when he established the Imperial University in 124 BCE.<ref>Kramers (1986), 754–756; Ch'en (1986), 769.</ref> Despite mainstream acceptance of Confucianism for the rest of Han (and until the end of the [[Qing dynasty]] in 1911), philosophers still defended some Legalist ideas while the state's laws and policies reflect a compromise reached between Legalism and Han Confucianism.<ref>Loewe (1994), 141.</ref>
There were varying regional traditions or 'schools' within Confucianism assigned to certain texts.<ref>Kramers (1986), 756–757.</ref> The two which caused most debate were [[Old Texts|New Texts]] and [[Old Texts]] traditions. The former represented works transmitted orally after the [[Burning of books and burying of scholars|Qin book burning]] of 213 BCE, and the latter was newly discovered texts alleged by [[Kong Anguo]], Liu Xin, and others to have been excavated from the walls of Kongzi's home, displayed archaic [[Chinese character|written characters]], and thus were more authentic versions.<ref name="kramers 1986 760 762">Kramers (1986), 760–762.</ref> Although initially rejected, the Old Texts found acceptance at the courts of [[Emperor Ping of Han|Emperor Ping]] (r. 1 BCE – 5 CE) and Wang Mang, were rejected by Emperor Guangwu, and accepted once more by Emperor Zhang only to be rejected a third time by the following rulers.<ref>Kramers (1986), 760–762; de Crespigny (2007), 498.</ref>
===Further philosophical synthesis===
[[File:CMOC Treasures of Ancient China exhibit - fragment of Xiping stone classics.jpg|thumb|right|A fragment of the 'Stone Classics' (熹平石經); these stone-carved [[Five Classics]] installed during [[Emperor Ling of Han|Emperor Ling's]] reign along the roadside of the [[Taixue|Imperial University]] (right outside [[Luoyang]]) were made at the instigation of [[Cai Yong]] (132–192 CE), who feared the Classics housed in the imperial library were being [[Interpolation|interpolated]] by University Academicians.<ref>de Crespigny (2007), 513; Barbieri-Low (2007), 207; Huang (1988), 57.</ref>]]
In contrast to Dong's certainty about innate goodness, the contemporary writer [[Jia Yi]] (201–169 BCE) synthesized the opposing perspectives of Mengzi and [[Xun Kuang|Xunzi]] (c. 312 – c. 230 BCE) in the chapter "Protecting and Tutoring" (Baofu 保傅) of his book ''New Recommendations'' (''Xinshu'' 新書) to argue that human nature was malleable and thus neither originally good or evil.<ref>Csikszentmihalyi (2006), 6 & 9–10.</ref> Han Confucianism was transformed in the Eastern Han period when scholars struggled to understand how Wang Mang's regime had failed despite its [[History of the Han dynasty|great sponsorship of Confucian reform]].<ref>Ch'en (1986), 773–774.</ref> The transition from Western Han idealism to Eastern Han skepticism can be represented in part by the [[Fa yan|''Exemplary Sayings'' (''Fayan'' 法言)]] of [[Yang Xiong (author)|Yang Xiong]] (53 BCE – 18 CE), who argued that human nature was indeterminate, that one could cultivate good and escape negative situations by learning the valuable precepts of many schools of thought (not just Confucianism), yet man had no control over his ultimate fate (命) decided by Heaven.<ref name="ch'en 1986 775 776">Ch'en (1986), 775–777.</ref> In his ''New Discussions'' (''Xinlun'' 新論), [[Huan Tan]] (43 BCE −28 CE) argued that although the Han court sponsored Confucian education, the government had become corrupt and thus undermined Dong Zhongshu's cosmically ordained belief that Confucian education went hand-in-hand with political success.<ref>Ch'en (1986), 777–779.</ref> In his ''[[Lunheng|Balanced Discourse]]'' (''Lunheng''), [[Wang Chong]] (27–100 CE) argued that human life was not a coherent whole dictated by a unitary will of Heaven as in Dong's synthesis, but rather was broken down into three planes: biological (mental and physical), sociopolitical, and moral, elements which interacted with each other to produce different results and random fate.<ref>Ch'en (1986), 780–783.</ref> Eastern Han Confucians incorporated ideas of Legalism and [[Daoism]] to explain how society could be salvaged, such as [[Wang Fu (philosopher)|Wang Fu]] (78–163 CE) in his [[Qian fu lun|''Comments of a Recluse'']] (''Qian fu lun'') who argued that the evils accumulated by mankind over time could be rectified by direct engagement of the body-politic (the Legalist approach), but that the individual had to cultivate personal virtue in the meantime as a long-term solution (the Daoist approach).<ref>Ch'en (1986), 786–794.</ref>
===Public and private education===
In order to secure a position as a teacher, erudite in the capital, or government official, a student could choose one of several paths to become well educated. Perhaps the most prestigious path was enrollment in the Imperial University.<ref name="ch'u 1972 103">Ch'ü (1972), 103.</ref> Students had to be above the age of eighteen to enroll, and were selected by the Minister of Ceremonies from those recommended by local authorities.<ref name="ch'u 1972 103"/> Other students could choose to enroll in a school sponsored by the local commandery government.<ref name="ch'u 1972 103"/> A professional teacher who opened a [[private school]] in a small town or village could sometimes gather a following of several hundred to over a thousand students.<ref name="ch'u 1972 103"/> Students were expected to pay [[Tuition payments|tuition]], thus a teacher enjoyed a significant salary.<ref name="ch'u 1972 103"/> His standing in the local community was usually paramount, and was even sought as an arbiter in disputes.<ref name="ch'u 1972 103"/> Although the size of the Imperial Academy was greatly expanded in Eastern Han, private schools grew in importance as the imperial government lost authority and its academy's persecution of Old Text tradition drove many to pursue Old Text studies in private institutions.<ref name="kramers 1986 764">Kramers (1986), 764.</ref>
===The Standard Histories===
[[File:Ming Dynasty wood carving books in Tian Yi Chamber colllection.JPG|thumb|right|A [[Ming dynasty]] woodblock print edition of the ''[[Book of Han]]'']]
Before the ''[[Records of the Grand Historian]]'' (''Shiji'') by [[Sima Qian]] (145–86 BCE), there existed terse [[chronicle]]s of events such as the ''Spring and Autumn Annals'' and the [[Shuihudi Qin bamboo texts|chronicle found at Shuihudi]] covering events in the [[State of Qin]] and Qin dynasty from 306 to 217 BCE.<ref>Hardy (1999), 1–3 & 14–17; Hansen (2000), 110–112.</ref> There was also the ''Classic of History''—part of the Confucian canon—which recorded the deeds of past rulers and political events (sometimes mythological instead of historical).<ref>Hardy (1999), 7–12.</ref> However, Sima's work is considered the first of China's [[Twenty-Four Histories|Standard Histories]], laid the groundwork for [[Chinese historiography]] by creating the first [[Universal history (genre)|universal history]] of China.<ref>Hardy (1999), 14–15.</ref> He divided his work of one hundred and thirty chapters into basic annals, chronological tables in grid format (with year-by-year accounts since 841 BCE, the start of the [[Gonghe Regency]]), treatises on general subjects (such as [[Economy of the Han dynasty|the economy]] and [[Science and technology of the Han dynasty|the calendar]]), histories of hereditary houses and states, [[Biography|biographies]] on individuals arranged in roughly chronological order, and his own [[autobiography]] as the last chapter.<ref>Hardy (1999), 29–42.</ref> Being a court archivist allowed Sima to utilize eighty textual sources in addition to [[memorial to the throne|memorials]], edicts, and stone inscriptions. These sources enhanced the enormous scope of his work, which mentions roughly four thousand people by name.<ref>Hardy (1999), 42–43.</ref> He also traveled extensively to interview witnesses for more recent accounts.<ref>Hardy (1999), 43.</ref>
Unlike the [[Greek historiography|Western historiographical tradition]] established by the Greek [[Herodotus]] (c. 484 c. – 425 BCE), [[University of North Carolina]] associate professor Dr. Grant Hardy asserts that Sima's work was intended to be a textual [[Macrocosm and microcosm|microcosm]] representing every aspect of the Universe, Earth, and Man in model form, in much the same way that the [[raised-relief map]] in the tomb of [[Qin Shi Huang]] (r. 221–210 BCE) represented his empire.<ref>Hardy (1999), 47–50.</ref> Hardy explains that this was not unique to Sima's work, as Han scholars believed encoded secrets existed in the ''Spring and Autumn Annals'', which was deemed "a microcosm incorporating all the essential moral and historical principles by which the world operated" and future events could be prognosticated.<ref>Hardy (1999), 54–55.</ref> However, Hardy's microcosm thesis as an explanation for the ''Shiji'''s inconsistencies in ideological approach, organization, and literary characteristics has been criticized by [[Michael Loewe]] and David Schaberg. They express doubt about Hardy's view that Sima intended his work to be a well-planned, homogeneous model of reality, rather than a loosely connected collection of narratives which retains the original ideological biases of the various sources used.<ref>Loewe (2001), 221–230; Schaberg (2001), 249–259.</ref>
The next Standard History was the ''[[Book of Han]]'', compiled by [[Ban Biao]] (3–54 CE), his son [[Ban Gu]] (32–92 CE), and his daughter [[Ban Zhao]] (45–116 CE).<ref name="hansen 2000 137 138">Hansen (2000), 137–138.</ref> Unlike Sima's private and independent work, this history text was commissioned and sponsored by the Han court under [[Emperor Ming of Han|Emperor Ming]] (r. 57–75 CE), who let Ban Gu use the imperial archives.<ref name="hansen 2000 137 138"/> This set a significant precedent for the rest of the Standard Histories, since the historian was now virtually unable to criticize his ruling patron.<ref name="hansen 2000 137 138"/> The ''Book of Han'' covered the history of China left off from Sima's work during Emperor Wu's reign up until the middle Eastern Han.<ref>Hansen (2000), 138.</ref> Although the ''[[Records of the Three Kingdoms]]'' included events in late Eastern Han, no history work focused exclusively on the Eastern Han period until the ''[[Book of Later Han]]'' was compiled by [[Fan Ye (historian)|Fan Ye]] (398–445 CE).
===Treatises, dictionaries, manuals, and biographies===
[[File:Shuowen.jpg|thumb|The cover of a modern reprint of a [[Song dynasty|Northern Song]] (960–1127 CE) edition of ''[[Shuowen Jiezi]]'']]
The ''[[Erya|Ready Guide]]'' (''Erya'') is the oldest known [[Chinese dictionary]] and was compiled sometime in the 3rd century BCE before the Han.<ref>Yong & Peng (2008), 3; Xue (2003), 159.</ref> Dictionaries written during the Han dynasty include Yang Xiong's ''[[Fangyan (book)|Regional Speech]]'' (''Fangyan'') of 15 BCE and [[Xu Shen]]'s (c. 58 – c. 147 CE) ''[[Shuowen Jiezi|Explaining Unitary Characters and Analyzing Compound Characters]]'' (''Shuowen Jiezi'') of 121 CE. Yang Xiong's ''Fangyan'' was the first Chinese dialect vocabulary work; the modern Chinese term for 'dialect' is derived from the title of this book.<ref name="norman 1988 185">Norman (1988), 185.</ref> In the ''Shuowen Jiezi'', Xu Shen divided [[Chinese character|written characters]] between ''wen'' (文) and ''zi'' (字), where the former were original [[pictograph]]s and the latter were characters derived from them.<ref>Xue (2003), 161.</ref> Listing 9,353 characters with 1,163 variant forms, Xu arranged these into 540 [[Section headers of a Chinese dictionary|section headers]] according to their [[Radical (Chinese character)|written radicals]].<ref name="xue 2003 162">Xue (2003), 162.</ref> This convenient and systematic approach of arranging characters by their radicals became the standard for all Chinese dictionaries to follow.<ref name="xue 2003 162"/>
Handbooks, guides, manuals, and treatises for various subjects were written in the Han. The Western Han ''Book of Fan Shengzhi'' (''[[Fan Shengzhi shu]]'') written during Emperor Cheng's reign is one of two manuals on agricultural techniques and processes that have survived from the Han.<ref>Nishijima (1986), 564–565; Hinsch (2002), 67–68.</ref> The other is the Eastern Han ''Monthly Instructions for the Four Classes of People'' (''Simin yueling'' 四民月令) written by Cui Shi (催寔) (d. 170 CE).<ref name="nishijima 1986 563 564">Nishijima (1986), 566–567.</ref> [[Chinese mathematics|Mathematical treatises]] included the ''[[Book on Numbers and Computation]]'' (''Suan shu shu'') ''[[Zhoubi Suanjing|The Arithmetical Classic of the Gnomon and the Circular Paths of Heaven]]'' (''Zhoubi Suanjing''), and the ''[[Nine Chapters on the Mathematical Art]]'' (''Jiuzhang Suanshu'').<ref>Liu et al. (2003), 9; Needham (1986), Volume 3, 24–25; Cullen (2007), 138–149; Dauben (2007), 213–214.</ref> There were also works [[Chinese astronomy|on astronomy]], such as the ''Miscellaneous Readings of Cosmic Patterns and Pneuma Images'' (''Tianwen qixiang zazhan'' 天文氣象雜占) from the 2nd-century-BCE [[Mawangdui Silk Texts]] and [[Zhang Heng]]'s (78–139 CE) ''Spiritual Constitution of the Universe'' (''Lingxian'' 靈憲) published in 120 CE.<ref>de Crespigny (2007), 1050; Csikszentmihalyi (2006), 173–175.</ref>
Aside from the biographies found in the Standard Histories, it became popular amongst gentrymen to write stylistic essays and commission private biographies on other gentlemen.<ref name="ebrey 1986 645">Ebrey (1986), 645.</ref> These privately published biographies focused either on gentrymen from one's locality or more well known figures who held national prominence.<ref name="ebrey 1986 645"/>
===Poetry and rhapsodies===
{{Main|Han poetry|Fu (poetry)}}
[[File:Shanghai Museum 2006 17-15.jpg|thumb|[[Music of China|Lively musicians]] playing a bamboo flute and a plucked instrument, [[Chinese ceramics|Chinese ceramic]] statues from the [[Eastern Han]] period (25–220 CE), [[Shanghai Museum]]]]
The [[Rhapsody (music)|rhapsody]], known as ''[[Fu (literature)|fu]]'' in [[Chinese language|Chinese]], was a new literary genre.<ref name="hansen 2000 137 138"/> The poet and official [[Sima Xiangru]] (179–117 BCE) wrote several rhapsodies, yet his largest and most influential was the "Rhapsody on the Son of Heaven on a Leisurely Hunt" (Tianzi Youlie Fu 天子遊獵賦) written in debate form.<ref name="lewis 1999 317">Lewis (1999), 317.</ref> Sima's rhapsodies incorporated literary elements found in the ''[[Songs of Chu]]''—an anthology of poems attributed to [[Qu Yuan]] (340–278 BCE) and [[Song Yu]] (fl. 3rd century BCE)—such as flying with heavenly immortals.<ref name="lewis 1999 317"/> Yang Xiong was the other prominent ''fu'' writer of Western Han, and although he at first praised Sima's work, he later criticized it as an example of the genre's shortcomings.<ref name="kern 2003 390">Kern (2003), 390.</ref> In Eastern Han, Ban Gu wrote a rhapsody comparing the capital cities Chang'an and Luoyang, in which he concluded that Luoyang was the better of the two (which was a subtle praise of the current emperor, hinting that his virtue surpassed the rulers of Western Han).<ref name="hansen 2000 137 138"/> The court astronomer and inventor [[Zhang Heng]] (78–139 CE) also wrote rhapsodies on the capital cities which were inspired by those of Ban Gu.<ref>de Crespigny (2007), 1049.</ref> Zhang also penned the rhapsody "[[Return to the Field (rhapsody)|Returning to the Fields]]", which fused Daoist and Confucian ideals as well as laid the groundwork for later metaphysical nature poetry.<ref>Liu (1990), 54.</ref>
Zhang Heng also wrote "Lyric Poems on Four Sorrows" (四愁詩), which represent the earliest heptasyllabic ''[[Shi (poetry)|shi]]'' poems in Chinese literature.<ref>Neinhauser et al. (1986), 212; Mair (2001), 251.</ref> The government's [[Music Bureau]] also produced [[folk song]]s and ''[[yuefu]]'', a lyrical form of verse that became a standard subgenre of ''shi'' poetry.<ref name="lewis 2007 222"/> These poems focused largely on issues of morality that Confucian scholars found acceptable and in-line with Zhou dynasty traditions.<ref name="lewis 2007 222">Lewis (2007), 222.</ref> [[Jian'an poetry|Poets of the Jian'an (建安) period]] (196–220 CE) usually attended the same social events to compose poems on a given topic in one another's company.<ref name="cutter 1989 25 26">Cutter (1989), 25–26.</ref>
==Laws and customs==
[[File:Silk from Mawangdui 2.jpg|thumb|left|[[Silk]] textile from Tomb no. 1 at [[Mawangdui|Mawangdui Han tombs site]], 2nd century BCE, Western Han; according to sumptuary laws, registered merchants were barred from wearing silk, yet this was commonly flouted and hard to enforce.]]
By the Han dynasty, written law had matured from its archaic form based largely on [[natural law]] and social customs into a rational corpus influenced by politics and based on [[positive law]].<ref>Hulsewé (1986), 523–524.</ref> However, the Han dynasty [[Code (law)|law code]] established by Chancellor [[Xiao He]] (d. 193 BCE) was largely an extension of an existing Qin dynasty law code.<ref name="hulsewe 1986 525 526">Hulsewé (1986), 525–526.</ref> Evidence for this includes archaeological finds at [[Shuihudi Qin bamboo texts|Qin-era Shuihudi]] and [[Zhangjiashan Han bamboo texts|Han-era Zhangjiashan]].<ref>Csikszentmihalyi (2006), 23–24; Hansen (2000), 110–112.</ref> The nine chapters of the law code consisted of [[statute]]s which dealt with criminality, while two of these chapters dealt with court procedure.<ref name="hulsewe 1986 525 526"/> Although it survives only in small fragments, it was allegedly a massive written work on 960 written scrolls.<ref name="hulsewe 1986 525 526"/> The code had 26,272 articles written in 7,732,200 words that outlined punishments.<ref name="hulsewe 1986 525 526"/> There were 490 articles on the death penalty alone which contained 1,882 offenses and 3,472 analogies or pieces of [[case law]].<ref name="hulsewe 1986 525 526"/>
The county magistrate and commandery administrator were the official court judges of the county and commandery, respectively.<ref>Hulsewé (1986), 528; Hucker (1975), 163.</ref> Their jurisdictions overlapped, yet the commandery administrator only interfered in county court cases when necessary; it was generally agreed that whoever arrested a criminal first would be the first to judge him or her.<ref name="hulsewe 1986 528">Hulsewé (1986), 528.</ref> If a commandery-level court case could not be resolved, the central government's Commandant of Justice was the final authority of appeal before the emperor.<ref>Hulsewé (1986), 528–529; Hucker (1975), 163.</ref> Yet he most often dealt with cases of political rebels and [[regicide]] in regards to kings, marquesses, and high officials.<ref name="hulsewe 1986 528 529">Hulsewé (1986), 528–529.</ref> Above the Commandant was the emperor, the supreme judge and lawgiver.<ref name="hulsewe 1986 528 529"/>
[[File:EasternHan-ColouredPotteryFigurine-ShanghaiMuseum-May27-08.jpg|thumb|right|An Eastern Han painted ceramic statuette of a soldier, now missing a weapon from his right hand]]
As with previous codes, Han law distinguished what should be considered murderous killings (with malice and foresight), wittingly killing, killing by mistake, and killing by accident.<ref name="hulsewe 1986 523">Hulsewé (1986), 523.</ref> Although a father was the undisputed head of the family, he was not allowed to mutilate or kill any of its members as punishment; if he did, he would be tried for physical assault or murder, respectively.<ref>Hulsewe (1986), 530.</ref> Yet not all murders were given the same sentence, since relation and circumstance were considered in the sentencing. For example, A father would be given a much less severe sentence for murdering a son than if a son murdered his father.<ref name="hucker 1975 164">Hucker (1975), 164.</ref> Women had certain rights under Han law. It was against the law for husbands to [[Domestic violence|physically abuse their wives]].<ref name="hinsch 2002 82">Hinsch (2002), 82.</ref> [[Rape]] cases were also commonly filed in court and were punished by Han law.<ref name="hinsch 2002 82"/> Women could level charges against men in court, while it was commonly accepted in Han jurisprudence that women were capable of telling the truth in court.<ref name="hinsch 2002 82"/>
Sometimes criminals were beaten with the [[bastinado]] to gain confessions, but Han scholars argued that torture was not the best means of gaining confession, while court conferences were called into session to decide how many strokes should be given and what size the stick should be so as not to cause permanent injury.<ref>Hulsewé (1986), 531–532; Hucker (1975), 165.</ref> Imprisonment was an unheard of form of punishment during Han; common punishments were the death penalty by beheading, periods of forced hard labor for convicts, exile, or monetary fines.<ref>Hulsewé (1986), 532–535; Hucker (1975), 165.</ref> Mutilating punishments also existed in early Han, borrowed from previous practice in Qin. This included tattooing the face, cutting off the nose, castration, and amputation of one or both feet, yet by 167 BCE these were abolished in favor of lengthy floggings with the bastinado.<ref>Hulsewé (1986), 533; Csikszentmihalyi (2006), 46; Hucker (1975), 165.</ref> Further reforms were implemented by the first year of [[Emperor Jing of Han|Emperor Jing's]] (r. 154–141 BCE) reign which decreased the number of strokes a prisoner could receive from the bastinado.<ref name="hulsewe 1986 533 csikszentmihalyi 2006 46">Hulsewé (1986), 533; Csikszentmihalyi (2006), 46.</ref> Starting in 195 BCE, those aged seventy and older were exempt from mutilating punishments.<ref name="chang 2007 68">Chang (2007), 68.</ref> Further reforms exempted those aged seventy and older from harsh interrogation methods in cases other than false accusation and murder.<ref name="chang 2007 68"/>
Although modern scholars know of some surviving cases where Han law dealt with commerce and domestic affairs, the spheres of trade (outside the monopolies) and the family were still largely governed by age-old social customs.<ref name="hulsewe 1986 525">Hulsewé (1986), 525.</ref> Many ways in which family relations were conducted during the Han were already stipulated in the ancient Confucian canon, especially in the ''Book of Rites''. This became accepted as the mainstream guide to ethics and custom.<ref name="hulsewe 1986 525"/> In terms of private commercial [[contract]]s, they usually entailed information on the goods transferred, the amount paid, the names of the buyer and seller, the date of transfer and the signatures of witnesses.<ref name="hulsewe 1986 543">Hulsewé (1986), 543.</ref>
==Arts and crafts==
[[File:Western Han Silk Painting (10128933036).jpg|thumb|250px|left|Western Han silk painting.]]
[[File:Lidded incense burner (xianglu) with geometric decoration and narrative scenes.jpg|thumb|Lidded bronze incense burner with inlays of precious stones and metal, decorated with geometric motifs and narrative scenes.]]
[[File:China.Terracotta statues029.jpg|thumb|right|Western-Han unclothed pottery servants that once had wooden arms and miniature [[Han Chinese clothing|silk clothes]], yet these have eroded and disappeared.<ref name="bower 2005 standing 242 244"/>]]
[[File:Nswag, dinastia han, figurina dipinta di danzatrice.jpg|thumb|right|Han painted pottery figurine of a woman dancer waving silk sleeves.]]
Artists were classified as artisans since they were nonagricultural laborers who manufactured and decorated objects.<ref>Barbieri-Low (2007), 32.</ref> The philosopher Wang Fu argued that urban society exploited the contributions of food-producing farmers while able-bodied men in the cities wasted their time (among other listed pursuits) crafting miniature plaster carts, earthenware statues of dogs, horses, and human figures of singers and actors, and children's toys.<ref name="ebrey 1986 609 611">Ebrey (1986), 609–611.</ref> However, during Eastern Han some scholar-officials began engaging in crafts originally reserved for artisans, such as mechanical engineering.<ref>Barbieri-Low (2007), 201–204.</ref> Emperor Ling commissioned the official [[Cai Yong]] (132–192 CE) to paint [[Portrait painting|portraits]] and produce [[Eulogy|eulogies]] for five generations of the prominent Yang clan of officials and military officers. This is the first recorded instance in China where a scholar-official was commissioned to write eulogies and paint portraits in conjunction, instead of relying on skilled artisans to do the painting.<ref>Barbieri-Low (2007), 207.</ref>
Han luxury items furnished the homes of wealthy merchants, officials, nobles, and royalty. Such goods were often highly decorated by skilled artisans. These include red-and-black [[lacquerware]]s in various shapes and sizes, bronze items such as [[TLV mirror|raised-relief decorated mirrors]], [[oil lamp]]s in the shape of human figures, and [[Gilding|gilded bronzewares]], glazed ceramic wares with various incised designs, and ornaments and jewelry made of [[Chinese jade|jade]], opal, amber, quartz, gold, and silver.<ref>Wang (1982), 80–88, 100–107, 141–149, 207.</ref>
Besides domestic decoration, Han artwork also served an important funerary function. Han artists and craftsmen decorated the wall bricks lining underground [[Science and technology of the Han dynasty|tombs of the deceased]] with [[History of painting|mural paintings]] and carved [[relief]]s; the purpose of this artwork was to aid the deceased in traveling through their afterlife journey.<ref>Loewe (2005), "Funerary Practice in Han Times" 102–103.</ref> Stamping artistic designs into tile and brick was also common.<ref>Ruitenbeek (2005), "Triangular hollow tomb tile with dragon design," 253–254; Beningson, (2005). "Tomb wall tile stamped with designs of an archer, trees, horses, and beasts," 259–260.</ref> Human figurine sculptures found in Han tombs were placed there to perform various functions for the deceased in the afterlife, such as dancing and playing music for entertainment, as well as serving food.<ref name="hansen 2000 21">Hansen (2000), 21.</ref> A common type of ceramic figurine found in Han tombs is a female entertainer sporting long, flowing silk sleeves that are flung about while dancing.<ref>Bower (2005), "Sleeve dancer," 248–250.</ref> Some ceramic human figures—both male and female—have been found naked, all with clearly distinguished genitalia and missing arms.<ref name="bower 2005 standing 242 244">Bower (2005), "Standing man and woman," 242–244.</ref> This is because they once had wooden or cloth arms which were attached to holes in the shoulders by pegs, as well as miniature clothes made of perishable materials such as silk.<ref name="bower 2005 standing 242 244"/>
During the Western Han, grave goods were usually wares and pieces of art that were used by the tomb occupant when he or she was alive.<ref name="wang 1982 207"/> By the Eastern Han, new stylistic goods, wares, and artwork found in tombs were usually made exclusively for burial and were not produced for previous use by the deceased when they were alive.<ref name="wang 1982 207"/> These include miniature ceramic towers—usually watchtowers and urban residential towers—which provide historians clues about lost wooden architecture.<ref>Steinhardt (2005), "Tower model," 283–284.</ref> In addition to towers, there are also miniature models of querns, water wells, pigsties, [[Mortar and pestle|pestling shops]], and farm fields with pottery pigs, dogs, sheep, chickens, ducks.<ref name="wang 1982 207">Wang (1982), 207.</ref> Although many items placed in tombs were commonly used wares and utensils, it was considered taboo to bring objects specified for burial into living quarters or the imperial palace.<ref name="liu 2005 brilliant 207 208">Liu (2005), "The Concept of Brilliant Artifacts" 207–208.</ref> They could only be brought into living quarters once they were properly announced at funerary ceremonies, and were known as ''[[mingqi]]'' (明器/冥器) ("fearsome artifacts," "objects for the dead," or "brilliant artifacts").<ref name="liu 2005 brilliant 207 208"/>
==Clothing and cuisine==
[[File:CapitalMuseum15.jpg|thumb|left|A Han red-and-black [[lacquerware]] tray; lacquerwares were common luxury items that adorned the dining tables of the rich and wealthy]]
The most common agricultural food staples during the Han were wheat, barley, rice, [[foxtail millet]], [[proso millet]], and beans.<ref>Wang (1982), 52.</ref> People of the Han also consumed [[sorghum]], [[Job's tears]], [[taro]], [[Malvaceae|mallow]], [[Mustard plant|mustard green]], [[melon]], [[Calabash|bottle gourd]], [[bamboo shoot]], the roots of [[Nelumbo|lotus plants]], and [[ginger]].<ref name="wang 1982 53">Wang (1982), 53.</ref> Some of the fruits the Han ate included the [[chestnut]], [[jujube]], [[pear]], [[peach]], [[plum]] (including the plum of ''[[Prunus salicina]]'' and ''[[Prunus mume]]''), [[melon]], [[apricot]], [[Myrica|red bayberry]], and [[strawberry]].<ref name="wang 1982 53 206">Wang (1982), 53 & 206.</ref> The Han Chinese domesticated and ate [[chicken]]s, [[Mandarin duck]]s, [[goose|geese]], [[camel]]s, [[cow]]s, [[sheep]], [[pig]]s, and [[Dog meat#China|dog]]s.<ref name="wang 1982 57">Wang (1982), 57.</ref> The type of game animals hunted during the Han included [[rabbit]], [[sika deer]], [[Streptopelia|turtle dove]], [[goose]], [[owl]], [[Chinese bamboo partridge]], [[magpie]], [[common pheasant]], and [[crane (bird)|crane]]s, while fish and turtles were taken from streams and lakes.<ref>Wang (1982), 58.</ref> [[Chinese alcoholic beverages|Beer]]—which could be an unfermented malt drink with low alcohol content or a stronger brew fermented with [[yeast]]—was commonly consumed alongside meat, but virtually never consumed alongside grains such as rice.<ref name="hansen 2000 119">Hansen (2000), 119.</ref> [[Wine in China|Wine]] was also regularly consumed.<ref name="wang 1982 206"/>
[[File:Eastern Han glass-bead necklace.JPG|thumb|An Eastern-Han necklace made of blue [[glass]] beads]]
The 2nd-century-BCE tomb of the Lady Dai contained not only decayed remnants of actual food, such as rice, wheat, barley, two varieties of millet, and soybeans, but also a grave inventory with recipes on it.<ref name="hansen 2000 119 121">Hansen (2000), 119–121.</ref> This included vegetable and meat stews cooked in pots, which had combinations such as beef and rice stew, dog meat and celery stew, and even deer, fish, and bamboo shoot stew.<ref name="hansen 2000 119 121"/> Seasonings mentioned in the recipes include sugar, honey, [[soy sauce]], and salt.<ref name="hansen 2000 119 121"/> Recipes in the Han usually called for meat stuffed in cereals, cakes, and other wrappings.<ref name="wang 1982 206">Wang (1982), 206.</ref>
Like their modern counterparts, the Han-era Chinese used [[chopsticks]] as eating utensils.<ref name="hansen 2000 21"/> For drinking beverages, wealthy people during Han often used cups with golden handles and inlaid with silver.<ref name="loewe 1968 140">Loewe (1968), 140.</ref>
For the poor, hemp was the common item used to make clothing, while the rich could afford silk clothes.<ref>Wang (1982), 53 & 59–63.</ref> Silk clothes found in Han tombs include padded robes, double-layered robes, single-layered robes, single-layered skirts, shoes, socks, and mittens.<ref name="wang 1982 206"/> The wealthy also wore [[Fur clothing|fox and badger furs]], wild duck plumes, and slippers with inlaid leather or silk lining; those of more modest means could wear [[wool]] and [[ferret]] skins.<ref name="loewe 1968 139">Loewe (1968), 139.</ref> Large bamboo-matted [[suitcase]]s found in Han tombs contained clothes and luxury items such as patterned fabric and embroidery, common silk, damask and brocade, and the leno (or gauze) weave, all with rich colors and designs.<ref name="wang 1982 206"/> The Han also had tools for [[Iron (appliance)|ironing clothes]].<ref name="wang 1982 207" />
==Religion, cosmology, and metaphysics==
[[File:The mural of tomb no. 2 of the Eastern Han Dynasty at Yingchengzi, Jinxian County, Liaoning Province (north wall of the main chamber).png|thumb|Eastern Han mural of scholar-official paying respects to [[Xian (Taoism)|heavenly beings]].]]
===Ancestor worship, deities, and the afterlife===
[[File:Silken banner section, Western Han.jpg|thumb|right|A close-up view of a larger [[silk]] banner with a painted design of a sacrificial offering to the deceased, excavated from the [[Mawangdui]] in [[Changsha]], [[Hunan]] province, dated 2nd century BCE]]
[[File:Tomb tile with dragon and warrior.jpg|thumb|A Western-Han painted tomb tile showing an armed warrior riding [[Chinese dragon|a dragon]], one of many creatures in [[Chinese mythology]]]]
Families throughout Han China made ritual sacrifices (usually involving animals and foodstuffs) to various deities, spirits, and ancestors.<ref name="ch'u 1972 30 31">Ch'ü (1972), 30–31.</ref> Deceased ancestors were thought to require food and drink in the afterlife, so living family members were routinely obligated to offer food and wine to the ancestors in a [[Temple (Chinese)|family shrine or temple]].<ref name="ch'u 1972 30 31"/> Wealthy families who could afford to bury their dead [[Science and technology of the Han dynasty|in large tombs]] often placed the food items at the entrances of such complexes.<ref name="ch'u 1972 30 31"/>
Han-era Chinese believed that a person had two souls, the [[hun and po]]. The spirit-soul (''hun'' 魂) was believed to travel to the paradise of [[Xian (Taoism)|the immortals]] (''xian'' 仙) while the body-soul (''po'' 魄) remained on earth in its proper resting place so long as measures were taken to prevent it from wandering to the netherworld.<ref name="hansen 2000 119" /> The body-soul could allegedly utilize items placed in the tomb of the deceased, such as domestic wares, clothes, food and utensils, and even money in the form of clay replicas.<ref name="hansen 2000 119"/> It was believed that the bipartite souls could also be temporarily reunited in a ceremony called "summoning the hun to return to the po" (''zhao hun fu po'' 招魂復魄).<ref name="csikszentmihalyi 2006 140 141">Csikszentmihalyi (2006), 140–141.</ref>
However, Han beliefs in the afterlife were not uniform across the empire and changed over time. Not only were there many different burial customs and views on how one journeyed through the afterlife, but even the names ''hun'' and ''po'' for spirit-soul and body-soul could be substituted with demon (''gui'' 鬼) and spirit (''shen'' 神).<ref>Csikszentmihalyi (2006), 116–117 & 140–141.</ref> Demons, or ''gui'', were thought to be partial manifestations of the deceased which lacked their essential [[Qi|vital energy]] (''qi'' 氣) that had to be [[Exorcism|exorcised]] when they maliciously caused the living to become ill; however, a demon could also be considered a neutral 'ghost'.<ref name="csikszentmihalyi 2006 116">Csikszentmihalyi (2006), 116.</ref> Spirits, or ''shen'', were usually associated with the animalistic spirits embodying certain places, such as the Earl of the Yellow River (''He Bo'' 河伯).<ref name="csikszentmihalyi 2006 116 117"/> If proper sacrifices were made to these spirits, it was believed to bring good fortune; if ritual sacrifices were neglected, the spirit could inflict bad fortune on individuals and local communities.<ref name="csikszentmihalyi 2006 116 117"/> In the Western Han, texts left behind in tombs illustrate that the living took a more sympathetic view towards the dead than in the Eastern Han, when spirits were generally more feared as dangers to the living. The Western Han 'letters informing the underground' (''gaodishu'' 告地書) were written to 'inform the Ruler of the Underground' 告地下王 about the deceased's wants and needs for clothing, vessels, and implements.<ref name="csikszentmihalyi 2006 141 142"/> However, 'tomb-quelling texts' (''zhenmuwen'' 鎮墓文) that appeared during the 1st century CE acted as passports for the dead so that they did not disturb or bring danger to the living.<ref name="csikszentmihalyi 2006 141 142">Csikszentmihalyi (2006), 141–142.</ref> Both Western Han and Eastern Han tombs contained 'land contracts' (''diquan'' 地券) which stated that the deceased owned the land they were buried in.<ref name="csikszentmihalyi 2006 141 142"/>
Since the emperor fulfilled the role of the highest priest in the land, he was obligated to offer ritual sacrifices to Heaven, the supreme deities, and spirits of the mountains and rivers.<ref name="chu 1972 71">Ch'ü (1972), 71.</ref> The Qin court had made sacrifices to and worshipped four main deities, to which Emperor Gaozu added one in 205 BCE to make [[Three Sovereigns and Five Emperors|Five Powers]] (''Wudi'' 五帝).<ref name="loewe 1986 208">Loewe (1986), 208.</ref> However, [[Emperor Cheng of Han|Emperor Cheng]] (r. 33–7 BCE) cancelled state worship of the Five Powers in favor of ceremonies dedicated to [[Tian|Heaven]] (''Tian'' 天) and the [[Shangdi|supreme god]] (''Shangdi'' 上帝), who the kings of the [[Zhou dynasty]] (c. 1050 – 256 BCE) had worshipped and traced their legitimacy to.<ref>Loewe (1986), 208; Csikszentmihalyi (2006), xxv–xxvi.</ref> One of the underlying reasons for this shift in state policy was Emperor Cheng's desire to gain Heaven's direct favor and thus become blessed with a male heir.<ref name="loewe 1986 208"/> The court's exclusive worship of Heaven continued throughout the rest of Han.<ref>Hinsch (2002), 32.</ref>
===Yin-yang and five phases===
The Han Chinese believed that three realms of Heaven, Earth, and Mankind were inextricably linked and subject to natural cycles; if man could understand these cycles, they could understand the hidden secrets of the three realms.<ref>Csikszentmihalyi (2006), 167; Sun & Kistemaker (1997), 2–3.</ref> One cycle was [[Yin and yang|''yin'']] and [[Yin and yang|''yang'']], which corresponded to yielding and hard, shade and sunlight, feminine and masculine, and the Moon and Sun, respectively, while it was thought to govern the three realms and changing of seasons.<ref name="csikszentmihalyi 2006 167">Csikszentmihalyi (2006), 167.</ref> The five phases was another important cycle where the elements of wood (mu 木), fire (huo 火), earth (tu 土), metal (jin 金), and water (shui 水) succeeded each other in rotation and each corresponded with certain traits of the three realms.<ref name="csikszentmihalyi 2006 167"/> For example, the five phases corresponded with other sets of five like the five organs (i.e. liver, heart, spleen, lungs and kidneys) and five tastes (i.e. sour, bitter, sweet, spicy, and salty), or even things like feelings, musical notes, colors, planets, calendars and time periods.<ref>Csikszentmihalyi (2006), 167; Ebrey (1999), 78–79.</ref>
[[File:Wuxing en.svg|thumb|left|The Interactions of Wu Xing: The creation cycle (black, circle shaped arrows) and the overcoming cycle (white, star shaped arrows).]]
It was accepted during the Qin dynasty that whoever defeated his rivals in battle would have  legitimacy to rule the land.<ref name="loewe 1994 55">Loewe (1994), 55.</ref> Yet by the time of Wang Mang's usurpation it was commonly believed that Heaven, which was now given greater prominence in state worship, designated which individual and hereditary house had the right to rule, a concept known as the [[Mandate of Heaven]].<ref name="loewe 1994 55"/> [[Michael Loewe]] (retired professor from the [[University of Cambridge]]) writes that this is consistent with the gradually higher level of emphasis given to the cosmic elements of Five Phases, which were linked with the future destiny of the dynasty and its protection.<ref name="loewe 1994 55"/> Dong Zhongshu stressed that a ruler who behaved immorally and did not adhere to proper conduct created a disruption in the natural cycles governing the three realms, which resulted in natural calamities such as earthquakes, floods, droughts, epidemics, and swarms of locusts.<ref name="ebrey 1999 79">Ebrey (1999), 79.</ref> This idea became fully accepted at court (and in later dynasties), as emperors often implemented reforms to the legal system or granted amnesties to restore nature's balance.<ref>Ebrey (1999), 79; Loewe (1986), 201; de Crespigny (2007), 496, 592.</ref>
At the beginning of the Han dynasty, the Liu family associated its dynasty with the water phase as the previous Qin dynasty had done.<ref>Csikszentmihalyi (2006), 176; Loewe (1994), 56–57.</ref> By 104 BCE, to accompany the [[Science and technology of the Han dynasty|installment of the new Taichu Calendar]] (太初历), the Han court aligned itself with the earth phase to legitimately supplant the Qin's element.<ref name="csikszentmihalyi 2006 176 loewe 1994 57">Csikszentmihalyi (2006), 176; Loewe (1994), 57.</ref> Yet by 26 CE (shortly after the [[History of the Han dynasty|downfall of Wang Mang]]) the new Eastern Han court made a retrospective argument that Han's element had always been fire.<ref name="csikszentmihalyi 2006 176 loewe 1994 57"/>
===Daoism and Buddhism===
[[File:QueenMotherOfTheWest-Earthenware-EasternHanDynasty-ROM-May8-08.png|thumb|right|Earthenware figurine depicting the [[Queen Mother of the West]], 2nd century CE, Eastern Han period]]
[[File:Feathered men depicted in the stone relief of the Han Dynasty unearthed in Xinjin, Sichuan Province.jpg|thumb|Han dynasty relief of [[Xian (Taoism)|Winged Immortals]] playing [[Liubo]].]]
After Huang-Lao thought became eclipsed by other ideologies explaining the cosmos during the 2nd century BCE, the sage philosopher Laozi replaced the Yellow Emperor as the ancestor and originator of the teachings of [[Daoism]].<ref name="loewe 1994 128 129"/> As written by Wang Chong in the 1st century CE, Daoists were chiefly concerned with obtaining [[immortality]].<ref name="hansen 2000 144">Hansen (2000), 144.</ref> Valerie Hansen writes that Han-era Daoists were organized into small groups of people who believed that individual immortality could be obtained through "[[Science and technology of the Han dynasty|breathing exercises, sexual techniques, and medical potions]]."<ref name="hansen 2000 144"/> However, these were the same practices of Daoists who followed [[Zhuangzi (book)|Zhuangzi]] (fl. 4th century BCE) centuries before.<ref name="hansen 2000 137">Hansen (2000), 137.</ref> The Han-era Chinese believed that the [[Queen Mother of the West]] ruled over a mountainous realm of immortal semi-human creatures who possessed [[elixir of life|elixirs of immortality]] that man could utilize to prolong his life.<ref name="csikszentmihalyi 2006 116 117">Csikszentmihalyi (2006), 116–117.</ref> Besides the Queen Mother's mountain to the west, [[Mount Penglai]] in the east was another mythological location where the Han-era Chinese believed one could achieve immortality.<ref>Loewe (2005), "Funerary Practice in Han Times," 101–102.</ref> Wang Chong stated that Daoists, organized into small groups of hermits largely unconcerned with the wider laity, believed they could attempt to fly to the lands of the immortals and become invincible pure men.<ref name="hansen 2000 137"/> His criticism of such groups is the best known source of his century to describe Daoist beliefs.<ref name="hansen 2000 137"/> However, a major transformation in Daoist beliefs occurred in the 2nd century CE, when large hierarchical religious societies formed and viewed Laozi as a deity and [[prophet]] who would usher in [[salvation]] for his followers.<ref name="hansen 2000 144"/>
The first mentioning of [[Chinese Buddhism|Buddhism in China]] occurred in 65 CE. This was in regards to [[Liu Ying (prince)|Liu Ying]] (d. 71 CE), a half-brother of Emperor Ming, who allegedly paid homage to the [[Gautama Buddha|Buddha]].<ref name="demieville 1986 821 822">Demiéville (1986), 821–822.</ref> At this point, the Chinese heavily associated Buddhism with Huang-Lao Daoism.<ref name="demieville 1986 821 822"/> Emperor Ming also had the first known Buddhist temple constructed in China, the [[White Horse Temple]] of [[Luoyang]]. It was allegedly built in honor of the foreign monks Jiashemoteng (迦葉摩騰) ([[Kasyapa Matanga|Kāśyapa Mātanga]]) and Zhu Falan (竺法蘭) ([[Dharmaratna]] the Indian).<ref name="demieville 1986 823">Demiéville (1986), 823.</ref> A popular myth asserted that these two monks were the first to translate the ''[[Sutra of Forty-two Chapters]]'' into Chinese, although it is now known that this work was not translated into Chinese until the 2nd century CE.<ref>Demiéville (1986), 823; Akira (1998), 247–248.</ref> The [[Parthia]]n monk [[An Shigao]] from the [[Parthian Empire]] came to Han China in 148 CE. He translated Buddhist works on the [[Hinayana]] into Chinese, as well as works on [[yoga]] that Han-era Chinese associated with Daoist exercises.<ref>Demiéville (1986), 823; Akira (1998), 248; Zhang (2002), 75.</ref> Another foreign monk, [[Lokaksema (Buddhist monk)|Lokaksema]] from [[Kushan Empire|Kushan]]-era [[Gandhara]], [[India]], traveled and stayed in Han China from around 178–198 CE. He translated the ''[[Perfection of Wisdom]]'', ''[[Shurangama Sutra]]'', and ''[[Pratyutpanna Sutra]]'', and introduced to China the concepts of [[Akshobhya]] Buddha, [[Amitābha]] Buddha (of [[Pure Land Buddhism]]), and teachings about [[Manjusri]].<ref>Akira (1998), 248 & 251.</ref>
===Religious societies and rebel movements===
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[[File:Three Brothers during the Yellow Turban Rebellion.jpg|thumb|upright|A [[Qing dynasty]] illustration of [[Liu Bei]], [[Guan Yu]], and [[Zhang Fei]] during the 184 CE [[Yellow Turban Rebellion]]]]
The Daoist religious society of the [[Way of the Five Pecks of Rice|Five Pecks of Rice]] was initiated by [[Zhang Daoling]] in 142 CE.<ref name="hansen 2000 144"/> Zhang was raised in what is now [[Jiangsu]] where he studied Daoist beliefs in immortality.<ref name="hansen 2000 144 145"/> He moved to what is now [[Sichuan]] province and claimed to have a revelation where the deified Laozi appointed him as his earthly representative and Celestial Master.<ref name="hansen 2000 144 145">Hansen (2000), 144–145.</ref> The movement spread rapidly, particularly under Zhang's sons, [[Zhang Heng]] and [[Zhang Lu (Three Kingdoms)|Zhang Lu]].<ref>Hendrischke (2000), 139.</ref> Instead of money, followers were asked to contribute five [[peck]]s of rice to the religious society and banned the worship of 'unclean' gods who accepted sacrificial offerings of meat.<ref name="hansen 2000 144"/> Initiated members of the group were called 'libationers', a title associated with village elders who took the first drink at feasts.<ref name="hansen 2000 144"/> The laity were told that if they obeyed the rules of the religious society, they would be rewarded with good health.<ref name="hansen 2000 144"/> Illness was thus seen as the result of violating religious rules and committing personal [[sin]]s, which required [[Confession (religion)|confession]] to libationers charged with overseeing the recovery of sinners.<ref name="hansen 2000 144"/> They believed that chanting parts of the ''[[Daodejing]]'' would bring about cures for illnesses.<ref name="hansen 2000 145">Hansen (2000), 145.</ref> Zhang Daoling's second successor Zhang Lu initiated a rebellion in 184 CE that allowed him to retain complete control over Ba and [[Hanzhong]] commanderies (of modern Sichuan and southern [[Shanxi]]) for three decades.<ref name="ebrey 1986 628 629">Ebrey (1986), 628–629.</ref> He even modelled his 'charity houses' after Han postal stations, yet his establishments offered grain and meat to followers.<ref name="ebrey 1986 628 629"/> Although Zhang Lu surrendered to Chancellor [[Cao Cao]] (155–220 CE) in 215 CE, Cao was still wary of his influence over the people, so he granted Zhang and his sons fiefs to placate them.<ref name="ebrey 1986 628 629"/>
The widespread [[Yellow Turban Rebellion]] also occurred in 184 CE, its leaders claiming that they were destined to bring about a utopian era of peace.<ref name="hansen 2000 145 146">Hansen (2000), 145–146.</ref> Like the Five Pecks of Rice society, the Yellow Turbans of the [[Huai River|Huai]] and [[Yellow River]] valleys also believed that illness was a sign of wrongdoing that necessitated confession to church leaders and [[faith healer]]s.<ref name="hansen 2000 145 146"/> However, the Yellow Turbans typically utilized [[holy water]] as a ramification for sickness; if this did not cure the sick, the latter's sins were deemed too great to be exculpated.<ref name="hansen 2000 145 146"/> Since the year 184 CE was [[Science and technology of the Han dynasty#Mathematics and astronomy|the first (and very auspicious) year]] of a new [[sexagenary cycle]], the Yellow Turban's supreme leader [[Zhang Jue]] (d. 184 CE) chose the third month of that year as the time to rebel; when this was leaked to the Han court, Zhang was forced to initiate the rebellion prematurely.<ref name="hansen 2000 145 146"/> Although the Yellow Turbans were able to muster hundreds of thousands of troops, they were overpowered by the combined force of imperial troops and independent generals.<ref name="hansen 2000 145 146 de crespigny 2007 514 515 beck 1986 339 340">Hansen (2000), 145–146; de Crespigny (2007), 514–515; Beck (1986), 339–340.</ref> By the end of the year their leadership—including Zhang Jue—had been killed and only scattered groups remained until they were amalgamated into the forces of Cao Cao in 192 CE.<ref name="hansen 2000 145 146 de crespigny 2007 514 515 beck 1986 339 340"/>
==Notes==
{{reflist|3}}
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{{refend}}
==Further reading==
*{{cite book | editor=Fong, Wen | title=''The great bronze age of China: an exhibition from the People's Republic of China'' | location=New York | publisher=The Metropolitan Museum of Art | year=1980 | isbn=0870992260 | url=https://archive.org/details/greatbronzeageof0000unse | url-access=registration }}
==External links==
* {{Commons category-inline|Han Dynasty}}
{{Han Dynasty topics}}
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{{DEFAULTSORT:Society And Culture Of The Han Dynasty}}
[[Category:Han dynasty]]
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[[Category:Cultural history of China]]