The Han Dynasty 206 B.C.E.-220 C.E The Qin dynasty collapsed after Shi Huangdi’s death. The Han took over and restored order. Wudi was the Han’s most famous emperor. The Han focused more on the ideals of Confucianism, rather than Legalism to guide their government policies. Confucianism become official belief system of the state)

Expansion Under the Han Emperor Wu launched a period of military Expansion into present day Vietnam, Manchuria and North Korea. Han armies also went west to inner Mongolia and Xinjiang° to secure the lucrative Silk Road. Controlling the newly acquired territories was expensive, however, so Wu’s successors curtailed further expansion.

Han Government Chinese society under the Han Dynasty was highly structured. Because the Chinese believed their emperor to have divine authority, they accepted his exercise of power. He was the link between heaven and earth. If the emperor did his job well, China had peace and prosperity. If he failed, the heavens showed their displeasure with earthquakes, floods, and famines. This was the theory of the Mandate of Heaven. However, the emperor did not rule alone. The Han had a complex bureaucracy that helped the emperor run the empire.

What is a Bureaucracy? A bureaucracy is a political organization that runs the day-to-day business of a government. Written rules and documents direct the officials who run the government called Civil Service workers They are chosen by merit. The most qualified applicants were given government jobs. Each government job has its own clearly identified responsibilities. Taxes were raised to pay the salaries of the government employees.

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Conclusion How did the Han Government instill values of Confucianism into Chinese society?