To mark a new beginning for China, the Qin ruler declared himself Qin Shihuangdi which means “the First Qin Emperor” Qin brought changes to the Chinese government that would last for many years.

Qin took direct control of China’s provinces. Only Qin had the power to appoint the governors. Qin increased the power of his government by appointing officers known as censors, who made sure that the government workers did their work He also created a currency or type of money, that everyone had to use.

Qin wanted to keep the empire safe from invasion. Earlier Chinese rulers had constructed separate walls in the north to keep out the Xiongnu. Qin planned to have the walls joined and strengthened.

The Qin dynasty ended soon after Qin’s death in 210 B.C. Both aristocrats and farmers revolted against the harsh Qin rule and by 206 B.C. the Qin dynasty was over and a new dynasty arose.

In 202 B.C., a new dynasty came to power in China. This dynasty was called the Han Dynasty and was founded by Liu Bang.

Han Wudi recruited dedicated and talented people for civil service, government workers who were chosen on the basis of competitive tests. Officials graded the test, and the emperor reviewed the results. The candidates with the highest scores got the job. But the system actually favored the rich. Only wealthy families could afford to educate their sons for the difficult civil service tests.

The Han government created schools to prepare students for the civil service. Students studied law, history, and the ideas of Confucius.

Farmers could not raise enough food to feed their families. They had no choice but to sell their land and work as tenant farmers.

As China’s population grew, the Han empire took in new territory. They moved south into Southeast Asia and west as far as North East India.

During this era of peace, literature and the arts blossomed. Also, under the Han, the ideas of Confucius gained influence.

Using the cast iron plow, farmers could break up the soil more easily than wooden plows could. Millers invented water wheels to grind more grain. Also, the wheelbarrow was used to carry heavy material on building sites.

Two remarkable achievements of the Han inventors were the rudder and a new way to move the sails of a ship. Now ships could sail against the wind for the first time and travel farther than ever before. As a result, China’s merchants shipped their goods to areas as far away as India and the Red Sea.

Doctors relieved pain by piercing patients skins at vital points with thin needles. This is known as acupuncture.

Emperor Han Wudi sent out a general named Zhang Qian to explore new areas west of China. Thirteen years later, Zhang returned to China. He had learned about the people, geography, and culture of the areas west of China. Wanting horses for his soldiers, Han Wudi encouraged trade between China and western regions.

The Silk Road was 4,000 miles long and stretched from Western China to the Mediterranean. Through trade, china encountered other civilizations. For over 1,000 years, the silk road was the main trade link between Asia and Europe.

The silk road served as a way to spread knowledge, culture, and religions. The fall of the Han dynasty and the long period of unrest that followed spurred the spread of Buddhism.

The emperors who succeeded Han Wudi were weak and dishonest. People began to rise up and rebel against the Han rulers. Soon, civil war divided China and for the next 400 years, China remained divided into many small kingdoms.

The fall of the Han Dynasty and the long years of civil war scared many Chinese. Feeling unsafe, many people turned to Buddhist ideas. Followers of Confucius and Daoists also admired the Buddhist ideas, which influenced their own religious rituals and moral ideas. By the A.D Buddhism had become one of Chinas major religions