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202 BCE
Revolution against Qin
Two former rebel leaders, Xiang Yu (d. 202 BC) of Chu and Liu Bang (d. 195 BC) of Han, engaged in a war to decide who would become hegemon of China, which had fissured into 18 kingdoms, each claiming allegiance to either Xiang Yu or Liu Bang. Although Xiang Yu proved to be a capable commander, Liu Bang defeated him at Battle of Gaixia (202 BC), in modern-day Anhui. -
202 BCE
Start of Han
Liu Bang assumed the title "emperor" (huangdi) at the urging of his followers and is known posthumously as Emperor Gaozu (r. 202–195 BC). Chang An was chosen as the new capital of the reunified empire under Han. -
Period: 202 BCE to 157 BCE
Beginning of western Han
Western Han (also known as the Former Han) dynasty, thirteen centrally controlled commanderies—including the capital region—existed in the western third of the empire, while the eastern two-thirds were divided into ten semi-autonomous kingdoms. By 157 BC, the Han court had replaced all of these kings with royal Liu family members, since the loyalty of non-relatives to the throne was questioned. -
Period: 202 BCE to 200 BCE
Wars with Xiongnu 1
To the north of China proper, the nomadic Xiongnu chieftain Modu Chanyu (r. 209–174 BC) conquered various tribes inhabiting the eastern portion of the Eurasian Steppe. By the end of his reign, he controlled Manchuria, Mongolia, and the Tarim Basin, subjugating over twenty states east of Samarkand. Emperor Gaozu was troubled about the abundant Han-manufactured iron weapons traded to the Xiongnu along the northern borders, and he established a trade embargo against the group. -
Period: 200 BCE to 198 BCE
War with Xiongnu 2
In retaliation, the Xiongnu invaded what is now Shanxi province, where they defeated the Han forces at Baideng in 200 BC. After negotiations, the heqin agreement in 198 BC nominally held the leaders of the Xiongnu and the Han as equal partners in a royal marriage alliance, but the Han were forced to send large amounts of tribute items such as silk clothes, food, and wine to the Xiongnu. -
154 BCE
Rebellions
After several insurrections by Han kings—the largest being the Rebellion of the Seven States in 154 BC—the imperial court enacted a series of reforms beginning in 145 BC limiting the size and power of these kingdoms and dividing their former territories into new centrally controlled commanderies. -
Period: 135 BCE to 133 BCE
War with Xiongnu 3
After the treaty signed, several ttribes of Xiongnu still invade Han sometimes. In a court conference assembled by Emperor Wu (r. 141–87 BC) in 135 BC, he accepted the majority consensus of the ministers to retain the heqin agreement.A court conference the following year convinced the majority that a limited engagement at Mayi involving the assassination of the Chanyu would throw the Xiongnu realm into chaos and benefit the Han. -
125 BCE
Zhangqian and diplomacy
Even before Han's expansion into Central Asia, diplomat Zhang Qian's travels from 139 to 125 BC had established Chinese contacts with many surrounding civilizations. Zhang encountered Dayuan (Fergana), Kangju (Sogdiana), and Daxia (Bactria, formerly the Greco-Bactrian Kingdom); he also gathered information on Shendu (Indus River valley of North India) and Anxi (the Parthian Empire). -
119 BCE
Wars against Xiongnu 4
When the assassination failed in 133 BC, Emperor Wu launched a series of massive military invasions into Xiongnu territory. The assault culminated in 119 BC at the Battle of Mobei, where the Han commanders Huo Qubing (d. 117 BC) and Wei Qing (d. 106 BC) forced the Xiongnu court to flee north of the Gobi Desert. Later Han established four new frontier commanderies in this region: Jiuquan, Zhangyi, Dunhuang, and Wuwei. -
Period: 115 BCE to 60 BCE
Expansion
Han established the Protectorate of the Western Regions in 60 BC. The naval conquest of Nanyue in 111 BC expanded the Han realm into what are now modern Guangdong, Guangxi, and northern Vietnam. Yunnan was brought into the Han realm with the conquest of the Dian Kingdom in 109 BC, followed by parts of the Korean Peninsula with the Han conquest of Gojoseon and colonial establishments of Xuantu Commandery and Lelang Commandery -
80 BCE
Domestic stuff
To pay for his military campaigns and colonial expansion, Emperor Wu nationalized several private industries. He created central government monopolies administered largely by former merchants. The liquor monopoly lasted only from 98 to 81 BC, and the salt and iron monopolies were eventually abolished in early Eastern Han. The issuing of coinage remained a central government monopoly throughout the rest of the Han dynasty. -
2
Population census
In China's first known nationwide census taken in 2 AD, the population was registered as having 57,671,400 individuals in 12,366,470 households. -
Period: 3 to 11
Xin dynasty
http://factsanddetails.com/china/cat2/sub2/entry-5421.html
Wang Mang initiated a series of major reforms that were ultimately unsuccessful. These reforms included outlawing slavery, nationalizing land to equally distribute between households, and introducing new currencies, a change which debased the value of coinage. Wang's regime met its ultimate downfall with the massive floods of Yellow River of c. 3 AD and 11 AD. -
25
Restoration of Han dynasty (Eastern Han)
Under Guangwu's rule the Han Empire was restored. Guangwu made Luoyang his capital in 25 AD, and by 27 AD his officers Deng Yu and Feng Yi had forced the Red Eyebrows to surrender and executed their leaders for treason. From 26 until 36 AD, Emperor Guangwu had to wage war against other regional warlords who claimed the title of emperor; when these warlords were defeated, China reunified under the Han -
Period: 30 to 180
Territory conflict
Han did not reaffirm its control over the region of Korea until AD 30. The Trưng Sisters of Vietnam rebelled against Han in AD 40, but defeated. Xiongnu were eventually retreated to Ili River Valley and later Xianbei fight back but Tanshihuai's confederation disintegrated after his death. Ban Chao helped to regain territory in Western Regions. -
Period: 97 to 161
Foreign trade
Foreign travelers to Eastern-Han China include Buddhist monks who translated works into Chinese, such as An Shigao from Parthia, and Lokaksema from Kushan-era Gandhara, India. Also, trades between Han and Japan, Persian empire -
Period: 106 to 144
Snatching throne
Emperor An (r. 106–125 ) was convinced by the accusations of the eunuchs Li Run and Jiang Jing that Deng and her family had planned to depose him(exiled). After An's death, his wife, Empress Dowager Yan (d. 126 AD) placed the child Marquess of Beixiang on the throne in an attempt to retain power within her family. However, palace eunuch Sun Cheng (d. 132 AD) make a successful overthrow of her regime to enthrone Emperor Shun of Han (r. 125–144 AD). Liang Ji (brother of empress) commit suicide. -
110
Empress Acting As Regent
Deng Sui (鄧綏) (AD 81–121), formally Empress Hexi
After Emperor He's death, his wife Empress Deng Sui (d. 121 AD) managed state affairs as the regent empress dowager during a turbulent financial crisis and widespread Qiang rebellion that lasted from 107 to 118 AD. -
167
Partisan Prohibitions.
Palace eunuchs imprisoned the official Li Ying (李膺) and his associates from the Imperial University on a dubious charge of treason. In 167 AD, the Grand Commandant Dou Wu (d. 168 AD) convinced his son-in-law, Emperor Huan, to release them. However the emperor permanently barred Li Ying and his associates from serving in office, marking the beginning of the Partisan Prohibitions. -
172
Eunuch Control the Power
Following Huan's death, Dou Wu and the Grand Tutor Chen Fan (d. 168 AD) attempted a coup d'état against the eunuchs Hou Lan (d. 172 AD), Cao Jie (d. 181 AD), and Wang Fu . When the plot was uncovered, the eunuchs arrested Empress Dowager Dou (d. 172 AD) and Chen Fan. General Zhang Huan favored the eunuchs. He and his troops confronted Dou Wu and his retainers at the palace gate where each side shouted accusations of treason against the other. One of the main factor for the collapse of Han. -
184
Rebellion at the End of Han
The Partisan Prohibitions were repealed during the Yellow Turban Rebellion and Five Pecks of Rice Rebellion in 184 AD, largely because the court did not want to continue to alienate a significant portion of the gentry class who might otherwise join the rebellions.
It was suppressed later, but many generals were not killed and resuming rebellions. -
189
Collapse of Eunuch
General-in-Chief He Jin (d. 189 AD), half-brother to Empress He (d. 189 AD), plotted with Yuan Shao (d. 202 AD) to overthrow the eunuchs by having several generals march to the outskirts of the capital. Even though the plot was revealed(The eunuchs assassinated He Jin on September 22, 189 AD.), thousands of eunuch were killed. -
192
Beginning o fhaving the emperor in sb.'s power and order the dukes about in his name
General Dong Zhuo (d. 192 AD) found the young emperor and his brother wandering in the countryside. He escorted them safely back to the capital and was made Minister of Works, taking control of Luoyang and forcing Yuan Shao to flee. Han became namely existed. -
198
Coalition against Dong Zhuo
Yuan Shao led a coalition of former officials and officers against Dong, who burned Luoyang to the ground and resettled the court at Chang'an in May 191 AD. Dong Zhuo later poisoned Emperor Shao.
ong was killed by his adopted son Lü Bu (d. 198 AD) in a plot hatched by Wang Yun. Emperor Xian fled from Chang'an in 195 AD to the ruins of Luoyang. Xian was persuaded by Cao Cao , then Governor of Yan Province in modern western Shandong and eastern Henan, to move the capital to Xuchang in 196 AD. -
200
Rising of Cao Cao
Yuan Shao challenged Cao Cao for control over the emperor. Yuan's power was greatly diminished after Cao defeated him at the Battle of Guandu in 200 AD. After Yuan died, Cao killed Yuan Shao's son Yuan Tan (173–205 AD), who had fought with his brothers over the family inheritance. -
208
The period of Three Kingdoms
After Cao's defeat at the naval Battle of Red Cliffs in 208 AD, China was divided into three spheres of influence, with Cao Cao dominating the north, Sun Quan dominating the south, and Liu Bei dominating the west.[100] Cao Cao died in March 220 AD. By December his son Cao Pi had Emperor Xian relinquish the throne to him and is known posthumously as Emperor Wen of Wei. This formally ended the Han dynasty and initiated an age of conflict between three states: Cao Wei, Eastern Wu, and Shu Han.
