HOME

TheInfoList



OR:

Han was an ancient Chinese state during the
Warring States period The Warring States period in history of China, Chinese history (221 BC) comprises the final two and a half centuries of the Zhou dynasty (256 BC), which were characterized by frequent warfare, bureaucratic and military reforms, and ...
. Scholars frequently render the name as Hann to clearly distinguish it from China's later
Han dynasty The Han dynasty was an Dynasties of China, imperial dynasty of China (202 BC9 AD, 25–220 AD) established by Liu Bang and ruled by the House of Liu. The dynasty was preceded by the short-lived Qin dynasty (221–206 BC ...
. It was located in central China (modern-day
Shanxi Shanxi; Chinese postal romanization, formerly romanised as Shansi is a Provinces of China, province in North China. Its capital and largest city of the province is Taiyuan, while its next most populated prefecture-level cities are Changzhi a ...
and
Henan Henan; alternatively Honan is a province in Central China. Henan is home to many heritage sites, including Yinxu, the ruins of the final capital of the Shang dynasty () and the Shaolin Temple. Four of the historical capitals of China, Lu ...
) in a region south and east of
Luoyang Luoyang ( zh, s=洛阳, t=洛陽, p=Luòyáng) is a city located in the confluence area of the Luo River and the Yellow River in the west of Henan province, China. Governed as a prefecture-level city, it borders the provincial capital of Zheng ...
, the capital of the Eastern Zhou. It was ruled by aristocrats of the Ji ( ) family ancestral temple who rose to power as a ministerial family in the state of Jin, and whose power eventually eclipsed that of the Jin ruling house. The partition of Jin which resulted in the states of Han, Wei, and Zhao, marked the beginning of the Warring States period. The state of Han was small and located in a mountainous and unprofitable region. Its territory directly blocked the passage of the state of Qin into the
North China Plain The North China Plain () is a large-scale downfaulted rift basin formed in the late Paleogene and Neogene and then modified by the deposits of the Yellow River. It is the largest alluvial plain of China. The plain is bordered to the north by th ...
.. Although Han had attempted to reform its governance (notably under Chancellor Shen Buhai who improved state administration and strengthened its military ability) these reforms were not enough to defend itself and it was the first of the seven warring states to be conquered by Qin in 230 BC. A Qin invasion of Han's Shangdang Commandery in 260 BC resulted in the Battle of Changping, claimed to be the bloodiest battle of the Warring States period where up to 400,000 soldiers died.


History


Founding

According to chapter 45 of the '' Records of the Grand Historian'', the royal family of Han was a cadet branch of the royal family of the state of Jin. The founder of the Han clan Wuzi of Han was the uncle of Duke Wu of Jin. Members of the family became ministers in the powerful state of Jin and were granted Hanyuan (modern Hancheng in
Shaanxi Shaanxi is a Provinces of China, province in north Northwestern China. It borders the province-level divisions of Inner Mongolia to the north; Shanxi and Henan to the east; Hubei, Chongqing, and Sichuan to the south; and Gansu and Ningxia to t ...
).


Spring and Autumn period

During the Spring and Autumn period, members of the Han family slowly gained more and more influence and power within Jin. In 453 BC, Jing of Han, along with Wen of Wei and Lie of Zhao partitioned Jin among themselves. In
Chinese history The history of China spans several millennia across a wide geographical area. Each region now considered part of the Chinese world has experienced periods of unity, fracture, prosperity, and strife. Chinese civilization first emerged in the Y ...
, this Partition of Jin is the event which marks the end of the Spring and Autumn period and the beginning of the Warring States. Subsequently, Han was an independent polity. King Weilie eventually recognized the new states in 403 BC and elevated the rulers to (''hou'', "
marquess A marquess (; ) is a nobleman of high hereditary rank in various European peerages and in those of some of their former colonies. The German-language equivalent is Markgraf (margrave). A woman with the rank of a marquess or the wife (or wid ...
").


Warring States Period

In 375 Han defeated the neighboring state of Zheng (founded in 806 by the Zhou dynasty). Han conquered and annexed Zheng, thus expanding its territory. Han also moved its capital there, and assimilated Zheng's heritage. This included that of the young politician Shen Buhai (400-337). Han's highest point occurred under the rule of Marquess Xi. Xi appointed Shen Buhai as his chancellor and implemented his Legalist policies. These reforms improved state administration and strengthened its military capability. Under King Xuanhui ( 332–312 BC), Han declared itself an independent kingdom. However, Han was disadvantaged in the competition of the Warring States period because Jin's partition had left it surrounded on all sides by strong states: Chu to the south, Qi to the east, Qin to the west, and Wei to the north. Han was then the smallest of the seven states and was without any easy way to further expand its own territory and resources, It was bullied militarily by its more powerful neighbors.


Defeat

During its steady decline, Han eventually lost the power to defend its territory and had to request military assistance from other states. The contest between Wei and Qi over control of Han resulted in the Battle of Maling, which established Qi as the pre-eminent state in the east. In 260 BC, Qin's invasion of Han led to Zhao intervention and the Battle of Changping. During the late years of the era, in an attempt to drain Qin's resources in an expensive public works project, the state of Han sent the civil engineer Zheng Guo to Qin to persuade them to build a canal. The scheme, while expensive, backfired spectacularly when it was eventually completed: the irrigation abilities of the new Zhengguo Canal far outweighed its cost and gave Qin the agricultural and economic means to dominate the other six states. Han was the first to fall, in 230 BC. In 226 BC, former nobility of the Han launched a failed rebellion in former capital Xinzheng, and King An, the last king of Han, was put to death the same year. Han Xin was made a "Prince" or "King of Han" () by Liu Bang after the establishment of the
Han dynasty The Han dynasty was an Dynasties of China, imperial dynasty of China (202 BC9 AD, 25–220 AD) established by Liu Bang and ruled by the House of Liu. The dynasty was preceded by the short-lived Qin dynasty (221–206 BC ...
(). He was removed to Taiyuan Commandery and the territory of the kingdom of Dai, where he defected to the
Xiongnu The Xiongnu (, ) were a tribal confederation of Nomad, nomadic peoples who, according to ancient Chinese historiography, Chinese sources, inhabited the eastern Eurasian Steppe from the 3rd century BC to the late 1st century AD. Modu Chanyu, t ...
and led raids against the Han Dynasty until his death.


Culture and society

Before the state of Qin unified China in 221 BC, each region had their own unique customs and culture, although they were all dominated by an upper class that shared a largely common culture. In the '' Yu Gong'' (Tribute of Yu), a section of the '' Book of Documents'' which was most likely composed in the 4th century BC, the author describes a China that is divided into nine regions, each with its own distinctive peoples and products. The core theme of this section is that these nine regions are unified into one state by the travels of the eponymous sage-emperor, Yu the Great, and by sending each region's unique goods to the capital as tribute. Other texts also discussed these regional variations in culture and physical environments. One of these texts was '' Wuzi'' (''The Book of Master Wu'') which was a Warring States military treatise written in response to a query by Marquis Wu of Wei on how to cope with the other states. Wu Qi, the author of the work, declared that the government and nature of the people were linked to the physical environment and territory they live in.


In the Han Feizi

Chapter 19 of the Han Feizi recalls Qin's conquest of Ye from the Zhao, dated to 236bc. The chapter says: "To-day, Han, being a small state, is relying upon big powers. Her sovereign, paying little attention to the law, takes every word from Qin. The above-mentioned small states, having relied upon Wey, Ch`i, Ching, and Wu for support, went to ruin one after another. Thus reliance on others is not sufficient to extend the native soil." Seemingly written from the context of the late Han state, the chapter might have preceded its fall in 230bc, or either Zhao and Wei if the latter had only yet ceded territory.


Rulers


Rulers family tree


Famous people

* Han Fei, a Legalist philosopher * Zhang Liang, a major figure in the early
Han dynasty The Han dynasty was an Dynasties of China, imperial dynasty of China (202 BC9 AD, 25–220 AD) established by Liu Bang and ruled by the House of Liu. The dynasty was preceded by the short-lived Qin dynasty (221–206 BC ...
* Zheng Guo, the hydraulic engineer who designed the Zhengguo Canal for Qin


Han in astronomy

Han is represented by the star 35 Capricorni in the "Twelve States" asterism, part of the " Girl" lunar mansion in the " Black Turtle"
symbol A symbol is a mark, Sign (semiotics), sign, or word that indicates, signifies, or is understood as representing an idea, physical object, object, or wikt:relationship, relationship. Symbols allow people to go beyond what is known or seen by cr ...
. Han is also represented by the star Zeta Ophiuchi in the "Right Wall" asterism, part of the "Heavenly Market" enclosure.


References

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Han 403 BC States and territories established in the 5th century BC States of the Warring States period Jin (Chinese state) Zheng (state) History of Henan 230 BC States and territories disestablished in the 3rd century BC 3rd-century BC disestablishments in China 5th-century BC establishments in China Former monarchies