Pond's Asian Studies Blog

Sunday, January 13, 2008

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HAN DYNASTY

Han Dynasty (202 BC - 220 AD)

Map of Dynasty

Han Dynasty at its furthest extent

http://www.mnsu.edu/emuseum/prehistory/china/images/hanmap.gif

11 Jan 2008

Dates of Power

202 BC- The start of the Western Han Dynasty by Liu Bang at Chang An

9-24 AD- Rebellion by Wang Mang

24 AD - The start of the Eastern Han Dynasty at Luoyang

220 AD - The end of the Dynasty

“Han Dynasty”. Wikipedia. 11 Jan 2008 < http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Han_Dynasty>

Talking about the golden age in the history of China, the Han Dynasty would be the among the first dynasties to be referred of... As the Chinese people today still refer to themselves as "Han" people and their language as "Han" language...

Reason for Take Over
The death of the tyrant Qin put the once most powerful empire into chaos as the people are already dissatisfied with the Qin rule. Power-thirst nobles and military leaders battled each other to occupy the mandate of heaven. Chaos lasted for four years when finally the divine light shined on the noble Prince Liu Bang of Han who defeated the Qin army in a major battle at the valley of Wei and reunified China. The prince made himself the emperor and established a new capital city of Chang An not far away from the Qin capital Xianyang in 202 BC. The Han Dynasty was separated into two periods, the Western Han Dynasty (202 BC – 9 AD) and the Eastern Han Dynasty (9 AD – 220 AD), which the capital is at Luoyang. The Han Emperors adopted the principles of Confucian as the basis to rule the empire.

Han Gaozu, the First Han Emperor

http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/b/b8/HanGaozu.jpg. 11 Jan 2008

Economy,Government, and

Religion Accomplishments

The use of the principles of Confucian in government established by the Han rulers was the basic guideline for all of the following emperors for over 2,000 years, and still running through the blood of Chinese people today. Confucianism is not a relegion, but a list of moral teachings. It indicates all the roles of everyone in the society, from beggar to emperor. Buddhism entered China in this period was still a minor religion. Daoism is likely similar to Confucianism but Daoism focuses on creating balance and harmony as the idea of Yin ang Yang cane from this belief.

In the beginning of the dynasty, the firt emperor Han Gaozu who was a peasant before realized that the imperial power is based on the sweat and muscles of the peasants so he decreased peasant taxes and gave peasants land for agriculture. Han Gaozu gained alot of popularity among the peasants, which was the majority of the empire.

The rest of the time in Han Dynasty era was a peaceful and prosperous time. Under the rule of the enlightened emperors, poetry, literature, and economy flourished. As the borders of the empire expanded during the reign of Emperor Han Wudi, it created the most well known trade route, the Silk Road. The reforms made by Qin greatly benefit the Han Empire, new roads and currency helped support trade. The Silk Road was the longest land trade routes up to these days. The Silk Road connected two greatest cities of the ancient world, Rome and Chang An. The city of Chang An was the biggest international trade hub in Asia. Merchants and scholars from everywhere in the continent poured into the city. Chang An was a multi-ethnical city. The foreigners brought the city wealth and exotic products from all over the world such as wine, spices, woolen fabrics, in return with Chinese silk and gold. The empire was also very successfull monopolizing steel and salt.

The map of Silk Road

http://www.orexca.com/img/silk_road.jpg. 11 Jan 2008

After a stumble which marked the end of the Western Han Dynasty, China prospered again in a newly built capital in the east at Luoyang which occupied more than four square miles. The Eastern Han Dynasty was even more successful than the previous one. The defeat of the Xiong Nu tribe in the north, which was China’s greatest enemy at that time, made trade safer. The wealth that Chinese people never experienced before, as it was recorded that in the city of Luoyang, there were two magnificent palace complexes, each occupied more than 100 acres.

Ceramic Watchtower, Han Dynasty

http://www.metmuseum.org/toah/images/h2/h2_1984.397.jpg. 11 Jan 2008

Technology and Education Accomplishments
The Han developed countless amount of technology. Paper, water clocks, sundials, seismometer were invented during this period. The improvement of steel smelting increased the empire’s military strength. The significance of education was highly elevated to the new level, as the Han emperor used the civil service exam to select the most clever person in the empire to be government officials with high status. The emperors also encouraged scholars to write encyclopedias. The most well known is the Book of Mountains and Seas, where all sorts of knowledge, for example, geography, culture, philosophy, myths, and biology up to that time are collected in hundreds of scrolls. Sima Qian, a Han Dynasty historian, wrote a history book called “Records of the Historian” which dates back to the beginning of the Shang dynasty. It was an important document.

Chinese Seismometer

http://digitalmedia.upd.edu.ph/digiteer/seismology/chinese_seis.jpg. 11 Jan 2008

There were a lot more minor developments, such as the new irrigation system, crop rotation and copper mining. The Han marked a new period in Chinese history. Chinese people nowadays are proud to refer to themselves and their languages as “Han” to respect this period of glory and intelligence.

1. “Han Dynasty”. The Metropolitan Museum of Art. 11 Jan 2008
< http://www.metmuseum.org/toah/hd/hand/hd_hand.htm#>
2. “Han Dynasty”. Minnesota State University Mankato. 11 Jan 2008
< http://www.mnsu.edu/emuseum/prehistory/china/early_imperial_china/han.html>
3. “Han Dynasty”. Wikipedia. 11 Jan 2008 < http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Han_Dynasty>

Leaders of the Civilization
The Emperor Han Gaozu (r. 202-195 BC) The first emperor of he dynasty, borned as a peasant, he beated a very powerful military leader Xiang Yu who is far more superior than him in the Battle of Gaixia. He adopted Confucianism to the government and abolished Legalism which is far more cruel.

The Emperor Han Wudi (r. 141-87 BC) increased the empire’s military strength. He supported scholars and poets to write encyclopedias. He increased the empire's military strength and expanded the borders. He was recognized as the greatest emperor in the dynasty. His reign was the longest reign in Chinese history until the reign of the Emperor Kangxi of Qing Dynasty 1800 years later.

1. “Emperor Han Wudi”. Wikipedia. 11 Jan 2008 < http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wudi>
2. “Emperor Han Gaozu”. Wikipedia. 11 Jan 2008 < http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Liu_Bang>

Emperor Han Wudi

http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/8/8c/HanWuDi.jpg. 11 Jan 2008

Notable Foreign Rulers
Julius Caesar (100 – 44 BC), the famous military and political of Rome lived in the time of the Han Dynasty. In his lifetime it was the period of changes in Rome as the Roman Republic is changing to the Roman Empire. He was later assassinated by his own adopted son Augustus. If we was not assassinated he would be the Emperor of Rome. He also had the notorious affair with Cleopatra VII.

1. “Julius Caesar”. Wikipedia. 11 Jan 2008 < http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Julius_Caesar>

Julius Caesar

http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/1/15/Giulio-cesare-enhanced_1-800x1450.jpg. 11 Jan 2008

Fall
However, all things have to come to an end including this dynasty. As the imperial family received too much wealth and they were still greedy. Peasant taxes were greatly raised creating discontent among the people. The rise of the Yellow Turban rebellion put an end to the glorious Han Empire in 220 AD. The Three Kingdoms period succeeded. They were later reunified by the Sui in the 6th century.

1. “Han Dynasty”. The Metropolitan Museum of Art. 11 Jan 2008
< http://www.metmuseum.org/toah/hd/hand/hd_hand.htm#>
2. “Han Dynasty”. Minnesota State University Mankato. 11 Jan 2008
< http://www.mnsu.edu/emuseum/prehistory/china/early_imperial_china/han.html>

Bibliography

1. “Han Dynasty”. The Metropolitan Museum of Art. 11 Jan 2008
< http://www.metmuseum.org/toah/hd/hand/hd_hand.htm#>
2. “Han Dynasty”. Minnesota State University Mankato. 11 Jan 2008
< http://www.mnsu.edu/emuseum/prehistory/china/early_imperial_china/han.html>
3. “Han Dynasty”. Wikipedia. 11 Jan 2008 < http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Han_Dynasty>
4. “Emperor Han Wudi”. Wikipedia. 11 Jan 2008 < http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wudi>
5. “Emperor Han Gaozu”. Wikipedia. 11 Jan 2008 < http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Liu_Bang>
6. “Julius Caesar”. Wikipedia. 11 Jan 2008 < http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Julius_Caesar>

Image Bibliography

1. "Han Dynasty Map". Minnesota State University Mankato. 11 Jan 2008 http://www.mnsu.edu/emuseum/prehistory/china/images/hanmap.gif
2. “Han Gaozu”. Wikipedia. 11 Jan 2008 <http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/b/b8/HanGaozu.jpg.>
3. “The Silk Road”. Orexca. 11 Jan 2008 <http://www.orexca.com/img/silk_road.jpg>
4. “Ceramic Watchtower, Han Dynasty”. 11 Jan 2008<http://www.metmuseum.org/toah/images/h2/h2_1984.397.jpg>
5. “Julius Caesar. Wikipedia. 11 Jan 2008 <http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/1/15/Giulio-cesare-enhanced_1-800x1450.jpg>
6. “Han Wudi”. Wikipedia. 11 Jan 2008 <http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/8/8c/HanWuDi.jpg>
7. “Chinese Seismograph”. Digitalmedia. 11 Jan 2008 <http://digitalmedia.upd.edu.ph/digiteer/seismology/chinese_seis.jpg>

Sunday, December 2, 2007

WELCOME !!!!

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ENJOY READING IT !!!

Chi Chi Earthquake, Taiwan, 1999

Introduction

Throughout the history of mankind, earthquake is proven as one of the major natural hazards that have brought down many of the world’s civilization. The Pharos Lighthouse of Alexandria, the Porcelain Pagoda of Nanjing, and the 1906 San Francisco earthquake, all these architecturally marvelous places are some examples of how severe an earthquake could be. Earthquakes can tear a city of millions, kill countless amount of people, and cause billion dollars of damage.

San Francisco 1906

"1906 San Francisco."Library.Thinkquest.org. December 2nd, 2007

Earthquake

Earthquakes are caused by the movement of melting rock called mantle under the earth's surface called tectonic plates. The areas around the boundaries between plates are more likely to have earthquake. The center of the crashing or movement between plates are called the "epicenter". The epicenter seds out seismic waves through layers of rocks to the top surface of the plate where human's structures are built. The severity of an earthquake is measured by the Richter scale, which varies from 1 to 10, having 10 as the most severe.
[Waugh, David. The New Wider World. The United Kingdom: Nelson Thornes, 2003. ]

Earth's Tectonic plates

"Earth's Tectonic plates".Cache.eb.com/eb/image?id=3537&rendTypeId=4. December 2nd, 2007

What, Who, and When ?
Among one of the disastrous nature hazard ever occurred in the 20th century, The Chi Chi earthquake in Taiwan in 1999 is recognized as one of the most destructive earthquakes. The earthquake strucked on September 21st in ChiChi Township in the County of Nantou in central Taiwan. The damage caused by the earthquake is considered very severe. There were more than 2,400 deaths and people missing, about 11,400 severely injured, 44,000 structures destroyed, 40,000 structures severely damaged. The reason why this earthquake caused so much damage is that it occurred in the middle of the night, at 1.47am, while the people were not aware, and the epicenter is only about 100 km away from the capital city, Taipei. The severity was recorded at 7.0 Richter scale.

"Chi-Chi Earthquake". Wikipedia. December 2nd, 2007
"Chichi (Taiwan) Earthquake".http://www.rcep.dpri.kyoto-u.ac.jp/~sato/taiwan/. December 2nd, 2007

Damaged building

"Damaged provincial government building in ChunHsingHsinTsun ". http://www.rcep.dpri.kyoto-u.ac.jp/~sato/taiwan/twpics/tw/tw043.JPG. December 2nd, 2007

Damaged buildings in Fong Yen

"Earthquake in FongYen". http://www.rcep.dpri.kyoto-u.ac.jp/~sato/taiwan/twpics/tw/tw014.JPG . December 2nd, 2007

Why and How ?
According to the tectonic plates of Taiwan, Taiwan is located along the boundaries of the Eurasian plate and the Philippines plate. The Eurasian plate is a continental crust, while the Philippines plate is an oceanic crust. When both of them moved towards each other, it creates a destructive margin. Destructive margin occurs when an oceanic crust moves toward a continental crust and is forced downward, which can triggers severe earthquake or volcanic eruptions. The earthquake destroyed the whole town of ChiChi, and its aftershock severely damaged five surrounding towns. The map below shows where the aftershocks occured. The blue star is the location of the epicenter in the center of ChiChi.

"Chi-Chi (Taiwan) Earthquake". http://www.rcep.dpri.kyoto-u.ac.jp/~sato/taiwan/index.html. December 2nd, 2007

Map of the Aftershocks
[http://www.rcep.dpri.kyoto-u.ac.jp/~sato/taiwan/index.html]

Tectonic plate map of Taiwan
[http://www.rcep.dpri.kyoto-u.ac.jp/~sato/taiwan/images/twmap2.gif]

Effects on the Economy

Taiwan's central government has estimated the total financial and property loses from the earthquake at 10$-12 $ billion. The earthquake brought down Taiwan's gross domestic product (GDP) for 0.5%. The 3.4$ billion Taiwanese stock market plunged, but very soon recovered.

http://www.rms.com/Publications/Taiwan_Event.pdf

Government's Responses

Taiwan, as a MEDC, managed to handle the situation very well. Even though they were not able to find all the missing bodies, but electricity and water came back within hours. By the year 2000, 80,000 housing units were rebuilt and outlawed any construction on the hillsides and faults to prevent damage. The Taiwan government handed out the earthquake handbook to its people. A new earthquake resisting construction technique called the "Seismic Isolation System" is introduced to Taiwan.
http://www.rms.com/Publications/Taiwan_Event.pdf
http://www.takenaka.co.jp/takenaka_e/rodin_e/structure/structure.html