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88-502: The route was first developed by the Han dynasty in the latter part of the 1st century BC to secure diplomatic alliance against the Xiongnu confederacy, with whom China had been having escalating conflicts , and was progressively transformed into a major trade route during the subsequent dynasties to project Chinese influence towards the west. The route started at Chang'an, the capital of

176-644: A limited engagement at Mayi involving the assassination of the Chanyu would throw the Xiongnu realm into chaos and benefit the Han. When this plot 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 , when Han commanders Huo Qubing ( d.  117 BC ) and Wei Qing ( d.  106 BC ) forced

264-404: A "historical science" because "when we look out in space, we look back in time" due to the finite nature of the speed of light . Physics and astrophysics have played central roles in shaping our understanding of the universe through scientific observation and experiment. Physical cosmology was shaped through both mathematics and observation in an analysis of the whole universe. The universe

352-595: A Greek sailor had visited. Emperor Zhang 's ( r.  75–88 AD ) reign came to be viewed by later Eastern Han scholars as the high point of the dynastic house. Subsequent reigns were increasingly marked by eunuch intervention in court politics and their involvement in the violent power struggles of the imperial consort clans . In 92 AD, with the aid of the eunuch Zheng Zhong ( d.  107 AD ), Emperor He ( r.  88–105 AD ) had Empress Dowager Dou ( d.  97 AD ) put under house arrest and her clan stripped of power. This

440-463: A change which debased the value of coinage. Although these reforms provoked considerable opposition, Wang's regime met its ultimate downfall with the massive floods of c.  3  AD and 11 AD. Gradual silt build-up in the Yellow River had raised its water level and overwhelmed the flood control works . The Yellow River split into two new branches: one emptying to the north and

528-448: 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. Dong was killed by his adopted son Lü Bu ( d.  198 AD ) in a plot hatched by Wang Yun ( d.  192 AD ). Emperor Xian fled from Chang'an in 195 AD to the ruins of Luoyang. Xian

616-416: A coup against the eunuchs Hou Lan ( d.  172 AD ), Cao Jie ( d.  181 AD ), and Wang Fu ( 王甫 ). When the plot was uncovered, the eunuchs arrested Empress Dowager Dou ( d.  172 AD ) and Chen Fan. General Zhang Huan ( 張奐 ) favoured the eunuchs. He and his troops confronted Dou Wu and his retainers at the palace gate where each side shouted accusations of treason against

704-527: A descendant of Emperor Jing ( r.  157–141 BC ), attempted to restore the Han dynasty and occupied Chang'an as his capital. However, he was overwhelmed by the Red Eyebrow rebels who deposed, assassinated, and replaced him with the puppet monarch Liu Penzi . Gengshi's distant cousin Liu Xiu, known posthumously as Emperor Guangwu ( r.  25–57 AD ), after distinguishing himself at

792-461: A largely speculative science into a predictive science with precise agreement between theory and observation. These advances include observations of the microwave background from the COBE , WMAP and Planck satellites, large new galaxy redshift surveys including 2dfGRS and SDSS , and observations of distant supernovae and gravitational lensing . These observations matched the predictions of

880-413: A permanent impact on Chinese identity in later periods. The majority ethnic group of modern China refer to themselves as the " Han people " or "Han Chinese". The spoken Chinese and written Chinese are referred to respectively as the "Han language" and " Han characters ". The Han emperor was at the pinnacle of Han society and culture . He presided over the Han government but shared power with both

968-503: A physical mechanism for Kepler's laws and also allowed the anomalies in previous systems, caused by gravitational interaction between the planets, to be resolved. A fundamental difference between Newton's cosmology and those preceding it was the Copernican principle —that the bodies on Earth obey the same physical laws as all celestial bodies. This was a crucial philosophical advance in physical cosmology. Modern scientific cosmology

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1056-578: A request by Kushan ruler Vima Kadphises ( r.   c.  90  – c.  100 AD –  ) for a marriage alliance with the Han was rejected in AD ;90, he sent his forces to Wakhan (modern-day Afghanistan) to attack Ban Chao. The conflict ended with the Kushans withdrawing because of lack of supplies. In AD 91, the office of Protector General of the Western Regions

1144-428: A series of reforms that limited the power of these kingdoms in 145, dividing their former territories into new commanderies under central control. Kings were no longer able to appoint their own staff; this duty was assumed by the imperial court. Kings became nominal heads of their fiefs and collected a portion of tax revenues as their personal incomes. The kingdoms were never entirely abolished and existed throughout

1232-483: A state pension and a territorial fiefdom . Holders of the rank immediately below, that of ordinary marquess, received a pension, but had no territorial rule. Scholar-bureaucrats who served in government belonged to the wider commoner social class and were ranked just below nobles in social prestige. The highest government officials could be enfeoffed as marquesses. Cosmology Cosmology (from Ancient Greek κόσμος (cosmos)  'the universe,

1320-545: A successful overthrow of her regime to enthrone Emperor Shun of Han ( r.  125–144 AD ). Yan was placed under house arrest, her relatives were either killed or exiled, and her eunuch allies were slaughtered. The regent Liang Ji ( d.  159 AD ), brother of Empress Liang Na ( d.  150 AD ), had the brother-in-law of Consort Deng Mengnü ( d.  165 AD ) killed after Deng Mengnü resisted Liang Ji's attempts to control her. Afterward, Emperor Huan employed eunuchs to depose Liang Ji, who

1408-612: A system created by Mircea Eliade and his colleague Charles Long. Cosmology deals with the world as the totality of space, time and all phenomena. Historically, it has had quite a broad scope, and in many cases was found in religion. Some questions about the Universe are beyond the scope of scientific inquiry but may still be interrogated through appeals to other philosophical approaches like dialectics . Some questions that are included in extra-scientific endeavors may include: Charles Kahn, an important historian of philosophy, attributed

1496-474: A war to determine who would have hegemony over China, which had fissured into Eighteen Kingdoms , each claiming allegiance to either Xiang Yu or Liu Bang. Although Xiang Yu proved to be an effective commander, Liu Bang defeated him at the Battle of Gaixia (202 BC) in modern-day Anhui . Liu Bang assumed the title of Emperor at the urging of his followers and is known posthumously as Emperor Gaozu ( r.  202–195 BC ). Chang'an (modern Xi'an)

1584-614: Is a sub-branch of astronomy that is concerned with the universe as a whole. Modern physical cosmology is dominated by the Big Bang Theory which attempts to bring together observational astronomy and particle physics ; more specifically, a standard parameterization of the Big Bang with dark matter and dark energy , known as the Lambda-CDM model. Theoretical astrophysicist David N. Spergel has described cosmology as

1672-474: Is generally understood to have begun with the Big Bang , followed almost instantaneously by cosmic inflation , an expansion of space from which the universe is thought to have emerged 13.799 ± 0.021 billion years ago. Cosmogony studies the origin of the universe, and cosmography maps the features of the universe. In Diderot 's Encyclopédie , cosmology is broken down into uranology (the science of

1760-493: Is now northern Sichuan and southern Shaanxi , was not quelled until 215 AD. Zhang Jue's massive rebellion across eight provinces was annihilated by Han forces within a year; however, the following decades saw much smaller recurrent uprisings. Although the Yellow Turbans were defeated, many generals appointed during the crisis never disbanded their assembled militias and used these troops to amass power outside of

1848-716: Is now southeast Kazakhstan ). The routes split west of Kashgar with one branch heading down the Alay Valley towards Termez and Balkh , while the other traveled through Kokand in the Fergana Valley , and then west across the Karakum Desert towards Merv , joining the southern route briefly. One of the branch routes turned northwest to the north of the Aral and Caspian seas and then on to

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1936-602: Is recorded in the Weilüe and Book of Later Han to have reached the court of Emperor Huan of Han ( r.  146–168 AD ) in AD 166, yet Rafe de Crespigny asserts that this was most likely a group of Roman merchants . In addition to Roman glasswares and coins found in China, Roman medallions from the reign of Antoninus Pius and his adopted son Marcus Aurelius have been found at Óc Eo in Vietnam. This

2024-550: Is widely considered to have begun in 1917 with Albert Einstein 's publication of his final modification of general relativity in the paper "Cosmological Considerations of the General Theory of Relativity" (although this paper was not widely available outside of Germany until the end of World War I ). General relativity prompted cosmogonists such as Willem de Sitter , Karl Schwarzschild , and Arthur Eddington to explore its astronomical ramifications, which enhanced

2112-538: The Battle of Kunyang in 23 AD, was urged to succeed Gengshi as emperor. Under Guangwu's rule, the Han Empire was restored. Guangwu made Luoyang his capital in 25 AD, and by 27 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

2200-524: The Battle of Zhizhi , in modern Taraz , Kazakhstan. In 121 BC, Han forces expelled the Xiongnu from a vast territory spanning the Hexi Corridor to Lop Nur . They repelled a joint Xiongnu- Qiang invasion of this northwestern territory in 111 BC. In that same year, the Han court established four new frontier commanderies in this region to consolidate their control: Jiuquan , Zhangyi , Dunhuang , and Wuwei . The majority of people on

2288-587: The Black Sea . Han dynasty This is an accepted version of this page The Han dynasty was an imperial dynasty of China (202 BC – 9 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) and a warring interregnum known as the Chu–Han Contention (206–202 BC), and it

2376-743: The Buyeo Kingdom in Manchuria to the Ili River of the Wusun people. The Xianbei reached their apogee under Tanshihuai ( d.  AD 181 ), who consistently defeated Chinese armies. However, Tanshihuai's confederation disintegrated after his death. Ban Chao ( d.  AD 102 ) enlisted the aid of the Kushan Empire , which controlled territory across South and Central Asia, to subdue Kashgar and its ally Sogdiana. When

2464-756: The Chu–Han Contention , the resulting Han dynasty was named after the Hanzhong fief. China's first imperial dynasty was the Qin dynasty (221–207 BC). The Qin united the Chinese Warring States by conquest, but their regime became unstable after the death of the first emperor Qin Shi Huang . Within four years, the dynasty's authority had collapsed in a rebellion. Two former rebel leaders, Xiang Yu ( d.  202 BC ) of Chu and Liu Bang ( d.  195 BC ) of Han , engaged in

2552-763: The Greco-Bactrian Kingdom ); he also gathered information on Shendu (the Indus River valley) and Anxi (the Parthian Empire ). All of these countries eventually received Han embassies. These connections marked the beginning of the Silk Road trade network that extended to the Roman Empire , bringing goods like Chinese silk and Roman glasswares between the two. From c.  115 BC until c.  60 BC , Han forces fought

2640-763: The Western Han and Tang dynasty , which was moved further east to Luoyang during the Eastern Han dynasty . The route travels northwest through the Chinese province of Gansu from Shaanxi Province, and splits into three further routes, two of them following the mountain ranges to the north and south of the Taklimakan Desert to rejoin at Kashgar ; and the other going north of the Tian Shan mountains through Turpan , Talgar and Almaty (in what

2728-413: The Xiongnu , a nomadic confederation centred in the eastern Eurasian steppe . The Xiongnu defeated the Han in 200 BC , prompting the Han to appease the Xiongnu with a policy of marriage alliance and payments of tribute, though the Xiongnu continued to raid the Han's northern borders. Han policy changed in 133 BC, under Emperor Wu , when Han forces began a series of military campaigns to quell

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2816-584: The Xiongnu , who were estranged from Han until their leader Bi ( 比 ), a rival claimant to the throne against his cousin Punu ( 蒲奴 ), submitted to Han as a tributary vassal in AD 50. This created two rival Xiongnu states: the Southern Xiongnu led by Bi, an ally of Han, and the Northern Xiongnu led by Punu, an enemy of Han. During the turbulent reign of Wang Mang, China lost control over

2904-575: 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. The Yellow Turbans and Five-Pecks-of-Rice adherents belonged to two different hierarchical Taoist religious societies led by faith healers Zhang Jue ( d.  184 AD ) and Zhang Lu ( d.  216 AD ), respectively. Zhang Lu's rebellion, in what

2992-489: The cosmic inflation theory, a modified Big Bang theory, and the specific version known as the Lambda-CDM model. This has led many to refer to modern times as the "golden age of cosmology". In 2014, the BICEP2 collaboration claimed that they had detected the imprint of gravitational waves in the cosmic microwave background . However, this result was later found to be spurious: the supposed evidence of gravitational waves

3080-458: The Chinese court officially sponsored Confucianism in education and court politics, synthesized with the cosmology of later scholars such as Dong Zhongshu . The Han dynasty oversaw periods of economic prosperity as well as significant growth in the money economy that had first been established during the Zhou dynasty ( c.  1050  – 256 BC). The coinage minted by

3168-499: The Eastern period. There were significant advances in science and technology during the Han period, including the emergence of papermaking , rudders for steering ships, negative numbers in mathematics , raised-relief maps , hydraulic -powered armillary spheres for astronomy , and seismometers that discerned the cardinal direction of distant earthquakes by use of inverted pendulums . The Han dynasty had many conflicts with

3256-452: 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. Despite the tribute and negotiation between Laoshang Chanyu ( r.  174–160 BC ) and Emperor Wen ( r.  180–157 BC ) to reopen border markets, many of the Chanyu 's subordinates chose not to obey

3344-726: 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 . Following Huan's death, Dou Wu and the Grand Tutor Chen Fan ( d.  168 AD ) attempted

3432-693: The Tarim Basin, which was conquered by the Northern Xiongnu in AD 63 and used as a base to invade the Hexi Corridor in Gansu . Dou Gu ( d.  88 AD ) defeated the Northern Xiongnu at the Battle of Yiwulu in AD 73, evicting them from Turpan and chasing them as far as Lake Barkol before establishing a garrison at Hami. After the new Protector General of the Western Regions Chen Mu ( d.  AD 75 )

3520-514: The Xiongnu court to flee north of the Gobi Desert , and Han forces reached as far north as Lake Baikal . After Wu's reign, Han forces continued to fight the Xiongnu. The Xiongnu leader Huhanye ( r.  58–31 BC ) finally submitted to the Han as a tributary vassal in 51 BC. Huhanye's rival claimant to the throne, Zhizhi Chanyu ( r.  56–36 BC ), was killed by Han forces under Chen Tang and Gan Yanshou ( 甘延壽 ) at

3608-482: The Xiongnu over control of the oasis city-states in the Tarim Basin. The Han was eventually victorious and established the Protectorate of the Western Regions in 60 BC, which dealt with the region's defence and foreign affairs. The Han also expanded southward . The naval conquest of Nanyue in 111 BC expanded the Han realm into what are now modern Guangdong , Guangxi , and northern Vietnam. Yunnan

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3696-487: The Xiongnu. The Xiongnu were eventually defeated and forced to accept a status as Han vassals , and the Xiongnu confederation fragmented. The Han conquered the Hexi Corridor and Inner Asian territory of the Tarim Basin from the Xiongnu, helping to establish the Silk Road . The lands north of the Han's borders were later overrun by the nomadic Xianbei confederation. Emperor Wu also launched successful conquests in

3784-546: The Yuan brothers, Zhang committed suicide by jumping into the Yellow River. 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. After Dong Zhuo demoted Emperor Shao and promoted his brother Liu Xie as Emperor Xian, Yuan Shao led

3872-679: The ability of astronomers to study very distant objects. Physicists began changing the assumption that the universe was static and unchanging. In 1922, Alexander Friedmann introduced the idea of an expanding universe that contained moving matter. In parallel to this dynamic approach to cosmology, one long-standing debate about the structure of the cosmos was coming to a climax – the Great Debate (1917 to 1922) – with early cosmologists such as Heber Curtis and Ernst Öpik determining that some nebulae seen in telescopes were separate galaxies far distant from our own. While Heber Curtis argued for

3960-528: The capital was moved eastward to Luoyang. The era from his reign until the fall of Han is known as the Eastern Han or Later Han (25–220 AD). The Eastern Han ( traditional Chinese : 東漢 ; simplified Chinese : 东汉 ; pinyin : Dōnghàn ), also known as the Later Han ( 後漢 ; 后汉 ; Hòuhàn ), formally began on 5 August AD 25, when Liu Xiu became Emperor Guangwu of Han . During

4048-462: The central government in 119 BC remained the standard in China until the Tang dynasty (618–907 AD). The period saw a number of limited institutional innovations. To finance its military campaigns and the settlement of newly conquered frontier territories, the Han government nationalised private salt and iron industries in 117 BC, creating government monopolies that were later repealed during

4136-434: The collapsing imperial authority. 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. There, in a written petition to Empress He, they demanded the eunuchs' execution. After a period of hesitation, Empress He consented. When

4224-490: The emperor was often a minor, ruled over by a regent such as the empress dowager or one of her male relatives. Ranked immediately below the emperor were the kings who were of the same Liu family clan. The rest of society, including nobles lower than kings and all commoners excluding slaves, belonged to one of twenty ranks ( ershi gongcheng 二十公乘 ). Each successive rank gave its holder greater pensions and legal privileges. The highest rank, of full marquess , came with

4312-593: The empire . The Han dynasty came to an end in 220 AD when Cao Pi , king of Wei , usurped the throne from Emperor Xian . According to the Records of the Grand Historian , after the collapse of the Qin dynasty the hegemon Xiang Yu appointed Liu Bang as prince of the small fief of Hanzhong , named after its location on the Han River (in modern southwest Shaanxi ). Following Liu Bang's victory in

4400-489: The empresses and empresses dowager . Imperial authority was also seriously challenged by large Taoist religious societies which instigated the Yellow Turban Rebellion and the Five Pecks of Rice Rebellion . Following the death of Emperor Ling ( r.  168–189 AD ), the palace eunuchs were massacred by military officers, allowing members of the aristocracy and military governors to become warlords and divide

4488-640: The eunuchs discovered this, however, they had her brother He Miao ( 何苗 ) rescind the order. The eunuchs assassinated He Jin on 22 September 189. Yuan Shao then besieged Luoyang's Northern Palace while his brother Yuan Shu ( d.  199 AD ) besieged the Southern Palace. On September 25 both palaces were breached and approximately two thousand eunuchs were killed. Zhang Rang had previously fled with Emperor Shao ( r.  189 AD ) and his brother Liu Xie—the future Emperor Xian of Han ( r.  189–220 AD ). While being pursued by

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4576-427: The family inheritance. His brothers Yuan Shang and Yuan Xi were killed in 207 AD by Gongsun Kang ( d.  221 AD ), who sent their heads to Cao Cao. 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 (182–252 AD) dominating the south, and Liu Bei (161–223 AD) dominating

4664-601: The frontier were soldiers. On occasion, the court forcibly moved peasant farmers to new frontier settlements, along with government-owned slaves and convicts who performed hard labour. The court also encouraged commoners, such as farmers, merchants, landowners, and hired labourers, to voluntarily migrate to the frontier. Even before the 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

4752-463: The heavens), aerology (the science of the air), geology (the science of the continents), and hydrology (the science of waters). Metaphysical cosmology has also been described as the placing of humans in the universe in relationship to all other entities. This is exemplified by Marcus Aurelius 's observation that a man's place in that relationship: "He who does not know what the world is does not know where he is, and he who does not know for what purpose

4840-515: The idea that spiral nebulae were star systems in their own right as island universes, Mount Wilson astronomer Harlow Shapley championed the model of a cosmos made up of the Milky Way star system only. This difference of ideas came to a climax with the organization of the Great Debate on 26 April 1920 at the meeting of the U.S. National Academy of Sciences in Washington, D.C. The debate

4928-564: The nobility and the appointed ministers who came largely from the scholarly gentry class . The Han Empire was divided into areas directly controlled by the central government called commanderies , as well as a number of semi-autonomous kingdoms . These kingdoms gradually lost all vestiges of their independence, particularly following the Rebellion of the Seven States . From the reign of Emperor Wu ( r.  141–87 BC ) onward,

5016-459: The nobility, Wang Mang claimed on 10 January that the divine Mandate of Heaven called for the end of the Han dynasty and the beginning of his own: the Xin dynasty (9–23 AD). Wang Mang initiated a series of major reforms that were ultimately unsuccessful. These reforms included outlawing slavery, nationalizing and equally distributing land between households, and introducing new currencies,

5104-687: The other to the south of the Shandong Peninsula , though Han engineers managed to dam the southern branch by 70 AD. The flood dislodged thousands of peasant farmers, many of whom joined roving bandit and rebel groups such as the Red Eyebrows to survive. Wang Mang's armies were incapable of quelling these enlarged rebel groups. Eventually, an insurgent mob forced their way into the Weiyang Palace and killed Wang Mang. The Gengshi Emperor ( r.  23–25 AD ),

5192-560: The other. When the retainers gradually deserted Dou Wu, he was forced to commit suicide. Under Emperor Ling ( r.  168–189 AD ) the eunuchs had the partisan prohibitions renewed and expanded, while also auctioning off top government offices. Many affairs of state were entrusted to the eunuchs Zhao Zhong ( d.  189 AD ) and Zhang Rang ( d.  189 AD ) while Emperor Ling spent much of his time roleplaying with concubines and participating in military parades. The Partisan Prohibitions were repealed during

5280-603: The remainder of Western and Eastern Han. 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 the Inner Asian regions of Manchuria , Mongolia , and the Tarim Basin , subjugating over twenty states east of Samarkand . Emperor Gaozu

5368-616: The salt and iron monopolies were eventually abolished in the early Eastern Han. The issuing of coinage remained a central government monopoly throughout the rest of the Han dynasty. The government monopolies were eventually repealed when a political faction known as the Reformists gained greater influence in the court. The Reformists opposed the Modernist faction that had dominated court politics in Emperor Wu's reign and during

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5456-730: The science of astronomy , cosmology is concerned with the study of the chronology of the universe . Physical cosmology is the study of the observable universe 's origin, its large-scale structures and dynamics, and the ultimate fate of the universe , including the laws of science that govern these areas. It is investigated by scientists, including astronomers and physicists , as well as philosophers , such as metaphysicians , philosophers of physics , and philosophers of space and time . Because of this shared scope with philosophy , theories in physical cosmology may include both scientific and non-scientific propositions and may depend upon assumptions that cannot be tested . Physical cosmology

5544-479: The south , annexing Nanyue in 111 BC and Dian in 109 BC . He further expanded Han territory into the northern Korean Peninsula , where Han forces conquered Gojoseon and established the Xuantu and Lelang commanderies in 108 BC. After 92 AD, palace eunuchs increasingly involved themselves in the dynasty's court politics, engaging in violent power struggles between various consort clans of

5632-479: The subsequent regency of Huo Guang ( d.  68 BC ). The Modernists argued for an aggressive and expansionary foreign policy supported by revenues from heavy government intervention in the private economy. The Reformists, however, overturned these policies, favouring a cautious, non-expansionary approach to foreign policy, frugal budget reform, and lower tax-rates imposed on private entrepreneurs. Wang Zhengjun (71 BC – 13 AD)

5720-461: The title of emperor; when these warlords were defeated, China reunified under the Han. The period between the foundation of the Han dynasty and Wang Mang's reign is known as the Western Han ( 西漢 ; 西汉 ; Xīhàn ) or Former Han ( 前漢 ; 前汉 ; Qiánhàn ) (206 BC – 9 AD). During this period the capital was at Chang'an (modern Xi'an ). From the reign of Guangwu

5808-414: The treaty and periodically raided Han territories south of the Great Wall for additional goods. In a court conference assembled by Emperor Wu ( r.  141–87 BC ) in 135 BC, the majority consensus of the ministers was to retain the heqin agreement. Emperor Wu accepted this, despite continuing Xiongnu raids. However, a court conference the following year convinced the majority that

5896-400: The war with Chu, Emperor Gaozu enfeoffed some of them as kings. By 196, the Han court had replaced all of these kings with royal Liu family members, with the lone exception of Changsha . The loyalty of non-relatives to the emperor was questioned, and after several insurrections by Han kings—with the largest being the Rebellion of the Seven States in 154—the imperial court began enacting

5984-435: The west. Cao Cao died in March 220 AD. By December his son Cao Pi (187–226 AD) 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 the Three Kingdoms : Cao Wei , Eastern Wu , and Shu Han . In the hierarchical social order, the emperor was at the apex of Han society and government. However,

6072-411: The widespread rebellion against Wang Mang , the state of Goguryeo was free to raid Han's Korean commanderies ; Han did not reaffirm its control over the region until AD 30. The Trưng Sisters of Vietnam rebelled against Han in AD 40. Their rebellion was crushed by Han general Ma Yuan ( d.  AD 49 ) in a campaign from AD 42 to 43. Wang Mang renewed hostilities against

6160-536: The world exists, does not know who he is, nor what the world is." Physical cosmology is the branch of physics and astrophysics that deals with the study of the physical origins and evolution of the universe. It also includes the study of the nature of the universe on a large scale. In its earliest form, it was what is now known as " celestial mechanics ," the study of the heavens . Greek philosophers Aristarchus of Samos , Aristotle , and Ptolemy proposed different cosmological theories. The geocentric Ptolemaic system

6248-536: The world' and λογία (logia)  'study of') is a branch of physics and metaphysics dealing with the nature of the universe , the cosmos . The term cosmology was first used in English in 1656 in Thomas Blount 's Glossographia , and in 1731 taken up in Latin by German philosopher Christian Wolff in Cosmologia Generalis . Religious or mythological cosmology is a body of beliefs based on mythological , religious , and esoteric literature and traditions of creation myths and eschatology . In

6336-438: Was appointed regent as Marshall of State on 16 August under Emperor Ping ( r.   1 BC – 6 AD). When Ping died on 3 February 6 AD, Ruzi Ying ( d.  25 AD ) was chosen as the heir and Wang Mang was appointed to serve as acting emperor for the child. Wang promised to relinquish his control to Liu Ying once he came of age. Despite this promise, and against protest and revolts from

6424-903: 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 establishment of the Xuantu and Lelang commanderies in 108 BC. The first nationwide census in Chinese history was taken in 2 AD; the Han's total population was registered as comprising 57,671,400 individuals across 12,366,470 households. To pay for his military campaigns and colonial expansion, Emperor Wu nationalised several private industries. He created central government monopolies administered largely by former merchants . These monopolies included salt, iron, and liquor production, as well as bronze coinage . The liquor monopoly lasted only from 98 to 81 BC, and

6512-552: Was chosen as the new capital of the reunified empire under Han. At the beginning of the Western Han ( traditional Chinese : 西漢 ; simplified Chinese : 西汉 ; pinyin : Xīhàn ), also known as the Former Han ( 前漢 ; 前汉 ; Qiánhàn ), 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 . To placate his prominent commanders from

6600-490: Was convinced by the accusations of the eunuchs Li Run ( 李閏 ) and Jiang Jing ( 江京 ) that Deng and her family had planned to depose him. An dismissed Deng's clan members from office, exiled them, and forced many to commit suicide. 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 ) masterminded

6688-487: Was first empress, then empress dowager , and finally grand empress dowager during the reigns of the Emperors Yuan ( r.  49–33 BC ), Cheng ( r.  33–7 BC ), and Ai ( r.  7–1 BC ), respectively. During this time, a succession of her male relatives held the title of regent. Following the death of Ai, Wang Zhengjun's nephew Wang Mang (45 BC – 23 AD)

6776-659: Was in fact due to interstellar dust. On 1 December 2014, at the Planck 2014 meeting in Ferrara , Italy , astronomers reported that the universe is 13.8 billion years old and composed of 4.9% atomic matter , 26.6% dark matter and 68.5% dark energy . Religious or mythological cosmology is a body of beliefs based on mythological , religious , and esoteric literature and traditions of creation and eschatology . Creation myths are found in most religions, and are typically split into five different classifications, based on

6864-446: Was in revenge for Dou's purging of the clan of his natural mother— Consort Liang —and then concealing her identity from him. 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. When Empress Dowager Deng died, Emperor An ( r.  106–125 AD )

6952-650: Was killed by allies of the Xiongnu in Karasahr and Kucha , the garrison at Hami was withdrawn. At the Battle of Ikh Bayan in AD 89, Dou Xian ( d.  AD 92 ) defeated the Northern Xiongnu chanyu who then retreated into the Altai Mountains . After the Northern Xiongnu fled into the Ili River valley in AD 91, the nomadic Xianbei occupied the area from the borders of

7040-664: Was near the commandery of Rinan where Chinese sources claim the Romans first landed, as well as embassies from Tianzhu in northern India in 159 and 161. Óc Eo is also thought to be the port city " Cattigara " described by Ptolemy in his Geography ( c.  150 AD ) as lying east of the Golden Chersonese ( Malay Peninsula ) along the Magnus Sinus (i.e. the Gulf of Thailand and South China Sea ), where

7128-450: Was persuaded by Cao Cao (155–220 AD), then Governor of Yan Province in modern western Shandong and eastern Henan , to move the capital to Xuchang in 196 AD. 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

7216-587: Was proposed by the Belgian priest Georges Lemaître in 1927 which was subsequently corroborated by Edwin Hubble 's discovery of the redshift in 1929 and later by the discovery of the cosmic microwave background radiation by Arno Penzias and Robert Woodrow Wilson in 1964. These findings were a first step to rule out some of many alternative cosmologies . Since around 1990, several dramatic advances in observational cosmology have transformed cosmology from

7304-595: Was reinstated when it was bestowed on Ban Chao. Foreign travellers to the Eastern Han empire included Buddhist monks who translated works into Chinese , such as An Shigao from Parthia, and Lokaksema from Kushan-era Gandhara . In addition to tributary relations with the Kushans, the Han empire received gifts from sovereigns in the Parthian Empire , as well as from kings in modern Burma and Japan . He also initiated an unsuccessful mission to Rome in AD 97 with Gan Ying as emissary. A Roman embassy of Emperor Marcus Aurelius ( r.  161–180 AD )

7392-540: Was resolved when Edwin Hubble detected Cepheid Variables in the Andromeda Galaxy in 1923 and 1924. Their distance established spiral nebulae well beyond the edge of the Milky Way. Subsequent modelling of the universe explored the possibility that the cosmological constant , introduced by Einstein in his 1917 paper, may result in an expanding universe , depending on its value. Thus the Big Bang model

7480-487: Was succeeded by the Three Kingdoms period (220–280 AD). The dynasty was briefly interrupted by the Xin dynasty (9–23 AD) established by the usurping regent Wang Mang , and is thus separated into two periods—the Western Han (202 BC – 9 AD) and the Eastern Han (25–220 AD). Spanning over four centuries, the Han dynasty is considered a golden age in Chinese history , and had

7568-402: Was the prevailing theory until the 16th century when Nicolaus Copernicus , and subsequently Johannes Kepler and Galileo Galilei , proposed a heliocentric system. This is one of the most famous examples of epistemological rupture in physical cosmology. Isaac Newton 's Principia Mathematica , published in 1687, was the first description of the law of universal gravitation . It provided

7656-413: Was then forced to commit suicide. Students from the imperial university organized a widespread student protest against the eunuchs of Emperor Huan's court. Huan further alienated the bureaucracy when he initiated grandiose construction projects and hosted thousands of concubines in his harem at a time of economic crisis. Palace eunuchs imprisoned the official Li Ying ( 李膺 ) and his associates from

7744-399: 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. In retaliation, the Xiongnu invaded what is now Shanxi , 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

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