The Han Dynasty: Was it a Civilization?

Was the Han dynasty a civilization? The Han dynasty helped advanced the ancient world in many ways. But, did the Han dynasty have the seven traits to be a civilization? Every civilization needs government, food supply, arts, religion, technology, social structure, and writing.          

  The Hans dynasty government was very simple. At the head of the government was the emperor. He lived in the capitol and ran the government with the help of two officials; high and low. High officials gave advice to the emperor. The low officials lived throughout empire. Their jobs were to check roads and canals and to make sure enough grain was stored in case of famine. The government helped the Han dynasty run smoothly and efficiently.

Food in the Han dynasty was for good health. In now northern china, one of the first crops was grown, Millet. Other foods grown in this area were wheat, steamed buns, noodles or pancakes with vegetables soybean products ,pickles, and sometimes meat, eggs, or fish. In now southern china, the most common crop is grown, rice. Other crops grown in this area were cabbage, beans, peas, and bamboo shoots. No matter what you ate, every ancient Chinese meal had fan and Cai. Fan means cooked grain. Cai means vegetables and side dishes. Food was very important to the Han people.

Craftspeople made many artistic things.  They were best known for using bronze. Craftspeople made vessels with geometric designs and pictures of mystical creatures; the most common picture was a taotie, an animal mask. Craftspeople also worked with jade. Jade is a very hard stones so the make objects they had so saw, file, and sand the stone. Some forms of art were believed to represent superior people so they were valued and very important.

Religion was very important in the Han dynasty. Han people believed in many things. Some were the Great unity, god of Millet, Houji, 3 Augusts and 5 Empires.  They also believed in ancestors. They were said the affect living relatives. Another was Buddhism. Buddhism was native to India. It arrived in Ancient China long before it was accepted as a religion. Religion influenced every part of daily life.

During the Han dynasty technology and inventions thrived. Some of the inventions were the watermill, chain pump, and kite. One of the most famous inventions was silk. Silk was so popular that the trading route in Asia was named after it, the Silk Road. Another large invention was the seismometer. The seismometer predicted forthcoming earthquakes. Other inventions included the wheel and paper. Though some were more important than others, each invention helped advance Han’s technology.

The Han dynasty could be divided into six social classes. The emperor and his family were at the top. They lived in the palace and got the best treatment. Next were nobles who fought in the king’s army. Craftspeople were after the nobles and worked with jade, bronze and other materials. Traders were next and they traded with neighboring regions. Farmers were the second to last class and the largest. They grew millet, wheat, barley, rice, fruit, vegetables and nuts. The lowest class was slaves. Most were captured during war and had to spend life building tombs and palaces. Each class had an important tribute to Han’s society.

The Han writing system was very complex. Instead of a few dozen letters, it had thousands of characters that represent morphemes and words. Pictographic were first seen on pottery. The symbols were said to be family or identifying ownership.  The ancient Chinese writing became more complex over the years as civilizations started making changes. Even though it was a complex writing system, it helped the Han people communicate and record history.

The Han dynasty was very important in the ancient world. They grew crops like rice and millet. And, they made vessels out of bronze. They invented paper and the seismometer. Also they believed in many things. And, they had an efficient writing system, government, and social structure. The Han dynasty had government, food supply, arts, religion, technology, social structure, and writing. So, the Han dynasty really was a civilization.