9781422285824

open revolt and the destruction of Huangdi rule. Soon after, the Han dynasty came to power and lasted for more than 400 years. The policies of the first Han emperor, Gao Zu, a peasant who defeated rival armies, became the bedrock of Han rule, which lasted from around 202 bce to 220 ce . Under the Han, China soared to new heights. The most famous Han emperor, Wudi (woo dee), trained scholars and built canals, granaries , and roads. He reorganized the country’s finances, creating a government monopoly in the iron and salt trade. His fiscal policies filled the imperial treasury and lessened the tax burden on peasants. Wudi also expanded Chi- na’s borders, creating outposts in what is today Manchuria, Korea, northern Vietnam, Tibet, and Central Asia. Wudi also set up a network of trade routes from China to the West, which historians now call the Silk Road. Along the route, grapes, figs, cucumbers, and walnuts, among other goods, traveled from western Asia eastward into China. The Chinese sent silk in the opposite direction. Art, culture, religion, technol- ogy, and most every other aspect of civilization traveled along this ancient highway. Eventually the Silk Road spanned 4,000 miles (6,436 km). The Han invented paper and pioneered the use of ships that could steer using a rudder. They engineered fishing wheels, wheelbarrows, and suspen- The terra-cotta warriors of China are life-sized clay statues that have been unearthed near the tomb of Qin Shi Huangdi. First found by peasants digging for a well in 1974, archaeologists have since excavated the area and found thousands, with a total likely close to 8,000 figures.

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MAJOR NATIONS IN A GLOBAL WORLD: CHINA