Society and culture of the Han dynasty

While Han Taoists were organized into small groups chiefly concerned with achieving immortality through various means, by the mid 2nd century CE they formed large hierarchical religious societies that challenged imperial authority and viewed Laozi (fl.

Starting with Emperor Gaozu's reign, thousands of noble families, including those from the royal houses of Qi, Chu, Yan, Zhao, Han, and Wei from the Warring States period, were forcibly moved to the vicinity of the capital Chang'an.

[18] After the eunuch Shi Xian (石顯) became the Prefect of the Palace Masters of Writing (中尚書), Emperor Yuan (r. 48–33 BCE) relinquished much of his authority to him, so that he was allowed to make vital policy decisions and was respected by officials.

[53] They mostly relied on poor tenant farmers (diannong 佃農) who paid rent in the form of roughly fifty percent of their produce in exchange for land, tools, draft animals, and a small house.

While government workshops employed convicts, corvée laborers, and state-owned slaves to perform menial tasks, the master craftsman was paid a significant income for his work in producing luxury items such as bronze mirrors and lacquerwares.

This is in stark contrast to unregistered itinerant merchants who Chao Cuo (d. 154 BCE) states wore fine silks, rode in carriages pulled by fat horses, and whose wealth allowed them to associate with government officials.

[85] The official Cui Shi (催寔) (d. 170 CE) started a brewery business to help pay for his father's costly funeral, an act which was heavily criticized by his fellow gentrymen who considered this sideline occupation a shameful one for any scholar.

[116] Those who practiced occult arts of Chinese alchemy and mediumship were often employed by the government to conduct religious sacrifices, while on rare occasions—such as with Luan Da (d. 112 BCE)—an occultist might marry a princesses or be enfeoffed as a marquess.

[122] When a commoner was promoted in rank, he was granted a more honorable place in the seating arrangements of hamlet banquets, was given a greater portion of hunted game at the table, was punished less severely for certain crimes, and could become exempt from labor service obligations to the state.

[14] When the authority of the central government declined in the late Eastern Han period, many commoners living in such hamlets were forced to flee their lands and work as tenants on large estates of wealthy landowners.

[175] The historian Sima Tan (d. 110 BCE) wrote that the Legalist tradition inherited by Han from the previous Qin dynasty taught that imposing severe man-made laws which were short of kindness would produce a well-ordered society, given that human nature was innately immoral and had to be checked.

[181] Scholars such as Shusun Tong (叔孫通) began to express greater emphasis for ethical ideas espoused in 'Classicist' philosophical works such as those of Kongzi (i.e. Confucius, 551–479 BCE), an ideology anachronistically known as Confucianism.

The amalgamation of these ideas into a theological system involving earlier cosmological theories of yin and yang as well as the five phases (i.e. natural cycles which governed Heaven, Earth, and Man) was first pioneered by the official Dong Zhongshu (179–104 BCE).

The former represented works transmitted orally after the Qin book burning of 213 BCE, and the latter was newly discovered texts alleged by Kong Anguo, Liu Xin, and others to have been excavated from the walls of Kongzi's home, displayed archaic written characters, and thus were more authentic versions.

[197] In his Balanced Discourse (Lunheng), Wang Chong (27–100 CE) argued that human life was not a coherent whole dictated by a unitary will of Heaven as in Dong's synthesis, but rather was broken down into three planes: biological (mental and physical), sociopolitical, and moral, elements which interacted with each other to produce different results and random fate.

[208] Hardy explains that this was not unique to Sima's work, as Han scholars believed encoded secrets existed in the Spring and Autumn Annals, which was deemed "a microcosm incorporating all the essential moral and historical principles by which the world operated" and future events could be prognosticated.

They express doubt about Hardy's view that Sima intended his work to be a well-planned, homogeneous model of reality, rather than a loosely connected collection of narratives which retains the original ideological biases of the various sources used.

[211] Unlike Sima's private and independent work, this history text was commissioned and sponsored by the Han court under Emperor Ming (r. 57–75 CE), who let Ban Gu use the imperial archives.

[244] Although modern scholars know of some surviving cases where Han law dealt with commerce and domestic affairs, the spheres of trade (outside the monopolies) and the family were still largely governed by age-old social customs.

[248] The philosopher Wang Fu argued that urban society exploited the contributions of food-producing farmers while able-bodied men in the cities wasted their time (among other listed pursuits) crafting miniature plaster carts, earthenware statues of dogs, horses, and human figures of singers and actors, and children's toys.

[260] People of the Han also consumed sorghum, Job's tears, taro, mallow, mustard green, melon, bottle gourd, bamboo shoot, the roots of lotus plants, and ginger.

[266] The wealthy also wore fox and badger furs, wild duck plumes, and slippers with inlaid leather or silk lining; those of more modest means could wear wool and ferret skins.

[270] Large bamboo-matted suitcases found in Han tombs contained clothes and luxury items such as patterned fabric and embroidery, common silk, damask and brocade, and the leno (or gauze) weave, all with rich colors and designs.

The spirit-soul (hun 魂) was believed to travel to the paradise of the immortals (xian 仙) while the body-soul (po 魄) remained on earth in its proper resting place so long as measures were taken to prevent it from wandering to the netherworld.

[281] The five phases was another important cycle where the elements of wood (mu 木), fire (huo 火), earth (tu 土), metal (jin 金), and water (shui 水) succeeded each other in rotation and each corresponded with certain traits of the three realms.

[281] For example, the five phases corresponded with other sets of five like the five organs (i.e. liver, heart, spleen, lungs and kidneys) and five tastes (i.e. sour, bitter, sweet, spicy, and salty), or even things like feelings, musical notes, colors, planets, calendars and time periods.

[283] Michael Loewe (retired professor from the University of Cambridge) writes that this is consistent with the gradually higher level of emphasis given to the cosmic elements of Five Phases, which were linked with the future destiny of the dynasty and its protection.

[288] Valerie Hansen writes that Han-era Daoists were organized into small groups of people who believed that individual immortality could be obtained through "breathing exercises, sexual techniques, and medical potions.

[290] Wang Chong stated that Daoists, organized into small groups of hermits largely unconcerned with the wider laity, believed they could attempt to fly to the lands of the immortals and become invincible pure men.

[289] However, a major transformation in Daoist beliefs occurred in the 2nd century CE, when large hierarchical religious societies formed and viewed Laozi as a deity and prophet who would usher in salvation for his followers.

A Western-Han bronze column inlaid with silver and used to prop up a sunshade awning ; aristocrats were wealthy enough to own luxury items such as this.
Western-Han painted pottery figurines of a female servant and male adviser from the lower or middle class; figures such as these were often placed in the tombs of nobles to serve them in the afterlife.
Museum restoration of a lacquered furniture and furbishing. Lacquerware became a common luxury item in the Han dynasty.
Tracing of Han dynasty canopy and table used by the gentry.
Han pottery figurines of gentrymen playing and arguing over a divinational board game of liubo , which became popular during the Han dynasty.
An Eastern Han devotional stone statue depicting Li Bing (fl. 3rd century BC) in an official's cap and robe in Dujiangyan , Sichuan
Paragons of filial piety painted on a lacquered basketwork box that was excavated from an Eastern Han tomb in what was the Chinese Lelang Commandery (in modern North Korea ).
Pictorial brick scene of farmers rice-husking.
Rubbing of brick relief with Shooting and Harvesting
A Western-Han jade-carved wine cup ; jade-carving was one of many professions that artisans engaged in.
Bronze bird with jade inlays and ring in its beak and two cups, from the tomb of Dou Wan at Mancheng.
Pictorial brick relief of a market scene
Lacquerware Ding from Mawangdui
Western-Han painted ceramic figurines (with polychrome ) of servants in attendance, from Shaanxi , 2nd century BCE
A painted mural of servants and other subordinates in silk robes, from a Han dynasty tomb at Wangdu, Hebei province.
A Han pottery figurine of a soldier , dated 2nd century BCE; slaves were expected to defend their masters and sometimes rode into battle alongside them during times of war. [ 102 ]
Western-Han ceramic vessels showing acrobats balancing by hand on their rims; the professional entertainer was one of many occupations during Han.
"Five stars rising in the East" armband , Eastern Han or early Jin era Sichuan brocade armband
Eastern Han mural of the manor grounds of the Commandant-protector of the Wuhuan (护乌桓校尉), from Horinger Han-Tomb.
A Han ceramic tomb model of a multiple-story residential tower with a first-floor gatehouse and courtyard, mid-floor balcony, windows, and clearly distinguished dougong support brackets
This brick, from the chamber wall of an Eastern-Han family tomb in what is now modern Sichuan , depicts the home of a wealthy, influential Han official; it features a walled courtyard, house, bedrooms, halls, kitchen, well, and a watchtower . The host and his guest sit and drink in the inner courtyard, while two roosters fight and two cranes dance.
Eastern Han mural of husband and wife's banquet, discovered in Zhucun, Luoyang
Eastern Han tomb mural depicting a husband and wife in a banquet attended by servants.
A Western-Han bronze gaming vessel dated c. 150–50 BCE, which was used during festivities by guests who would attempt to throw darts down its narrow neck
Ceramic figures of grotesque grave guardian heads, Eastern Han period (25–220 CE), Three Gorges Museum , Chongqing
A Western-Han painted ceramic figurine of a female servant in silk robes
This 6 + 3 ⁄ 4 -foot-long (2.1 m) Western-Han painting on silk was found draped over the coffin in the grave of Lady Dai (d. 168 BCE) at Mawangdui in Changsha , Hunan province, China. The scenes depicted on it seem to illustrate the journey of the woman's soul. The top section shows the heavenly realm, complete with dragons, leopards, and hybrid creatures. At the corners are the crow that symbolizes the Sun and the toad that symbolizes the Moon, the pairing of the Sun and Moon representing the cosmic forces of yin and yang . [ 176 ]
A fragment of the 'Stone Classics' (熹平石經); these stone-carved Five Classics installed during Emperor Ling's reign along the roadside of the Imperial University (right outside Luoyang ) were made at the instigation of Cai Yong (132–192 CE), who feared the Classics housed in the imperial library were being interpolated by University Academicians. [ 193 ]
A Ming dynasty woodblock print edition of the Book of Han
The cover of a modern reprint of a Northern Song (960–1127 CE) edition of Shuowen Jiezi
Lively musicians playing a bamboo flute and a plucked instrument, Chinese ceramic statues from the Eastern Han period (25–220 CE), Shanghai Museum
Silk textile from Tomb no. 1 at Mawangdui Han tombs site , 2nd century BCE, Western Han; according to sumptuary laws, registered merchants were barred from wearing silk, yet this was commonly flouted and hard to enforce.
An Eastern Han painted ceramic statuette of a soldier, now missing a weapon from his right hand
Western Han silk painting.
Lidded bronze incense burner with inlays of precious stones and metal, decorated with geometric motifs and narrative scenes.
Western-Han unclothed pottery servants that once had wooden arms and miniature silk clothes , yet these have eroded and disappeared. [ 247 ]
Han painted pottery figurine of a woman dancer waving silk sleeves.
A Han red-and-black lacquerware tray; lacquerwares were common luxury items that adorned the dining tables of the rich and wealthy
An Eastern-Han necklace made of blue glass beads
Eastern Han mural of scholar-official paying respects to heavenly beings .
A close-up view of a larger silk banner with a painted design of a sacrificial offering to the deceased, excavated from the Mawangdui in Changsha , Hunan province, dated 2nd century BCE
A Western-Han painted tomb tile showing an armed warrior riding a dragon , one of many creatures in Chinese mythology
The Interactions of Wu Xing: The creation cycle (black, circle shaped arrows) and the overcoming cycle (white, star shaped arrows).
Earthenware figurine depicting the Queen Mother of the West , 2nd century CE, Eastern Han period
Han dynasty relief of Winged Immortals playing Liubo .
A Qing dynasty illustration of Liu Bei , Guan Yu , and Zhang Fei during the 184 CE Yellow Turban Rebellion