What do you think?
Rate this book
Eastern Han Dynasty: A History from Beginning to End
If the history of the Eastern Han dynasty were limited to the accomplishments of its scholars, scientists, and inventors, it would be a glorious saga of the innovation and creativity of the human mind. Anesthesia was first used during surgical procedures in the years of the Eastern Han emperors, earthquake tremors were measured, and perhaps, most remarkable of all, a process for manufacturing paper was developed by a eunuch of the imperial court. But the imperial court of the Eastern Han is also an account of the abuse of power, the murder of children unfortunate enough to be placed upon the Dragon Throne, the heedless, reckless incompetence of emperors, the malignant ambition of scheming empress dowagers, and the rebellions that arose as ordinary people struggled.
The accomplished governing of Emperors Guangwu, Ming, and Zhang established a central authority that expanded China’s might and stability. Their less-capable successors—a number of them merely children when they became emperor—left the Chinese people deprived of those benefits which competent government provides. When the last Eastern Han emperor was forced to abdicate, China, no longer united as a single empire, was split into three different regions, each ruled by an ambitious warlord.
Discover a plethora of topics such as
Wang Mang, the Usurper
Return of the Han
The Beginning of a Golden Age
Emperor Huan and the Corruption of the Eunuchs
The Yellow Turbans
The Last Han Emperor
And much more!
The accomplished governing of Emperors Guangwu, Ming, and Zhang established a central authority that expanded China’s might and stability. Their less-capable successors—a number of them merely children when they became emperor—left the Chinese people deprived of those benefits which competent government provides. When the last Eastern Han emperor was forced to abdicate, China, no longer united as a single empire, was split into three different regions, each ruled by an ambitious warlord.
Discover a plethora of topics such as
Wang Mang, the Usurper
Return of the Han
The Beginning of a Golden Age
Emperor Huan and the Corruption of the Eunuchs
The Yellow Turbans
The Last Han Emperor
And much more!
47 pages, Kindle Edition
Published August 30, 2021
45 people are currently reading
64 people want to read
About the author
Hourly History
696 books859 followersAt Hourly History, we focus on publishing history books that are concise, straightforward and take no longer than one hour to read.
Receive our new eBooks for free every Friday.
Sign up at: www.hourlyhistory.com/free
Receive our new eBooks for free every Friday.
Sign up at: www.hourlyhistory.com/free
Ratings & Reviews
Friends & Following
Create a free account to discover what your friends think of this book!
Community Reviews
Displaying 1 - 7 of 7 reviews
December 30, 2022
a Chinese Godfather tale of plot and counter plot
It’s like reading a Godfather saga of China as murder and intrigue and slaughter birth more murder and intrigue and slaughter. It gets dizzying trying to remember it all, especially the names, brief as the book is. The author suggests the world changing inventions that came out of the Western and Eastern Han dynasties (such as the development of paper) are the best way to remember this 400 year era, not the bloodletting and poisoning and suicides.
It’s like reading a Godfather saga of China as murder and intrigue and slaughter birth more murder and intrigue and slaughter. It gets dizzying trying to remember it all, especially the names, brief as the book is. The author suggests the world changing inventions that came out of the Western and Eastern Han dynasties (such as the development of paper) are the best way to remember this 400 year era, not the bloodletting and poisoning and suicides.
October 2, 2021
Fortunately, this book explains how and why the two Han Dynasties occurred. For clarification, the Western Han Dynasty began with Liu Band and lasted from 202 BCE to 9 CE. The Eastern Han Dynasty, restored by Liu Xiu, lasted from 25 to 220 CE.
While Emperor Ping rose to the crown at 8-years of age, he was placed under the control of Wang Mang. But Wang Mang really enjoyed power and he poisoned his protege. Although Wang Mang wrapped himself in Confucian robes, he was unable to stabilize the country. By 19 CE, there was a civil war and eventually, Wang Mang was killed in the fighting (in 23 CE). However, it took 2 years for Liu Xiu to emerge as the next Han Emperor.
His son, Ming, and the next successor, Emperor Zhang, are considered to be the rulers of the Golden Age of the Eastern Han. There was stability in the country, trade flourished, and China's might resurged. Although all power rested on the Emperor, he used his palace eunuchs and family members to further his rules and regulations. There was an incredible amount of infighting and plotting against each other for power. I cannot imagine how the Emperor had time to run the country with all the intrigues going on in the palace.
Some corrupt government officials of the Han Dynasty were harsh toward the Qiang peoples; they started a rebellion in 88 CE. This fighting would eventually bring down the Han Dynasty. The book made a point of stating that when child emperors came to the throne, this led to reigns of internal strife as families were trying to wrest power to themselves (while a weak, young ruler was leading things). It was the internal fighting of the royal families and the arrogance of the eunuchs that caused so much turmoil in China, rendering the government unstable. If that weren't enough, Emperor Huan started selling government positions to pay for the Qiang rebellions. Then he started selling military officer positions in the imperial guard!
The Han Dynasty is known, not for its stability, but for advances in the arts, culture, science, and technology. The Chinese learned to extract and use bronze and copper. They created paper, made amazing discoveries in astronomy and math. The Chinese discovered anesthesia and compiled the first Chinese dictionary.
While Emperor Ping rose to the crown at 8-years of age, he was placed under the control of Wang Mang. But Wang Mang really enjoyed power and he poisoned his protege. Although Wang Mang wrapped himself in Confucian robes, he was unable to stabilize the country. By 19 CE, there was a civil war and eventually, Wang Mang was killed in the fighting (in 23 CE). However, it took 2 years for Liu Xiu to emerge as the next Han Emperor.
His son, Ming, and the next successor, Emperor Zhang, are considered to be the rulers of the Golden Age of the Eastern Han. There was stability in the country, trade flourished, and China's might resurged. Although all power rested on the Emperor, he used his palace eunuchs and family members to further his rules and regulations. There was an incredible amount of infighting and plotting against each other for power. I cannot imagine how the Emperor had time to run the country with all the intrigues going on in the palace.
Some corrupt government officials of the Han Dynasty were harsh toward the Qiang peoples; they started a rebellion in 88 CE. This fighting would eventually bring down the Han Dynasty. The book made a point of stating that when child emperors came to the throne, this led to reigns of internal strife as families were trying to wrest power to themselves (while a weak, young ruler was leading things). It was the internal fighting of the royal families and the arrogance of the eunuchs that caused so much turmoil in China, rendering the government unstable. If that weren't enough, Emperor Huan started selling government positions to pay for the Qiang rebellions. Then he started selling military officer positions in the imperial guard!
The Han Dynasty is known, not for its stability, but for advances in the arts, culture, science, and technology. The Chinese learned to extract and use bronze and copper. They created paper, made amazing discoveries in astronomy and math. The Chinese discovered anesthesia and compiled the first Chinese dictionary.
September 4, 2021
ARC copy from Netgalley.
This brief history of the Eastern Han is not a bad book if you only want a general idea of what happened during this period (probably as a preface to the Three Kingdoms period). The language is straightforward and the events are pretty easy to follow.
However, it does require a certain amount of prior knowledge already and some aspects of the history are not explained (about the northern tribes for example or why expansion to Vietnam are Korea were important). Perhaps more use as a springboard to see if you want to know more about this period?
This brief history of the Eastern Han is not a bad book if you only want a general idea of what happened during this period (probably as a preface to the Three Kingdoms period). The language is straightforward and the events are pretty easy to follow.
However, it does require a certain amount of prior knowledge already and some aspects of the history are not explained (about the northern tribes for example or why expansion to Vietnam are Korea were important). Perhaps more use as a springboard to see if you want to know more about this period?
March 24, 2025
Absolute Power Corrupts
This concise summary of the events and intrigue during the Eastern Han dynasty revealed a complex and interesting period of Chinese history. Corruption and plots involving many in positions of power and influence greatly affected the country. Despite this, numerous scientific, cultural, and other advances influenced both Chinese and global development.
This concise summary of the events and intrigue during the Eastern Han dynasty revealed a complex and interesting period of Chinese history. Corruption and plots involving many in positions of power and influence greatly affected the country. Despite this, numerous scientific, cultural, and other advances influenced both Chinese and global development.
December 31, 2021
Easter Han ruled empress dowagers and eunuchs
It’s incredible how many emperors where children and the real power was held by their caretaker. It seems that the earlier Western Han Dynasty was much more successful with its Confusus principles.
It’s incredible how many emperors where children and the real power was held by their caretaker. It seems that the earlier Western Han Dynasty was much more successful with its Confusus principles.
December 6, 2024
Deception and discord
Who knew that the civilization that bequeathed the world Confucianism and Taoism could be so fraught with intrigue and deceit within their ruling class? The tales of the Eastern Han rulers exceeds those of even the Roman Emperors in barbarism. Imho.
Who knew that the civilization that bequeathed the world Confucianism and Taoism could be so fraught with intrigue and deceit within their ruling class? The tales of the Eastern Han rulers exceeds those of even the Roman Emperors in barbarism. Imho.
April 7, 2022
The continuation from the Western Han book
Like the previous book, these two books gave readers a suffice info on the dynasty. They are good books for a casual reader.
Like the previous book, these two books gave readers a suffice info on the dynasty. They are good books for a casual reader.
Displaying 1 - 7 of 7 reviews