Huangdi and his family that when they were deposed soon
aft er his death, every last one was executed. Qin Shi Huangdi
had bragged that his dynasty would last 10,000 generations.
In fact, in 206 b.c.e. the Han Dynasty took power.
CHINA’S HAN DYNASTY
Th e Han Dynasty was founded by Liu Bang (r. 206–195 b.c.e.),
a commoner who had risen through the ranks to become a
general. He had little idea of how to rule a country, but he
had the good sense to know that to establish a stable govern-
ment he had to do away w it h t he lega list way of governing. On
the advice of scholars he established Confucianism as China’s
governing philosophy. Th e precepts of Confucian philosophy
were modifi ed to make clear that everyone had to obey the
emperor, but otherwise the Confucian idea that a government
should serve its people rather than the other way around was
made national policy. Th e lowering of taxes and easing of laws
were popular and had the desired eff ect of making Liu Bang
and his descendants popular for the next 200 or so years.
Trade with the outside world was expanded during the
Han Dynasty, which lasted until 220 c.e. China spread south-
ward and northwestward and extended its northern Great Wall
to cover part of the so-called Silk Road, the trade routes over
which China exported and imported goods to and from Eu-
rope, Rome, Persia, and India. Even peasants began to share in
some of the nation’s wealth. An educational system was begun
in the 140s b.c.e. to teach boys Confucianism and a basic un-
derstanding of geography and the sciences. Th is system served
to indoctrinate the barbarian provinces into the Chinese way
of life, and it provided the government with a pool of people it
could appoint to government offi ces based on their merits.
During the last 100 years of the Han Dynasty eunuchs
gained control of much of the central government, and they
enriched themselves and manipulated governments offi cials.
Angry and resentful, some Han generals rebelled and slaugh-
tered the eunuchs. One of the generals, Dong Zhuo, put the
last Han emperor, Xian (r. 189–220 c.e.), on the throne. Dong
Zhuo failed to control his troops, who went on a rampage in
the capital city, Luoyang, sacking the city and burning gov-
ernment buildings, including the national library. In another
age Xian might have been a great emperor, but it was all he
could do just to hang on to his throne until he abdicated at
sword point in 220 c.e.
CHINA’S SIX DYNASTIES ERA
Th e Six Dynasties Era lasted from 220 to 589 c.e. and takes
its name because, except during one brief period, it was ruled
in pieces by diff erent governments. Aft er 220 c.e. China was
divided into three kingdoms: Wei in the north, Wu in the
southeast, and Shu in the southwest. In 264 c.e. Wei con-
quered Shu, and in 280 c.e. it conquered Wu, briefl y reunify-
ing the nation under the Jin Dynasty. By 304 c.e. northern
barbarians had pushed the Jin Dynasty south into the Yang-
tze River valley. From 304 to 535 c.e. 17 diff erent dynasties,
14 of them non-Chinese, ruled in the north. Th e barbarians
adopted Chinese customs and Chinese Buddhism. Th rough-
out the Six Dynasties Era the Chinese leaders wished to re-
unite China under one government. It was General Sui who
succeeded, establishing the Sui Dynasty in 581 c.e. and con-
quering most of China by 589 c.e.FUNAN
Funan began as a trading city in the Mekong Delta of what is
now South Vietnam. According to the Chinese of the time,
an Indian merchant named Kaundinya, meaning “king of the
mountain,” wooed Liu-ye, meaning “willow leaf,” who was a
local queen, probably the leader of a tribe, perhaps a priestess.
Between 100 and 200 c.e. they married and founded a royal
dynasty. Funan adopted an Indian-style government and em-
braced Hinduism. Funan was notable for the Hindu temples
it built, mostly of bricks. By conquering other tribes, by the
300s c.e. it controlled territory from Camranh Bay in the
east to central Cambodia. To its north were the Chams and
the Khmers. Th e Khmers conquered the Chams, creating the
kingdom of Chen-la, which became a vassal state of Funan. In
the mid-500s the Khmers conquered Funan.NAM VIET
Th e ancient history of Vietnam is murky, colored by myths. In
about 500 b.c.e. there was a Viet kingdom south of the Yangtze
River in what is now China. Th e Chinese conquered it in 333
b.c.e. Many of the Viets moved southward to get out of the way
of China’s expansion, displacing through war a culture that may
have been related to Indonesian tribes of the time. Other Viets
remained in China and assimilated into the Chinese culture. In
about 207 b.c.e., while Liu Bang was establishing his control of
China, a Chinese general created a kingdom called “Nam Viet,”
meaning “Southern Viet.” Th is kingdom reached from 40 miles
south of the city of Hue in modern Vietnam to a region west of
the modern city of Canton in China. In 111 b.c.e. China con-
quered Nam Viet, ruling it until 938 c.e., when a Viet general,
Ngo Quyen (ca. 896–944 c.e.), drove the Chinese out.KOREA’S THREE KINGDOMS
Much of ancient Korea was under no one’s particular rule,
and its three main kingdoms did not have clearly defi nable
borders. Th ese kingdoms were Silla (57 b.c.e.–935 c.e.), Kogu-
ryo (37 b.c.e.–668 c.e.), and Paekche (18 b.c.e.–660 c.e.). It
was Silla that united Korea in 668 c.e. Previously, Silla ruled
much of southeastern Korea, Koguryo ruled northern Korea,
and Paekche ruled southwestern Korea.
Koguryo was founded by King Tongmyongsong (r. 37–
19 b.c.e.) and migrants from Manchuria. Aft er a successful
military campaign by King Mich’on (r. 300–331 c.e.) in 313
c.e., Koguryo ruled much of southern Manchuria. In 612 c.e.
the army of King Yong-yang under the command of General
Ulchimundok decisively defeated an attacking Chinese army
in a series of battles in southern Manchuria.
Paekche had been started by tribes from Manchuria that
migrated farther south than had the people of Koguryo. Itsempires and dynasties: Asia and the Pacific 405