State · 202 BCE
The Han dynasty begins
Chang'an (Xi'an, China)
Liu Bang, born into a peasant family, rose from minor Qin official to rebel leader, defeated his rival Xiang Yu at Gaixia and became emperor in 202 BCE, remembered as Emperor Gaozu of Han. Keeping much of the Qin's centralised system but easing its harsh laws and taxes, the Han ruled from Chang'an and, after a brief break (9–23 CE), from Luoyang until 220 CE.
Why it mattered
Under the Han, Confucianism became the state ideology and a census of 2 CE counted some 57.7 million people; the dynasty became so central to Chinese identity that China's majority still call themselves the Han people and their writing Han characters.
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