Han dynasty
imperial dynasty in China from 202 BC to 220 AD
The Han dynasty (202 BC – 9 AD, 25–220 AD) was an imperial dynasty of China established by Liu Bang, and preceded by the short-lived Qin dynasty (221–206 BC) and the interregnum known as the Chu–Han Contention (206–202 BC). It was succeeded by the Three Kingdoms period (220–280 AD) and also briefly interrupted by the Xin dynasty (9–23 AD) established by the usurping regent Wang Mang. It is thus separated into two periods—the Western Han (202 BC – 9 AD) and the Eastern Han (25–220 AD). The Han dynasty is considered a golden age in Chinese history, impacting Chinese identity in later periods. The majority ethnic group of modern China refer to themselves as the "Han people", while spoken Chinese and written Chinese are referred to respectively as the "Han language" and "Han characters".
The Han emperor was at the pinnacle of Han society and culture. He presided over the Han government but shared power with both the nobility and the appointed ministers, who came largely from the scholarly gentry class. The Han Empire was divided into commanderies directly controlled by the central government and also semi-autonomous kingdoms. These kingdoms gradually lost their autonomy, particularly following the Rebellion of the Seven States. From the reign of Emperor Wu (r. 141–87 BC) onward, the Chinese court officially sponsored Confucianism in education and court politics, synthesizing it with the cosmology of Dong Zhongshu.
“Han dynasty” enters the record as imperial dynasty in China from 202 BC to 220 AD. Crown Archives preserves that source wording while asking what dynasty, imperial and China can confirm, complicate or overturn.
Why this record matters
“Han dynasty” is worth following because a concise public description often conceals a longer documentary argument. Here, dynasty, imperial and China provides the most credible route into that argument.
Contemporary correspondence, administrative files and participant testimony can test how later narratives organized the event or institution. The source revision retrieved here is dated Sep 17, 2026. The linked authority identifier is Q7209. The Library of Congress control number is sh85024043. Authority coordinates are 34.304, 108.857. 3 of 3 selected statements include explicit references; 1 carry qualifiers and 0 use preferred rank.
Official terminology may obscure informal participation, dissent or communities documented only indirectly. The lead is largely declarative, so disagreement and counter-evidence require a deliberate search beyond the opening account. Authority statements aid reconciliation but still require their own references, qualifiers and ranks to be checked.
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This entry incorporates text from “Han dynasty” on English Wikipedia. Contributors are listed in the page history. Text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 License. Selected authority identifiers and statements are retrieved from Wikidata under CC0; their references and qualifiers remain part of the verification path.