The Han house was restored by Liu Xiu, better known as Guangwudi, who reigned from AD 25 to 57. His claim had been con- tested by another member of the Liu house—Liu Xuan, better known as Liu Gengshi—who had been actually enthroned for two years, until his death in the course of turbulent civil fighting. Chang’an had been virtually destroyed by warfare, and Guangwudi established his capital at Luoyang.
The new emperor completed defeat- ing rival aspirants to the throne in 36. As monopoly exercised by other families
over state affairs. It was alleged at the time that the deaths of both Chengdi, who had enjoyed robust health, and Pingdi, not yet 14 years old when he died, had been arranged for political reasons.
In the meantime the Wang family had come to dominate the court. Wang Zhengjun, who had been the empress of Yuandi and mother of Chengdi, exercised considerable powers not only in her own capacity but also through several of her eight brothers. From 33 to 7 BC five mem- bers of the family were appointed in succession to the most powerful position in the government, and the status of other members was raised by bestowing titles of nobilities. The empress dowager lived until AD 13, surviving the decline of the family’s influence under Aidi, who sought to restore a balance at court by honouring the families of other consorts (the Fu and Ding families). Wang Mang, nephew of the empress dowager Wang, restored the family’s position during the reign of Pingdi. After the latter died and an infant succeeded to the throne, Wang Mang was appointed regent, but in AD 9 he assumed the imperial position himself, under the dynastic title of Xin. Insofar as he took imperial power from the Liu family, Wang Mang’s short reign from 9 to 23 may be described as an act of usurpation. His pol- icies were marked by both traditionalism and innovation. In creating new social distinctions, he tried to revert to a system allegedly in operation before the imperial age, and some of his changes in the struc- ture of government were similarly related
place their own interests above those of the state.
During the last 50 years of Dong Han, northern China became subject to inva- sion from different sides, and, as was observed by several philosopher-states- men, the administration became corrupt and ineffective. Powerful regional offi- cials were able to establish themselves almost independently of the central gov- ernment. Rivalry between consorts’ families and eunuchs led to a massacre of the latter in 189, and the rebel bands that arose included the Yellow Turbans, who were fired by beliefs in supernatural influ- ences and led by inspired demagogues. Soldiers of fortune and contestants for power were putting troops in the field in their attempts to establish themselves as emperors of a single united China. By 207 the great Han general Cao Cao had gained control over the north, and, had he not been defeated by Sun Quan at the battle of the Red Cliff, which later became famous in Chinese literature, he might well have succeeded in establishing a single dynastic rule. Other participants in the fighting included Dong Zhou, Liu Bei, and Zhuge Liang. The situation was resolved in 220 when Cao Pi, son of Cao Cao, accepted an instrument of abdica- tion from Xiandi, last of the Han emperors (acceded 189). Cao Pi duly became emperor of a dynasty styled Wei, whose territories stretched over the northern part of China and whose capital was at Luoyang. A year later, in 221, Liu Bei was declared emperor of the Shu-Han dynasty, thereby maintaining the fiction that as a had occurred in Xi Han, dynastic estab-
lishment was followed by a period of internal consolidation rather than expan- sion. Guangwudi resumed the structure of government of the Xi Han emperors, together with the earlier coinage and sys- tem of taxation. The palace once more promoted the cause of scholarship. Eunuchs had come to the fore in the Han palace during Yuandi’s reign, and several had succeeded in reaching powerful posi- tions. Guangwudi’s policy was to rid the government of such influences, together with that of the families of imperial con- sorts. Under Mingdi (57–75) and Zhangdi (75–88), China was once more strong enough to adopt a positive foreign policy and set Chinese armies on the march against the Xiongnu. To prevent incur- sions by the latter, and possibly to encourage the growth of trade, Han influ- ence was again brought to bear in Central Asia. Chinese prestige reached its zenith around 90 and fell markedly after 125.
Dynastic decline can be dated from the reign of Hedi (88–105/106), when the court once more came under the influence of consorts’ families and eunuchs. The succession of emperors became a matter of dexterous manipulation designed to preserve the advantages of interested parties. The weakness of the throne can be judged from the fact that, of the 14 emperors of Dong Han, no less than 8 took the throne as boys aged between 100 days and 15 years. Factions gradu- ally increased in number, and their members, like the families of imperial consorts and like the eunuchs, tended to
altering the underlying principles of gov- ernment but at applying them expediently to the changing dynastic, political, social, and economic conditions of later centu- ries. One of the problems faced by Han governments was recruiting able and honest men to staff the civil service of an empire; those individuals eventually became known in the West as mandarins. Although the Chinese writing system had recently been reformed, which facilitated drafting documents, officials still needed considerable training before they attained sufficient competence. Much of the train- ing occurred in local-level bureaus, where aspirants for imperial appointments served the equivalent of apprenticeships. Meritorious young men advanced from clerical positions to head various local bureaus. Having proved themselves in these positions, they were then eligible for recommendation or sponsorship, the standard means by which civil servants were recruited. Officials were invited to present candidates who possessed suit- able qualities of intelligence and integrity, usually established in their service in local bureaus, and at certain regular inter- vals provincial units were ordered to send a quota of men to the capital. At times candidates were required to submit answers on questions of policy or admin- istration. They might then be kept at the palace to act as advisers in attendance, or they might be given appointments in the central government or in the provinces, depending on their success. However, at that time there was no regular system of examination and appointment akin to member of the Liu family he was continu-
ing its rule of the Han dynasty, albeit in the restricted regions of Shu in the south- west (capital at Chengdu). In the southeast there was formed the third of the Sanguo (Three Kingdoms), as the period from 220 to 280 has come to be described. This was the kingdom of Wu, with its capital at Jianye, under the initial dispensation of Sun Quan.