Han Empire
The Han dynasty governed China from the late third century BC to AD 220, interrupted by Wang Mang’s short-lived Xin dynasty. Its rulers developed an imperial administration based on officials, taxation and written records, while armies and diplomacy extended their reach into Central Asia. Chang’an and later Luoyang were the main capitals. Elaborate tombs, miniature buildings and animals, and texts written on bamboo preserve different aspects of Han society, from the resources of the imperial court to the objects placed with the dead.
Explore Han sites
Han tombs show how burial architecture and miniature objects supplied the dead, while bamboo manuscripts preserve early written texts.
Daily life
Daily Life in Han China: Households, Work, and Social Obligations
Han households combined farming, craft work and family duties with taxes and service. Food, clothes, games, ritual and care took shape within these obligations.
- Food, Clothing, and Everyday Consumption in Han China
- Han Families, Marriage, Property and Dependence in Han China
- Homes and Household Equipment in Han China: Domestic Spaces and Daily Use
- Household Worship, Festivals and Religious Practitioners in Han China
- Illness, Remedies and Medical Care in Han China
- Travel, Roads and Accommodation in the Han Empire
History and society
Han China: History, Institutions and Society
Han rulers adapted Qin institutions while expanding the empire. Its courts, households, farms and workshops sustained rule through the Western and Eastern Han.
- Han Armies and Frontier Settlements: Military Power and Central Asian Relations
- Han Capitals, Provincial Cities and Buildings: Urban Planning and Daily Life
- Han Government: Officials and the Administration of Law
- Han Tombs: Funerary Art, Ritual, and Beliefs about Death
- Han Workshops, Technology and Practical Knowledge: Production from 202 BCE to 220 CE
- Learning, Court Ritual and Religious Life in Han China