Page:Encyclopædia Britannica, Ninth Edition, v. 5.djvu/658

and as soon as peace was restored he marched southwards to subdue the tribes on the south of the Nan-shan ranges, that is to say the inhabitants of the modern provinces of Fuh-keen, Kwang-tung, and Kwang-se. Having accomplished this vast undertaking, he returned to his capital to administer the empire he had won, the limits of which were as nearly as possible those of modern China proper. One monument remains to the present day to bear witness to his enterprising energy. Finding that the northern states of Thsin, Chaou, and Yen were building lines of fortification along their northern frontier for protection against the incursions of the Heung-noo, he conceived the idea of building one gigantic wall, which was to stretch across the whole northern limit of the huge empire from the sea to the furthest western corner of the modern province of Kan-suh. This work was begun under his immediate supervision in 214 B.C., but though it was energetically proceeded with, he died before it was completed. Notwithstanding all that he had done for the country he was very unpopular with the upper classes. He was a reformer, and reformers were as distasteful to the Chinamen of that time as to those of to-day, and schoolmen and pedants were for ever holding up to the admiration of the people the heroes of the feudal times and the advantages of the system they administered. This doctrine was full of danger to the state, and Che Hwang-te therefore determined to break once and for all with the past. To this end he ordered the destruction of all books having reference to the past history of the empire. This decree was almost universally carried out, and many scholars were put to death for failing in obedience to it. The measure, however, widened the breach between the emperor and the upper classes, and when, on his death, in 210 B.C., his son Urh-she Hwang-te ascended the throne, the wide-spread discontent broke out into tumults. Taking advantage of the confusion which thus arose, the princes who had been dispossessed by Che Hwang-te again attempted to regain the thrones they had lost. Unlike his father, Urh-she Hwang-te was quite unable to grapple with troublous times. He was a weak and debauched youth, and was murdered after having offered a feeble resistance to his enemies. His son Tsze-yung thereupon surrendered him self to Lew Pang, one of the two generals, who at that time were the leaders of the rebellion. Unfortunately, however, he afterwards fell into the hands of Heang Yu, the other chieftain, who was as blood-thirsty as Lew Pang was merciful, and who instantly put him to death along with all his family and associates. The rivalry between these two chieftains broke out into open warfare almost immediately after this event, on Heang Yu usurping to himself imperial honours. For five years war raged between the two combatants, and at the end of that time Lew Pang was left master of the field after a decisive battle before Woo-keang, in which Heang Yu was slain. Lew Pang was then proclaimed emperor (206 B.C.) under the title of Kaou-te, and the new line was styled the Han dynasty.

On ascending the throne Kaou-te established his capital at Lo-yang in Ho-nan, and afterwards removed it to Chang-gan in Shen-se. Having founded his right to rebel on the oppressive nature of the laws promulgated by Che Hwang-te, he abolished the ordinances of Thsin, with the exception of that referring to the destruction of the books—for, like his great predecessor, he dreaded the influence exercised by the Literati—and he exchanged the worship of the gods of the soil of Thsin for that of those of Han, his native state. His successor, however, gave every encouragement to literature, and appointed a commission to restore as far as possible the texts which had been destroyed by Che Hwang-te. In this the commission was very successful. It was discovered that in many cases the law had been evaded, and numerous books which had ceased to have any corporeal being were found to exist on the tablets of the memories of scholars. This new period of literary activity added to the general prosperity of the empire. There was peace within its borders, and its frontiers remained unchallenged, except occasionally by the Heung-noo, who suffered many and severe defeats at the hands of the Chinese generals. Thwarted, therefore, in their attacks on China, these incorrigible marauders turned their attention to the kingdom of Yuĕ-che, which had grown up in the western extremity of Shen-se, and after much fighting drove their victims along the Teen-shan nan-loo to modern Western Tartary, that is to say, the territory between Turkestan and the Caspian Sea. This position of affairs suggested to the emperor the idea of forming an offensive and defensive alliance with the Yuĕ-che against the Heung-noo. With this object an ambassador was sent to Western Tartary, who, after having been twice imprisoned by the Heung-noo, returned with no more beneficial result than that his embassy was the means of introducing silk into Europe. However, in 121 B.C., the reigning emperor, Woo-te, sent an expedition against the Heung-noo, and completely defeated them. The conquered people tendered their submission to the victors, and the Chinese established colonies, built towns, and appointed governors in the vanquished provinces. From this time the power of the Heung-noo began to wane. Dissension broke out among their different chieftains, and in 93 A.D. they were completely driven out of Eastern Asia, and the 3d century witnessed their flight into the district north-east of the Caspian Sea, now occupied by the Kirghese, a broken and impotent remnant. Few Chinese dynasties have lasted much more than two centuries, and the first Han dynasty was no exception to the rule. About the beginning of the Christian era a notable rebel, one Wang Mang, rose in revolt against the infant successor of Ping-te (1 A.D.), and in 9 A.D. proclaimed himself emperor. He, however, at best only gained the suffrages of a portion of the nation, and before long his oppressive acts estranged even these supporters from him. In 23 A.D. Lew Sew headed a formidable rising against him and completely defeated him. He was destined, however, to die by the hands of his followers. In a revolt of his remaining troops his head was struck from his shoulders, and his body was torn in pieces by his own soldiery.

His opponent, Lew Sew, was now proclaimed emperor under the title of Kwang-woo-te, and in consequence of his fixing on Lo-yang in Ho-nan as his capital, the line of which he was the first emperor became known as the Eastern Han dynasty. Within this period are embraced some of the most remarkable events in the history of China. During the reign of his successor Ming-te, 65 A.D., Buddhism was introduced from India into China, and about the same time the celebrated General Pan Chaou was sent on an embassy to the king of Shen-shen, a small state of Turkestan, near the modern Pidjan. So successful was he in his mission, that before long he added the states of Shen-shen, Khoten, Kuché, and Kashgar as apanages to the Chinese crown. But in accordance with precedent, after a time the glory of the dynasty became dimmed. Disturbances occurred in the provinces, and, in 173, a virulent pestilence broke out which held possession of the country for eleven years. A magical cure for this plague was said to have been discovered by a Taouist priest named Chang Keo, who made so good a use of his discovery that in a single month he had gained a sufficiently large following to enable him to gain possession of the northern provinces of the empire. He was, however, opposed and