Definitions for "Han dynasty"
Keywords:  dynasty, qin, china, chinese, laozi
Chinese emperors (202 BC to 221 AD).
imperial dynasty that ruled China (most of the time) from 206 BC to 221 and expanded its boundaries and developed its bureaucracy
the period of great cultural and territorial expansion that brought China into contact with other cultures, including those of Southeast Asia and Korea. During this time, Confucianism began to flourish and Buddhism was brought to China by merchants along the Silk Roads. In the Han dynasty, the civil service was developed, the first history of China was written, and the first Chinese dictionary was compiled. Many concepts that became the foundations for religious Taoism (e.g., notions of the cosmos and immortality) developed during this period, and Laozi was deified. Taoist-inspired rebellions ultimately brought about the collapse of the dynasty. Many of the art objects that survive from this period are burial objects that reflect ideas about cosmology and the afterlife.
Keywords:  xin, eastern, western, comprising
206 BC-AD 220 and comprising Western Han, 206 BC-AD; Xin, AD 9-23; and Eastern Han, AD 25-220.