Eastern Han Dynasty
2 min readEastern Han Dynasty（25-220AD）
In 17AD，a countrywide rebellion broke out.In 25 AD，the rebellion army of Liu Xiu defeated the army of Wang Mang，putting an end to the short-lived Xin Dynasty.
In the same year，Liu Xiu re-established the Han Dynasty in Hebei Province，making Luoyang City，in present Henan Province，his capital city.Historians call the later Han Empire the Eastern Han Dynasty.The Eastern Han lasted for 195 years with twelve emperors in office.
From the middle of the Eastern Han Dynasty onwards，the empire fell into degeneration.Landlords and local tyrants came up as an increasingly stronger force.Hereditary big families controlled the central government.A gang of eunuchs，gaining favors from the emperors，traded the court posts in public.The corruption of the government resulted in an armed revolt in the end.Emperor Huan died in 168 and quickly the 12-year-old Emperor Ling was selected out by the empress to inherit the kingship.During the reign of Emperor Ling，a clash erupted between the eunuchs and Confucian gentry-bureau-crats，quickening up the disintegration of the ruling class.
The conflict inside the ruling class was soon followed bythe peasant uprisings.In 184 AD a Daoist sect，Yellow Turbans Army rose in revolt and quickly spread their influence throughout much of the empire.Since rebelling soldiers all tied yellow scarves on their heads，the army wascalled Yellow Turbans Army.Although the royal army put it down in the end，the Yellow Turbans Uprising inflicted a telling blow on the Eastern Han Empire.
In 189AD，Emperor Ling died and the power fell into the hand of the queen mother.Dong Zhuo，a general stationed in Liangzhou（a city near present Wuwei in Gansu Province），conquered Luoyang and killed the reigning emperor，Emperor Shao，and thequeen mother.In order to deceive other people，Dong Zhuo made nine-year-old Liu Xie the emperor，who wasknown as Emperor Xian，while the real power was under his control.
Dong Zhuo ruled the country ruthlessly and his bloodthirstiness finally led to his failure.In the year 192 AD his officers assassinated him and threw his corpse to a mob that hated him.
Afterwards，there was a series of chaotic fighting among the powerful generals；and the emperor，didn’t gain any control of the court.Finally he became the puppet of the powerful lord，Cao Cao，who used him to give orders to other warlords.
In 220 AD，Emperor Xian formally abdicated in favor of Cao Pi，the son of Cao Cao.Cao Piproclaimed himself the first emperor of the new Wei Dynasty（220-265AD）.From then on，China fell apart again into another period of disunitythe Three Kingdoms Period，which lasted from 220 AD to 589 AD.The Han dynasty which lasted for 400 years ended a shabby end.
