Han Wudi Achievements

The Han dynasty was generally a time of national strength and cultural advances. Han Wudi was emperor of China from 141 BC to 87 BC, and is considered one of the greatest emperors of the Han Dynasty. While Wudi accomplished his goals of conquering new territories with the empire’s new aggressive offensive policy, of making the Chancellors of China’s bureaucracy stay at their post for less time and also unifying the Confucianism ideology of China, these goals also led to the decline of the empire financially because of the expense of all the wars Wudi involved the empire in. Therefore, I believe that Han Wudi was a unsuccessful leader because his empire payed the price for his numerous conquests.

Han Wudi was born about 156 B.C., Liu Ch’e,

the son of Emperor Ching-ti, and was later called Wudi. Not much is known about his younger life, except that his relatives, especially his grandmother, prepared him to become his father’s successor. His relatives and teachers also exposed him to two competing schools of thought: Taoism and Confucianism. Taoism is focused on nature and mystical union with nature. Typically, the eldest son, which Wudi wasn’t, becomes the next successor, but for Wudi this was not the case. Even though he was not the eldest son, he was still made emperor at the age of only 15. In fact, Wudi was the 11th son of his father, who died in 141 B.C. China was in a period of civil war, about 53 years before he was born. As the fifth emperor of the Han dynasty, he had the longest reign in history, adding up to about 54 years.

Wudi was heavily influenced by his relatives, who had a more conservative defensive approach. The success of Wudi’s predecessors, leaving china in a time of peace and prosperity prior to Wudi becoming emperor, allowed him to launch a series of active domestic and foreign campaigns . which marked a new departure in contrast to the passive and defensive style of previous government. Wudi realized that the defensive foreign policy of previous emperors wouldn’t solve China’s foreign problems and limited expansion of the country. Therefore, in the late 130s B.C. he changed the policy from being a defensive policy to an aggressive offensive foreign policy. Wudi launched his first battle in 133 B.C, and from there set out to expand China’s borders.

Wudi is considered controversial in Chinese history because of his eagerness in military affairs.

He lead 9 military campaigns and expeditions, and was able to expand Chinese influence into unknown territory and also regain territories that had been previously lost. By 101 B.C. Wudi’s troops had expanded Chinese control in numerous directions, including Southern China and Northern and Central Vietnam. His troops also reconquered Northern and Central Korea, which had slipped from Chinese control in 128 B.C. Wudi’s empire even reached into Fergana, modern Uzbekistan, and controlled most of the world that was known to China. Wudi is sometimes compared to Alexander the great because his exploits were similar the Alexander’s. These many wars and military campaigns were expensive, and China eventually payed the price. As a result, Wudi raised taxes so that him and his men could continue their conquests, and pay for his

government.

For many years the Xiongnu were seen as a threat to the Chinese agrarian society. The Xiongnu were a nomadic people who occupied the steppe land in modern Mongolia, who later relocated to Europe where they were known as the Huns. The Han rulers and the Xiongnu formed an appeasement policy, which made regular tribute of grain and silk to the Xiongnu rulers and sending princesses to form a marriage alliance. Soon, the Chinese found the policy humiliating and draining. This eventually led to the first attack Wudi launched, which led to a series of 3 full-scale war between 133 to 97 B.C. His troops drove the Xiongnu north of the Gobi desert and penetrated into the steppe land. The first full-scale war happened in 129 B.C., the second happened in 121 B.C., and the third one in 119 B.C. These wars against the Xiongnu weakened the empire exceedingly. During this war, Wudi sent out Zhang Qian, with a group of representatives, towards Central Asia in 138 B.C. to seek an alliance with the Yuezhi, a nomadic Indo-European people. These people had long been an enemy of the Xiongnu, but had moved to the west. It took Zhang 13 years before he returned to China, but the alliance between the Yuezhi and Wudi's empire did not immediately happen, but it was eventually significant because the alliance formed. This alliance led to the establishment of Han political power in central Asia, and eliminated Xiongnu control over the area. It also, opened up the Silk Road across the Asian continent, and opened up trade between China and the West.

In China, the emperor was seen as above the law and had absolute power, but in reality he relied on the bureaucracy for information and advice on how he should carry out his administration. A bureaucracy is a system of government where many important decisions are made by state officials rather than selected representatives. Wudi was determined to change this about the bureaucracy, and did make this change in 131 B.C., after his uncle the Chancellor died. Wudi was only in his mid-20s when he made this change. He allowed no chancellor to stay in his position long enough to gain prestige, or a high status. A group of personal secretaries made decisions and processed documents. He did this because in the past of Chinese history, when an emperor created an inner court, he would have to compete with the bureaucracy and check its power. Wudi didn’t want his bureaucracy to have more power than he himself did. He changed the bureaucracy in a way that would eventually allow him to be seen as more than an emperor, seen as a god.

Wudi’s strategy to further unify his empire was to have it under a unified ideology, or philosophy.

So, he made Confucianism the official state ideology. Wudi admired the confucian emphasis on ritual, which complemented his religious interests. He himself performed rituals for religious and political reasons, but also mainly because he sought to avoid death. He actively promoted the state religious cult, expanding the amount of imperial sacrifices and establishing new sacrifices to heaven and earth, in the hope of gaining protection and blessings. The search for immortality was one of Wudi’s passions, especially after he reached middle age. Wudi rewarded men who he believed could introduce him to immortal beings who would reveal their secrets to him. Han Confucianism greatly acknowledged the supremacy of the emperor as the Son of Heaven, who acted as the intermediary between heaven and the human

world