How Did The Migration Contribute To The Decline Of The Han Dynasty

The Decline of the Han Dynasty

Digvijay Naruka

History 131

Dr. Peifer

November 23, 2014

Han Empire was certainly one of the biggest empires, easily comparable to the Roman Empire. It was China’s longest lasting empire that reigned for over four centuries. They had a strong military, improved the Great Wall of China, and introduced an examination system to join government. Moreover, Han’s achieved success in politics, trade, and technology became the base of many modern inventions. The fall of the Han Empire was a result of long lasting damage that happened over time. It became politically unstable. Another reason for their fall was migration. Finally, the revolts severely weakened the empire. Therefore one can see that the Han Empire

fell because of political instability, migration, and revolts.
One of the main reasons for the decline of the Han dynasty was political instability. During the period of later Han, a period of quick succession of young Emperors began, one as young as two years old. Because of this, the old tradition of appointing Empresses as regent for the prince started once again. Empress Dowager, as they were called, would then assign a male relative as the head, because of their limited outings, to keep check on the empire. As a result, most of the power shifted towards the relatives of the empresses, who took positions as government officials. They used this power to increase their own wealth instead of the good of the empire. As was the case during the reign of Hwan Ti, as mentioned in the book, The Imperial History of China, The brother of Queen Dowager Liang, exercised major power in the empire. He was given a huge territory to control along with the revenue that came with it. Emperor Hwan Ti also appointed Liang-Ki, brother of Queen Dowager, as his prime minister. All this power only managed to increase his arrogance that he had the audacity to appear in court with his sword on, which was considered a serious offense, for which he was still forgiven. If this was not enough, he continuously abused his powers and became the reason for the miseries within the empire because of his misrule and excessive exactions (Macgowan, p-124). While the relatives of the Empress were busy in their power hungry benefits, another group of people, eunuchs, gained highest power within the government and had great influence over the decisions of the emperor. They had titles that gave them considerable control over parts of the empire. They also corrupted the government by setting up government positions by inheritance or by selling the positions to the highest bidder instead of the qualified acquiring the position as set by the earlier emperors. Eunuchs were the cause of great riots and massacres during the Han Dynasty. When they saw that they were in danger of being discovered or saw that someone was a threat to their authority, they either gave a fake order or persuaded the emperor in eliminating the threat. All of this proves that political instability was a cause that played an important role in the fall of the Han Dynasty.
Migration also led to the fall of the Hans.

As Sophia mentions in her article that “… the migration, due to a variety of causes, of the ethnic Han population of northern China towards the south: created a general disorder that had not been experienced during the Western Han…” (Psarras, p-22). The causes of this migration were not instantaneous, and eventually led to the fall of Han. For example, some of the Emperors of the Han dynasty wanted nothing but luxurious lifestyle, and spent a huge amount of empire’s treasury during the economic crisis. Moreover, the court and the huge army that was defending the empire against nomadic tribes on the borders put a huge strain on the empire’s economy. In order to fund these armies and construction of fortresses, the government imposed high taxes. Because of these changes, peasants suffered the most as they were forced to work on constructing these fortresses, and were required to do forced labor for a month. Moreover, the high taxes imposed on them further increased their suffering. While the peasants were suffering, the aristocratic families had attained the hold of the large estates of the country, bought government positions, and used bribery to gain special influence with the eunuchs. They paid insignificant taxes, and easily protected their wealth by using the influence of their position as government officials. With the increasing power of the aristocratic family, the central government found it extremely difficult to maintain an effective defense against nomadic raids, which forced them to impose ever increasing taxes on the peasants. These unbearable tax burdens, along with the compulsory labor, forced the peasants to migrate towards the south. The result of this was very low tax revenue, which created a disorder in the empire, and crumbled the empire economically. Besides the migration of peasants to south, high number of revolts also led to the decline of

Han.
Rebellions was also a factor that added to the fall of the Han Dynasty. While the Han dynasty was facing economic crises, another problem arose. There were several natural disasters, which weakened the already crumbling Han economy. The government was unable to offer its people with food, water, and relief support. Besides the already mistrust in the government, the new danger of disasters confirmed people’s belief that the Han dynasty had lost their Mandate of Heaven. This gave rise to a rebel faction called the “Yellow Turbans.” They revolted against the Han government, destroying and looting government offices and towns. As mentioned on a website called Kongming, “Although initial operations against the rebels resulted in setbacks and defeat, the uprising was quelled and the major leaders killed within nine months. However, the Han military and the power of the state were severely weakened. Many properties were destroyed and the loss of life on both sides was immense” (Jiang Zhi, para - 7). Because of these rebellions, the already weakened Han government did not have the resources and the man power to protect the borders from the external forces, which led to the eventual downfall of the empire.
One can conclusively state therefore that the Han Empire fell because of political instability, migration, and revolts. The administrative power of the empire became unstable. People relocated to the south which brought about further instability. Finally, revolts also gravely destabilized the Han Empire. The weakening of the government along with the revolts put the empire in a state of chaos that led to the period similar to the warring states.