The Han dynasty

After the swift fall of the Qin empire, power is taken by Liu Bang, a man risen from the petty clerks, who founds the Han dynasty. The cruel laws are softened but the unified state is kept: the country is divided into commanderies run by appointed officials, and examinations are gradually introduced to select them. The Confucian books become the foundation of schooling and office. The borders are pushed south, into Korea and into the steppe, where a long war is fought against the Xiongnu nomads. The Chinese still call themselves the people of Han, and look back on this age as the model of how a state should be built.