Adopt-200 Adoption Request - Free Legal Forms: Fill & Download for Free

By far the most successful (and yet somehow still not considered the greatest) Chinese dynasty would be that of the mighty Han Empire (206 BC-220 AD). The Han was the second Imperial Chinese polity to reign, having come to power roughly 2,200 years ago upon the disintegration of its predecessor, the totalitarian Qin Empire (221–206 BC).The Qin was the great unifier of Chinese civilization; the first to conquer all 7 rivalling kingdoms of the realm, and unite them all under a banner of national unity. And yet, it was their incompetence which eventually failed them in the end, and seemingly saw to it initially, that all their efforts at Chinese unification would all be in vain.But as fate would have it otherwise, the succeeding Han Dynasty, China’s first great empire preserved this Qin notion of “One China”, united not by blood nor by race, but under the guise instead of a single integrated culture. One people, under one banner, with one language and one ideology, this was the legacy of the Han Empire; China’s first “Golden Age”.Territories of the Han Empire at its peak in 100 AD with a land area of 6.5 million km^2:Historically considered both to be the Chinese contemporary and equivalent of the Roman Empire (27 BC-1453 AD), this was and still is an entirely accurate view. Like their Western counterparts, the reign of the Han ended up being so prosperous to such an extent, that all the future generations and dynasties of China which came afterwards, would seek to emulate the great prosperity of the Han; Great Father of Chinese Civilization, much like how Rome and Greece by extension were and are considered to be the Fathers of Western Civilization.Under the 426 long, years of prosperity and peace, China, unprecedented before in all the 2,500 years which had preceded it, grew to such a standard, that it soon was able to burst onto the world stage, with a “bang”, viciously introducing Chinese civilization into a world which had not realized it existed up until then. Expanding all along the Western corridors of Eurasia, great feats of international relevance were conducted en masse. Trade permitted, ties established, and the fields of Science and Technology flourished as never before.This was the legacy of Han China, Sino civilization’s first great polity, and one to which all future Chinese dynasties would look back upon with utmost pride. There would be no such thing as China today without the Han for sure to put it sharp and shortly, a fact to which all, man or woman can be most certain of. Indeed, it was primarily due to the efforts of the Han, that even the concept of “One China” perseveres to this very day in the minds of the Chinese peoples.It was for these reasons and more, that China’s main ethnic group, the “Han Chinese” peoples are so appropriately called as such to this day: all in order to honour the legacy and achievements of the eponymous empire, one which is well truly well deserved.Standard message from me here as usual, please don’t read on if you don’t like long answers.Here are the contents of this response for ease of navigation:Chapter I: “Of Humble Beginnings”: The Establishment of the Most Successful Dynasty of ChinaChapter II: “The Mantle of Responsibility”: The Greatest Legacy of the Han Empire to Chinese CivilizationChapter III: “Si Vis Pacem Para Bellum”: The Chinese Pacification of the Mighty Xiongnu EmpireChapter IV: “Adventures and Expeditions”: The Age of Vibrant InternationalismChapter V: “From Rags to Riches”: The Mighty Economy of the Chinese EmpireChapter VI: “National Intellectualism”: The Achievements of Han Civil SocietyFinal Summary (to tie up any “loose ends” and conclude the answer)Chapter I: “Of Humble Beginnings”: The Establishment of the Most Successful Dynasty of ChinaIn 221 BC, Ying Zheng the King of Qin unified China for the first time in its by then already ancient history. Adopting the title of “Shi Huangdi” (literally meaning “First Emperor”), Emperor Qin Shi Huang single handedly begun a new age in Chinese history.The Qin Dynasty (221–206 BC) under Shi Huangdi, superimposed onto a map of the Warring States period (476–221 BC) Kingdoms from before Chinese unification:Prior to China’s unification under the Qin Dynasty, the land that was soon to become Qin China was a chaotic and barbaric domain devoid of any benevolence or morality. Order was non-existent as starving peasants resorted to crime to feed themselves, whilst the kings of the various “Warring States” were engaged in a brutal 255 year long civil war for control over all of China.The State of Qin, formerly the weakest of the various feuding kingdoms by fortunate coincidence came across a new and very appealing ideology known today as “Legalism”. It was first proposed by a wandering scholar by the name of Shang Yang who insisted to the then ruler of the Qin Kingdom; Duke Xiao, that the only way to progress was to recognise that human beings were more inclined to do wrong than right because they were motivated entirely by self interest.An artist’s impression of Shang Yang’s meeting with the Duke of Qin:Completely agreeing with Yang despite the widespread protests of the Qin Royal Court, the duke passed these controversial reforms, successfully ensuring the transition of the Qin Kingdom from a weak, neglected, feudalistic and highly corrupt kingdom, into a powerful and centralized superstate, led by a competent bureaucracy.It was a state in which the nobility, unlike in other contemporary kingdoms at the time could not challenge royal authority, due to the Legalistic reforms. Legalism greatly impacted the Qin Army as well, rewarding and punishing individuals based on their actions on the battlefield accordingly. Even being late to training would get you executed, yet on the other hand you could also be rewarded beyond your wildest dreams for extreme heroism.The Legalist reforms, combined with the substantial pay for Qin Commanders (attracting talent from other kingdoms also), intensified by Qin’s technological superiority and exacerbated by their ignoring of the common Warring States period code of honour due to Legalist beliefs, allowed the Qin to attain military superiority on the battlefield, and not just in theory. Wherever they went, the reputation of the Qin Army was known, respected and of course feared.An artist’s impression of the infamous Qin Army marching to victory:Led by the future first Emperor, they marched East towards the Chinese coast, conquering each Chinese kingdom one by one over a period 9 years without rest until at last, all of China was unified under the newly proclaimed Qin Empire.Despite the unification of China under a single political entity, peace as was the case during the 255 long years of the Warring States period, was still as elusive as ever. Qin Shi Huang was a very complex individual who was simultaneously a cruel and vain ruler, yet one of the most important Emperors of Imperial China.On one hand, he declared the School of Legalism as the only official legitimate ideology of the Qin Empire, and buried alive any scholar which suggested otherwise. He particularly hated the School of Confucianism, which contradicted the beliefs of Legalism and insisted that Humans were inherently good, and specifically persecuted the Confucianists in particular as a result.A portrait of the First Emperor of China:Also a man greatly unfond of the idea of knowledge and education, the Qin Emperor encouraged the burning of books only considering manuscripts focused on topics such as Medicine and Agriculture to be useful.The Terracotta Army:The Emperor was also a very narcissistic individual, who had no shame in using the Qin’s finances (even when it was still a kingdom) to fund his own personal endeavors, one of his many notable crusades included the ordering of his subjects to find him the “Elixir of Life”, so that he could live forever. When they failed to fulfil his desires, the Emperor still refused to die quietly.Instead, he ordered the creation of a personal tomb for himself, which was to be so grand and so expensive that it would benefit him even in the afterlife. As such, for a period of 40 years, 700 thousand labourers worked non-stop to create a tomb just for his benefit. A man so afraid of death to such an extent, he even demanded the creation of an entire replica army to accompany him to the afterlife.The famous Qin “Terracotta Army” (even in the afterlife the Emperor wanted his faithful army to defend him as they had whilst he was still alive, most notably, no two individual terracotta soldiers looked the same, each was completely different as if they had been modelled on real people):Qin Terracotta Charioteer (Chariots were used much more frequently in China before the Han Dynasty):On the other hand however, the Emperor also stressed the idea of unity and moved quickly to promote the idea of there only being one China, and one people all united under the banner of cultural singularity. His efforts to integrate the Qin Empire touched on all civilizational facets as such.Foremostly, was his decision to standardize the language to make it easier for his people to communicate with each other. In addition to the standardization of language, the Qin also built roads and canals through the unified states en masse, supported with the application also of a single currency, to further stress the idea of unity and solidarity.The famous Great Wall of China was also fully constructed during his rule, not only in order to defend the newly unified state against the presence of the aggressive neighboring nomadic Xiongnu Empire, but it also symbolically acknowledged that China was now one country, thus implying that the one wall existed to protect them all, and not just the individual areas of the former kingdoms.An artist’s impression of the construction of the Great Wall of Qin (Confucian scholars were often forced into labouring in its construction for being Confucianists, all who dared defied Shi Huangdi were quickly silenced):The Great Wall was the “final straw” for such a new and fragile country however. It was extremely expensive for one (the Ming renovation of it in the 1500s was estimated to have cost the equivalent of $360 billion in today’s currency to have carried out). The Qin Economy broke under the strain of constructing such an ambitious project, and once more the Chinese people suffered as had been the case under the previous Warring States period.Even after Shi Huangdi had passed, people asked each other and themselves: “has our life really gotten any better?” There was of course no civil war anymore like in the Warring States period which came before, and they were indeed unified and at peace now, but at what cost?The Qin were not authoritarian which would be normal and tolerable but worse, they were totalitarian. The dynasty had executed people for being late, for disagreeing with the Emperor, for being Confucianists and for simply loving to learn, all the while the people suffered as a result of highly expensive State projects such as the building of the Great Wall, and of the Emperor’s Terracotta Army.Exactly what was so much better about their lives now than was the case before?No, nothing had changed they thought. And indeed after merely 15 years under the rule of the Qin Empire, China was in a state of chaotic turbulence once more.An artist's’ impression of the Dazexiang Uprising (when Shi Huangdi died, the people immediately rebelled, and though it was ultimately unsuccessful, it eventually went on to inspire an entire national revolution all over China):The subjects of the Qin roared in defiance as they rose up against what they believed was a cruel government unworthy of their love and affections. Under the leadership of a few handful of individuals, and influenced by the Dazexiang Uprising which occurred mere months before, the Qin people rallied together determined to win their freedom by force if necessary.Out of of these many self-proclaimed revolutionary leaders, two stood out in particular; the first was a lowly peasant turnt patrol officer by the name of Liu Bang. The other was a powerful nobleman turnt warlord by the name of Xiang Yu, and though they had vastly different upbringings, the two men soon found that they had much in common indeed: both hated books, despised the study of history and abhorred learning, but most importantly of all, both were wildly ambitious.They decided to join forces, and plotted to bring about the fall of the Qin Empire together. Despite being allies however, there was a mutual concern which kept both awake at night for hours on end.For both Liu and Xiang, their dilemmas were real: if they failed to overthrow the Qin Dynasty, they would all be executed, the revolution would fail and the people would continue to suffer. Yet if they succeeded, what would then happen afterwards? If the two revolutionary leaders no longer had anyone to fight, what would happen next? More importantly, what would happen to China?And who would become the next Emperor? The two agreed and believed it to be a given that someone should, for neither wanted a disunified China, both knowing full well from personal experience the widespread suffering which would follow once more, with no Emperor ruling over a centralized, and unified state.It was a self-fulfilling prophecy however, as the more they thought about it: the more of a reality their concerns became. Thus by the time they had overthrown the Qin Empire in 206 BC, the two former friends were now at odds with each other. On a dramatic night worthy of a Shakespearian tragedy, the two men and their supporters held an elaborate banquet known today as the “Feast at Hong Gate”, at which both had made plans to execute the other.An artist’s impression of the tragic events at the banquet:With both now refusing to back down, a new civil war begun just as Liu and Xiang had feared. It was a war which would not be long however, as the former peasant emerged victorious over his more lordly counterpart in just 4 years, thus beginning the reign of the most successful dynasty in Chinese History, one which ensured that China would always try to stay as a single unified state, rather than one divided into many kingdoms permanently.After hundreds of years of death and destruction, the Han Dynasty would bring about a much welcomed period of relative peace, stability and prosperity, establishing China as one of the more important political entities of the world, for the first time in its history.This was the true beginning of Chinese civilization, a time when China was finally beginning to actually be able to impact and shape international affairs, and spread its influence far beyond its traditional heartland, and into the north, west and south.The territories of the newly established Han Empire in 200 BC:Chapter II: “The Mantle of Responsibility”: The Greatest Legacy of the Han Empire to Chinese CivilizationWhen Liu Bang seized control over all of China in 202 BC, he was aware of the dire circumstances which had consumed the entire country.Dissatisfaction was at an all time high, and though China was still in one piece under his rule, he understood that it wouldn’t stay that way for long if he didn’t immediately act to quell dissent. Initially, he thought that if he treated the Han people cruelly enough like how Shi Huangdi treated the Qin people, he would be able to break their spirit and force them to submit to him, thus bringing peace to all of China once and for all.But such was not to be the case for long. A couple of years into the Emperor’s reign, he was intercepted by a Han Official by the name of Lu Gu, who disagreed with the way in which the Emperor was ruling. As a keen student of Confucianism, he despised the one sided totalitarianism which Liu was using to rule over China.Using logic and reason, Lu presented his dissatisfaction to the Emperor Gaozu.The Emperor famously responded in return:“I do all my conquering from the back of my horse, what use have I for books and poetry?”To which Lu replied:“Once my lord is done with the conquering, does he also intend to do all his ruling from the back of his horse?”A statue of Liu Bang, Emperor Gaozu of Han:The Emperor was shocked, admitting that his humble subject had finally defeated him, he subsequently requested that Lu compose for him a book, of historical examples outlining why the Qin had lost the support of China, and how the Emperor himself could not only gain but also retain the support of the people forever.As a result, Lu personally wrote a 12-volume book for the Emperor just as he had requested, reading them all aloud to him when each one was completed.Lu insisted that the reason the Qin had fallen, was because they were too totalitarian, and lacked legitimacy. They showed no mercy to their enemies, mistreated and betrayed their own allies and adopted Legalism, a system which believed that all Humans were inherently evil, and motivated only by self-interest.Instead, he insisted that the Emperor should reject the Qin Philosophy of Legalism, and instead replace it with a new Imperial ideology by the name of Confucianism.Confucianism was the polar opposite of Legalism. Instead of stressing rule by law, and the inherent evilness of mankind, it taught that all Humans were inherently good and could be improved with a little effort, and that rule by law was not effective, and instead made clear the benefits that would arise from ruling by moral virtue instead.The Emperor was impressed, and did all that the government official Lu had suggested to him. He implemented and personally supported and sponsored the Philosophy of Confucianism at an academic level, and was determined to rule China with benevolence from then on, thus increasing the legitimacy of the Han Government, and winning the people over who would then submit to the Liu Family out of love rather than fear.Thus, ever since then and still to this day, Confucianism had remained a core part of Chinese culture, without which, it would be severely impacted in only the most negative of ways.A statue of Confucius, the founder of Confucianism (the philosophy which stressed the key belief of ruling legitimacy via benevolence, a belief which was wholly adopted by Emperor Gaozu of Han):Gaozu kept his promise to Lu Gu, and ruled benevolently from that moment onwards.He reduced the land tax on Agriculture to 1/15 portions of annual crop yields. Then he moved to disband the veteran armies which had helped him seize power, and allowed them to return home, exempting them from taxes for 6 years, providing food for each individual and his family for an entire year.And at last, he abolished the most extreme aspects of Legalism, including its most severe and punishing facets inherited by the Han Legal System. Whereas the Qin was defined by an abundance of extreme laws with equally extreme punishments (which seemed to only exist to punish rather than protect), under the Han, Gaozu abolished the vast majority of these laws, and greatly reduced the severity of most Qin inherited punishments.Under the rule of the Emperor Gaozu, all of China truly prospered at last, as a sustainable form of governance was implemented under the wise guidance of Confucianism.And as China got richer and richer, and as time passed further and further, at last the Han Empire was able to finally realise the ultimate dream of their predecessors: the creation and retainment of the concept of one China, and one people unified under one culture.This was merely one of the many reasons why the Han were the most successful dynasty of China. Although it’s true that they may not have been the one to unify China like the Qin, they were at least the one who gave China the means to prosper, for a long enough amount of time such that from that moment onwards, all future Chinese dynasties would forever follow the Han Model of Governance, and seek to re-unify the country, no matter the cost, material or otherwise.Chapter III: “Si Vis Pacem Para Bellum”: The Chinese Pacification of the Mighty Xiongnu EmpireThough the Han Empire had stabilized internally, it now also faced an imminent external existential crisis. For in the areas beyond the Qin Great Wall, a Turkic peoples called the Xiongnu were preparing to launch an imminent invasion against the Han Empire.The Xiongnu had not always been a threat to China however. During the rule of the previous Qin Dynasty, as the Chinese expanded outwards from its traditional heartlands and to the north, the nomadic peoples initially divided into several hundred tribes, banded together to form a powerful Confederation, one which was extremely sinophobic in nature, as they viewed the Qin expansion as one which was encroaching on territory which was rightfully theirs.Despite intensely disliking the Chinese however, the nomads knew they could not invade whilst First Emperor of China was still in power, for they understood the threat and capabilities of the Qin to bring them to the edge of extinction with his infamous Qin Army, if he so desired.An artist’s impression of the mighty Xiongnu people, native to Mongolia:However, when the Qin was replaced with the Han Dynasty, they knew that their opportunity to subjugate China had at last arrived.When Han Soldiers under the command of Emperor Gaozu launched raids against nomadic merchants trading along the Han-Xiongnu border, the Khaganate used this as an excuse to justify their war against Han China, and launched an assault against the Chinese Empire in what is modern day Shanxi Province (Northern China) in 200 BC, after bypassing the Great Wall of China.At the Battle of Baideng, a force of 400 thousand Xiongnu defeated the smaller Han Imperial Army of 320 thousand Chinese, severely lowering the morale of China.An artist’s impression of the Xiongnu assault against the Han Great Wall, which they bypassed before invading what was modern day Shanxi Province:After all the Emperor’s efforts to bring about peace and stability to a country which had had enough of war, suffering and death (first during the Warring States period, and then during the Qin) it now seemed that all his efforts had been in vain. The Xiongnu would never let them rest in peace, not as long as they were alive.Recognising that China was not yet strong enough to confront the Xiongnu militarily, as it had just only begun to recover from a brutal civil war, Gaozu thought that the only way to spare the Han people from complete and utter annihilation was to strike a deal with the Xiongnu.By concluding an agreement with the Nomad Empire, Gaozu was hoping to buy enough time for the Han Empire to grow under the extensive periods of peace, such that even if it took 100 or even 1,000 years, the Han would eventually be able to challenge the Xiongnu on their own land, and defeat them at last.His strategy was simple, reflecting the famous Chinese cultural trait of long term orientation: suffer and be humiliated for today, in order to have a better tomorrow.This was exactly what happened, and merely 2 years later in 198 BC, Gaozu sent the Han Ambassador to the Xiongnu, requesting indirect peace attained through a “Heqin” Agreement, in which the Han and Xiongnu were to be equal partners in a royal marriage alliance, an agreement which held true only in theory.An artist’s impression of the famous Wang Zhaojun (1 of the 4 “Great Beauties” of Imperial China) being married off to the Xiongnu Chieftain Huhanye, as part of the Heqin agreement :In practice however, it established the Chinese Empire as a country submissive to Xiongnu superiority. Every year, the Han Imperial Court would have to send large amounts of tribute items such as Silk based clothing, exotic foods available only in China, and wine to the Xiongnu each and every year. For the next 65 years, this would be the defining relationship between the Han and Xiongnu: as one where China was the submitting party.An artist’s impression of the Han submission to the Xiongnu in 198 BC, with the Han Ambassador on the left representing the Chinese, and his counterpart on the right representing the Steppe:For 65 years the Chinese people suffered, and with no end in sight the Han citizenry were beginning to lose hope. Unfortunately for the Xiongnu however, they did not have the privilege of hindsight like we do right now, for if they did then they would not have treated China so badly, for one of the greatest Emperors in China’s history was about to bring to them, a very rude awakening indeed.Ascending to the throne under the ruling name; “Wu of Han”, a favoured son of the ruling Liu family thus came to rule over the Han Empire. Emperor Wu like the first Han Emperor (Gaozu) also did not think very highly of the Xiongnu, but unlike Gaozu, although he respected Confucianism as the official Han State Ideology, he resorted to recycling the Qin Philosophy of Legalism to create a strong state once more, especially regarding the military.The difference this time however, was that unlike Shi Huangdi of Qin, Emperor Wu of Han resorted to using a “watered down” version of Legalism, which he then fused with Confucian teachings to create a temporary solution for strengthening the State, as he dealt with the Xiongnu Empire. Thus, backed once more with an ideology which highly emphasised discipline and efficiency, Wu went on to examine the situation between the Han and Xiongnu.A Portrait of Emperor Wu of Han:In 135 BC, he assembled a special meeting with his “Mandarin” government officials. Upon asking as to what they should do regarding the Xiongnu, who had been breaking the then 63 year old peace treaty, the cowardly officials told him to honour the agreement and ignore the frequent Xiongnu raids against the innocent Han Merchants on the Han-Xiongnu border.Clearly annoyed, Emperor Wu chose to tolerate the cowardice of his officials for the rest of the year. For years during the period of relative peace between the Han and Xiongnu, he (and his predecessors) had been slowly building the Han Economy and Military up, in order to prepare it for war just as Gaozu the first Han Emperor had planned. Thus, he was greatly disappointed when he was denied the chance to finally free the Han from the chains of oppression.However, as luck would have it, by that time the following year, the Xiongnu raids had become more frequent and intense to such an extent that the Emperor assembled the Court once again, asking for a solution to the issue in question.Having had enough of the weakness of his Confucian influenced officials (cowardly at least from a Legalist point of view), and tired of seeing China as a second rate slave nation, the Emperor reasoned that to end the tyranny of the Xiongnu, they would have to attempt an assassination on the “Chuanyu” himself (the Ruler of the Xiongnu).When the assassination attempt failed, the Xiongnu were furious and threatened to invade China and spare no one unlike their first invasion 66 years earlier, back in 200 BC.A map of the Xiongnu and Han Empires in 126 BC, as is evident, the Xiongnu were not just a random peoples, they were an extremely serious threat to Han China:Seeing that they could no longer prevent an all out war with the Xiongnu Khanate, the Han Emperor prepared China for the coming storm. Instead of waiting for what was an imminent Xiongnu invasion of the Empire of Han, Wu decided to strike first and strike hard.In 133 BC, he begun what was to become the 224 year long conflict known as the Han-Xiongnu War (one which would eventually prove to have huge consequences for the fate of both empires) by launching a surprise invasion on the Xiongnu Empire, at last after many years, Wudi was finally able to begin to make true the first Han Emperor’s wish: for the Han to one day not only invade the Xiongnu, but to eventually defeat them on their own home turf.Unlike the first Han Emperor however, Wu did not hate the study of history and was quick to learn from his (and Gaozu’s) mistakes, the first of which occurred at the Battle of Mayi in 133 BC, where a force of 300,000 Han Soldiers failed to ambush a Xiongnu Army 3 times smaller in numbers.Though neither side had contracted a significant amount of casualties, Han Wudi knew he had to learn from his mistakes and act and adapt accordingly, by “knowing his enemy as well as he knew himself”, as suggested by the famous Warring States period strategist, Sun Tzu with whom he was well acquainted with. To do this, the Emperor turned to history for solutions.Looking back on history, Emperor Wu studied the suggestions of Han Strategist Chao Cuo, who had first suggested to “Wen” (then the ruling Han Emperor) that in the event that China were ever to be at war with the Xiongnu once again, he should abandon the traditional Han warring strategy, of an infantry-centric army. Under Chao’s proposed reforms, he instead suggested the use of a cavalry-centric army, to negate the nomadic advantage on the open fields.The Xiongnu had a great comparative advantage on the vast open fields of Mongolia, of which there were plenty also in Northern China. As an Equine peoples, the Xiongnu were famous for being able to fight on horseback with ease, using bow and arrow, something which the Han found difficult to fend against:Unsatisfied with this revelation, Emperor Wu further studied Chao’s personal memorandum titled “Guard the Frontiers and Protect the Borders” (169 BC), in which the strategist had laid out a detailed comparison of the Han and Xiongnu Militaries, with complex instructions on how to defeat the mighty Khaghanate.Assessing the Xiongnu, Chao had insisted that the nomads had a comparative advantage wherever the terrain was rough, due to their superior abundance of quality horses, greater horseback archery capabilities, and an unearthly and inhuman ability to withstand only the harshest climates in existence.To defeat them, Chao had suggested that wherever it was possible, the Han should fight the Xiongnu on more level plains instead. Here, the Xiongnu Cavalry would stand no chance against the Han Shock Cavalry and Charioteers, who could easily rout their enemies, on terrain which was more familiar to them.Chao also noted that the Xiongnu were also defenseless against a co-ordinated onslaughts of arrows (especially when launching long-ranged projectiles in unison at one concentrated area) due to their inferior leather armor and wooden shields. He also observed that as a people who fought primarily on horseback, if the Han could hypothetically force the Xiongnu to dismount, then the Chinese Infantry could easily decimate their nomadic opponents with ease.An artist’s impression of the Han Infantry guarding the Chinese Great Wall:Thus he advised, that to negate the Xiongnu advantages on rough terrain, the Han should also if available use the tactic of “using barbarians to fight barbarians”, by hiring nomadic mercenaries in the military whenever possible, and even using them as training instructors for the Han Cavalry, to teach the Han how to fight like the Xiongnu. This was exactly what occurred of course.Adhering to the advice of the past, Emperor Wu moved swiftly to reform the Han Army in a short amount of time, and either adopted or noted all of what Chao Cuo had mentioned. At last, the Han Empire was ready to face the Xiongnu head on as an equal.However, he even took it a step further, and also decided to negate the Xiongnu’s advantage of better quality horses, by discontinuing the use of native “China Proper” horses, and specifically seeked out the use of the Central Asian “Ferghana Horse”, one of the Han’s greatest military assets:The Ferghana Horse was a superior breed of Equine which faithfully allowed the Han to achieve dominance in the vast punishing open fields of Central and Northern Asia. It was much bigger and stronger than any species of horse that the Han had used up until then, and its stamina allowed the Chinese Military to venture far from the center of the Han Empire.Armed with a well trained, well equipped and well prepared Han Imperial Military, the Xiongnu cowered in fear as defeat after defeat was handed to the Steppe Nomads. The Han Cavalry, now clearly amongst the best in the world spearheaded Chinese attempts to punish the Xiongnu for invading and humiliating China for years on end.And for a period of 224 years, the Han rose up in defiance against their mighty Xiongnu masters, inflicting heavy casualties onto the nomads, wherever they went.The Han domination of the Xiongnu was finally cemented once and for all at the Battle of Mobei in 119 BC, when the Han managed to completely decimate the entire Xiongnu army of 80,000 cavalry and 100,000 infantry. They did this by sending an overwhelming force of 100,000 cavalry and 200,000 infantry straight into the heartland of the Mongolian plains, ensuring Han superiority over the Steppe for the next several centuries.An artist’s impression of the famous Han Cavalry in the process of subjugating the Xiongnu Empire:Thus in this way, though the Han were not able to completely subjugate the Xiongnu Empire, they fought them for such an extended amount of time, and to such a vigorous standard, that by the end of the wars in 91 AD, the Xiongnu were well and truly spent, and would never be able to seriously affect China from then on ever again.And in this way, the Han, formerly subservient to the Xiongnu managed to the “flip the tables”, and instead now ruled supreme over their former masters.In ridding China of its greatest external threat at the time, the Han were able to live on and prosper, having “paid their dues”. The success of the Han Dynasty of preventing China from being subjugated under a hostile, and superior foreign power, has made it in my mind the most successful Chinese dynasty for yet another reason.For if the Xiongnu had successfully conquered the Chinese Empire, the chances of China ever re-unifying would not be as high as in our timeline, where the Han held the country together for long enough that no matter how many times it fell apart, and was divided due to civil war, it would always in the end come back together again, influenced by the Han Model.Another artist’s impression of a much dreaded Han Cavalry charge during the Han-Xiongnu War:Chapter IV: “Adventures and Expeditions”: The Age of Vibrant InternationalismThe Han had not always been so lucky however. In the time before Emperor Wu finally decided to invade the Xiongnu Empire head on, in order to end the Xiongnu threat once and for all, China was running out of ideas on how to deal with the barbarian threat to their immediate north.Realising in 138 BC (5 years before the Han invasion of the North), that the Chinese Empire was not yet strong enough to deal with the Xiongnu threat at this point in time, Emperor Wu prepared emergency counter-measures in an effort to outmanoeuvre their Xiongnu masters, in anticipation that the worst case scenario would occur upon a Han invasion of the Khaganate.To this extent, he convinced the Imperial Han Court that in order to secure the prosperity of the Han Empire once a war with the Xiongnu was imminent, and in full swing, the Chinese should seek to form external alliances with other foreigns empires and kingdoms, which supposedly existed according to popular rumours, alluding to the existence of several thriving non-Chinese civilizations, to the west of the Han Empire.The lands west of China however had not been extensively explored up until then. At the time, it was thought that the vast punishing deserts of the west, and the abundance of mountainous terrain in addition, and also the lack of arable land meant that no kingdom or empire could possibly exist in the midst of such an inhospitable environment.The remains of a “rammed-earth” Han watchtower in Western China today (considering that the area, climate and terrain to the west of China was mainly composed of either scorching and dry deserts or mountains, it should then not be surprising to anyone as to why the Han thought it was a near impossibility for any non-Chinese civilizations to have thrived):Thus, how then could a kingdom or empire of non-Chinese peoples flourish to such an extent as to develop some form of civilization, comparable in complexity to China’s own highly ordered, and centralized society? It was highly improbable the Han Emperors thought, thus there was no need to go about exploring in the westerly direction.Unlike his predecessors however, Emperor Wu could not afford to be in such a luxurious position of denial. Ever since he had ascended the throne, the Xiongnu attacks (breaching the agreed upon peace treaty of 198 BC), were becoming more common and fierce each and every year, putting pressure on the Han Empire, who were now quickly running out of ideas.Recognising that his options were thinning by the day, Wu decided to chase the mere rumours and in 138 BC, asked for volunteers to make the pivotal journey to the west. In response a military officer by the name of Zhang Qian, who asserted himself as a self-proclaimed expert on the Xiongnu, stepped forward and volunteered to travel to the area recognised today as Central Asia, in an attempt to find allies for the Han Empire, to assist them against the Xiongnu.Setting off with an retinue of 100 men, Zhang was ordered by Emperor Wu to find the rumoured Kingdom of Yuezhi, which was said to have been founded by a nomadic peoples, who had once been expelled from their home by the Xiongnu invaders.Thus, from a strategic point of view, Wu encouraged Zhang to make contact with Yuezhi, and form a mutually benefiting military relationship, which would allow them to flank the Xiongnu on two sides: from the west by Yuezhi, and from the east by Han, severely weakening the Xiongnu.An artist’s impression of Zhang Qian on his perilous journey to the Kingdom of Yuezhi (to get there, he had to traverse through only the most punishing of deserts with only limited supplies and reinforcements, as they were now in uncharted territory. It was a very perilous journey indeed, being full of threats and also holding the very real risk of death):Such a perilous journey could of course never be free of dangers. On his way to the Kingdom of Yuezhi, the Xiongnu ambushed Zhang’s expedition and captured the ambassador, who decimated most of the 100 men in the expedition, before subsequently proceeding to enslave him for an entire decade.During this time, unable to successfully escape from the clutches of the barbarians, he married a Xiongnu wife and started a family instead, assimilating into Xiongnu culture in the meantime.Indirectly, this served to win over the trust of the Xiongnu leader. Taking advantage of the Xiongnu Chieftain’s trust in him, Zhang finally managed to escape along with his family and remaining retinue, passing through the northern edge of the Tarim Basin (modern day Xinjiang province), making his way to the Kingdom of Yuezhi as was originally planned.Along the way, he also discovered the Kingdom of Dayuan (Ferghana), which would of course prove useful to the Han Empire years later when thousands upon thousands of horses from this region were imported to China en masse, in order to strengthen the Han Cavalry.Upon reaching Yuezhi however, he was disappointed to learn that the inhabitants were no longer a nomadic peoples, but had now instead transformed into an Agricultural civilization, courtesy of the great fertility of the lands of this particular part of Central Asia. Thus, upon attempting to forge an alliance with the Yuezhi Kingdom, the King declined his offer insisting that they were now a peaceful peoples who had little interest in war or revenge, even against the Xiongnu.A stone palette depiction of the King of Yuezhi, and his subjects:Respecting the wishes of the kingdom, Zhang Qian did not pursue the matter any further. Instead, he settled down in Yuezhi for an entire year, documenting their cultures, lifestyles and economy, whilst also doing the same for the neighbouring Kingdom of Daxia (Bactria), which had been hidden on China’s periphery up until then.With nothing left to do, he begun the long trip home. Unfortunately for Zhang however, despite taking the extra long way home through the southern edge of the Tarim Basin this time round, the Xiongnu captured him yet again, after further decimating the vast majority of what men he had left with him. For the second time in a row also, they spared his life because they valued his sense of duty and composure in the face of death.When the Xiongnu leader finally perished after 2 more years, Zhang Qian once again managed to escape in the midst of the ensuing chaos. From the original mission of a hundred men, only Zhang Qian and a soldier called Ganfu managed to return to the Han Empire. At last, in the year 125 BC, Zhang Qian returned triumphantly to Emperor Wu of Han.An artist’s impression of the victorious Han Explorer Zhang Qian (mounted, and in red), outside the Han Capital of Chang’an, returning home after 13 years of living aboard:Reporting to Wu, Zhang informed the Emperor of all he had learnt. During his time overseas, he received detailed information about the existence of not just one, but hundreds of kingdoms even further west than he had travelled.There was the Kingdom of Dangju (Sogdiana), the Kingdom of Shendu (an Indus Valley kingdom in Northern India), and there even existed the famous Anxi (Parthian) and Tiaozhi (Seleucid) Empires.The Countries described in Zhang Qian's report to Han Wudi. The nations he managed to visit up to and including the 1 year he stayed in the Yuezhi Kingdom are highlighted in blue:Emperor Wu, clearly pleased with what he interpreted as steadfast dedication to the Han Empire from Zhang Qian, promoted him to “Palace Counselor”, before subsequently sending him back out again to further investigate the mysterious Western regions, instructing him to personally visit the furthest western empires as much as he could.Thus, Zhang once again set out to explore the world yet again, and in 119 BC merely 6 years later managed to establish trade between the Han and an Indo-European, semi-nomadic peoples known as the “Wusun”. The unintended consequence of this key event eventually led to trade between the Han and Parthian Empires.To secure a favourable relationship between the Han and Parthians, and also in order to protect the growing wealth of China, the Emperor understood what he had to do. In 113 BC, he commanded Zhang to not only make personal contact with the Mesopotamians in the west, but to also set up an embassy to establish formal relations with a world which China was only beginning to become familiar with.Upon reaching Parthia, he was impressed with the nation which lay before him, comparing it to its immediate neighbour; the Seleucid Empire. Zhang saw Seleucia as a place “ruled by many petty chiefs,” which was very much inferior to the Parthian Empire in which he was currently staying.An artist’s impression of the Zhang delegation to the Parthian Empire:Leaving on good terms, a Chinese Embassy in Parthia was finally established, allowing the Han to safeguard their own economic interests. Thus, as time passed, trade between the two countries naturally increased en masse as a consequence.The establishment of trade with the Parthians, and the ensuing increase that was resultant, had an unintended “Domino Effect” on the entire Eurasian Continent, which saw the first beginnings of transcontinental trade between the East and West. Goods such as Silk which were exclusive only to China, were in very high demand all over the world, thus giving the Han an incentive to expand trade beyond China.In time, as the Han started to trade with the other advanced political entities of Eurasia, embassies were established all over the continent not only in Parthia, but also in India, Bactria, Ferghana, and Seleucia. As a result of the international trade resultant thus, the Chinese Economy prospered and bloomed, allowing the Chinese people to benefit fully.In addition, as trade increased over time, and as more and more bilateral relationships were being established between the various factions of Eurasia, the cartographers of the various continental kingdoms and empires were beginning to take note.It seemed apparent to them, that a transcontinental trading network had begun to form as a result of the trade between China, Parthia and the rest of Eurasia. They were correct, because of the efforts of the Han Explorer Zhang Qian, the famous historical Silk Road existed for the first time in the History of Man, allowing the first system of Globalization to occur:Bringing prosperity to all, it facilitated the flow of not just wealth via exotic goods, but also allowed the West and East to exchange ideas. Goods exclusive to China like Silk were traded to the western end of the continent, meanwhile goods exclusive to other countries such as Roman Glassware soon found their way into the Han Empire.It was through the Silk Road that the Indian Philosophy of Buddhism was first introduced to China also in 65 BC, although it wouldn’t be for for another 550 years during the Tang Dynasty (618–907 AD), where Buddhism would play a more prominent role in shaping Chinese culture.During the Han however, many important Buddhist canons were translated into Chinese during the 2nd century AD, including the Sutra of 42 Chapters, Perfection of Wisdom, Shurangama Sutra, and Pratyutpanna Sutra. China’s first Buddhist Temple, the “White Horse Temple” was constructed outside the walls of the city of Luoyang.All due to the efforts of Zhang Qian, the Han managed to come onto the world stage with a bang, rather than merely gradually ascending to fame. Chinese civilization after 3 thousand years of natural geographical isolation, had finally been introduced into the world, where it would go on to impact the international community in many various ways from then on.A statue of Zhang Qian (even today, Zhang Qian is recognised by Modern China as a national hero, though often overlooked compared to more recent individuals such as Dr. Sun Yat Sen or Mao Zedong):One of these many impacts, was the beginnings of the Sinocentric Han Tributary System, which believed the Han Empire to be at the center of the civilized world.Influenced by their own experiences in the time when China was paying an annual tribute to the Xiongnu Empire, as a result, the belief of Han superiority soon rose to prominence as the Chinese begun to believe themselves to be the “Middle Kingdom” (which is also uncoincidentally the literal name for China today in the Chinese written language: “中国”).Thus, it was believed that China was the preeminent power of the entire world with no equal in sight.Although other civilizations through history had also believed themselves to be the only civilized peoples, the Han took it a step further by mandating that actions speak louder than words. They thus required that all countries in the known world were to submit to them, by gifting them each and every year to the end of time, to show that they recognised the status and importance of Han China, as the sole ruling power of the world.In this way, first due to the travels of Zhang Qian, then the establishment of the Silk Road, then the creation of the Han Tributary System, the Han introduced to the world a brief taste of Chinese civilization, making China greater than it had ever been previously. In doing so, the Han set the standard for the succeeding Chinese dynasties, making the Han the most successful empire of Imperial China.Chapter V: “From Rags to Riches”: The Mighty Economy of the Chinese EmpireThe Silk Road was probably one of the greatest assets of the Han Empire, it was the major source of China’s great wealth for the rest of the dynasty. Because of the great abundance of goods produced by the Han Economy, goods which were not available anywhere else in the world, this allowed China to maintain an extreme positive trading balance over the rest of the entire world.This one sided Han advantage was most evident in the case of the Han-Roman trade. The defining characteristic of this economic relationship saw not only the flow of Chinese goods to the West, but also the flow of Roman raw materials to the East.The consequences of this one sided relationship led to a growing scarcity of precious metals in the Roman Empire, which in turn lead to the repeated debasement of Roman currency in the 2nd Century AD, ensuring the effective cessation of trade with China, in order to maintain the external stability of the Roman Economy.An artist’s impression of a thriving cosmopolitan Han city resultant from trade along the Silk Road:But it was not just in the realm of Foreign Trade, in which the Han Economy was prospering.Ever since the time of the Qin Dynasty, a special emphasis was placed on China’s role as an Agricultural society, one which relied on a stable annual harvest in which to run smoothly.Thus, Agricultural Production was further prioritised during the Han Dynasty, as not only a way in which they could quickly rebuild the Chinese Economy in the earliest days of China under the Liu family, but also as a permanent way to prosper. Given that Agricultural output was also the basis for State Tax Revenue, increasing Agricultural Production was considered to be the top priority for the Han, especially during the first century that the Han Empire existed.To this extent, Gaozu, the first Han Emperor upon recognising the importance of Agriculture to the Han Empire, moved swiftly to incentivize the people to produce more efficiently.As a solution, he mandated the lowering of State taxes leveraged onto small landowners, which also applied to the Peasants and Farmers of China, in order to encourage them to farm harder. Simultaneously, land was taken away from the Aristocracy by force, and redistributed to the Peasantry, motivating them to work harder as they saw that all their efforts would now directly benefit them, rather than the the nobility who often exploited them.Under Emperor Wu many years later, the farming process was further improved upon when he introduced to the Peasantry a new farming method by the name of “Daitianfa” (“代田法”- the “Replacement Field” Method), in which the fields were divided into multiple long narrow trenches, making it easy for the various seeds to be placed into those trenches.In addition, the soil that fell from the mountain tops on which the trenches were placed, supported the stalks of the various new plants. As a result, this method also made it easier to water. Supported by the new Han invention of the “Multi-Tube Seed Drill” and cast Iron tools, intensive farming emerged in Han China.The Han invention of the Multi-Tube Seed Drill:As a result, China was able to lead the world in grain yields both per unit of land and per capita, where it was able to at its peak produce 16 billion kilograms of grain annually, which was 280 kg per person.By comparison, at this point in time intensive farming had not yet emerged in the contemporary Roman Empire. As a result, the Han Economy greatly prospered, as the Han Government had endless amounts of tax revenue in order to fund public services (which greatly helped in the Han-Xiongnu War).Emperor Wu, who was concerned that the Han were “putting all their eggs into one basket”, wanted a separate source of revenue for the Han Government, in case Agricultural Production was low in times of great famines. To this extent, he nationalized the Salt and Iron Industries thus allowing those in debt, to work for the Government in order to pay off their debt, whilst also being socially and economically productive.As a result of the riches brought about due to the existence of the Silk Road, from the Agricultural reforms of Emperors Gaozu and Wu, and also due to the Nationalization of the Salt and Iron Industries, the Economy of the Han Empire skyrocketed.As a consequence, this brought about a period of great prosperity to all of China, the effects of which served to allow China to simultaneously sponsor Zhang Qian’s expeditions to Central Asia, and the Han-Xiongnu War, whilst also ensuring the prosperity of Han Citizens.The Economy of the Han became so prosperous in fact, that at the heights of its power, China accounted for 25% of the world’s wealth and recorded a population per the Imperial Census in 2 AD of 57,671,400 individuals (1/3 of the world’s population).Furthermore, untold millions of coins had to be casted each and every year as a consequence, reaching a peak of 220 million coins per year from 118 BC to 5 AD.Coins of the Han Dynasty issued during the reign of Emperor Wudi of Han:As a result of the vast Han Economy, this allowed the Chinese to transform their Capital of Chang’an into the second largest city in the world, a city that was 4 times as large as the Roman Capital in terms of area, with a population of 400 thousand people- the largest in the world after Rome (who had 1 million people).A description from the Chinese State owned newspaper Xinhua, follows on the glory of Chang’an:“The 12-gate, walled city had eight avenues, each of which were 45 to 55 meters wide and lined with trees.Its wall was 12 meters high, 25,700 meters long and surrounded by an eight-meter-wide moat. To run around it would be the equivalent of completing a half marathon.”By developing a very prosperous economy, the Han brought a much needed metaphoric breath of fresh to China, which desperately required a period of prosperity after the abomination that was the Warring States period, and the Qin Empire. This thus makes the Han in my mind the most successful Chinese dynasty for another reason yet again.Chapter VI: “National Intellectualism”: The Achievements of Han Civil SocietyBecause of the great and lengthy period of prosperity which occurred under the Han Empire, both at an individual and collective level, China was able to turn its attention to more productive activities, rather than just war with the Xiongnu.Encouraged by the free flow of ideas, which were allowed to find a strong foothold in the Han Empire due to the existence of the Silk Road, a great period of experimentation occurred under the wise ruling of the Han Dynasty.Han experiments in the realm of Technology thus saw the inventions of the following notable items of interest (apart from the Multi-Tube Seed Drill and Cast Iron Tools which have already been covered in the previous chapter):Paper (which was vastly more practical to write on than small columns of Bamboo strips):The Loom (which facilitated the invention of Silk, indirectly contributing to the creation of the world renowned Silk Road):The Seismoscope (which was used to measure the magnitude of Earthquakes, a metal ball would drop into a frog’s mouth also, to indicate the direction in which an Earthquake was occurring):The Stirrup (it was attached to each side of a horse's saddle, in the form of a loop with a flat base to support the rider's foot, allowing the fierce Han Cavalry to fight yet even more effectively on horseback):The Wheelbarrow (which allowed one to carry the heaviest of loads, loads which an individual would not normally be able to. It did this by evenly distributing the weight of a object between the wheel and the operator):The Repeating Crossbow (was a revolutionary weapon on the battlefield as it allowed one to fire several projectiles consecutively with little effort or training required to properly operate it):The Water Powered Armillary Sphere (a model of the Celestial Globe constructed from rings and hoops representing the equator, the tropics, and other celestial circles, and came with the ability to revolve on its axis):A similar phenomenon proved true in the realms of Mathematics under the Han Empire also. Apart from independently discovering the existence of square roots, cube roots, the Pythagorean Theorem, the Gaussian Elimination and the close (yet slightly clumsy) approximation of Pi as 10^1/2 (3.14159), the Han also invented and introduced to the world the concept of negative numerals.Scientifically, Han Astronomers updated the old Chinese Calendar and re-calculated the tropical year approximating it to 365. 385/1539 days, whilst asserting that the duration of the lunar month was 29. 43/81 days, the new Calendar was of course adopted by Emperor Wu first from the moment of its inception.Meanwhile, the inventor of the Seismometer; the Astronomer Zhang Heng, also recognised that a Solar Eclipse occurred when the Moon and Sun crossed paths to block sunlight from reaching the Earth:Similarly, other Chinese Astronomers throughout the 400 years of the Han Dynasty’s duration, created and maintained a plethora of star maps, whilst also keeping detailed records of Comets that appeared in the night sky. The most notable Shooting Star they observed was the famous “Halley’s Comet”, which lit up the Stratosphere above Han China in 12 BC.Despite the existence of all of which has already been mentioned however, some of the more notable achievements of Han Civil Society lay not in Technology, Science or Mathematics, but actually occurred in the realm of Han Cultural achievements.For starters, the Han Dynasty, was actually a very revolutionary and unprecedented period in Chinese Art and Architecture. During the Han, the Chinese improved upon the traditional architectures of pre-Imperial China, and expanded it into a form with which we are mostly familiar with today.For reference, here is the architecture of the Shang Dynasty (1600–1046 BC) era Palace, at this point in time slightly over 3.5 thousand years ago, even Palatial Complexes were very basic under a not so prosperous China at the time:The prosperous Han changed all that however, and took Chinese Architecture to an all new level.Though the pre-Imperial dynasties of China had constructed their buildings mostly out of timber, the Han changed that. During the course of the Han Empire, the Chinese learnt to construct multi-story buildings built not only out of wood, but sometimes even from brick, stone and “rammed-earth” materials, to support their superstructures.The Han expanded Chinese Architecture to include multi-story buildings as this miniature pottery Han era replica so depicts:Unlike the previous pre-Imperial dynasties of China, they also constructed some of their architectures out of stone rather than just wood:And also unlike the previous dynasties, Han Architecture involved constructing and experimenting with rammed-earth materials as the Han section of the Great Wall of China so clearly depicts below:The greatest improvement in Han Architecture was evident with the Emperor’s Palaces however, which were improved to make them larger, taller and more sophisticatedly detailed on the exterior, where multi-story roofs and buildings can be observed:Author’s note: it must be stressed however that these particular images below, are of Han period reconstructions for the sole purpose of filming, so they may not be wholly reflective of genuine Han Architecture.However, that would be extremely unlikely as I have already taken the courtesy of doing “background checks” for you, and I assure you that they are very faithful reproductions indeed. So relax.Another replica of Han Architecture at Yangguan Pass in Gansu Province:During this “Golden Age” for Chinese Architecture, the Han also managed to construct the largest Palatial Complex by area, in the History of Mankind.The Weiyang Palace was a testament to Han Imperium and might.It was described as being 1,200 acres or 4.8 km^2, making it 11 times the size of Vatican City, or 6.7 times larger than the existing Forbidden City in Beijing or approximately 72 times the area of the Versailles Palace in France.Having been built 2,217 years ago at the request of the first Han Emperor Gaozu, it should be safe thus to assume the power, grandeur, ingenuity and wealth of the Han Empire.A computer generated imagined image of the Weiyang (Endless) Palace:Apart from being a revolutionary period for Architecture however, the Han Dynasty was also a time of unprecedented evolution for Chinese Art. Due to the inflows of foreign influences originating from along the Silk Road, this impacted Chinese artistic styles in many various ways.Examples of this include the “Gansu Flying Horse”, a dedication to the most prized military asset of the Han Imperial Army, which was sourced from overseas in the Kingdom of Ferghana along the Silk Road:The Han period of Imperial China in terms of Art, was also most remembered for the simple, yet abundant availability of lacquerware and ceramics, the area in which the Han developed to a high quality standard the most. These were items produced only by the most skilled artisans, as such, only the most wealthy of the Aristocracy could afford to purchase such luxurious items (lacquerware tray and ceramic jar pictured below):Han Ceramics even extended to focus on replicating entire buildings, which they did, producing vast multitudes of ceramic works including miniature replicas of the houses of the nobility (which has proven useful to contemporary Historians, as there are rarely any architectures left over from the Han period from which we can study today):Statues were of course also in full bloom, pictured below as an example, is a bronze statuette of the Qilin (Chimera), a creature which was believed by the Chinese to signal good luck, as their sighting by those lucky enough, was thought to signal the coming of an illustrious ruler:Thus, even in the realm of Art and Architecture, the Han set the standard for all dynasties to come.But yet again, despite all the advances in Art and Architecture, it was actually the consequences arising from the adoption and promotion of the State Ideology of Confucianism, by Emperor Wu, which had the greatest impact on the Han Dynasty of China, truly impacting the future of China, and shaping it all the way up until the end of the Imperial period merely 105 years ago.Confucianism taught that hard work was the key to success in a world with unlimited desires, limited time, limited money and limited resources. Everyone wanted to be great, to be strong and to be wealthy, and yet, it was not possible for everyone to do so, otherwise this would render those positions of power quite redundant.Acting on the advice of Confucius, in time, the beginnings of a Meritocratic Examination System was created under the Han Empire, for the purpose of using it to recruit the next generation of government officials.Though the process would not be entirely formalized until the Tang Dynasty several hundred years later, it was a process which begun with the Han. Using the exams as a filter to separate the sincere from the insincere, the Han asserted that only those who worked and studied for long and hard enough, could pass the exams and go onto to assist the Emperor in ruling the country.A depiction of Han Government Officials:Following on from the example of the Qin Empire, the Han promoted the Mandarin to the highest position in Han society (in alignment with Confucian values), and forced any candidates enrolling (who was hoping to become a Mandarin) to compete against each other in standardized examinations.It was hoped that in doing so, only the best, most sincere and most dedicated individuals would be able to hold it together for long enough, to eventually become an adviser to the Emperor himself.After the appropriate candidates were accepted into the Han Government, they were organized such that the Mandarins themselves were further split into two separate groups to better specialise in a certain field. The two factions were focused on dealing with either the Civilian or Military Administrative facets of the Han Empire:The first faction was dressed in red and wore a ministerial headgear equipped with two feathers, one on each side. This was the group composed of the Military Ministers who administered the Han Imperial Army. The Military faction often had personal battlefield experience and sat on the right side of the Emperor in the Imperial Palace’s main hall, existing to advise him on martial matters.Directly parallel to the Military faction, and seated on the left side of the Emperor during the times when Court was in session, were the Civil Ministers. They wore black and donned a ministerial headpiece with no feathers to signal their Civilian Affairs status, their primary responsibility of course included the running of the more peaceful facets of Imperial Administration.This thus ensured the existence of a strong political backbone, which was able to run the Han Empire efficiently as a result. New to the concept of a centralized power, the Han Emperors needed all the help they could get, thus the advice from the armies upon armies of such a learned men as that of the Mandarin Government Officials, was of course extremely welcomed.Although many millions of people criticise the usage of standardized testing even to this day, the fact remains that there are very few practical and effective alternatives to decide who is first, and who is last. Thus, in creating the Examination System, the Han invented one of the greatest and most relevant gifts to the entire world even in the 21st Century, yet another reason as to why the Han are most successful Chinese dynasty.Final Summary (to tie up any “loose ends” and conclude the answer)Thus the Han Empire was the most successful Chinese dynasty ever. They may not have been as glorious as the succeeding Cosmopolitan Tang Dynasty, nor as inventive and wealthy as the Pre-Industrialized society of the Song, nor were they an Economic Powerhouse like Ming, but that’s because the Han existed 2,000 years ago.Considering their limitations of being a naturally isolated country due to geography, the burden of being forced to keep China together in one piece after the tyranny that was Qin rule, and the very real threat of the Xiongnu, who would have otherwise completely wiped Chinese civilization off the face of the Earth, the Han did well.They were an all rounder who brought Chinese civilization to the world through Zhang Qian’s journeys westwards based solely on rumours. This unintentionally created the Silk Road, the first system of Globalization thus ensuring the prosperity of the Han for the rest of their rule.From the Silk Road, they imported from Central Asia the Ferghana Horse, which they used to bring their powerful nomadic northern neighbour to heel, after 65 years of domination and humiliation by their hands, thus saving China in the process.Furthermore, the adoption of Confucianism rather than Legalism, didn’t only contribute to Chinese culture today in an irreplaceable way, but contributed to the Han invention of the Meritocratic Examination System, which would benefit China for the next 2,000 years.Thus, it is completely reasonable (to me at least) that the Han Dynasty is the most successful Chinese dynasty of all time. It now remains to be seen whether the current ruling dynasty; the People’s Republic of China (PRC), can surpass their achievements, and set a new world record in the books of Chinese civilization.Sources Utilised Throughout My Answer (also for further reading):LegalismShihuangdi | emperor of Qin dynastyQin dynasty | China [221-207 BC]February 2013: Liu Bang, from Peasant Rebel to EmperorLu Jia 陸賈 (www.chinaknowledge.de)Wudi | emperor of Han dynastyWudi Emperor of the Han Dynasty (156- 87 BC), Story of Han Dynasty EmperorHan–Xiongnu War - WikipediaChao Cuo 晁錯 (www.chinaknowledge.de)Heavenly Horses of ChinaBattle of Mobei - WikipediaZhang Qian (Chang Ch’ien)Zhang QianZhang Qian - WikipediaTop 10 Explorers Of The Ancient World - ListverseSilk RoadImperial Chinese tributary system - Wikipedia3PerspMaps.htmlEconomyChang'an: four times the size of RomeScience and technology of the Han dynasty - WikipediaWeiyang Palace - WikipediaHan Dynasty Art - Ancient China - Quatr.ushttp://www.arthistory.net/han-dynasty-art/

The French Revolution was complicated, unorganised and chaotic. People at the time didn't always know what was going on either.However, it can help to summarise it in stages:Constitutional Monarchy 1789–92Radical Republic 1792–94Reaction 1794–99Napoleon seized power on 9 November 1799, marking the start of a new phase of history.Origins of the RevolutionIn 1789, France was an absolute monarchy. The King, in theory, made all the big decisions while appointing government ministers at his own discretion to handle smaller matters. In practice, there were limitations on royal power, since the king had to cope with entrenched bureaucracy, inertia, and the need to keep the goodwill of his influential supporters. Even so, ordinary people had little or no input into the way they were ruled. The nobility and the Church had immense privileges, including freedom from taxation, in return for supporting the monarchy and the social order.France lost the Seven Years' War (1756–63), a costly defeat that left the government's treasury empty. Then they 'won' the American War of Independence (to 1783), but gained almost nothing from their victory except a large bill. France was teetering on the edge of bankruptcy. The obvious solution was to raise taxes, but that was naturally very unpopular with the people. And because France wasn't a democracy, the people had no way to express their anger against the government peacefully via the ballot box.To make things worse, in the depths of the financial crisis the government of Louis XVI began to consider imposing taxes on the nobility as well for the first time. Under other circumstances this might be considered a positive move: the tax-free status of the aristocracy was a source of great resentment among ordinary French people, so making them pay a fair share of the burden would be a popular action. In the 1780s, however, such suggestions only managed to make the nobility (the Crown's natural supporters) alarmed and angry at the King's government, without satisfying the grievances of anybody else.As a final push towards revolution, in 1789 France was suffering a severe economic depression. The harvests had been poor, and the price of bread rose beyond the reach of poor peasants. People were starving and desperate; and some were willing to turn to violence to feed their families. This was a crisis, and action needed to be taken quickly.Constitutional Monarchy, 1789-1792The first phase of the Revolution was an attempt to reform the government and constitution, not to abolish the monarchy entirely. It was a period of idealism, with people putting forward radical ideas to make France's system of government both fair and efficient, based on the principles of liberty, equality and fraternity. However, violence was always there under the surface: and many of the reforms were pushed on by a fear of what people would do if their expectations were disappointed.The Estates-general and the Tennis Court OathOn 24 January 1789, King Louis XVI decided to summon an elected parliament, the États généraux (Estates-general), to discuss a solution to the financial problems facing the country. This was the first time this body had been called for almost two hundred years. The meeting of the parliament was set for May.In the meantime, communities throughout France were requested to compile lists of grievances ('cahiers de doléances' in French), to form the agenda for the Estates-general's discussions. Many of these lists criticised the privileges of the elites, the unfair taxation system, and the lack of popular influence over government.The Estates-general met in Versailles on 5 May 1789. However, it soon became bogged down in constitutional issues rather than addressing the financial crisis. The problem was that as its name implies, the Estates-general represented the three estates of the realm: Clergy, Nobility and Commons. The First Estate represented France's 130,000 Catholic clergy. The Second Estate represented France's 400,000 nobles. The Third Estate represented France's 25 million commoners. And each Estate had one vote: so the Third Estate could be outvoted 2-1. Unsurprisingly, the Third Estate thought that this was enormously unfair and illogical.After failing to reform the structure of the Estates-general, on 17 June 1789 the Third Estate withdrew from it and declared the formation of a new National Assembly. Two days later the clergy of the First Estate voted to join the National Assembly; but the King and the Second Estate rejected these developments as illegal and unconstitutional. On 20 June the King sought to shut down the National Assembly by sending soldiers to physically lock its members out of their meeting room. The delegates simply moved to a nearby indoor tennis court, and swore an oath not to disperse or disband until they had reformed France's constitution.The Tennis Court Oath, drawing by Jacques-Louis DavidThe Storming of the BastilleThe King backed down and allowed the National Assembly to meet, but the situation remained tense. Large numbers of royal troops began to surround Paris. On 11 July Louis XVI fired his Minister of Finance, which was widely interpreted as the start of a counter-coup to re-impose royal absolutism. In response large-scale riots broke out in Paris. To keep order, and not trusting the Royal troops, on 13 July the Assembly of Electors of Paris announced the formation of a 'bourgeois militia' of 48,000 men. However, they were lacking in weapons and gunpowder.The Bastille was a mediaeval castle within Paris, which was being used as both a storage depot for weapons and ammunition, and a royal prison. In the popular imagination it had become a symbol of absolutism and tyranny, the place where political prisoners and opponents of the regime were incarcerated. In reality, only 7 people were actually imprisoned there at the time: four forgers, two lunatics, and one imprisoned for 'dissipation and bad conduct'.On the morning of 14 July 1789, a crowd gathered around the Bastille and demanded that its governor, the Marquis de Launay, hand over the stores of munitions held there to the militia. At first Launay negotiated, but the crowd became impatient and around a thousand people stormed the gates. The defending garrison, comprising 32 Swiss mercenaries and 82 elderly French military pensioners, shot at them; the mob, reinforced by some soldiers from the local Paris regiment, returned fire.The fighting lasted through the afternoon, resulting in the deaths of 98 attackers and 1 defender. However, after the garrison surrendered eight of the defenders, including the governor, were lynched or beaten to death by the angry crowd. In addition, a mob surrounded the Paris City Hall, accusing the mayor Jacques de Flesselles of being a royalist sympathiser who had conspired to prevent the militia from being armed. When he came out onto the steps to explain himself, he was shot dead by an anonymous gunman in the crowd. The heads of Launay and Flesselles were then cut off and stuck onto pikes, and displayed to the mob as 'traitors'.The surrender of the Bastille's garrison. The artist has probably exaggerated the height of the fortress's walls.King Louis XVI kept a diary; and famously, his entry for 14 July was only one word long: Rien ('Nothing'). This is often said to show his obliviousness to what was going on in the country around him; though in his partial defence it should be noted that he'd been out hunting that day, and 'nothing' referred to what he'd caught.The day, however, gave rise to another famous quote. When woken late in the night and told of the storming of the Bastille and the murder of its governor the King exclaimed anxiously: "Mais c’est une révolte?" (But is it a revolt?)And was told in reply: "Non, sire, c'est une révolution." (No, Sire, it's a revolution.)As a footnote: exactly a year later on 14 July 1790, the French government ordered a ceremony of national reconciliation and unity, the Fête de la Fédération. The decision to make Bastille Day France's national holiday was made in 1880, and those supporting it stressed that they were celebrating not only the fight against royal absolutism in 1789, but the willingness of the French people to join together in unity in 1790.The Great FearA few days after the violent events in Paris, similar outbreaks of violence broke out throughout the country. Wild rumours flew that the nobility were planning to create an artificial famine by destroying the crops, to profit from higher grain prices as well as crushing popular opposition to their privileges. As part of their plan, it was claimed, they were recruiting armies of brigands and outlaws (or English or Italian mercenaries, in some versions of the rumour) to attack the villages. These stories created an atmosphere of near panic in many regions, and peasants took up arms to defend themselves from the 'brigands' -- which in some tragic cases meant attacks on harmless strangers.However, many of the peasant militias then took to attacking the manor houses of the nobility. A particular target were the land registers ('terriers') which recorded the feudal obligations, taxes and duties which individual peasants owed to their lord. Destroying these, it was hoped, would make it impossible for the nobility to impose these feudal levies in the future. In other places the peasants simply looted and burned, without a political justification.Terrified by the outbreak of violence, many of the nobility and their servants fled their estates. Some gathered in the cities, but others left France entirely and went abroad. The King's brother Charles, the Count of Artois, was one of the first of these emigrés, as they became known, leaving for Italy on 17 July along with his family and several other nobles.The events of July-August 1789 became known as the Great Fear (la Grande Peur) since fear both drove the peasants' actions, and was the effect they had on the nobles. In addition, the emigrés fleeing abroad spread stories of violence and terror, and helped turn opinion in other countries against the events unfolding in France.Nobles flee as their manors and châteaux are set on fireReformLouis XVI and his advisers decided that their best approach for the moment was to make concessions to the moderate reformers, in the hope of averting more violent outbreaks. He reinstated Necker, the Minister of Finance whose dismissal had provoked the storming of the Bastille, and gave official sanction to the creation of a National Guard based on the local militias. The Marquis de Lafayette, of American War of Independence fame, was appointed as its first commander.Symbolically, on 17 July the King also put on a cockade (circular hat ribbon) in the colours of the city of Paris, red and blue. A few days later a new version of this cockade was introduced, with the red and blue separated by the white of the French royal banner: and thus the French tricolour was born.Between 4 and 11 August the National Assembly passed a sweeping series of laws, the August Decrees, ending feudalism in France. Serfdom, and its related duties and obligations, was abolished without compensation. The special privileges of the nobility and clergy were swept away; in particular, they would now be liable for taxation on the same basis as everybody else. All positions in the government and armed forces were to be open to all citizens, not just nobles; and the sale of offices was made illegal. Tithes to the Church were also abolished.While these measures apparently benefited the peasants to the great disadvantage of the nobility, historians have observed that in many cases landowners simply increased the rents they charged to compensate for their loss of feudal dues. As such, while the new system was objectively fairer in that there were no longer any hereditary privileges, the poor remained poor and the rich remained rich.Despite such cynical reflections, at the time they were passed, the August Decrees were hailed as a major advance for liberty and equality. (For the record, the actual phrase Liberté, égalité, fraternité became the official motto of the revolution on 5 December 1790, when National Assembly member Maximilien Robespierre called for it to be written on the flags of the National Guard.)As a follow-up, on 26 August 1789 the Assembly published the Declaration of the Rights of Man and of the Citizen. Coincidentally, this was just five days after the US House of Representatives published its own Bill of Rights, though the American document would not be ratified until 1791. The French Declaration begins 'Men are born and remain free and equal in rights. Social distinctions can be founded only on the common good' and goes on to list 17 individual rights including freedom of speech and of religion, the presumption of innocence and right to due process and a fair trial, and a statement that taxation is only legal with the (collective, not individual) consent of the people.Declaration of the Rights of Man and of the CitizenThe royal court leaves Versailles and returns to ParisOn 5 October 1789 another famous event took place, the Women's March on Versailles. Four days earlier the King had organised a lavish banquet at Versailles for the officers of the royal guards. With food prices still high and many poor people forced to go hungry, this caused outrage in Paris as the news spread. A group of women in the market places of Paris began a demonstration which rapidly grew in numbers until about 7,000 people, mostly women but some men, filled the cold and rainy streets. They marched on the City Hall to demand bread, but then decided to head to Versailles instead and 'bring the king back home to Paris' so he would be forced to live among his people instead of being isolated in luxury in his palace. Many of the women armed themselves from weapons held in the city's armouries; they even brought along several cannons.Contemporary illustration of the Women's MarchOn their arrival at Versailles there was a tense stand-off until the following morning, and some small-scale fighting broke out; but most of the king's guards were unwilling to use force against the women. Louis XVI felt he had no option but to submit to the demands and return to Paris. In the afternoon of 6 October 60,000 people gathered to watch as he and his court arrived in Paris and took up residence in the disused palace of the Tuileries. It is said that the following evening, a pessimistic King Louis chose as his reading material a biography of King Charles I of England. The French monarch was now clearly at the mercy of his people.Further reformsFor two years, 1789-91, the National Assembly worked on preparing a new constitution for France, as well as passing various reforms and new laws.In December 1789 the old, mediaeval French provinces and duchies were replaced by a rational system of local government based on 83 equally-sized Départements, the system still in operation today.Furthermore, the land owned by the Catholic Church in France -- about 10% of all the land in the country -- was nationalised, and in July 1790 the clergy became salaried employees of the state. These moves were strongly opposed by the Church, and many priests went into exile or became focuses of opposition to the new government. The nationalised land was sold off, and this fuelled inflation, a phenomenon that was little-understood at the time.In March 1791, the National Assembly resolved to adopt the metric system, and instructed the Académie des sciences to implement it. It would be formally adopted on 7 April 1795. 1795 was also the year when the old currency system of 12 deniers to the sol, 20 sols to the livre, and 24 livres to the Louis d'or was abolished in favour of one of 100 centimes to the franc.Debate over the future shape of France's constitution led to the creation of factions or parties within the National Assembly. The practice emerged of the conservatives who favoured strong royal authority, with the King having a veto over legislation, sitting on the right-hand side of the National Assembly chamber; and the progressives who favoured more democracy and a monarch who would be merely a figurehead sitting on the left side of the chamber. This is the origin of the terms Right-wing and Left-wing in politics.In 1789 some representatives to the National Assembly formed a social club, which rented premises in a former monastery called the Couvent des Jacobins. As a result, the members were nicknamed 'Jacobins', and eventually adopted this as their official name. The Jacobin Club staged political debates for its members, and discussed radical ideas such as calling for a republic or for universal suffrage. Membership grew rapidly; affiliate societies were set up in other cities in France -- 152 of them by August 1790, over 7,000 by 1792. At its peak the Jacobin Club had half a million members. One of the purposes of the society, according to its constitution, was to discuss in advance questions which were going to be voted on by the National Assembly, so those Jacobins who were delegates to the assembly could form a united front. In effect, the Jacobin Club was an early form of organised political party, and one that was definitely on the left wing of politics as it was then understood.Premises of the Jacobin ClubFlight to VarennesDuring the period from 1789 to 1791 King Louis XVI often seemed paralysed by indecision: unwilling to accept the new democratic constitution that was being developed, but equally reluctant to reject it and crush the reformers by force. His wife, the Austrian-born Queen Marie Antoinette, was felt to have an unhealthy degree of influence over him, making her widely hated. In summer 1791 the King and Queen finally decided to take action.In June they made plans to leave Paris in secret and go to Montmédy, on the border with the Austrian Netherlands in northern France, where an army of 10,000 Royal troops was gathered. Louis would use these troops to impose martial law and force the National Assembly to submit. He would then roll back the reforms of the last two years, including the August Decrees of 1789, and restore the power of the monarchy.At midnight on 21 June 1791 the King and Queen slipped out of the Tuileries palace in disguise: one of the Queen's attendants played the role of a 'Russian baroness', with the King dressed as a valet and the Queen pretending to be the governess of the baroness's children (who were actually her own children). The royal party made their way slowly in a six-horse carriage towards the border, but in the town of Varennes they were spotted when a postmaster recognised the King from seeing his portrait on the banknotes.The royal family were placed under arrest and returned to Paris under armed guard. From then on, they were treated as virtual prisoners within the Tuileries palace.The question of what to do with the King caused fierce debate. Some, including many Jacobins and the even more radical Cordeliers faction, demanded the abolition of the monarchy and the creation of a republic. Moderates wanted to keep the King, but oblige him to swear an oath to follow the new constitution which was being drawn up, and which would limit his powers similarly to those of the British monarchy.On 17 July 1791 a crowd of 50,000 people assembled on the Champs de Mars in Paris to sign a petition calling for an end to the monarchy. The National Guard under the Marquis de Lafayette was ordered to disperse the crowd; stones were thrown and the Guard opened fire in response. Between 12 and 50 protesters were killed; around 200 of the organisers of the demonstration were arrested. This temporarily suppressed the republican movement, though creating much anger that would emerge later.On 3 September 1791, the National Assembly finally published its new Constitution for France. This was comparatively moderate, calling for a separation of powers with the monarchy forming the executive, an elected Legislative Assembly forming the legislative, and an independent judiciary. All Frenchmen owning a certain amount of property would become 'active citizens' and be allowed to vote -- in practice, about 4 million out of France's 25 million people became these active citizens.The King, under pressure, swore to uphold the constitution.However, Louis XVI resented the compulsion he was under, and resisted implementing the new constitution. Instead, he began making rather inept preparations for another counter-coup. He pinned his hopes on foreign intervention, especially from his wife's homeland of Austria.Foreign InterventionMany of the more conservative monarchies of Europe had become alarmed by the rise of republican sentiment in France. In particular the way the king had been treated after the flight to Varennes -- being arrested like a common criminal -- horrified them. There was growing sympathy to help Louis regain his full rights as king. More selfishly, the crowned heads of Europe were worried that if revolution in France were not crushed, the idea would spread to their own countries.On 27 August 1791 King Frederick William II of Prussia and the Holy Roman Emperor Leopold II of Austria (brother of Queen Marie Antoinette) issued the Declaration of Pillnitz. In this, they declared themselves willing to 'act promptly and unanimously, with the forces necessary' to help Louis XVI to strengthen 'the foundations of a monarchical government suiting to the rights of the sovereigns'. In other words, they were willing to intervene by force in France to return Louis to the position of absolute monarch.It is possible that emperor Leopold meant this threat merely as a bluff to pressure the French government into compromising with King Louis, and to satisfy the French emigrés who were gathering at his court that he would take action. However, the Legislative Assembly in France took it seriously as a threat of war.Over the autumn and winter of 1791-2 the Legislative Assembly debated whether to accept the challenge and go to war with Austria, or try to preserve peace. In the end they decided on war, and indeed decided to strike first. In April 1792 the French army invaded the Austrian Netherlands (present-day Belgium), in the hope that the people there would rise up against their Habsburg overlords and join with the French in the name of fraternity (and also, liberty and equality).Sadly that did not happen; and the French army proved to be thoroughly unprepared for war. This was not least because many of its most experienced officers, being noblemen, had fled the country. The invasion failed, and instead in July 1792 a Prussian army invaded France. Its commander, the Duke of Brunswick, issued a proclamation that his intention was to restore the King of France to his full powers, and any Frenchman who sought to prevent this would be treated as a traitor to France, and executed.Europe at the start of the French RevolutionRadical Republic 1792–94The Paris Commune and the September MassacresBrunswick's threats served only to radicalise the French people even further. Over the night of 9/10 August 1792 a new revolutionary city government (the Commune) took control of Paris, and organised an attack on the Tuileries palace the following day, using troops from the National Guard as well as masses of armed citizens, the 'sans-culottes'. Over 4,000 soldiers guarded the palace, but most of them deserted their posts when the revolutionary army approached. The King's Swiss Guard, however, refused to surrender and fought to the last: only about 100 of their 950 original number survived.King Louis XVI sought refuge with the Legislative Assembly, who had not been directly involved in the insurrection. They took him in, but later on 10 August they declared the monarchy 'suspended', 'relieving the king of his task'.The following day, 11 August, they issued a decree starting with the words, "Citoyens, la Patrie est en danger" (Citizens, the country is in danger), and calling on all those who were 'French and free' to 'march to defend all that they hold most dear'. This is often seen as the beginning of the ideology of total war, where an entire people fights rather than war being seen as only a matter for professional soldiers and the government.The new city government of Paris, the Commune (not to be confused with the more notorious Paris Commune of 1871), was dominated by radicals and Jacobins, in particular Georges Danton. While in theory it was only a local government, its effective monopoly of armed force in Paris after the Insurrection of 10 August meant that it had power over the Legislative Assembly, which in effect now met solely by the Commune's grace and favour. The Commune demanded universal suffrage and the arming of the people.One sign of the growing instability in France was the September Massacres. Faced by the advancing Prussian army, many radicals became nervous that the royalists and foreign invaders planned to release the prisoners in the country's jails and arm them to fight against the government. On 2 September, an armed mob including many National Guardsmen attacked prisons in Paris and killed 135 imprisoned people, and also massacred 150 monks in a monastery. Similar massacres took place over the next few days, with kangaroo courts being set up to try prisoners for 'counter-revolutionary activities' and execute them. The Princesse de Lamballe, one of Marie Antoinette's ladies-in-waiting, was among those killed. The Paris Commune did not order these atrocities, but nor did it make any attempt to prevent them.Defeat of the Swiss Guard at the Tuileries on 10 AugustThe end of the MonarchyFollowing the Insurrection of 10 August and the rise of the radical Paris Commune, the Legislative Assembly agreed to step down in favour of a new National Convention. This would be elected by universal male suffrage, rather than the wealth-based franchise introduced previously. An electoral college system was adopted, with primary assemblies held on 26 August, then the indirect election of delegates on 2-10 September. It is estimated that only about 12% of those eligible to vote actually did so; democracy was still new and mistrusted.The National Convention first met on 20 September 1792. It acted as both legislature and executive, setting up committees to handle specific matters: the Comité de salut public (Committee of Public Safety), set up in April 1793 to handle both exterior defence and internal security, is the most notorious. The Convention elected a new President to chair its discussions every two weeks.One day after being formed, on 21 September 1793, the National Convention passed the fateful decree by a unanimous voice vote:La Convention nationale décrète que la royauté est abolie en France.(The National Convention decrees that royalty is abolished in France)The following day news reached Paris of the Battle of Valmy, which had been fought on 20 September. The invading Prussian and Austrian army of the Duke of Brunswick, 84,000 strong, had been advancing methodically towards Paris through August and September. At Valmy they were confronted by a French army, slightly smaller and comprised of about half old-line regulars from the Royal army, and half enthusiastic but inexperienced volunteers. Despite the French inferiority, the Germans did not press their attack, but after a brief skirmish retreated from the field and headed back to the Rhine. Total casualties were very light -- only a couple of hundred or so on each side -- but since the French had been anticipating disaster, it seemed a miraculous victory.To commemorate this, 22 September 1793 was retrospectively renamed the first day of the new year, Year One of the Republic.Battle of Valmy: in Goethe’s words, a new epoch in the history of the world beginsExecution of Louis XVIThe National Convention had abolished the monarchy, but argument raged over what to do with the former monarch. France was still at war with multiple foreign powers which were determined to restore Louis XVI to power.The Jacobins dominated the National Convention, but now a division had arisen within their own ranks. The Girondin faction, whose most notable spokesman was Jacques Brissot, were more moderate and argued for clemency towards the ex-king. The Montagnards, led by Maximilien Robespierre, were more radical, and saw Louis as a traitor to France and a tool in the hands of its enemies. Robespierre made an influential speech declaring that while he felt no hatred for Louis personally, liberty would never be secure while he remained alive:With regret I pronounce this fatal truth: Louis must die so that the nation may live.On 20 November, a secret cabinet, the armoire de fer (‘iron wardrobe’) was discovered hidden in the walls of the Tuileries palace. This contained copies of the King's correspondence with his ministers over the last few years, proving that he really had been conspiring with foreign powers to overthrow the democratic government and the constitution, just as his opponents had charged. The papers also revealed large-scale bribery and corruption. The discovery triggered great anger against Louis XVI, and gave the Montagnard faction the upper hand in deciding his fate.On 10 December 1792 Citizen Louis Capet, as he was described, was placed on trial before the National Convention. The indictment contained 33 charges, but they were summed up as "committing a multitude of crimes to establish your tyranny and destroy the freedom of the French Nation".The case lasted several weeks. On 14-15 January the convention found Louis guilty, by a vote of 693 to none with 49 abstentions or absences. They then proceeded to vote on what punishment he should face: 395 voted for death, 321 for imprisonment or banishment.A guillotine was set up in the Place de la Révolution (now the Place de la Concorde) in the centre of Paris, and at 10:22 on the morning of 21 January 1793 the former King was beheaded.The (former) King’s executionWorsening situationThe Battle of Valmy back in August 1792 had stopped the foreign invasion, and French armies even followed it up by advancing into Belgium and over the Rhine into Germany. However, the execution of ex-King Louis horrified the rest of Europe, and by the middle of 1793 France was not only at war with Austria and Prussia, but also with Britain, the Netherlands, Spain, Portugal, Sardinia, Naples, and the Holy Roman Empire.Civil war also erupted in parts of France. The Vendée region lay along the west coast, and in March 1793 the people there began rioting in protest against the imposition of conscription. The protests quickly assumed an anti-revolutionary tone, and a rebel force calling itself the 'Catholic and Royal Army' took up arms against the Republic. The National Convention responded by sending 45,000 troops to suppress the rebellion, but their initial efforts met with defeat. The situation in the Vendée became a full-scale war.The conflict in the Vendée was the most serious, but smaller-scale outbreaks of violence occurred throughout France. Most were suppressed with harsh measures, but they contributed to an atmosphere of fear and growing instability.The economic situation remained in crisis as well. The government had attempted to finance its operations by printing paper money, leading inevitably to inflation. Poor harvests and the disruption caused by war added to the misery. The government attempted to rectify the situation by passing the 'Law of the Maximum' in May 1793 which imposed price controls on the cost of bread and other essentials, with harsh penalties for hoarders and profiteers. By the end of the year they were reduced to sending troops out into the countryside to confiscate food from farmers by force and bring it back to the cities to feed the hungry people there.Vendée rebellionThe Reign of TerrorThe National Convention responded to the growing unrest by creating two powerful bodies in spring 1793: the Tribunal révolutionnaire (Revolutionary Tribunal), a court set up to try enemies of the revolution; and the Comité de salut public (Committee of Public Safety), with powers to supervise both military and judicial affairs to ensure the safety of the nation. Georges Danton described the Committee as 'a hand to grasp the weapon of the Revolutionary Tribunal': it quickly became the de facto ruling body of France.Jean-Paul Marat was a radical journalist who advocated for the sans-culottes, the working-class poor of Paris who were becoming increasingly angry at the situation facing them. He was elected to the National Convention in September 1792 and became an outspoken opponent of the moderate Girondins. They arranged for him to be put on trial before the Revolutionary Tribunal in April 1793, but he was acquitted. (Marat's vindication did not last long: he was murdered, in his bath, three months later.)Undaunted by this setback, the Girondins ordered the arrest of several more radical members of the Paris Commune in May. This backfired on them: on 31 May an insurrection led by radical Montagnards and the National Guard under François Hanriot seized power in Paris, and it was the Girondins who suffered mass arrests. Sans-culottes filled the streets of Paris demanding the deaths of their enemies. On 24 October 22 leading Girondin politicians were accused of treason before the Revolutionary Tribunal, and were executed en masse a week later. Many other Girondins fled from Paris, but they were mostly also rounded up and executed. The Montagnards were now in control.Faced with rebellion in the Vendée, foreign invasion, rampant inflation and food shortages, and a belief that there were spies and counter-revolutionaries everywhere, the Committee of Public Safety decided to impose the harshest possible measures to suppress opposition. Robespierre justified the use of terror (la terreur) as a way to ensure peace and stability:Terror is nothing more than speedy, severe and inflexible justice; it is thus an emanation of virtue; it is less a principle in itself, than a consequence of the general principle of democracy, applied to the most pressing needs of the fatherland.In a single year, June 1793-July 1794, the revolutionary government imposed no less than 16,594 official death sentences, but the actual death toll of the Terror is believed to be around 100,000, most of them in the western regions of the Vendée and Brittany where those suspected of supporting the rebels were massacred.Notable victims of the Terror included former Queen Marie Antoinette, the scientist Antoine Lavoisier, the Girondin leader Jacques Brissot, the proto-feminist Olympe de Gouges -- and also, many former revolutionary leaders who now found themselves on the wrong side of the tribunal bench. In a pamphlet written in 1793 the journalist Jacques Mallet du Pan coined the expression 'the Revolution eats its own children'.The ‘incorruptible’ Maximilien RobespierreThe peak of radicalismWhile the guillotine was busy in Paris and counter-revolutionaries were being drowned or shot in Nantes, the Committee of Public Safety continued to push its revolutionary agenda further. What made people like Robespierre terrifying was that they were not greedy for power for its own sake: they were genuine idealists convinced that they were right, and that any who opposed them deserved death.The laws against profiteering and hoarding were extended, and in September 1793 wage control was introduced in a (futile) attempt to stop the spiralling inflation. The lands and property of 'enemies of the people' were subject to confiscation, to be distributed among the poor. Laws were passed guaranteeing free education for all, though in practice there was neither the money nor the teachers to make this possible.Slavery was abolished throughout the French empire on 4 February 1794, following a slave revolt in Saint-Domingue (now Haiti):The National Convention declares that the slavery of the Negroes in all the Colonies is abolished; consequently, it decrees that all men, without distinction of colour, domiciled in the colonies, are French citizens, and will enjoy all the rights guaranteed by the constitution.Sadly, slavery was reintroduced in 1802 after Napoleon took power, and would not be abolished for good in French colonies until 1848.In October a new revolutionary calendar was introduced, with twelve months of 30 days plus five (or six) extra days at the end of the year. The first day of the Republic (22 September 1792) was declared '1 Vendémiaire, Year I'; the date the calendar was adopted (24 October 1793) was 3 Brumaire, Year II.A symbolic measure was the Décret sur le tutoiement obligatoire of 8 November 1793, which made it obligatory for French citizens to address everybody using the familiar 'tu' rather than the respectful 'vous', in order to remove hierarchical distinctions in society. This law failed in its objective and was soon forgotten.Dechristianisation measures were introduced, building on the widespread hatred of the Church as a former ally of the nobility and monarchy. Catholic churches were closed down, and religious iconography and artefacts such as statues, crosses and bells were destroyed or sold off. Around 30,000 priests fled France. Robespierre, however, was an opponent of atheism, and promoted a deistic 'Cult of the Supreme Being' which acknowledged the existence of God and the immortal soul, but claimed to be founded on reason and civic virtue rather than Christian superstition. Under Robespierre's urging, the Cult of the Supreme Being was declared France's official religion on 7 May 1794.Festival of the Supreme BeingWar of the First CoalitionWith France at war with most of Europe, emergency measures were necessary to ensure survival. On 23 August 1793 the National Convention declared the levée en masse ('mass levy'), the total mobilisation for war of the French nation:From this moment until its enemies have been driven from the soil of the Republic, the French people are in permanent requisition for the service of the armies. The young men shall fight; the married men shall forge arms and transport provisions; the women shall make tents and clothes and shall serve in the hospitals; the children shall turn old linen into bandages; the old men shall betake themselves to the public squares in order to arouse the courage of the warriors and preach hatred of kings and the unity of the Republic.This was, quite literally, a revolutionary move. The Austrians and Prussians had invaded France the previous year with 84,000 men. Thanks to the levée en masse, France would now raise an army 804,000 strong, ten times larger and made up of highly-motivated citizen soldiers. This was the biggest army Europe had ever seen, and France's enemies would be overwhelmed by its power.The coalition of Great Powers which had formed to strangle the revolution in its cradle instead found itself under attack. French armies overran Belgium, invaded Italy and Spain, occupied western Germany, and conquered Switzerland and the Netherlands. Prussia surrendered to France in April 1795, Spain surrendered in July 1795, and Austria surrendered in October 1797. Of the Great Powers, only Britain remained at war with revolutionary France, and they could do little except impose a naval blockade.As the French armies marched, they created a series of 'sister republics' in their wake. The most important of these was the Batavian Republic, formerly the Republic of the Netherlands, proclaimed on 19 January 1795. Others included the Cisalpine Republic of 1797 in northern Italy and the Helvetic Republic (formerly Switzerland) of 1798.The French saw themselves as liberating the ordinary people of these new republics from the chains of monarchy and feudalism. It does seem to be true that many people welcomed them at first (though obviously, the kings and feudal nobles were unhappy), though the goodwill faded during Napoleon's endless wars and his demands for troops and support.The preamble of the constitution of the Cisalpine Republic issued on 29 June 1797 gives a taste of the ideas in play:For a great number of years there existed no republic in Italy. The sacred fire of liberty was extinguished, and the finest part of Europe was under the yoke of strangers. It belongs to the Cisalpine Republic to show to the world by its wisdom, its energy, and the good organisation of its armies, that modern Italy is not degenerated, and is still worthy of liberty.War of the First Coalition: the opposing sidesReactionThermidorBy July 1794, the Committee of Public Safety under Robespierre appeared to be stabilising its power. The Vendée rebellion had been brutally brought under control, and the Battle of Fleurus (in Flanders) on 26 June was a major French victory. In Paris, the Festival of the Supreme Being on 8 June was an ostentatious demonstration of Robespierre's favoured new religion.By 28 July 1794 Robespierre was dead, killed by his own guillotine.The reasons for his sudden overthrow were many. Some were upset with his religious policy. Others felt that the defeat of France's foreign enemies by the armies of the Republic meant that the extreme policies of the Committee of Public Safety were no longer necessary. The final trigger was a speech Robespierre gave to the National Convention on 26 July denouncing 'traitors and conspirators' within the government. Many of his opponents feared that this was a prelude to their arrest and execution, and decided to act first.27 July 1794 was 9 Thermidor Year II according to the revolutionary calendar, so the events of that day became known as 'Thermidor'. Robespierre's ally Louis Antoine de Saint-Just was making a speech when deputies of the National Convention began loudly denouncing the government. Robespierre attempted to intervene but was shouted down. He retreated to the city hall, while the Convention voted for his arrest.There was a stand-off between troops loyal to Robespierre and those loyal to the National Convention, but the Robespierre loyalists had no heart for a confrontation and retreated. At two o'clock in the morning soldiers under Paul Barras stormed the Hôtel de Ville. Robespierre was shot in the face, breaking his jaw -- it is not known if he was injured by one of the soldiers trying to capture him, or if this was a failed attempt at suicide. The following day he was summarily executed, with no trial, along with 21 of his close allies. The day after, 70 members of the Paris Commune were also executed.The Thermidorian ReactionThe National Convention regained power after the Thermidor coup, and the Committee of Public Safety lost much of its influence (it was abolished in October 1795). The Jacobin Club was closed down in October 1794. There were widespread arrests of supporters of the previous regime. Food riots by the sans-culottes of Paris in April 1795 were harshly suppressed, with 36 executions and over 1,000 imprisoned.Many of the more disliked laws of the last year or two were repealed: the Cult of the Supreme Being was wound down and freedom of worship reintroduced. Controls over prices and wages were removed, which was popular but led to even more inflation. Press censorship was relaxed.Public anger against the people responsible for the Terror was slow to grow, but grew stronger and often spilled over into illegal activities. The so-called 'White Terror' of April-June 1795 saw over a thousand suspected or former Jacobins being murdered by mobs, with notable incidents in Marseilles and Lyon.The DirectorySoon after the overthrow of Robespierre, the National Convention began drafting a new constitution, which was deliberately designed to include checks and balances to prevent any one person from ever again gaining supreme power in the state. The constitution was published on 5 Fructidor Year III (22 August 1795) and is thus known as the 'Constitution of Year III'.The new system included an elected judiciary, a bicameral parliament, and a five-man executive called the Directoire (Directory). The Conseil des Cinq-Cents (Council of 500) was elected by property-owning citizens and served as the main legislative body. The Conseil des Anciens (Council of Elders) comprised 250 members who had a veto over laws proposed by the lower house, but could not propose laws of their own; membership was restricted to those over 40. The Directory was formed by the Council of 500 drawing up a list of names, and the Council of Elders choosing five people from the list. One member of the Directory was required to step down and be replaced each year.The Directory ruled France for four years, until November 1799 when it was overthrown by Napoleon. Only one man served on the Directory for the entire duration of its term: Paul Barras, the man who had led the troops to attack Robespierre during the Thermidor coup. Although it lasted longer in power than previous republican governments, the Directory's rule was not without incident.In September 1795 a force of 2,000 Royalist emigrés and 1,000 British troops commanded by the Comte d'Artois (brother of the deceased King Louis XVI) landed in the Vendée and joined with the insurgents there. Rumours that they were marching on Paris sparkled off a Royalist revolt in the capital itself. The troops loyal to the Directory there were outnumbered. However on 5 October (13 Vendémiaire) the 26-year old Brigadier-General Napoleon Buonaparte sent a subordinate, Sub-Lieutenant Murat, to seize 40 cannons from a nearby depot and set them up in the streets of Paris. In a two-hour battle Napoleon's force, outnumbered six to one, drove off the attacking rebels with a 'whiff of grapeshot'. As a reward, he was promoted to command of the French army in Italy.The whiff of grapeshotThe Scottish historian Thomas Carlyle, writing in 1837, declared that the events of 13 Vendémiaire marked the end of the Revolution: "the thing we specifically call French Revolution is blown into space by it, and become a thing that was!" The Paris mob was no longer able to dictate the course of events, as it had ever since the storming of the Bastille.Order had reimposed itself, even if it was now a republican order. A new upper middle class of bankers, officials and army officers replaced the old hereditary aristocracy and grew rich: fashionable restaurants and theatres sprang up in Paris, and a new dance, the waltz, took society by storm. In 1797 General Buonaparte sent wagon-loads of Renaissance artworks back from his victories in Italy, which were used to set up an art museum in the old royal palace of the Louvre…

Kerala has successfully overcome the massive floods of 2018. The flood was indeed of massive size, affecting lives of almost people of entire Kerala. This disaster struck nearly 11 districts out of 14 of Kerala in its terrible way while affecting the state as a whole. Approx 1 million lost their homes, 100s of bridges, roads, hospitals, schools, workplaces etc got washed away. Neary 10 million Malayalees have been affected economically.Despite twice the size of Uttarakhand/Bihar floods and nearly 4 times greater than Gujarat Floods of 2017, the casualty rate of this flood is comparatively very low, thanks to an extremely proactive rescue mission with the support of all people both inside and outside the state. Now rescue activities are completely over and relief activities are in its last phase. We definitely thank all those kind-hearted people who supported us in our times of distress with massive pouring in of relief materials.Now, its time for rehabilitation and our government has decided to rebuild the state as part of it. Many people lost everything that they built up over years. At the moment, they need support for all.How can you help?DonationOf course, its time to rebuild and the state needs huge money to rebuild. Initial figures pegs that to around 20k+ Crore (USD 3 Billion+). It's very close to annual plan outlay of Kerala state.Of course, Govt will raise a good percentage of this thro’ loans and tax collections. But definitely, that won’t suffice to raise this much amount at shortest period of time. So we seek all kind-hearted humans to donate to Chief Minister’s Relief Fund.Being the official legal fund of Kerala state which is subjected to legislative scrutiny and audited by National auditors- CAG India, it's indeed the most secure and safest fund to donate. And it's indeed transparent tooIn addition, CMDRF has promised all sense of transparency with real-time updates of donations to the fund. Donors will get 100% exemption from tax as well as 50% rebate over their annual returns as they get an official state certificate.Real-time updates of deposits made into the fund and details of expenditure are also available online.Official certificate issued to donors who make donations to CMDRFDonating to CMDRF is easy as it can be done online as well as through Unified Payment Interface (UPI) of various banks apart from other popular e-wallets. International donors can also donate via their foreign credit cards. Many countries like UAE, Qatar, Oman, Canada, Singapore, Malaysia has approved CMDRF and waived all legal transaction/transfer fees applicable in their countries (which may vary bank-to-bank, which need to be cross-checked).Donation Portal: Kerala Chief Minister's Distress Relief Fund (CMDRF)Multiple gateway options for donating to Kerala CMDRF.Salary ChallengeKerala Government has now started an official #SALARY CHALLENGE to the entire Malayalee community both in India and outside. Kerala is your home and every Malayalee has to rebuild their homes as a matter of highest personal priority. Kerala CM- Pinarayi Vijayan has requested to entire Malayalees, to donate their one month salary to help Kerala. As its impossible for many to donate one month in one-go, the state has sought the support of the public by donating 3 days of salary for next 10 months or appropriate installments as suiting to one’s financial conditions. Most of the residents in Kerala has responded positively to it and they are indeed pledging their salaries to the state.Salary Challenge made to entire Malayalee communityThough Kerala hasn’t formally requested Non-Malayalees for Salary Challenge, definitely we welcome everyone to be part of this movement. Our beloved neighbors- Tamil Nadu has shown the perfect way when the entire Government staff of Tamil Nadu (including the lowest grade workers) declared donating their two-day salary to Kerala, which generated more than INR 200 Crore. Same way Railways, Andhra Government Employees as well as SBI and many companies are now taking part in Salary ChallengeTamil Nadu government employees extend help to aid Kerala - Times of IndiaCentral Railway staff to contribute part of salary to Kerala relief fund - Times of IndiaIf you can contribute your salary of a day or two, it shall definitely be helpful for a state reeling under crisis at the moment. Apart from your personal commitment, you can challenge your friends to be part of such movement which can become viral and thus helpful for the state much on likes of Ice-Bucket challenge etc.Salary challenge being initiated across the country and voluntarily done by othersPensioners/veterans giving up their pensions as part of Salary challenge.Physical SupportIf you can’t support financially, its okay. You can donate your valuable time and skills to Kerala’s growth. You can participate as volunteers to clean up a place or help in counseling someone who been traumatized or contribute your knowledge/expertise in various reconstruction activities. If you are a doctor, we seek your medical support for 2 to 5 days in many areas and thus helping in combating the spread of any post-flood epidemics. If you are an architect, you can help in assisting in developing low-cost housing plans or community living etc. If you are a teacher, you can support by enrolling yourself as a temporary tutor in smaller villages for school going students to finish the curriculum before exams. If you are a plumber or electrician or mason or carpenter etc, we need you the most. Contribute 5 to 10 days of your work for helping Kerala. So in every way, you can help.Recently a youth organization- AIYF (an affiliate youth group of CPI) has assured 1 lakh man-days of their members (10,000 members working 10 days in a month for free) in various construction activities. This will help in controlling costs. Same way, the Indian Institute of Architects have come up with an idea of developing mass houses using Ferro-cements which is much stronger, lower in costs and can be built in short periods. So as KMPG has come forward to develop a master plan for Kerala in its process to rebuild the state.If you or your organization capable of extending your skills or expertise, we welcome you. As an organization or a larger team ready to offer any expertise or technical support, you are advised to talk to Chief Secretary of Kerala or Industries Minister or District Collectors directly who can assist you on this.As for individual support, you can extend your support viaTogether We Begin!The above site is part of Compassionate Keralam Project where you can offer your support/skills in rebuilding the state.Compassionate Keralam is another better way to link yourself to assist people who are in need of services. It's a famous model set by former District Collector of Kozhikode- Prasanth Nair IAS who is currently Deputy Secretary for Industries and Information technology- Govt of India. Compassionate Keralam is a unique model of assisting people without the concept of charity.Remember, most of South Indians, particularly Keralites regard their self-esteem as equal to life. Hence, rather than a public charity, the concept is to help each other and set up a permanent model where needy be served without creating a feeling of being a subject of charity.You can be part of rebuilding a state by adopting a distressed family. The concept is, you extend your own family by adding new members to it. Pledge an amount you can offer to support a family and the team will identify the right family who can be supported for the amount you offer. This will be used for rebuilding their lives and helping them to push back their life into old track.You can donate money to them, as they are now offering 25,000 scholarships to meritorious students at bottom of the pyramid, who lost everything they had.Support Kerala initiatives.A worthy example of Support Entrepreneurial model as set by VPS Healthcare which has set up a Rs 50 Crore corpus fund to assist and develop units that uplift the society. VPS Chairman Shamsheer meeting E.Sreedharan who will be the chairman of Task Force set up the companyAnother way to help people to rebuild their lives is supporting their entrepreneurial activities. Instead of offering charity, offer them interest-free loans, provide managerial expertise and support, networking opportunities for various start-up and entrepreneurial ventures which are going to be started by those affected by floods. Identify entrepreneurial groups or SME units affected (which can be done through various NGOs in Kerala or via District collectors), offer them assistance with a clear-cut business plan and work together.Various Churches and community groups in Kerala set up corpus funds intended to develop a region (in form of adopting a region) or offering a set of development activities that can support people of affected regions economically. For example, Archdiocese of Changanassery announced setting up of a fund of Rs 100 crore for development of Kuttanadu in Alleppey. Same way Amrita Mutt setting up a Rs 70 crore corpus fund for redevelopment. Indian National Congress announced a mega project of Rs 50 Crore by constructing 5000 houses in affected areas.Fundraiser programs held in many parts of the world to supportAnother way is through organizing fundraiser programs in your place to source more funds and contribute to the state.Purchase more Kerala goods and Kerala brands for your day-to-day life activities. This will help many affected business units to revive and help others automatically.One model has been recently put forward by Rouka and Mantra, prominent fashion designer studios in Kochi. They are buying out Rs 40 Lakh worth stock made by loomers and designers of Kerala sarees (and Mundu/Dhoti) which is available for sale. This amount goes to these handloom units which were seriously affected by floods, so as they do have initial capital to rebuild their lives. For you, you can enjoy a day in ethnic Kerala fashion which indirectly helps thousands of flood-affected victims.Same way there was multiple ways you can help distressed business units in flood-affected areas to rebuild the units back.Visit KeralaAnother effective way to help Kerala is actually visiting the state. Remember, tourism is a very big industry in the state. It approximately generates a revenue of 30–40K Crore to the state. Yes, some of the key tourist destinations like Munnar etc may not be accessible as it used to be in past. Still there are many destinations in the state, which can support tourists and ready to welcome them. Districts like Trivandrum, Kollam, Kasargod weren’t affected by floods. So as many areas of Ernakulam (Kochi), especially its key tourist belts like Fort Kochi weren’t affected. Many areas of Alleppey are now back to its old state (even if some places are still under water).Image taken from Amar Singh Solanki's facebook page that highlights Kerala Tourism is back to normalDefinitely, most of hotels and resorts are now open for business. When you visit Kerala and spend the money, it boosts the economy and helps the state in a big way. Remember, Kerala tourism is much more experiential than sightseeing. The key asset of any experiential tourism lies in its people who are still the same to gives back the best experiences of a lifetime for our guests.Kerala Trip post floods September 2018- to go or not to goThe Blue YonderReviving Kerala tourismBooks and educational supportOne crisis which seems to be less reported is the lack of books and educational materials. A huge percentage of Government schools and its infrastructure has been washed away. Many schools and college students lost their books and educational instruments. Kerala is one state that has the highest number of public libraries and its something deeply ingrained into public life. Many libraries across the state, lost their books and resources.While the state government has assured that every student in the State Syllabus will get new textbooks for free, the worst affected are students of Central Syllabus like CBSE, ICSE etc. CBSE Schools are so widespread even in rural areas of Kerala, so many students of the lower middle-income group lost their textbooks which aren’t getting replaced. It would be ideal if one can contribute their previous year's textbooks and other CBSE/ICSE syllabus books of all grades (original books or photocopy versions or digital versions) apart from learning aids like notebooks, pencils, pens, compass sets, water bottles, school bags etc.Youngsters helping in to put new books and handwritten texts to help students in affected area.So as Libraries Council of Kerala is now requesting all kind-hearted individuals to contribute any books of importance, reference books, encyclopedias, novels, literary works of famous writers etc which one may find one’s shelves at homes unused/under-used. These books will have more takers if it’s kept in a library, which otherwise gets dusted in your house (Note, kindly donate only English, Malayalam, Tamil books as there is little use in getting books in languages which can’t be understood).Call For Public Participation In Rebuilding Flood-Damaged Libraries In Kerala