The Han Dynasty (206 BC - 220 AD)

The Han Dynasty, established China's golden age, creating political and cultural foundations that endured for millennia. Its centralized bureaucracy, civil service exams, and Silk Road trade brought unprecedented prosperity and territorial expansion. However, later corruption, peasant revolts like the Yellow Turban Rebellion, and warlord conflicts gradually weakened imperial authority. The dynasty finally collapsed into the Three Kingdoms period, ending four centuries of Han rule. Despite its fall, the Han legacy shaped Chinese identity, with its governing systems, Confucian ideals, and technological advances influencing all subsequent dynasties.