Category:Han period

The Han period (汉代, 206 BCE – 220 CE) marks the consolidation of a unified imperial state in China following the Qin dynasty and the establishment of enduring administrative, cultural, and ideological frameworks. The Han dynasty is divided into the Western Han (206 BCE – 9 CE) and Eastern Han (25–220 CE) periods, with an intervening interregnum. During this era, population growth, agricultural expansion, state-supported infrastructure, and stable governance contributed to the formation of a complex and stratified society.

In material culture, the Han period is characterized by the development of standardized ceramic production for both daily use and funerary contexts. Low-fired earthenwares and proto-stonewares, often covered with lead glazes in green and brown tones, were commonly used for tomb models (明器), architectural miniatures, vessels, and ceremonial forms. These objects reflect contemporaneous beliefs concerning the continuity of the household in the afterlife and the importance of symbolic provisioning for the deceased.

Bronze casting, lacquerware production, jade carving, and textile weaving also remained technically and artistically significant. The period saw the expansion of regional artistic traditions along networks linked to the imperial capitals of Chang'an and Luoyang, and the emergence of cultural exchange across the Eurasian continent through early phases of the Silk Road.

The Han period established many of the institutional and aesthetic structures that shaped subsequent Chinese artistic production, including workshop organization, stylistic vocabulary, and the relationship between official and regional craft traditions.