Emperor Han Wudi’s reign sees great territorial…

Emperor Han Wudi’s reign sees great territorial expansion and a burst of economic and cultural activity.

His armies push north and west into central Asia, east to Korea, and south to the coast.

Commerce with the states of western Asia increases, silk becomes a major export, and inventors discover ways to make paper and porcelain.

Han historiographer Sima Qian writes Shiqi (Shih chi) ("The Records of the Historians"), which will serve as the prototype for the official histories of successive dynasties.

Han scholars direct their efforts to find or reconstruct the Zhou classics banned during the Qin dynasty.

Confucianism begins to replace Legalism as the Han dynasty’s orthodox philosophy.