Han

Han [CP].
Chinese dynasty spanning the period 206 BC to AD 220 with an interregnum between AD 9 and AD 25 which separated the early (western) period from the later (eastern) period. The Han Dynasty was the first centralized state in China after the unification of the separate kingdoms by Qin in 221 BC. During the Han Dynasty trade routes to the west were opened and the court instituted monopolies on iron and salt. Some aristocratic burials of the period are extremely rich.