❖ Cinematic Curriculum ❖

THE HAN DYNASTY
IN FILM & SERIES

From Liu Bang's rise to the Three Kingdoms collapse

206 BC - 220 AD

Phase I

206 - 202 BC

The Chu-Han Contention

Liu Bang versus Xiang Yu - warlord struggle after Qin collapse - the Han dynasty is founded through battlefield strategy

SERIES King's War / The Legend of Chu and Han (2012)

FILM The Last Supper (2012)

⟡ The series is the full arc; the film is a sharp companion piece.

Character Spotlight - Liu Bang

King's War gives the most complete screen portrait of Liu Bang's rise from peasant rebel to imperial founder.

Phase II

202 - 180 BC

Gaozu's Consolidation and Empress Lu

Liu Bang stabilizes the realm - feudal kingdoms curbed - Empress Lu rules as regent - court factions begin to harden

SERIES The Story of Han Dynasty (2003)

⟡ The Story of Han Dynasty is the best broad overview for early Western Han.

Phase III

180 - 141 BC

The Wen-Jing Recovery

Economic recovery after civil war - light taxes and reduced penalties - population growth and stability known as the Rule of Wen and Jing

SERIES The Story of Han Dynasty (2003)

⟡ This era is most visible as a calm interlude inside the series.

Phase IV

141 - 87 BC

Emperor Wu and the Silk Road

Military expansion against the Xiongnu - opening of the Silk Road - Confucian statecraft becomes orthodox - imperial power reaches its height

SERIES Da Han Tian Zi / The Prince of Han Dynasty (2001)

SERIES The Emperor in Han Dynasty (2005)

SERIES The Story of Han Dynasty (2003)

⟡ Da Han Tian Zi is character focused; Emperor in Han Dynasty is political scale.

Character Spotlight - Emperor Wu

The Emperor in Han Dynasty offers the most detailed screen portrait of Han Wudi and his expansionist era.

Phase V

87 - 1 BC

Late Western Han and Court Factions

Regencies and powerful clans - Wang Zhengjun and her family dominate court politics - imperial authority erodes from within

SERIES The Queens (2008)

SERIES The Story of Han Dynasty (2003)

⟡ The Queens focuses on Empress Wang Zhengjun and the factional era.

Phase VI

9 - 23 AD

Wang Mang and the Xin Interregnum

Wang Mang usurps the throne - radical reforms destabilize the realm - Red Eyebrows rebellion ends the Xin dynasty

SERIES The Story of Han Dynasty (2003)

⟡ This short interregnum is covered inside broader Han dramatizations.

Phase VII

25 - 57 AD

Eastern Han Restoration

Emperor Guangwu restores Han rule - capital moves to Luoyang - recovery after civil war

SERIES The Story of Han Dynasty (2003)

⟡ Use the series as the bridge into the Eastern Han era.

Phase VIII

57 - 166 AD

Eastern Han Prosperity and the Silk Road

Ban Chao expands influence in Central Asia - trade networks flourish - Han culture spreads across the region

SERIES The Story of Han Dynasty (2003)

⟡ The series provides the most accessible overview of this prosperity phase.

Phase IX

166 - 184 AD

Eunuchs, Factionalism, and Crisis

Court eunuchs dominate politics - scholar-official purges - disasters and unrest set the stage for rebellion

SERIES Three Kingdoms (2010)

SERIES The Story of Han Dynasty (2003)

⟡ Three Kingdoms opens on the era of decay that precedes the collapse.

Phase X

184 - 220 AD

Yellow Turbans and the Three Kingdoms Break

Yellow Turban rebellion - warlords carve the empire - Han authority ends - the Three Kingdoms era begins

SERIES Three Kingdoms (2010)

FILM Red Cliff (2008)

⟡ Three Kingdoms is the full political collapse; Red Cliff is the cinematic battle peak.

THE HAN DYNASTY FALLS

220 AD

FILM Feature Film

SERIES TV Series

MINI Miniseries

DOC Documentary

DRAMA Docudrama

⟡ parallel / optional