Han Dynasty (206 B.C.-A.D. 220)and "Silk Road "

Liu Bang (liú bāng 刘邦) established the powerful Han Dynasty (hàn cháo 汉朝) in 206 B.C. During the Han Dynasty, agriculture, handicrafts and commerce flourished, and the population reached 50 million. During the most prosperous period of the Han Dynasty, Emperor Wudi (hàn wǔ dì 汉武帝, 140-87 B.C.) expanded from the Central Plains (zhōng yuán 中原) to the Western Regions (xī yù 西域, present-day Xinjiang and Central Asia).
 
Emperor Wudi dispatched Zhang Qian (zhāng qiān 张骞) twice as his envoy to the Western Regions, and in the process pioneered the route known as the "Silk Road"(sī chóu zhī lù 丝绸之路) from Chang'an (cháng ān 长安, today's Xi'an, Shaanxi Province), through Xinjiang (xīn jiāng 新疆) and Central Asia, and on to the east coast of the Mediterranean Sea. China's silk goods were traded to the West along the Silk Road. As contacts between the East and West increased, Buddhism spread to China in the first century. In 105, an official named Cai Lun (cài lún 蔡伦) invented a technique for making fine paper, leading to a revolution in communications and learning.


汉代（公元前206—公元220年）和“丝绸之路”

公元前206年，刘邦建立了强大的汉王朝。汉代的农业、手工业、商业都有了极大发展，人口达到5000万。汉武帝刘彻在位期间（公元前140—前87年）是汉王朝最为强盛的时期，他使中央政权实际控制的地方从中原扩展到了西域（今新疆及中亚一带）。他派使臣张骞两次出使西域，打开了从长安（今陕西西安）经新疆、中亚直抵地中海东岸的道路，被称为“丝绸之路”，中国绚丽的丝织品经此源源西运。随着东西交往的密切，佛教也于公元一世纪时传入中国。公元105年，官员蔡伦总结了民间造纸的经验，发明了造纸术，使人类的书写材料发生了根本性变化。