The Han dynasty is one of the most important dynasties of China. There were
lots of prominent achievements during the reign of the Han dynasty. Being the
first to open the door to other cultures, it excelled in its foreign trade. The
Silk Road paved in the Han dynasty led to Central and Western Asia, and even to
Rome. With all sorts of art schools flourishing, there appeared many great works
in literary, history, and philosophy. In 100 A.D., China’s first dictionary was
completed, which included 9000 characters, providing different ways of writing
the characters as well as their definitions. During that period, the science and
technology had made great progress, too: the paper, the water clock, the sundial
and the instrument used for seismic survey were invented. Though the Han dynasty
had a history of 400 years, the corruption of its rulers finally lead to its
collapse.