Rule Of Wen And Jing

The Rule of Wen and Jing ( zh, c=文景之治, p=wén jǐng zhī zhì, 180 BC – 141 BC) refers to the reigns of

Emperor Wen of Han Emperor Wen of Han (; 203/202 – 6 July 157 BCE), born Liu Heng (), was the fifth emperor of the Western Han dynasty in China from 180 to his death in 157 BCE. The son of Emperor Gao and Consort Bo, his reign provided a much needed stability a ...

and his son

Emperor Jing of Han Emperor Jing of Han (Liu Qi (劉啟); 188 BC – 9 March 141 BC) was the sixth emperor of the Chinese Han dynasty from 157 to 141 BC. His reign saw the limiting of the power of the feudal kings/princes which resulted in the Rebellion of the Sev ...

, a period known for the benevolence and thriftiness of the emperors, reduction in tax and other burdens on the people, pacifism, and general stability. The Rule of Wen and Jing was marked by

Taoist Taoism (, ) or Daoism () refers to either a school of philosophical thought (道家; ''daojia'') or to a religion (道教; ''daojiao''), both of which share ideas and concepts of Chinese origin and emphasize living in harmony with the ''Tao'' ...

influences in political theory, due to the influence of Emperor Wen's wife and Emperor Jing's mother, Empress Dou. Taoist influence on government did not truly end until her death in 135 BC, during the reign of her grandson

Emperor Wu of Han Emperor Wu of Han (156 – 29 March 87BC), formally enshrined as Emperor Wu the Filial (), born Liu Che (劉徹) and courtesy name Tong (通), was the seventh emperor of the Han dynasty of ancient China, ruling from 141 to 87 BC. His reign la ...

. The Rule of Wen and Jing is often viewed as one of the golden ages in Chinese history, in particularly the Western Han dynasty, and it paved the way for the long and stable reign of Emperor Wu. It also enabled Emperor Wu to maintain a powerful army and employ an aggressive foreign policy, which greatly expanded the empire and ultimately pushed the Han dynasty to its zenith. The main criticism against it, however, was that it made the rich richer and the poor poorer, due to the lack of mechanisms to redistribute wealth. Emperor Wu's long reign of 54 years from 141 to 87 BC thoroughly depleted the empire's coffers, which took Emperor Wen and Jing decades to establish. The Han dynasty would not witness another golden age until the 1st century AD, during the rule of Emperors Ming and Zhang. Han dynasty 2nd century BC in China {{China-hist-stub