Economy

   The Chinese were an agricultural people during the Han dynasty. Grown in northern China was wheat and millet. Rice continued to grow where a farmer could get enough water for the crop. To do get enough water for a crop of rice farmers would drain swamps, dam streams, and build irrigation canals.

   During the early years of the Han dynasty a  period of peace allowed irrigation works to expand. This, in effect, caused for better crops to be grown, and for the population to increase.

   During the peace of the Han dynasty merchants and craftsmen organized themselves into guilds. Membership in the appropriate guild soon became necessary in most lines of work. These guilds would regulate prices and the working hours of their members. Also, these guilds would strike or close shop if a potentially restrictive law was being passed.

   Under the Han natural and political barriers were overcome, and so the Han were now in contact with the rest of the world. MOre commerce and territorial expansion brought the Chinese into contact with new states and peoples.