Ashmolean Eastern Art Online, Yousef Jameel Centre for Islamic and Asian Art

The First Emperor's shortlived Qin dynasty (221-206 BC), under which China became a unified state, was followed by the Han dynasty (206 BC-AD 220). The Han rulers established an elaborate and far-reaching system of administration that extended to the manufacture of goods in state workshops with hierarchies of craftsmen and inspectors. Han pictorial art on bronzes, ceramics, lacquers and stone carvings depicts both historical figures and the supernatural. Changes in belief resulted in burials that included models of animals, buildings, and everyday utensils as well as ritual or ceremonial objects.