Kao-ti established his capital at Lo-yang in Ho-nan, and afterwards removed it to Chang-an in Shen-si. Having founded his right to rebel on the oppressive nature of the laws promulgated by Shi Hwang-ti, he abolished the ordinances of Ts'in, except that referring to the destruction of the books--for, like his great predecessor, he dreaded the influence exercised by the _literati_--and he exchanged the worship of the gods of the soil of Ts'in for that of those of Han, his native state. His successor Hwei-ti (194-179 B.C.), however, gave every encouragement to literature, and appointed a commission to restore as far as possible the texts which had been destroyed by Shi Hwang-ti. In this the commission was very successful. It was discovered that in many cases the law had been evaded, while in numerous instances scholars were found to write down from memory the text of books of which all copies had been destroyed, though in some cases the purity of the text is doubtful and in other cases there were undoubted forgeries. A period of repose was now enjoyed by the empire. There was peace within its borders, and its frontiers remained unchallenged, except by the Hiung-nu, who suffered many severe defeats. Thwarted in their attacks on China, these marauders attacked the kingdom of the Yueh-chi, which had grown up in the western extremity of Kan-suh, and after much fighting drove their victims along the T'ien-shan-nan-lu to the territory between Turkestan and the Caspian Sea. This position of affairs suggested to the emperor the idea of forming an offensive and defensive alliance with the Yueh-chi against the Hiung-nu. With this object the general Chang K'ien was sent as an ambassador to western Tatary. After having been twice imprisoned by the Hiung-nu he returned to China. Chang K'ien had actually reached the court of the Yueh-chi, or Indo-Scythians as they were called owing to their having become masters of India later on, and paid a visit to the kingdom of Bactria, recently conquered by the Yueh-chi. His report on the several kingdoms of western Asia opened up a new world to the Chinese, and numerous elements of culture, plants and animals were then imported for the first time from the west into China. While in Bactria Chan K'ien's attention was first drawn to the existence of India, and attempts to send expeditions, though at first fruitless, finally led to its discovery. Under Wu-ti (140-86 B.C.) the power of the Hiung-nu was broken and eastern Turkestan changed into a Chinese colony, through which caravans could safely pass to bring back merchandise and art treasures from Persia and the Roman market. By the Hans the feudal system was restored in a modified form; 103 feudal principalities were created, but they were more or less under the jurisdiction of civil governors appointed to administer the thirteen _chows_ (provinces) into which the country was divided. About the beginning of the Christian era Wang Mang rose in revolt against the infant successor of P'ing-ti (A.D. 1), and in A.D. 9 proclaimed himself emperor. He, however, only gained the suffrages of a portion of the nation, and before long his oppressive acts estranged his supporters. In A.D. 23 Liu Siu, one of the princes of Han, completely defeated him. His head was cut off, and his body was torn in pieces by his own soldiery.