The Age of Division was the
period between the Han Dynasty and the Tang Dynasty. During the Age of
Division, many different emperors ran many different parts of China,
and most did not play well with others. Wars were common.
Still, it was during this
age that many inventions first appeared, important inventions like the
invention of gunpowder and of tea.
There was no middle class during the
Age of Division. If you were a peasant, you were extremely poor. If
you were a noble, you were extremely rich.
A great example of the
extravagance that some emperors enjoyed can easily be shown by the
outrageous lifestyle of Hu the Tiger. This emperor lived during
the "Age of Division". Hu the Tiger was so fat that it took
20 men to carry his litter to the royal hunt. He had a revolving
couch built, so men could spin it around, to allow him to shoot in any
direction. Hu the Tiger had an all girl orchestra with 500
members. He had battalions of female soldiers who wore sable furs and
gold rings and carried bows and arrows painted yellow. He had a
bathhouse, air-conditioned with a creative system of running water.
