High Quality Content by WIKIPEDIA articles! The Han Dynasty (206 BC – 220 AD) of ancient China experienced contrasting periods of economic prosperity and decline. It is normally divided into three periods: Western Han (206 BC – 9 AD), the Xin Dynasty (9–23 AD), and Eastern Han (25–220 AD). The Xin Dynasty, established by the former regent Wang Mang, formed a brief interregnum between lengthy periods of Han rule. Following the fall of Wang Mang, the Han capital was moved eastward from Chang`an to Luoyang. In consequence, historians have named the succeeding eras Western Han and Eastern Han respectively.