The Han Synthesis

According to lectures from the Teaching Company, a result of the Han Dynassty was the development of the Han synthesis, whichlasted 2,000 years. Can anyone define "the Han Synthesis"?

I have those lectures on order!

Never heard of Han synthesis before, but I googled the following:

"... attempt to unify all the rival schools of Chinese thought and philosophy that had developed over the previous three hundred years. This unification of Chinese into a single coherent system is ... known as the Han synthesis."

From http://www.wsu.edu:8080/~dee/CHPHIL/HANSYNTH.HTM

I also found http://www.mc.maricopa.edu/dept/d10/asb/anthro2003/china/han_synthesis.html

While they don't use the term "Han synthesis," Joseph R. Levenson and Franz Schurmann, China; An Interpretive History, From the Beginnings to the Fall of Han, give a penetrating and subtle analysis of the ways in which Confucianism and Taoism were harmonized in Han syncretic thought. At the same time, there were persistent elements of opposition in these philosophical schools, and peasant revolts often picked up anti-authority elements of Taoism for ideological impetus. These tensions were part of the dynastic cycle of stability, breakdown, and reconsolidation that persisted down to the 19th century. See the book, esp. chapters 10 and 11, for a nuanced presentation.
(touchstone refusing to load, though several LT users have copies)