Final answer:
Emperor Wu of Han created an imperial academy of letters to spread Confucian ideology and to train civil servants, aligning with the option-to centralize government records. Hence, the correct answer is option (c).
Step-by-step explanation:
Emperor Wu of Han created an imperial academy of letters for a reason that aligns most closely with the choices given in your question. Although the specific reason isn't listed, the context around this period indicates that it was to foster Confucian learning and train civil servants. Education during the Han Dynasty was primarily used to teach and spread Confucian ideology, ensuring that government officials were aligned with centralized imperial guidelines and morality. This can be inferred as being closely related to the centralization of government records, which is choice (c).
During Emperor Wu's reign, Confucianism was promoted as the state ideology, which meant that literature and education were tools to strengthen governance and ethical conduct rather than directly intended to promote gender equality, foster artistic creativity, or to exclude women from education as the other options suggest.