Sui dynasty

IOverview

Duration

37years

Rulers

3 emperors (5 in some accounts)

Capital

Daxing · Eastern capital Luoyang

Founder

Yang Jian

Fall

Emperor Yang was killed in the Jiangdu mutiny, and Li Yuan replaced Sui and Tang Dynasties.

Institutions · Economy · Culture

1. I

   Three provinces and six departments

   The central government has three provinces: Internal History, Menxia, ​​and Shangshu, which are responsible for the drafting, review, and execution of edicts. The Shangshu Province has jurisdiction over six ministries: officials, etiquette, military affairs, punishment, civil affairs, and work. The three provinces restrained each other and the six divisions of labor were clear. This pattern was inherited by Tang Dynasty and influenced later generations for more than a thousand years.

2. II

   The beginning of the imperial examination

   The nine-grade Zhongzheng system was abolished and talents were selected through subject-specific examinations. Emperor Yang established the Jinshi Department, and the civil service examination system was born. It gave scholars from humble backgrounds the opportunity to enter officialdom, and it lasted until 1905 when it was abolished.

3. III

   Grand Canal

   With Luoyang as the center, it is connected by Yongji Canal, Tongji Canal, Hangou and Jiangnan River, reaching Zhuojun in the north and Yuhang in the south. It connects the five major water systems of Haihe, Yellow River, Huaihe, Yangtze River and Qiantang River, and has become the main artery of N&S transportation in the future.

4. IV

   Kaihuang Law

   The "Kaihuang Code" formulated in the early Sui Dynasty and revised and promulgated in 583 deleted a large number of tortures and established the five punishments of flogging, rod, imprisonment, exile, death and the "Ten Evils". The system is simple and the punishment is lighter, becoming the blueprint of the "Tang Code".

5. V

   Household registration and warehousing

   We carried out large-scale inspections and registered registration samples, and detected a large number of hidden people. We also set up official warehouses and free warehouses. The Luokou warehouse had 3,000 cellars, each with a capacity of 8,000 shi. Taizong of the Tang Dynasty once said that in the late Sui Dynasty, "the world's accumulated reserves can be used for fifty or sixty years."

6. VI

   cities and bridges

   The palace city, imperial city, and outer city of Daxing City planned by Yuwen Kai had distinct layers and uniform inner squares, which were used by Chang'an City in the Tang Dynasty. The Zhaozhou Bridge built under the leadership of Li Chun is the oldest existing single-hole open-shoulder stone arch bridge in the world.

IIIMajor events

1. 581

   Yang Jian Zhou

   After the death of Emperor Xuan in the Northern Zhou Dynasty, Emperor Jing was young, and his relative Yang Jian took charge of the government as prime minister. After quelling the rebellion of Yuchi Jiong and others, he forced Emperor Jingabdication, established Sui dynasty, made Chang'an the capital, and gave him the title of Kaihuang.

2. 581—583

   Establishing three provinces and six ministries

   Emperor Wen abolished the six-official system established in the Northern Zhou Dynasty by imitating the "Li" of Zhou. The central government established three provinces: Neishi, Menxia, ​​and Shangshu, and Shangshu province had six ministries. In 583, he also abolished the counties and changed the three levels of local prefectures, counties, and counties into state and county levels, streamlining redundant officials.

3. 581—600

   The rule of Kaihuang

   The Emperor Wen was responsible for light corvee and low taxes. He implemented measures such as the landownership system, large-scale inspections, and the registration of registration records to check household registrations. He set up official warehouses and charity warehouses to store grain. He lived a frugal life, and the national household registration and treasury were unprecedentedly enriched. It is known as the "Kaihuang Rule" in history.

4. 582—583

   Build Daxing City

   Emperor Wen ordered Gao Jiong and Yuwen Kai to build a new capital in the southeast of Chang'an City in the Han Dynasty. It was named Daxing City because Yang Jian once granted the title of Daxing County Duke, and moved there the following year. The new city's strict planning and distinct districts and cities laid the foundation for Chang'an City in the Tang Dynasty.

5. 587

   The beginning of the imperial examination

   Emperor Wen abolished the nine-grade Zhongzheng system, and in 587 ordered each state to send three tributes each year to select officials through examinations. During Emperor Yang's Daye period, the Jinshi department was established, and the civil service examination system was born, gradually breaking the monopoly of the wealthy gentry on the official career.

6. 589

   Sui Dynasty destroyed Chen

   Emperor Wen took Jin Wang Yang Guang as the marching marshal and sent more than 500,000 troops to attack Chen in eight directions. He Ruobi and Han Qinhu successively invaded Jiankang, and Chen Last Ruler was captured, ending the N&S split of more than 270 years since the end of the Western Jin Dynasty.

7. c. 595–605 CE

   Build Zhaozhou Bridge

   Craftsman Li Chun presided over the construction of Anji Bridge (Zhaozhou Bridge) on the Mihe River. The span of a single hole is about 37 meters. There are two small arches on each shoulder of the main arch, which not only reduces its own weight but also facilitates flood discharge. It has survived floods and earthquakes for 1,400 years and still stands today.

8. 605

   Build the Eastern Capital

   The year after Emperor Yang came to the throne, he ordered Yang Su and Yuwen Kai to build Tokyo and Luoyang, employing two million people every month. It was completed the following year and was later renamed the Eastern Capital. After that, Emperor Yang mostly lived in Luoyang and Jiangdu, and his political center of gravity moved eastward.

9. 605—610

   Digging the Grand Canal

   Emperor Yang successively recruited more than a million migrant workers to dig Tongji Canal and Yongji Canal, dredge Hangou and Jiangnan River, and built a Grand Canal with Luoyang as the center, reaching Zhuojun in the north and Yuhang in the south, with a total length of more than 2,000 kilometers.

10. 609

    Emperor Yang's Western Tour

    Emperor Yang personally led an army to patrol the west, defeated Tuyuhun, established Xihai, Heyuan and other counties, and met with King Gaochang and envoys from the twenty-seven countries of the Western Regions in Zhangye. The management of the Western Regions presided over by Pei Ju reached its climax.

11. 611—613

    Civil uprising in late Sui Dynasty

    In 611, Wang Bo wrote "The Death Song of Wuxiang Liaodong" in Changbai Mountain to call for rebellion against the Sui Dynasty, and civil unrest broke out in various places; in 613, Yang Xuangan, the Minister of Rites, took advantage of Emperor Yang's second expedition to Goguryeo to raise troops. Although he was defeated quickly, it marked a split within the ruling group.

12. 612—614

    Three Conquests of Goguryeo

    Emperor Yang personally conquered Goguryeo three times. In 612, he sent 1.13 million troops, claiming to be two million. Yuwen Shu's tribe was defeated miserably in Sa River. Only 2,700 of the 35,000 people who crossed Liao survived. Years of levies and levies depleted the people's power, causing chaos in the world.

13. 616—618

    Wagang Uprising

    Zhai Rang gathered a crowd in Wagang to start a rebellion, and later chose Li Mi as the leader. In 617, Wagang's army captured Luokou Granary and opened a warehouse for grain storage, which greatly boosted their momentum. They denounced Emperor Yang in an imperial edict for "exhausting all the bamboos in Nanshan, and yet he has not yet exhausted all his sins by writing", and besieged Luoyang, the eastern capital, for a long time.

14. 617

    Li Yuan raised troops

    Tang Guogong and Li Yuan, who stayed in Taiyuan, raised troops in Jinyang, entered Guanzhong from the west and captured Chang'an. They made Yang You, the grandson of Emperor Yang, emperor. They respected Emperor Yang as the Retired Emperor, appointed themselves prime minister, and promoted him to the title of king of Tang Dynasty.

15. 618

    Jiangdu Incident

    Emperor Yang was stranded in Jiangdu and had no intention of returning north. Guanzhong Xiaoguo, who was accompanying him, was homesick and separated. Yuwen Huaji, Sima Dekan and others launched a mutiny and hanged Emperor Yang. In the same year, Li Yuan received Yang Youabdication and established Tang dynasty, which ended in the Sui Dynasty.

IVNotable people