Lesson 1: The Unification and Fall of the Sui Dynasty

The Unification of Sui

The last dynasty of the Northern Dynasties was the Northern Zhou. At the end of the Northern Zhou Dynasty, Yang Jian, a foreign relative, assumed power and in 581, Yang Jian seized power in the Northern Zhou Dynasty and established the Sui Dynasty with Chang'an as its capital, under the name of Emperor Wen of Sui. At that time, the southern regime was the Chen Dynasty. The Empress of Chen was not involved in politics and indulged in pleasures. In 589, Emperor Wen of Sui destroyed the Chen dynasty and unified the country. The unification of Sui put an end to a long period of division and followed the historical trend of a unified multi-ethnic state.

After the unification, Sui developed its economy, compiled a household register, unified the coinage system and the system of weights and measures in the north and the south, and strengthened centralization and administrative efficiency. This series of measures contributed to the rapid recovery and development of the society and economy, which led to a significant increase in the number of people and the area of reclaimed land, and made the Sui dynasty a powerful dynasty with a vast territory.

Opening of the Grand Canal

In order to strengthen the north-south communication and consolidate the Sui dynasty's rule over the whole country, Emperor Yang made use of his economic strength and recruited several million people to build a Grand Canal from 605 onwards. The Grand Canal, centered in Luoyang, reached Zhuo County in the north and Yuhang in the south, connecting the five major water systems: the Haihe, the Yellow River, the Huaihe, the Yangtze and the Qiantang, and was more than 2,000 kilometers long. The opening of the Grand Canal strengthened the political, economic and cultural exchanges between the north and the south.

Creation of the imperial examination system

During the period of Wei, Jin and North and South Dynasties, the power of selection of officials was monopolized by the upper echelons of power and nobility, and the selection of officials was based on rank and less on talent, and the sons of big families could enter the civil service through rank. After the reign of Emperor Wen of Sui Dynasty, the previous system of selecting officials was abolished, and the system of selecting talents through examination was initially established. During the reign of Emperor Yang of Sui Dynasty, the creation of the subject of jinshi marked the formal establishment of the imperial examination system. The creation of the imperial examination system was a major change in ancient China's official selection system, which strengthened the emperor's power in selecting and employing officials, expanded the scope of official selection, enabled talented people to participate in politics, and also promoted the development of education. Thereafter, the imperial examination system became the main system for selecting officials in successive dynasties and was maintained for more than 1300 years.

The fall of the Sui dynasty

Emperor Wen of Sui practiced frugality and taught his prince that no emperor in ancient times had ever been so extravagant as to last. However, Emperor Yang, the second emperor of the Sui dynasty, was too happy with his work and did not care about the people's strength, and he indulged in extravagant pleasures. During his reign, he built a series of major projects and waged wars repeatedly, causing the people to suffer and social conflicts to intensify.

Every year, Emperor Yang had to requisition a large number of laborers, millions of them, to build the eastern capital of Luoyang, open the Grand Canal, and construct the Great Wall and the Channels. In order to strengthen his rule over various regions, he also made many cruises in tall and magnificent dragon boats, with hundreds of thousands of soldiers and laborers escorting him along the way, which cost a lot of manpower and money. Emperor Yang also conquered Liaodong three times, forcing a large number of peasants to serve in the army and to work as private workers, making it impossible for the people to engage in normal production work.

Emperor Yang's brutal rule made the people unbearable and finally led to large-scale peasant uprisings. The uprising first broke out in Shandong, where the people suffered most, and then spread rapidly throughout the country, forming many anti-Sui groups in various regions. The Sui dynasty was in danger of disintegration as a result of the rebellion. In 618, Emperor Yang was killed by his subordinates in Jiangdu, and the Sui dynasty, which had flourished for so long, fell.