The Sui Dynasty was quite short, but was a very active period in the history of China. A military servant named Yang Jian claimed the Chinese throne in 581 AD. For eight years Yang Jian waged a campaign to unite China, which was divided into three kingdoms, Sui, Han, and Chin. He finally succeeded in conquering the other two kingdoms and uniting them in 581 AD, this marked the start of the Sui Dynasty which lasted to 618 AD.
Reason for take over
After uniting the three kingdoms, Yang Jian made himself popular among the people by offering them better living conditions then during the time of the 3 Kingdoms. He offered that poor people that they would have to pay less taxes than the wealthier people. To do this, Yang Jian sent his men around the provinces to see how much money and land each province had, this was to see how much taxes each province should pay. Another offer was that each man would get a certain amount of farmland to use, and once he turned 60 he wouldn’t have to pay taxes. The land he owned would then be divided, giving some to his sons and some back to the government.
Leaders of the Civillization
The first Sui emperor, Sui Wendi 隋文帝 (Yang Jian 楊堅), was a military servant who gained the throne of the non-Chinese Northern Chou in 581. He had led a campaign which successfully uniting China. He was interpreted as the great unifer of China. Not long after, Yang Jian’s successor, Sui Yangdi 隋煬帝 took over. During Sui Yangdi’s time as emperor, he exhausted the state treasure and labour force of the population. Finally, Yangdi led his worst campaign ever. Yangdi took over a million men in an attempt to take over Korea. He lost the campaign and had to flee back to China. The army generals were so angry at Yangdi that they killed him. This marked the end of the Sui Dynasty.
A leader from another Civilization
In Rome, 598 AD, political conflicts with the Lombards. At that time Rome was a religious place, which meant that the Church held alot of power. Gregory the Great was the first monk to become Pope. He was looked at as a model for the future. Gregory controlled the civil affairs of Rome, and expanded the power of the Church. Also, he had made negotiations with the Lombards. Gregory was very successful, he was able to earn a 30 year truce with the Lombards. At the same time, this act insured the independance of Rome, making Gregory the Great a famous leader of that time.
Accomplishments
The Sui Dynasty was able to unite the three kingdoms of China into one. During the time of the Sui Dynasty, China had used a lot of their treasure and labor force. The best accomplishment made was the digging of the Grand Canal. This connected the Yellow River with the Huai and Yangtze River. This made travel from North to South China much more fluent and ensured water to most parts of China. Other accomplishments would included the reconstruction of the Great Wall, which came at the cost of numerous Chinese workers. Religion was also altered during this time period, at this time Confucianism was famous, and Taoism and Buddhism were also being acknowledged. During this time Buddhism flourished.
Reason of Fall
After Sui Yangdi murdered Yang jian he claimed the throne. After numerous projects he raised a campaign of over a million soildiers and attacked Korea. This project ended in tragedy, because he ended up fleeing. When Sui Yangdi returned to China his status was fragile. This gave rebels the oportunity to mutiny. A Chinese general named Li Yuan started a rebellion in 617 AD, and in time he the Sui Dynasty came to an end.
Citations
[Events in China] 2000
http://www.yutopian.com/history/sui.html
[Leaders] 2000
http://www.chinaknowledge.de/History/Tang/sui.html
[Accomplishments]
http://library.thinkquest.org/12255/library/dynasty/sui.html
[Sui Dynasty History] Nov. 10, 2006
http://www.historyforkids.org/learn/china/history/sui.htm
[Gregory the Great] 2000
http://www.multied.com/dates/500ad.html
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