The Sui Dynasty (581-618AD)

The Sui Dynasty

Introduction: The Sui Dynasty lasted from 581 to 618; it was the shortest Chinese Dynasty which lasted for thirty eight years only. This short dynasty consisted of only four main leaders; the names of the leaders are Sui Wendi, Sui Yangdi, Sui Gongdi, and The Prince of Yue.

Dates of Power: As mentioned above, this dynasty had taken place from 581 to 618. The Sui Dynasty had taken over on the year 581, and they had lost their power at 678 and it ended at 618. [1]

http://depts.washington.edu/chinaciv/1xarsui1.jpg

Reasons for takeover: The reason why or how the Sui Dynasty flourished is because Sui Wendi reunited the north and south of China. It was lost for about 400 years and the Sui Dynasty had brought it back. [4] Most logically there had to be a fall in the previous dynasty in order to allow the rise of the Sui Dynasty. There was not just 1 dynasty before the Sui Dynasty; it was actually a mixture of many dynasties from the north to south. The last dynasty was the Northern Zhou Dynasty. The emperor in the previous dynasty had died so Sui Wendi took over. [3]

http://www.paulnoll.com/China/Dynasty/history-dynasty-timeline-3.html

Leaders of the Civilization:

Sui Wendi (Yang Jian) – Sui Wendi, his official name Yang Jian, was the first emperor of the Sui Dynasty of China, which means he was the one and only founder of the Sui Dynasty. He promoted Buddhism, whereas the government did not, they supported Confucianism. He began ruling at 581 but had an unexpected death at 604. [5]

Sui Yangdi (Yang Guang) – This emperor was the second to rule under the Sui Dynasty. He was the son of the previous ruler, Sui Wendi (Yang Jian). This emperor built the Grand Canal, and continued the reconstruction of The Great Wall of China. [6]

Sui Gongdi (Yang You) – Sui Gongdi was technically the last ruler of the Sui Dynasty, but it is also known that after him he had handed the throne on to his brother, who went took it on to the Tang Dynasty. During his rule, there were many problems and battles, he was a hard working ruler. [7]

Another Leader: This other leader was from the similar time periods as the Sui Dynasty, it was from 590AD – 650AD. Harsha, he was an Indian ruler, known as the Indian King. He was a warrior, and at the same time he was a playwright and a poet as well. He even had connections with the Chinese. He knew a Chinese emperor Huan Tsan. Due to this, there was a diplomatic establishment between the Indian and Chinese. [8]

Accomplishments: Emperor Wendi (Yang Jian) was the first leader of the Sui Dynasty. He took over the throne of the Northern Zhou Dynasty and formed the Sui Dynasty. The northern of southern parts of China had problems during this time, and Sui Wendi had united them, and made China into one. All though this dynasty lasted for thirty eight years and was not one of the most important ones, a very significant structure was being built during this time, The Great Wall of China. About six sections of this wall were built during the Sui Dynasty majority of which under the rule of Sui Wendi. [1]

Another important occurrence to why the take-over had occurred is due to the economical and political state of the country. Only because of this dynasty, the economical and political state had increased and began to rise into prosperity for the citizens of China. [2]

Reasons for Fall: The Sui Dynasty had a very tragic ending. The fall of this dynasty first began from the second ruler, Sui
Yangdi, he had a bad reputation. He lived under corruption and luxury; the poor suffered and he did nothing about it. The overall Sui Dynasty was not a very successful one, and that is why it lasted for only about thirty years, one of the shortest dynasties. In a matter of time, rebellions started from Mt. Changbaishan, and soon the whole country had separate rebellions. Food was given to the hungers. After the strangling of Emperor Yang, the dynasty went to a complete fall and never rose again. [1]

Bibliography:
1. "Sui Dynasty ". Travel China Guide. Jan 13 2007 . <http://www.travelchinaguide.com/intro/history/sui/>.

2. "Wall of Sui ". Travel China Guide. Jan 13 2007 . <http://www.travelchinaguide.com/china_great_wall/history/sui>.

3. Oriental Empire. Jan 13 2007 .
<http://www15.brinkster.com/orientalempire/timeline1.htm>.

4. "Dynasties Timeline -- Page 3". Jan 13 2007 . <http://www.paulnoll.com/China/Dynasty/history-dynasty-timeline-3.html>.

5. " Sui Wendi, Founder Sui Dynasty". Jan 13 2007 . <http://www.timelineindex.com/content/view/1704>.

6. "Emperor Yang of Sui". Wikipedia. Jan 13 2007 .
<http://wapedia.mobi/en/Emperor_Yang_of_Sui>.

7. "Emperor Gong of Sui". Wikipedia. Jan 13 2007 . <http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Emperor_Gong_of_Sui#Reign>.

8. "HARSHA". Jan 13 2007 . <http://www.hyperhistory.com/online_n2/people_n2/ppersons4_n2/harsha.html>.