After nearly four hundred years of turmoil and division, the land of China was reunified in the Sui and Tang dynasties.
Since then, the Chinese Empire has entered its heyday and maturity, and has become the Tang, Song, Yuan, Ming, and Qing dynasties in one go.
So, what kind of empire and dynasty was the Sui and Tang dynasties? What kind of situation did they lay for future generations? Why did the civilization they created affect the world? What should this innovation enlighten us?
This book "Sui and Tang Dynasty Finals" will solve these answers for us one by one.
1. Guanlong Group
In 581 AD, the new leader of the Guanlong clique --- Yang Jian, ending the turmoil and division of the Wei and Jin Southern and Northern Dynasties for nearly four hundred years, and establishing the Sui Empire, claiming that the empress, Yang Jian was diligent and earnest, and worked hard to govern, so that this land that had just ended the turmoil was recuperated, and used the rule of the Kai Emperor to make a beautiful start for the successor, but unfortunately, his successor Yang Guang, but he broke a good hand, and finally died in Jiangdu, and the Sui Empire experienced a short period of death, but the Guanlong clique did not fall apart. This interest group, which began in the Northern Zhou Dynasty and was firmly bound together by in-law relations, only once again experienced the change of the old and new leaders, and this time, the new leader was ascended to the position of the new leader, the nephew of Emperor Wen Yang Jian, the cousin of The Sui Emperor Yang Guang, and the new master of the Li Tang Dynasty------ Li Yuan.
Unlike Dou Jiande and others who came from the grassroots, Li Yuan was originally a member of the Guanlong clique, and when the Sui Emperor visited Jiangdu many times and shook the interests of the Guanlong clique, he firmly grasped the foundation of this clique--- Chang'an, plus several excellent helpers, especially the second son, later Tang Taizong Li Shimin, this is a man who was congratulated by the Wan Dynasty and called the Heavenly Khan, with such helpers, Li Yuan's success is natural, moreover, in the face of huge interests, that little kinship relationship is really weak and vulnerable.
After the Sui Dynasty destroyed Tang Li, the Guanlong clique still firmly ruled the land.
2. The imperial examination and the three-province six-ministerial system
Since the Han Dynasty, the imperial family, as the de facto ruler of the dynasty, has been tirelessly committed to centralizing power.
Centralizing power, taking all the rights to the emperor alone, and only by centralizing power can the emperor become the true ruler of the empire.
But the centralization of power is really the cake that moves the aristocratic door valve, how can they be willing?
However, there was one person who killed a bloody road from the siege and constructively proposed ---- examination, which is a way of selecting talents.
The person who put forward this constructive opinion, which had never been made before, was Yang Guang, the Emperor of the Sui Dynasty.
Yang Guang, this person, because of the reason of the nickname, posterity mentioned him, most of the impressions in his mind stayed on tyranny and abuse, but from the beginning of his succession, the creation of Luoyang, the opening of the North-South Grand Canal, the well-being he left behind, nourished this land for thousands of years, and the examination system he proposed injected new vitality into the selection of talents, broke the class solidification that had been monopolized by the aristocratic door valve for thousands of years, and opened the door to the landlord class of the Shu ethnic group.
The use of examinations to select talents is definitely another great invention of the Chinese nation, which fills the loopholes in inspection and recommendation, and takes the truly talented people into the hands of the emperor as much as possible, and is used by the emperor.
The rise of the Landlord Class of the Shu nationality has broken the Great Wall of Interests of the Aristocratic Gate Valve, and has torn open the rift of this impenetrable interest group fiercely, and with the passage of time, this rift will become larger and larger, and eventually collapse.
Old political groups collapsed and new political groups rose.
In order to achieve a new balance between imperial power and bureaucracy, the Sui and Tang dynasties established a new organizational system as a transitional period------- three provinces and six ministries system.
The three provinces are Shangshu Province, Zhongshu Province, and Menxia Province, while the six ministries are the six functional departments under Shangshu Province: the Official Department, the Household Department, the Ceremonial Department, the Military Department, the Punishment Department, and the Ministry of Works.
The establishment of the new system, with clear rights and responsibilities and clear functions, is a strict and exquisite system, once established, from the Sui and Tang dynasties to the Ming and Qing dynasties, basically unchanged.
3. Inclusive mixed-race dynasty
There are several names that you may not be unfamiliar with: Li Yansheng, An Lushan, and Wei Chi Jingde.
The reason why these three names are proposed separately is because Li Yansheng, who participated in the Keju Jinshi and the first, was An Lusheng, who had turned the Tang Dynasty upside down, and An Lushan, which had turned the Tang Dynasty upside down, was said to have Central Asian Islamic national ancestry, originally a Kangguo person, and his surname was An Boyan, who followed his adoptive father An Guoren, and Chi Jingde, li Shimin's absolute supporter Chi Jingde, who was a descendant of the Khotanese royal family during the Xuanwumen Rebellion.
Li Yansheng entered the army and later became a Hanlin scholar, An Lushan achieved the three towns and festivals with Xiao Yong and good warfare, and was made a prince, and Wei Chi Jingde was a famous general of the founding of the Tang Dynasty, a confidant of Emperor Taizong, and one of the twenty-four heroes of Ling BoGe.
Foreigners not only became officials in datang, but also received heavy use.
It can be seen from this that the emperors of the Li Tang Dynasty at that time had a broad heart, of course, this may also have something to do with their own Hu ancestry.
Perhaps, it is the fighting genes that belong to the nomadic peoples flowing in the bones and blood, so that the newly established Tang Empire will expand its territory again and again, starting from the thirteenth year of Zhenguan, Tang Taizong first destroyed Gaochang, and then destroyed Yanqi and Guizi, under the absolute shock of force, Khotan and Shule also quickly merged into the Tang territory, the Tang Empire set up the Anxi Capital Protectorate here, the General Chapter set up the Andong Capital Protectorate in the first year, the following year, changed the Hanhai Capital Protectorate to the Anbei Capital Protectorate, and the First Year of the Tang Xuanzong Tianbao, in the first year of Tang Xuanzong Tianbao, It also completely eliminated the Western Turks, who had been in turmoil.
Datang also reached its peak at this time.
4. A far-reaching world empire
Chang'an, the capital of the Tang Empire, was definitely the center of the world at that time.
This square, seven-sized city in rome was planned and designed by Yuwen Kai, a genius inventor of the Xianbei ethnic group, and later built and expanded by the Tang Dynasty, representing the grandeur and majesty of the Chinese imperial capital.
With the expansion of the Tang Dynasty, the Silk Road not only brought wealth, but also welcomed merchants, bankers, diplomats, scholars, explorers and missionaries from all over the world.
In Chang'an City, the aroma of wine fills the streets, baqiao smoky willows, Qujiangchi pavilions, gorgeous whirling dances dotted with paper drunken gold fans, merchants and speculators here like fish.
The Temple is full of diplomats from all over the world, and the tolerance of the Li Tang royal family makes them linger here.
International students from all over the world are unable to extricate themselves from the ocean of knowledge, and they will deeply root their thirst for knowledge in the fertile soil of Datang culture, and after returning to China, they will spread Datang culture far away.
Where civilization goes, it will trigger wonderful chemical reactions.
The aircraft carriers created by wealth, opportunities, institutions and culture have made the Tang Empire attract the attention of the world.
The rolling wheel of history never stops for a certain dynasty, the Sui and Tang Empires have gone through glory, and they have left Cangyi behind the curtain, but its open attitude and inclusive mind have allowed it to create a worldwide civilization, which still affects this land today.