Speaking of Napoleon, it is well known to the world that he was the greatest military man in Europe and was known as the God of War. However, the god of war also had his own idols, and his idols were two, one was Alexander the Great, and the other was Yang Jian, the Sui Emperor of China. Seeing this, I guess you can't believe it, right? There are so many great emperors in China, such as Qin Shi Huang, Emperor Wu of Han, Tang Taizong, Song Taizu, etc., but why is it the Sui Wen Emperor with a low sense of existence?
In this regard, Napoleon himself explained: "The Chinese Emperor Sui Wendi is the most elegant monarch in the world throughout the ages, the Chinese Sui Dynasty monarchy is the most complete political system in the world, the Chinese Sui Dynasty economy is the most prosperous economy in the world, and the Chinese Sui Dynasty culture is the most advanced culture in the world." "The reason why Napoleon knew so much about the Sui Dynasty and praised Emperor Wen of Sui was actually because he read the books of the French thinker Voltaire.
In fact, even if Voltaire's influence is discarded, Napoleon's evaluation of Emperor Wen of Sui is also pertinent. After Emperor Wen of Sui succeeded to the throne, he ended the chaos of nearly four hundred years since the end of the Eastern Han Dynasty and realized the unification of the country. Compared with the Qin Dynasty, the Sui Dynasty had a wider scope of unification, greater difficulty, more complex ethnic groups, and more diverse cultures, and truly realized the unification of multiple nationalities.
In addition, the Sui Dynasty also carried out a series of political system reforms, establishing a three-province and six-minister system, three divisions of power, and the return of power to the central government, which was mostly used in later generations; around the system of knighthood and knighthood, the reform of the official system was carried out, breaking the Northern Zhou "Guanzhong standard policy" and expanding the basis for rule. The Sui Dynasty abolished the Nine-Pin Zhongzheng system since the Wei and Jin Dynasties, formally established a sub-subject examination system, and formed a complete talent selection system. This system has a great impact on future generations, not only in China, but also in the selection of talents in other countries in the world.
As the ruler of the Sui Dynasty, during his reign, Emperor Wen of Sui exerted great efforts to govern the sui dynasty, lightly dispensed with small gifts, and while promoting various reforms, clarified the rule of officials, vigorously engaged in construction, developed the economy, and attached importance to culture, so that the society of the Sui Dynasty achieved great prosperity. At that time, the Sui Dynasty had the largest population in the world, and its economy accounted for seventy-five percent of the world's total, which was a remarkable achievement!
It was precisely because Napoleon saw this that he had a high evaluation of The Sui Emperor Yang Jian. In fact, in the West, not only Napoleon had a high evaluation of Emperor Wen of Sui, but even the "List of 100 People Who Influenced the Course of Human History" compiled by the American scholar Mike Hart also wrote about Yang Jian, the Emperor of Sui. It can be seen that the contribution of Yang Jian, Emperor Wen of Sui, has been recognized by many people.