The Sui Dynasty existed very briefly in Chinese history, only for more than thirty years. But the Sui Dynasty was a far-reaching dynasty in Chinese history. Moreover, the influence of the Sui Dynasty was largely closely related to its founding monarch Yang Jian.
Yang Jian's origin is known as the Hongnong Yang clan, which is also a large family. During the Eastern Han Dynasty, they had the glory of the fourth and third dukes. Yang Jian's father, Yang Zhong, was a founding hero of Northern Zhou, was given the title of Duke of Suiguo, and was given a humble surname by the emperor, Puliuru. Yang Jian not only relied on his own military merits, but his daughter Yang Lihua became Emperor Xuan's empress, and Yang Jian's power rose rapidly. After emperor Xuan of Zhou's death, he appointed Emperor Wen of Sui Yang Jian as his chancellor, and after a year or so, Yang Jian gradually eliminated the forces loyal to Northern Zhou, and then he kicked the little emperor away and established his own power. Because Yang Jian's original title was Suiguo Gong, the name of the new regime was Sui. Because Yang Jian hated to have one in the middle of the word, afraid that his regime would not last, he removed this one. Later, Yang Jian also killed all the close relatives of the Northern Zhou imperial family. From this point of view, Yang Jian at the time of the seizure of power did have his cruel side.
However, Emperor Wen of Sui's actions after becoming emperor were remarkable. After the establishment of the Sui Dynasty, Yang Jian inherited the enlightened politics of Emperor Wu of Northern Zhou, and carried out large-scale reforms of the Northern Zhou system and worked hard to develop production, and the Sui Dynasty soon showed a thriving scene. The Chen Dynasty in Jiangnan was a scene of the fall of the country. In 589, Emperor Wen of Sui sent a large army across the river and soon eliminated the Chen regime. A unified new dynasty unfolded before the world. This unification is a relatively lasting unification, and it is also a unification that has a far-reaching impact on future generations. In this sense, Yang Jian's exploits rank among the emperors of ancient China.
Yang Jian's influence on future generations is also at the institutional level. An important change in the system in the late Southern and Northern Dynasties was that the State system was reformed in the Northern Zhou Dynasty according to the Zhou Li. Yang Jian, on the other hand, carried out further reforms on the basis of the Northern Zhou system. There are five main aspects involved.
The Lone Queen
At the beginning of Emperor Wendi's reform, he established five provinces: Secretarial Province, Neishi Province, Neishi Province, Menxia Province, and Shangshu Province. However, the secretarial province is not responsible for many things, and the inner province is full of eunuchs, so there are only three provinces that are important. The division of responsibilities in these three provinces is very clear: Neishi Province is the later Zhongshu Province, with two Neishi Ling and two Neishi Shilang, who are responsible for issuing orders, that is, putting forward opinions on the handling of government affairs, while the Menxia Province has two Nayan and two Yellow Gate Shilang, who are responsible for sealing and refuting, that is, reviewing the handling opinions proposed by Neishi Province. Shangshu Province is the executive body, and the specific opinions after review can be handed over to Shangshu Province for implementation. Shangshu Province has one Shangshu Ling, one Shang Shu Left Servant And One Shang Shu Right Servant Shooting. Since Shangshu Province was responsible for the implementation of specific affairs, it set up specific enforcement agencies under it, that is, six departments: the Official Department, the Ceremonial Department, the Military Department, the Metropolitan Official Department (later changed to the Punishment Department), the Degree Branch (later changed to the Civil Department), and the Ministry of Works. Each ministry had a Shangshu, and the system of three dukes and nine secretaries in the Qin and Han dynasties was not completely abolished. First of all, the three dukes, Situ, Taiwei, and Sikong have become high honorary positions. The Nine Qings were retained under the name of the Nine Temples. Just as we say that the Nine Qings of the Han Dynasty were not nine, the Nine Temples of the Sui Dynasty were eleven. They are: Taichang Temple, Guanglu Temple, Weiwei Temple, Zongzheng Temple, Taibu Temple, Dali Temple, Hongxu Temple, Sinong Temple, Taifu Temple, Guozi Temple, and Willo Temple. The Three Provinces and six ministries were the administrative organs of the Imperial Court, while the Nine Temples were the affairs organs of the Imperial Court, which were responsible for carrying out decisions from the three provinces. The Six Ministries were subordinate institutions of Shangshu Province, while the Nine Temples were directly subordinate to the Emperor. One thing went through Zhongshu and the door down to Shangshu Province, and then according to the nature of the matter, it was divided into specific six parts, and the six parts then assigned this matter to each temple. In addition, the imperial court also set up an imperial envoy to supervise the cabinet. Later, the Sui Emperor made some adjustments to this system, but did not fundamentally change this pattern. The influence of this system was very far-reaching, and the Tang Dynasty basically inherited this system. The six ministries were inherited by all subsequent autocratic dynasties. It was not until the end of the Qing Dynasty that fundamental changes occurred during the reform of the political system.
The second is to sort out the local administrative divisions, during the Eastern Jin Dynasty, the Southern and Northern Dynasties, there were more and more states, and after the unification of the Sui Dynasty, there were even hundreds of prefectures with nearly a thousand counties, one or two thousand counties. In many cases, a state administers only one or two counties, and a county also administers only one or two counties. The result was institutional overlap, which not only led to an increase in the expenditure of the imperial court, but also to reduced administrative efficiency and increased the burden on the people. As people said at that time: "Today's counties are more numerous than in ancient times, or there are no hundreds of miles, several counties are juxtaposed, or households are less than a thousand, and the two counties are divided." The number of officials is multiplied, and the number of officials is doubled, and the rent is reduced. ...... The so-called people have many young officials, ten sheep and nine shepherds. Emperor Wen of Sui made a great deal of arrangements for this situation, changing the third-level institutions into second-level institutions, abolishing the middle counties, and consolidating the prefectures and counties.
Sui and Tang Dynasty Chang'an City
The third is to abolish the nine-pin Zhongzheng system and reform the system of selecting and appointing officials, and the Jiupin Zhongzheng system is a deformation of the inspection system, but the upper-grade people can start from high-ranking officials after entering the shi, and the promotion is very fast, while the lower-grade people can only start from low-level officials after entering the shi, and the promotion is very slow. Before the Sui Dynasty, the governors of the prefectures and counties were appointed by the imperial court, and their subordinates were hired by themselves, that is, requisition. Whether it is the inspection system or the requisitioning system, the local personnel power is very large. This is clearly something that the autocratic emperor cannot tolerate. So the imperial court began to reclaim personnel power, and all officials had to be appointed by the officials of the imperial court, and the Book of Sui, vol. 28, "Hundred Officials": "Don't put away the officials, all the officials are excepted, and each year the examination hall is the most." The history of thorns and the county orders are moved every three years, and the adjutants are moved every four years." That is to say, all officials have tenure and are subject to the examination of the imperial court. After the imperial court reclaimed its personnel power, it was faced with the question of what kind of person to appoint as an official. During the reign of Emperor Wen of Sui, the imperial court often asked local governments to recommend talents under various names, which was the precursor of the imperial examination. Of course, the source of the imperial examination should be pushed to Emperor Wu of han to set up the disciples of the Five Classics doctors and conduct examinations for them to determine their future. By the time of the Sui Dynasty Emperor, jinshi, Mingjing, Xiucai and other departments were officially established to take soldiers. However, in the Sui Dynasty, the most important thing was Xiucai, and there were only a dozen people in the entire Sui Dynasty who were Xiucai. The Sui Dynasty's imperial examination was the responsibility of the officials. However, when the Sui Dynasty Keju was first established, there were still many imperfections, talents in various disciplines still needed the recommendation of officials, the procedures for examinations were still very incomplete, the time and content of examinations were still very uncertain, and so on, which needed to be further improved in the Tang Dynasty. However, the imperial examination system pioneered by the Sui Dynasty had a very far-reaching impact. Since then, the imperial examination has become the main channel for civilians to enter the military, although it has various flaws, but under the historical conditions at that time, the imperial examination is undoubtedly the fairest way. The examination system has replaced the nine-pin Zhongzheng system and opened a new page in the ancient electoral history of our country. It conforms to the development trend of the decline of the shi clan power and the rise of the Shu clan power since the Southern and Northern Dynasties.
Sui Tang Luoyang City
The fourth was to formulate the "Kai Huang Law", and in the pre-Qin dynasty, there was an important figure in the Legal family named Li Wu, who once wrote a book called "The Book of Law". The laws of the entire Qin, Han, Wei, And Jin dynasties were formulated in accordance with the system of the Book of Laws. But the specific provisions of these laws are basically invisible to us now, because they are all dead. After the establishment of the Sui Dynasty, after summarizing the experience of the previous generation of legal practice, a new law was formulated, that is, the "KaiHuang Law". Now the "Kai Huang Law" is no longer visible, but the laws of the Sui Dynasty were basically inherited by the Tang Dynasty. The laws of the Tang Dynasty are now intact. The influence of this legal system pioneered by the Sui Dynasty has even extended far beyond national borders, and the legal systems of many East Asian countries have been deeply influenced by the Sui law. An important feature of this set of laws is that they are very concise, with a total of twelve chapters, including the Law of Nominal Law, the Law of Guarding and Forbidding, the Law of The System of Office, the Law of Household Marriage, the Law of Stables, the Law of Unauthorized Prosperity, the Law of Thieves and Thieves, the Law of Fighting Lawsuits, the Law of Deception and Falsehood, the Law of Miscellaneous Law, the Law of Arrest and Death, and the Law of Prison Breaks, a total of twelve chapters, a total of only more than five hundred articles, which is one-half of the Northern Zhou Law and a quarter of Xiao Liang's Law. The second is to embody the proposition of leniency and simplicity, and to embody the principle of "replacing the heavy with the light, and replacing the death with the life". At the beginning of the establishment of the Sui Dynasty, Emperor Wen of Sui ordered the abolition of torture such as flogging, singing, and car cracking. In the process of formulating the KaiHuang Law, Pei Zheng played a great role, so Later Wang Fuzhi of the late Ming and early Qing Dynasties said in the "Reading Through Theory": "The laws of the present day are roughly determined by the Sui Pei Government, and the government is far away. For thousands of years, it was not a tyrant who was cool and cool, and could not be abused by law. ”
Fifth, the prefectural military system has been developed. The Fu Bing system originated in the Northern Zhou Dynasty, and Emperor Wen of Sui's reform of the Fu Bing system opened the curtain of the Golden Age of fu bing system. Emperor Wen of Sui set up twelve guards throughout the country: left and right guards, left and right Wu Wei, left and right Wu Hou, left and right collars, left and right guards, left and right guards, and left and right leaders, and each guard set up a general and two generals. These institutions have different divisions of labor, such as the left and right guards are responsible for the protection of the imperial palace, while the left and right wuhou are responsible for the safety and security of the emperor when he is out. But these people did not hold military power, and all military movements were determined by the emperor's orders. The commander-in-chief of each expedition to fight was temporary, and returned the army to the local military governments after returning from the expedition. Emperor Wen of Sui's reform of the prefectural military system focused on implementing a policy of integrating soldiers and farmers. Every adult man has the obligation to perform military service. This, of course, is based on the equalization system. The establishment of this system has effectively solved the tendency of war and chaos caused by the excessive dispersion of military power.
Sui Wendi Yang Jian in film and television works
Then, let's talk about the personal governance characteristics of Emperor Wen of Sui. After Emperor Wen of Sui ascended the throne, on the one hand, he vigorously advocated Confucianism, devoted himself to improving the status of Confucianism in order to maintain unity, and advocated the ideas, customs, and etiquette of Han Confucianism, including the etiquette procedures of imperial orthodoxy, the Confucian ethics of abiding by filial piety, and the education of scripture, so that the north and the south could reach a consensus. Complementary to this is the idea of the Dharma. Emperor Wen of Sui recognized the necessity of using the law to control the chaotic world, and his important assistant minister Gao Xi was praised by Du You, the author of the Tongdian, as a figure such as Guan Zhongshang Martingale. The rule of law has been carried out in institutional reform and construction, and remarkable results have been achieved. Yang Jian was born in a temple and raised by a nun, and Later Yang Jian called him Ajali (meaning mentor). His wife, the Dugu family, is also devout Buddhists. Emperor Wen of Sui's worship of Buddhism was not a personal belief, but a political ploy against the people caused by Emperor Wu of the Northern Zhou Dynasty's destruction of the Buddha, and many of his Buddhist-related activities highlighted his role as an ideal monarch and defender of the Buddha (the Reincarnation King), as well as the role of a benevolent benefactor (Da Tan Yue) who demonstrated to his subjects. Given that Buddhist beliefs were all the rage in both the north and the south during the Southern and Northern Dynasties, this move by Emperor Wen of Sui apparently contributed to the end of the long period of division and the formation of a unified situation.
Under the guidance of this mixed ideology, Emperor Wen of Sui promoted clean politics and moderate politics. The so-called clean politics means that the government must strictly practice frugality and not make excessive financial expenditures and excessive burdens on the people. The Book of Sui says of him: "Be frugal, be steadfast, be honest, act in accordance with the law, be happy with the life of a gentleman, and settle down with each of the villains." He advocated that officials should be honest and honest and punish corruption severely. If corruption is discovered, or if a bribe is offered to another person, the death penalty is immediately imposed upon verification. He led by example, discovering that his son Yang Ling, the King of Qin, was living in luxury and ordered him to confine himself. Crown Prince Yang Yong was extravagant and lustful, so he changed Yang Guang to prince. The so-called moderate politics means that the law should be lenient and sparse.
Among the emperors of the past, Emperor Wen of Sui was an emperor who paid more attention to frugality. At the beginning of his reign, he announced that "dogs and horses cannot be sacrificed when playing." These are all worth affirming.
Of course, Emperor Wen of Sui also had some flaws and deficiencies. The biggest failure is the choice of heirs. At first, according to the ceremonial law, his eldest son Yang Yong was made crown prince. However, Prince Yang Yong is not good at disguise, especially in the aspect of lust, which is disliked by his mother. Her mother, the LoneLy Queen, not only kept her husband under strict care, but also demanded her sons very strictly. Although Yang Yong is more benevolent, his lustfulness really disgusts his mother. On the contrary, Yang Guang disguised himself very well and won the favor of his mother. At the insistence of empress dowager, Emperor Yang Jian of Sui deposed the crown prince Yang Yong and made Yang Guang crown prince.
Sui Wen Emperor Tai Mausoleum
In the fourth year of Renshou (604), Emperor Wen of Sui was bedridden, and once saw his favorite Lady Xuanhua rush in from outside, looked different, and asked her what was wrong. She said the prince was rude. Emperor Wen of Sui said angrily, "Beastly creatures are enough to pay big things, and lonely and sincerely mislead me!" He called Liu Shu and Yuan Yan and asked them to recall Yang Yong. When Yang Su learned about it, he immediately told Yang Guang. Yang Guang immediately corrected and arrested Liu and Yuan, and sent his close associate Zhang Heng into the palace to serve the sick and drive away all the palace people. It wasn't long before Emperor Wen of Sui died. He was sixty-four. The "Examination Of Differences" of the "Zizhi Tongjian" also quoted Ma Zong's "Tong calendar" as saying that at that time it was "blood splashing screens, and the voices of injustice and pain were heard outside."
Sui Dynasty Emperor Yang Guang
After listing the main achievements of Emperor Wen of Sui, the author of the Book of Sui praised him as "the good lord of modern times". He also pointed out that he had no academics, denounced meritorious heroes, listened to rumors, and used harsh methods, although he was a leader of equals, but did not explain the role played by Emperor Wen of Sui in The development of Chinese history. Fan Wenlan had a good appraisal: "The main merit of Emperor Wen of Sui was to implement various measures to consolidate unification after unifying the whole country, so that the war for more than three hundred years could be stopped, the whole country was peaceful, the people in the north and south were rested, and the society showed unprecedented prosperity." Qin Shi Huang created the Qin system, which was inherited by all the dynasties after the Han Dynasty. Emperor Wen of Sui created the Sui system, which was followed by all dynasties after the Tang Dynasty. Both the Qin and Sui dynasties made great contributions, and their role in history should not be ignored because of the shortness of the calendar. ”