Unification of China: The Sui Dynasty 589-618.
- The middle of the 6th century there were only four main political units.
- After the collapse of the Northern Wei the north was divided
- a) between the Northern Zhou to the north west &
- b) the more sanitized Northern Qi, to the north east.
- On the middle of the Yangzi River was the small state of Liang.
- South of the Yangzi valley there was the Chen empire.
- The Chen was ruled by the last of the six dynasties.
- The Northern Zhou and the Northern Qi competed for the control of north China.
- Their actions were limited by the threat of a new steppe confederation.
- This confederation was headed bt the Tujue.
- They were a Turkish people.
- Their influence had spread from Manchuria all t way to the border of Persia.
- In 577 the Northern Zhou attacked and defeated the Northern Qi.
- They did this with the help of the Chen state.
- In 582 the Turkish empire split into a eastern and western part.
- Now the threat from the north was reduced.
- This allowed the Northern Zhou to overrun the Liang in 587.
- Two years later they overwhelmed the Chen.
Yang Jian
- Northern Zhou society was dominated by a group of non-Chinese aristocratic family.
- One such family, the Yuwen, occupied the throne.
- Yang Jian, a main player in these events came from another of these families.
- This was probably from Xianbei extraction.
- Yang Jian hd been born and raised in a Buddhist temple.
- His wife, who was a Buddhist, came from a prominent Xiongnu clan.
- His daughter was married to the heir apparent.
- Yang Jian rose to power as a military commander.
- Yang Jian's son-in-law succeeded to the throne.
- That was the year the Northern Zhou emperor died.
- A year later Yang Jian got rid of him.
- Then he tried to wipe out the entire Yuwen family which started a civil war.
- Yang Jian, with the help of a military leader Gao Jiong, defeated his opponents.
- He established a new dynasty to be known as the Sui.
- Gao Jiong later became his long serving minister.
- Thereafter Yang Jian is better known by his posthumous title, Wendi.
Emperor Wendi
- Wendi insisted that he was the legitimate heir to the Han Dynasty.
- He went through the proper rituals to confirm this.
- It provided him with the moral justification for conquering the south.
- He succeeded it in 589.
- the city of Jiankang was sacked
- Wendi won the allegiance of the Chen aristocrats and its officials
- this is because he treated them leniently
- Wendi was determined to broaden the basis of his support
- he did this by endorsing the virtue of filial-piety, thus pleasing the Confucianists.
- at the same time he ended the persecution of Buddhism.
- he began the construction of a great new capital at Chang’an
- he set out to reconstitute a central government with the same practices as the Han
- under Wendi, more Chinese were employed in the service of the state
- but the important offices were monopolized by his close relatives
- the positions in office also went to those who had held offices in Northern Zhou.
- Wendi personally investigated the work of his officials when travelling
- he also instituted two rules:
- a) an official could not work in his own district of origin
- b) the length of time an official could hold a post was limited
- these rules served as a device for the control of his officials.
- Wendi did not admire scholars
- but in his reign the essential characteristics of the examination system took shape.
- examinations were conducted by the Board of Civil Office
- they were held three times a year
- degrees were awarded at three levels.
- for a lower degree one had to show literary ability and knowledge of a classical work
- the most prestigious award or degree, the xiucai, or “cultivating talent”
- this degree was for the candidate’s broader learning
- successful candidates were appointed to official positions.
Reforms
- Wendi also put forth some important reforms in the areas of law and taxation.
- he promulgated the Kaihuang Code
- it defined crimes and their punishments in plain terms
- it abolished some cruel punishments
- the Kaihuang Code was to serve as a model for all future imperial legal codes.
- Wendi also overhauled the land and taxation system
- he did this by reviving the “equal field” arrangement.
- the common people were required to pay three taxes:
- a) a land tax payable in grain;
- b) a textile tax payable in silk or linen;
- c) a labour tax requiring 20 days labour per year from adult males.
- Wendi reorganized the military under a central control.
- he confiscated all the weapons after demilitarizing those of the North China Plain
- he also gained control of Champa, known in modern times as Annam
- in the north, he was able to contain & control the Turks
- this was done by establishing military colonies and by building walls.
- for many of his actions Wendi had received the advice of his consort
- such a role was accepted in northern aristocratic families
- but was unique in China’s dynastic annals.
- it was on her advice that the emperor’s second son was nominated heir.
Emperor Yangdi
- the Yangdi emperor, as he was later known succeeded his father Wendi in 604.
- due his father’s sound economic basis Yangdi issued large scale public work projects:
- a) building of a 2nd capital at Luoyang (pop. 400,000 – 500, 000)
- b) palaces along the canal routes & transportation hubs.
- c) the Grand Canal
- two aspects of Yangdi’s reign are often criticized:
- a) his program of canal-building
- b) his fixation or obsession with the conquest of Korea.
- he built the canal to enable the resources of the south to be brought to the north
- the south was more productive in terms of agriculture and industries
- this was done by connecting the drainage of the Yellow, Huai, and Yangzi rivers.
- the program originally got started with Wendi and
- in some areas it merely improved the existing waterways.
- Yangdi created a network of four canals extending for about 1465 miles.
- this was an engineering feat without parallel in the world of its time.
- this system of communication provided the basis for the prosperity of the Tang period.
- it was achieved by
- a) state intervention into the economy
- drafting thousands of men ands women labourers
- these are features which earned him condemnation by the Confucian historians
- his foreign policy was shaped by his awareness of a possible major threat
- this was still posed by the eastern Turks in what is now Mongolia
- this was the threat of an alliance between the Turks and the Koreans
- his response was to continue his father’s strategy of
- a) building walls
- b) using marriage diplomacy
- seeking alliances with the potential enemies of the eastern Turks.
- for this he sent out his frontier expert Pei Ju
- in 607 the emperor Yangdi himself travelled to Yulin
- he was angered when he discovered that an embassy from Koguryo
- this was in eastern Manchuria and the northern part of the Korean peninsula.
Expeditions Against Korea
- this threat of this alliance prompted his disastrous expeditions against Korea.
- the first attack was launched in 612
- at this time he was forced to withdraw because of
- a) poor planning
- b) strong resistance by the Koguryo
- Yangdi had launched the attack himself with an armed force of more than 1.3 million.
- further campaigns launched in 613 and 614 had similar results
- during the 613 campaign Yangdi had to retreat
- this was because he had to deal with a rebellion
- this rebellion was threatening Luoyang, the capital city.
- his campaigns made him ignore social and economic consequences:
- a) high cost in manpower
- b) excessive levies
- c) disruption of livelihood
- d) great loss of life.
- - the campaign had been done on the backs of a series of construction projects:
- a) Luoyang
- b the Grand Canal,
- c numerous palaces,
- d) the Great Wall.
- Yangdi’s many supporters abandoned him
- in 618 he was murdered by a descendent of the Yuwen family,
- historians always attributed the collapse of the Sui to Yangdi on
- a) his personal failings
- b) excessive ambition
- the disastrous flooding of the Yellow River valley in 611 led to the rise of the rebellion.
- the harsh conscriptions of peasants was his fault
- the conscriptions were for canal-building and the military campaigns
- the collapse may be explained by
- a) the continual rivalry within the northern aristocratic clans
- b) the survival of separatist sentiments in the territory of the former northern Qi
- c) the willingness of Li Yuan to reach a demeaning accommodation with the Turks.
The Establishment of the Tang
- Li Yuan was a member of the northern aristocratic family
- he was probably from a Hebei family intermarried with the Xianbei aristocracy.
- Li Yuan pursued a military career
- under the Sui, his success in suppressing rebellion led to a promotion
- the promotion was to command the important garrison at Taiyuan.
- it was at Taiyuan, that in 617 Li Yuan decided to start a debatable rebellion.
- the Sui looked like it was deteriorating
- Yangdi had grown apprehensive concerning the danger of his throne being seized.
- he had heard of as prophecy that the next ruler would have the surname Li
- so, he ordered the execution of anyone having that surname.
- Li Yuan, upon hearing this, took action
- he had planned to take part in the revolt
- the Turks who were promised the booty seized by the rebels
- the Turks were encouraged to believe that Li Yuan was willing to become their vassal.
- within one year of the rebellion, Li Yuan had captured Chang’an
- he declared the establishment of the Tang dynasty.
- Li Yuan was given the posthumous title of Gaozu.
The Reign of Gaozu
- this was because of the multiplicity of rebellions and claims to the throne
- so he needed extensive military campaigns to extinguish his rivals.
- Gaozu had a tendency to win over rebel leaders and give Sui officials their posts.
- the transfer of power did not imply any major shift in the place of power
- Gaozu’s support came from the same northern aristocratic clans as that of the Sui.
- Gaozu continued the Sui practices in central and local governments
- he also maintained their legal and taxation system.
- early in his reign Gaozu had appointed Fu Yi, as his astrologer
- Fu Yi was a Daoist priest known as a fierce critic of Buddhism.
- Gaozu declared that Daosim and Confucianism were key pillars of the state
- to him Buddhism was a foreign religion
- he noted that the monks were involved in worldly affairs
- this contradicted the tenets of their beliefs.
- Gaozu’s way of dealing with the Turks showed how fragile his position
- he was forced to retain their goodwill through bribery
- but he did manage to consolidate his position in China.
- during his reign Gaozu brought about some changes:
- a) mints were established and a new currency was issued;
- b) a revised code of law was produced which went further than that of the Sui in incorporating features of southern practice;
- c) he revived the examination system, although he continued to appoint aristocrats to senior positions;
- d) he reduced the throne’s reliance on Buddhism as a unifying force.
- then Gaozu’s reign came to a sudden end.
Li Shimin
- Li Shimin, Gaozu’s son, was a bitter rival of his elder brother who was heir.
- Li Shimin had played a major role in the military campaigns
- these were the one that helped consolidate the Tang control in the east
- by now had built up a strong personal following.
- the heir’s strength lay in the court and in the capital, Chang’an
- in an atmosphere of intrigue and plots Li Shimin carried out a coup
- the event known as the Xuanwu Gate incident
- this resulted in
- a) the death of the heir, his older brother
- b) the abdication of Gaozu
- c) the succession of Li Shimin, henceforth to be known as Taizong.
No comments:
Post a Comment