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Sui dynasty

Chinese Dynasties

The Sui dynasty ruled China for 37 years, from 581 to 618 AD, founded by Yang Jian, who took the name Emperor Wen of Sui after usurping the Northern Zhou throne. Its capital was Daxing, on the site of modern Xi'an, from 581 to 605, and Luoyang thereafter. Covering roughly 3 million square kilometers, the Sui reunified China proper after the long division of the Northern and Southern dynasties period, constructed the Grand Canal linking the empire's eastern and western economic centers, extended the Great Wall, established the equal-field land system, reformed the bureaucracy and promoted Buddhism; its population reached about 46 million by 606 AD. The dynasty collapsed after failed military campaigns against Goguryeo ending in defeat by 614 AD, widespread popular revolts and heavy taxation, and Emperor Yang was assassinated by his minister Yuwen Huaji in 618, after which Li Yuan founded the succeeding Tang dynasty.

Facts
Government Type
Monarchy 1
Start Year
581 1
End Year
618 1
Government type (class)
Monarchy 1
Classification
Status (Extant or Former)
Former / Dissolved 1
FAQs

Why did the Sui dynasty fall so soon after it reunified China?

Defeat in Korea and peasant hardship set off rebellions from 613, and Emperor Yangdi was assassinated before the Tang took over.

Failure abroad and hardship at home brought it down. The defeat to the Korean kingdom of Goguryeo and the hardships endured by the Chinese peasantry led to widespread rebellion in 613, which was fuelled further by military losses to the Eastern Turks. The rebellions rumbled on until 617. Emperor Yangdi was then assassinated by the son of one of his own generals, and the government was taken over by Li Yuan, later the founder of the Tang dynasty.
Connections

In Era

Source Wikipedia: Sui dynasty

Succeeded By

Source Wikipedia: Sui dynasty
In the Other Atlases

Government Type

Also in Society and Culture Atlas: the government type of this subject.

Sources
1. Wikipedia: Sui dynasty
Wikipedia
  • Introduction
    The Sui dynasty ( SWAY) was a Chinese imperial dynasty that ruled from 581 to 618 AD.
  • Infobox
    Government: Monarchy
  • Sui dynasty: Status
    These mega-projects were led by an efficient centralised bureaucracy, but forcibly conscripted millions of workers at a heavy human cost. After a series of military campaigns against the Goguryeo in the Korean peninsula, which had ended in defeat by 614 AD, the dynasty disintegrated amid popular revolts that culminated in the assassination of Emperor Yang by a minister named Yuwen Huaji in 618 AD.
  • Succeeded By: The Tang Dynasty
  • In Era: The Post-Classical and Medieval Period, lead paragraph and infobox, existence dates
    The Sui dynasty ( SWAY) was a Chinese imperial dynasty that ruled from 581 to 618 AD. The re-unification of China proper under the Sui brought the Northern and Southern dynasties era to a close, ending a prolonged period of political division since the War of the Eight Princes.
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