Yang Zhong 楊忠 was a general among the nobility of the empire of Western Wei (Xiwei 西魏) and Northern Zhou (Beizhou 北周), he was enfeoffed with the title of Duke of Sui 隋公. His son Yang Jian 楊堅 was likewise an eminent general that had his daughter married to Emperor Zhou Xuandi 北周宣帝, whereupon he became chancellor. After the death of Emperor Xuandi and the accession of the minor prince Yuwen Chan 宇文闡 (posthumous title Zhou Jingdi 北周靜帝) Yang Jian took over the central government and the control over the armies. To prevent the imperial princes from usurpation he summoned them to the capital and had them executed later. Yang Jian was able to suppress the rebellion of three commanders-in-chief (zongguan 總管, the so-called Sanfang 三方), Wei Chijiong 尉遲迥, Sima Xiaonan 司馬消難, and Wang Qian 王謙. In 581 Yang Jian dethroned Emperor Jingdi and founded the Sui Dynasty. Yang Jian was the person who suceeded in reunifying China after almost four hundred years of divison between north and south. It was not only his own work, but the reunification was already prepared at the Northern Zhou court where reforms were introduced to enhance the state power over aristocracy, military and the Buddhist communities. Especially the Confucianist system to recruit officials from state schools by means of examinations was newly considered as very useful. After Yang Jian founded his dynasty, he energetically carried on the reforms that had already begun under the last of the Northern Dynasties (Beichao 北朝). The conquest of south China was a well prepared enterprise, and the troops of the new Sui Dynasty found almost no resistance by the Chen 陳, last of the Southern Dynasties (Nanchao 南朝). While the south was politically weak during the last decades of the Southern-Northern Dynasties period, the Sui empire had a population that was already quite homegenous, a mixture of Chinese and Non-Chinese peoples. The long period of Northern Wei (Beiwei 北魏), an empire founded by the Xianbei tribe of the Tuoba 鮮卑拓跋, had laid the foundation for the economic and political reconstruction of northern China after two hundred years of turmoil. Yang Jian had broken the power of the northern aristocracy and the resistance of ministers loyal to the dynasties of Northern Qi (Beiqi 北齊) and Northern Zhou. The mightiest families of the south were resettled to the region around the capital Chang'an 長安 (modern Xi'an/Shaanxi) and deprived of their domains in order to weaken the semi-independance of the southern aristocracy - a phenomenon that had prevailed throughout the Southern Dynasties period. A rebellion of the southern aristocracy was suppressed by general Yang Su 楊素. The next step of the Sui was to reorganize the local administration throughout the empire. The double administration of civil and military superior prefectures (zhoufu 州府 and junfu 軍府) was given up, the commanderies (jun 郡) were reorganized in prefectures (zhou 州) later, and the general prefectures (zongguanfu 總管府) were abolished later. In the central government, the structure of the three departments (sansheng 三省) and six ministries (liubu 六部) was perpetuated and served as model for the Tang Dynasty 唐. See more about the administration on the government and administration page. Princedoms (wangguo 王國) as quasi-independant kingdoms within the empire with their separate own administratorial structure were given up. The election system for officials in the state service still followed the pattern of the nine ranks (jiupin zhongzheng 九品中正) that had been implemented by Cao Cao 曹操, and by which official posts were virtually hereditary. The Sui government created two grades for supplicants of official career: jinshi 進士 ("presented scholar") and mingjing 明經 ("classicist"). Furthermore, military service and military career in the garrison militia (fubing 府兵) that had been restricted to Xianbei 鮮卑 before, was opened to Chinese, and the special military households (binghu 兵戶) were given up. The Sui emperors also newly codified the imperial law, first in the Kaihuang Codex 開皇律, later in the Daye Codex 大業律. Of all these reforms, probably the economical reforms are the most important: the issue of a common currency, the equal-field-system, and the imperial canal. Yang Jian (Emperor Sui Wendi 隋文帝) nominated Yang Guang 楊廣 as his successor (posthumous Sui Yangdi 隋煬帝). The rebellion of his brother Yang Liang 楊諒 was suppressed by the loyal prince Yang Su. Emperor Yangdi personally lead campaigns against the Turks 突厥 and Tuyuhun 吐谷渾 to appease the western neighbors. Several prefectures were established in the western territories to control the access to the Inner Asian trade routes. Embassadors were sent to several states in Central Asia, the Middle East, East and Southeast Asia. In 610 the first rebellions among the population showed that the Sui empire, being at its political and economical height, on the other side imposed a heavy burden on the peasant population. The buildings in the capitals, especially in Luoyang and a third capital, Jiangdu 江都 (modern Yangzhou 揚州/Jiangsu), the erection of fortification walls in the north and of dykes along the Yellow River, and the digging of the Great Canal exhausted the labour power of the population, especially in the lower Yangtse and Yellow River areas. The rebellion of Prince Yang Jian also caused the execution of thousands of so-called collaborators. The permanent travels of Emperor Yangdi between the capitals likewise contributed to the exhaustion of the state treasury. The final spark that enflamed the suppressed population were the three successless campaigns against the Korean kingdom of Koguryŏ since 608 that emptied the state treasury and posed a high toll to the population that served in and for the troops. Droughts and unindations further imposed a high toll on the suffering population of the Central Plain. In 611 Wang Pu 王蒲 called "Zhishi Lang 知世朗" and Liu Badao 劉霸道 were the first to stage an uprising against the exploitation by the Sui government in modern Shangong province, accompanied by Sun Anzu 孫安祖 and Dou Jiande 窦建德 in modern Hebei. The largest rebellion movement was that of Wagang 瓦岡, lead by Di Rang 翟讓. From the south, rebellious peasant armies were lead by Du Fuwei 杜伏威 and Fu Gongshi 輔公祏. All these rebellions that one by one spread over the whole of China converged to three main movements: the Wagang army lead by Di Rang, later by Li Mi 李密 (modern Henan); Du Jiande's army that defended a kingdom called Xia 夏 (modern Hebei); and Du Fuwei's kingdom of Wu 吳 (modern Anhui, northern Jiangsu). Except peasant, there were also rich landowners and the southern aristocracy that had been moved to the north. Their most important representant was Yang Xuangan 楊玄感, a member of the imperial family, whose rebellion in 613 caused the defeat of the second Korean campaign. Another relative, Li Yuan 李淵, procurator-regent (liushou 留守) of Taiyuan 太原 (modern Shanxi), staged a rebellion in 616 and occupied the capital Chang'an. He dethroned emperor Yangdi and enthroned the Prince of Dai, Yang You 楊侑, as emperor (posthumous Sui Gongdi 隋恭帝). The extreme ruthlessness of Emperor Yangdi against opponents and rebels - in some cases more than 30,000 people are said to be executed - contributed to his defamation as the typical evil last ruler of a dynasty. In 618 Emperor Yangdi was killed with the help of his favorite Yuwen Zhi 宇文智, and the young Prince of Qin 秦, Yang Hao 楊浩, was installed as emperor. In the capital, meanwhile, Yang Tong 楊侗, Prince of Yue 越, was made emperor. Yang Hao was murdered by Yuwen Huaji 宇文化及 who proclaimed himself emperor of Xu 許. In Luoyang, Li Mi and general Wang Shichong 王世充 fought for the imperial power, Li Mi surrendered to Li Yuan who had just founded his Tang Dynasty 唐, and Wang Shichong made himself emperor of Zheng 鄭. The Sui Dynasty was ended.

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