| A universal guide for China studiesChinese History - Sui Dynasty 隋朝 (618-907) |
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Sui Dynasty |  period before (Northern Wei) next period (Tang)  | |||
 |             The Sui Dynasty - actually a northern dynasty - could reconquer the whole territory of China. The old cities of Chang'an 長安 (modern Xi'an 西安/Shaanxi) and Luoyang 洛陽/Henan were again chosen as the traditional capitals, but the economical overweight of the Yangtse River delta region lead to the founding of a third capital, Jiangdu 江都 (modern Yangzhou 揚州/Jiangsu). The imperial canal (not im the map) stretched this region to the main capitals to ensure the supply with grain and food. The Sui government took over the traditional local administration in regions (zhou 州) and subordinated commanderies (jun 郡) that was in common use since Qin 秦 and Han 漢 times. Although most names of commanderies had not been changed since, the names of the regions were altered now under the Sui administration, many of these names were later used as names of provinces. The Sui regions were:
In the last decade of the Sui, between 611 and 623 numerous uprisings and rebellions took place, especially in the area of the lower Yellow River course. Here, military leaders proclaimed their own dynasties, like Wei 魏 (by Li Mi 李密), Chu 楚, Xia 夏 (Dou Jiande 窦建德), Yan 燕, Zheng 鄭, Liang 梁, and Tang (Li Yuan 李淵). Neighbors of the Sui empire in the north were the Turkish federations (Tujue 突厥) that divided into Eastern and Western Turks in 581. More to the east were the inhabitants of the Northeastern Plain 東北平原, the Qidan 契丹, Xi 奚, and Shiwei 室韋. The Changbaishan Mountain Range 長白山 was inhabited by people of the Malgal/Mohe 靺鞨 ethnic. On the Korean Peninsula the Three Kingdoms (Samguk/Sanguo) had taken shape: Koguryŏ/Gaogouli 高句麗, Paekche/Baiji 百濟, and Silla/Xinluo 新羅. In modern Qinghai, the late Tuyuhun kingdom 吐谷渾 (not Tuguhun!) was still prevalent. Go back to the Sui Dynasty introduction page and learn more about Sui Dynasty economy, arts, literature, government... | |||
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