Sui Dynasty

  General Description   China was reunified after the Northern and Southern dynasties period by the short-lived Sui dynasty (581-618 CE). The first Sui emperor Yang Jian dethroned the Northern Zhou emperor and conquered the southern Chen dynasty. ^[1] The Sui were able to unify China but did not create a stable, lasting imperial house. ^[2] The second Sui emperor Yangdi is villainized for his extravagant spending and endless military campaigns. Yangdi undertook massive infrastructure projects including the fortification of the Great Wall, and the construction of a third capital at Jiangdu, and the Grand Canal. He also conducted many military campaigns including multiple attempts to conquer the Korean Peninsula. ^[1] His overuse of conscripted corvee labor coupled with natural disasters led to famine, and the dynasty was overthrown by massive peasant rebellions and revolts by nobles after only 37 years of rule. ^[3] Sui construction of infrastructure and government reforms paved the way for the lasting rule of the Tang. ^[2]
The Sui territory encompassed 3 million square kilometers in 581. ^[4] The 2,500 km (5,000 li) Grand Canal supplied the Sui capitals of Luoyang, Chang’an and Jiangdu with grain from the lower Yangtze area, running from the eastern capital of Luoyang to present-day Beijing and Hangzhou. ^[3] The Sui sphere of influence reached Chinese Turkestan, Champa, and Formosa. ^[5]
Population and political organization
The Sui’s administrative reforms abolished all fiefdoms and set up a prefecture system. The examination and military system were reformed. ^[1] Yang Jian reestablished Han Confucian government rituals, and reformed Chinas’ penal code and administrative laws. ^[6]
The Sui population was recorded as 46 million in a 609 CE census. However, some modern scholars believe that this number is too low. ^[5]

[1]: (Theobald 2000) Theobald, U. 2000. Sui Dynasty (581-618). Chinaknowledge.de. http://www.chinaknowledge.de/History/Tang/sui.html Accessed June 15, 2017. Seshat URL: https://www.zotero.org/groups/1051264/seshat_databank/items/itemKey/GR73VWI9

[2]: (Theobald 2000) Theobald, U. 2000. Sui Dynasty (581-618). Chinaknowledge.de.http://www.chinaknowledge.de/History/Tang/sui.html Accessed June 15, 2017. Seshat URL: https://www.zotero.org/groups/1051264/seshat_databank/items/itemKey/GR73VWI9

[3]: (Editorial Committee of Chinese Civilization 2007, 62) Editorial Committee of Chinese Civilization (eds.) 2007. China: Five Thousand Years of History and Civilization. Hong Kong: City University of Hong Kong Press. Seshat URL: https://www.zotero.org/groups/1051264/seshat_databank/items/itemKey/V6V8BAE4

[4]: (Chase-Dunn spreadsheet)

[5]: (Tuan 2008, 94) Tuan, Yi-Fu. 2008. A Historical Geography of China. London: Aldine Transactions. Seshat URL: https://www.zotero.org/groups/1051264/seshat_databank/items/itemKey/GTTWMMF5

[6]: “Sui dynasty.” Encyclopedia Britannica. https://www.britannica.com/topic/Sui-dynasty Accessed June 16, 2017. Seshat URL: https://www.zotero.org/groups/1051264/seshat_databank/items/itemKey/RPPSPKUR