Wendi's+Life

Wendi’s Life

By Rebecca

Emperor Wendi was the first ruler of the short-lived Sui dynasty. In his reign of only twenty-three years, he achieved more than some emperors who ruled for double that amount of time. He organized the country vastly, paving the way for the great Tang and Song dynasties. He is often unfairly glossed over in Chinese history and portrayed negatively, although his legacy still remains in China today.

Emperor Wendi was born in 541, under the name of Yang Chien, in northern China. The area was controlled by the Zhou at the time. His family was a powerful and influential one. As a young man, Wendi was a high official in the Zhou court. When the Zhou emperor died suddenly, the dynasty collapsed in a storm of plots and murders. Wendi seized the throne and overcame his rivals. He then set about trying to gather supporters and to unify the country, which would be for the first time in around 300 years.

Wendi did indeed gain supporters. He sought out the support of the educated people of China to help lead his government and won the commoners to his side by passing fairer and kinder laws than the strict Zhou before him. Then in 581, he started the Sui dynasty. Ch’ang-an became its capitol.

Soon after he started his new dynasty, Wendi used his military strength to apply a uniform type of government to his empire. In his laws were many aspects of Confucianism, which had not been used since the Han dynasty. He created the civil service system, a system in which aspiring officials had to pass a difficult test to come to power. This helped his government run smoothly because able and knowledgeable people held the important positions.

To help his country run smoother still, Wendi appointed leaders to different provinces of China. To be fairer still, the leaders rotated provinces so no ill feelings built up. They were also not allowed to work in the province from which they came so that their would be no unfair alliances. To further organized his empire, Wendi simplified the military and tax systems. With a more organized army, Wendi was able to conquer Turkistan and Mongolia, adding to his new empire. He also started taking a careful census, a practice which had been forgotten by the Zhou.

In his later years, Wendi supported Buddhism. He built many shrines and relics, many of which still stand today. When Wendi died in 604, at the age of 63, his son, known as Emperor Yang came to power. He benefited from the successes of his father and became over confident. He began to abuse his power and was eventually murdered. Emperor Yang’s fall started the decline of the short lived Sui dynasty that is so unjustly skimmed over in text books when you think of all that they achieved and gave to China.

Trivia Questions: Where was Emperor Wendi born? How did Wendi gain the support of the commoners? What did Wendi create so that he had skilled administrators?