The Sui Dynasty (隋朝 581-618) followed the Southern and Northern Dynasties and preceded the Tang Dynasty in China. It ended nearly four centuries of rule by warlords.
The Sui Dynasty has often been compared to the earlier Qin Dynasty in tenure and the ruthlessness of its accomplishments. The Sui dynasty's early demise was attributed to the government's tyrannical demands on the people, who bore the crushing burden of taxes and compulsory labor. These resources were overstrained in the completion of the Grand Canal--a monumental engineering feat-- and in the undertaking of other construction projects, including the reconstruction of the Great Wall. Weakened by costly and disastrous military campaigns against Korea in the early seventh century, the dynasty disintegrated through a combination of popular revolts, disloyalty, and assassination.
| Posthumous Names ( Shi Hao 諡號 ) | Born Names | Period of Reigns | Era Names (Nian Hao 年號) and their according range of years |
|---|---|---|---|
| Convention: "Sui" + posthumous name | |||
| Wen Di (文帝 wen2 di4) | Yang Jian (楊堅 yang2 jian1) | 581-604 | Kaihuang (開皇 kai1 huang2) 581-600Renshou (仁壽 ren2 shou4) 601-604 |
| Yang Di (煬帝 yang2 di4) | Yang Guang (楊廣 yang2 guang3) | 605-617 | Daye (大業 da4 ye4) 605-617 |
| Gong Di (恭帝 gong1 di4) | Yang You (楊侑 yang2 you4) | 617-618 | Yining (義寧 yi4 ning2) 617-618 |