| Emperor Wen of Sui 隋文帝 | |||||||||||||||||
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| Emperor of the Sui dynasty | |||||||||||||||||
| Reign | 4 March 581 – 13 August 604 | ||||||||||||||||
| Successor | Emperor Yang | ||||||||||||||||
| Born | 21 July 541 Chang'an, Western Wei dynasty | ||||||||||||||||
| Died | 13 August 604 (aged 63) Renshou Palace, Baoji, Sui dynasty | ||||||||||||||||
| Burial | Tai Mausoleum (泰陵) | ||||||||||||||||
| Consort(s) | Empress Wenxian | ||||||||||||||||
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| House | Yang | ||||||||||||||||
| Dynasty | Sui | ||||||||||||||||
| Father | Yang Zhong | ||||||||||||||||
| Mother | Lady Lü[1] | ||||||||||||||||
Emperor Wen of Sui (隋文帝; 21 July 541 – 13 August 604[2]), personal name Yang Jian (楊堅), Xianbei name Puliuru Jian (普六茹堅), was the founding emperor of the Chinese Sui dynasty. As a Buddhist, he encouraged the spread of Buddhism through the state. He is regarded as one of the most important emperors in Chinese history, reunifying China proper in 589 after centuries of division since the independence of the Cheng-Han and Han-Zhao dynasties from the Western Jin dynasty in 304. During his reign, the construction of the Grand Canal began.
As a Northern Zhou official, Yang Jian served with apparent distinction during the reigns of the Emperor Wu and Emperor Xuan. When the erratic Emperor Xuan died in 580, Yang, as his father-in-law, seized power as regent. After defeating General Yuchi Jiong, who resisted him, he seized the throne for himself, establishing the new Sui dynasty. Yang Jian was the first ethnic Han ruler to control the entirety of North China after the Xianbei people conquered the region from the Liu Song dynasty (not counting the brief reconquest by Emperor Wu of Liang).
Generally speaking, Emperor Wen's reign was a great period of prosperity, not seen since the Han dynasty. Economically, the nation prospered. It was said that there was enough food stored for 50 years. The military was also powerful. At the beginning of his reign, Sui faced the threat of the Göktürks in the north, neighbored Tibetan tribes in the west, Goguryeo in the northeast, and Champa (Linyi) in the south. By the end of Emperor Wen's reign, the Göktürks had split into an eastern and a western khaganate, the eastern one being nominally submissive to Sui, as was Goguryeo. Champa was defeated and, while not conquered, did not remain a threat.
Emperor Wen is also famous for having only two concubines. Although he might have had additional concubines not documented by traditional historians, this is the fewest for an adult Chinese emperor, surpassed only by the monogamous Emperor Fei of Western Wei and the Hongzhi Emperor of Ming. Emperor Wen loved and respected his wife Empress Dugu deeply, and he might not have had sexual relations with his concubines until after her death in 602.
- ^ Historical records have very little to say on Lady Lü. According to Yang Jian's biography in Book of Sui, Lady Lü once fell ill for three years. Yang Jian waited on her day and night, earning him a reputation of being very filial. (后征还，遇皇妣寝疾三年，昼夜不离左右，代称纯孝。) Sui Shu, vol.01. The Lü clan was of humble origins, and after Lady Lü left her maternal family, the Yang clan lost contact with the Lüs for some time. An attempt was made to locate the Lüs after the destruction of Northern Qi, without success. Early in the Kaihuang era of Yang Jian's reign, Jinan Commandery informed that a man named Lü Yongji (吕永吉) claimed to have a paternal aunt with the courtesy name "Kutao" (苦桃) who was the wife of Yang Zhong. Lü Yongji's identity as Yang Jian's maternal cousin was eventually verified, and Yang Jian posthumously honored his maternal grandfather Lü Shuangzhou (吕双周) and grandmother Lady Yao. (高祖外家吕氏，其族盖微，平齐之后，求访不知所在。至开皇初，济南郡上言，有男子吕永吉，自称有姑字苦桃，为杨忠妻。勘验知是舅子，始追赠外祖双周为上柱国、太尉、八州诸军事、青州刺史，封齐郡公，谥曰敬，外祖母姚氏为齐敬公夫人。) Sui Shu, vol.79
- ^ According to Emperor Wen's biography, he died on the dingwei day of the 7th month of the 4th year of the Renshou era of his reign. This corresponds to 13 Aug 604 in the Julian calendar. ([仁寿四年秋七月]丁未，崩于大宝殿，时年六十四。) Sui Shu, vol.02