Wen Duan Honggang There are two dynasties in the history of China that are very topical. One is the Qin Dynasty, and the other is the Sui Dynasty. They have ups and downs. Although they disappeared in the long river of history in a short time, they all have a strong sense of existence, and they all contributed to history and benefited future generations. The Qin Dynasty was founded in 22 1 BC, when Qin Shihuang unified the six countries, and Liu Bang captured Xianyang, the capital, and captured Zi Ying, the king of Qin, and it only lasted for 14 BC. However, during the period of 14, the Qin Dynasty made many contributions to history. The greatest contribution was the establishment of a unified dynasty on the land of China for the first time, which unified the weights and measures, greatly reduced the waste of resources and facilitated economic and cultural exchanges in various places. At the same time, the Qin Dynasty also left the world-famous Terracotta Warriors and Horses and the Mausoleum of the First Qin Emperor to future generations through large-scale construction, which are treasures in the field of ancient architectural art in China and amazing civilization wealth. Therefore, historians, writers, military strategists and politicians will not hesitate to praise Qin Shihuang's great achievements. The Sui Dynasty began in 58 1 when Emperor Wendi changed his title to "Sui" and made Daxing City (Jin 'an) his capital, and ended in 6 19 when Yang Dong, the grandson of the last emperor deposed by the warlord Wang, lived for 38 years. Yang Guang (569-6 18), Emperor of Yang Di in Sui Dynasty, has a short history, but his development and contributions in various fields are remarkable, and some of his contributions are even unparalleled in the world, which laid a solid foundation for the subsequent dynasties to take off. Emperor Wendi of the Sui Dynasty (54 1-604), after the establishment of the Sui Dynasty, took history as a mirror, was convinced that "since ancient times, emperors have lived a long life without extravagance" and was determined to build the Sui Dynasty into a unified dynasty with strong country and rich people. Therefore, he carried out drastic reforms in politics, culture, education, military affairs and people's livelihood, and made great achievements. The famous system of "three provinces and six departments" was founded by Emperor Wendi of Sui Dynasty. Since its establishment, it has been used until the late Qing Dynasty. Throughout the ages, the system of "three provinces and six departments" was the core, and it was supplemented and adjusted according to the actual situation, which made great contributions to consolidating centralization. Three provinces refer to the division of all bureaucracies in China, which are divided into Zhongshu Province, Menxia Province and Shangshu Province. Zhongshu province is the central department of the whole country and the highest organ of feudal society. The Chief Executive is the Prime Minister, whose main duties are to make decisions on state affairs, formulate and amend state decrees and issue imperial edicts. Shangshu Province, the territory of Sui Dynasty, developed from the secretarial office of Emperor Wu of Han Dynasty, and was composed of six institutions responsible for the emperor's diet and daily life: clothing, food, crown, table, bath and Shangshu. However, due to their proximity, these institutions often have the opportunity to convey the emperor's orders, and their status has been continuously improved and they have become powerful ruling organs. Menxia province was originally the emperor's retinue, and with the continuous expansion of power in the later period, it became an institution that kept pace with Zhongshu province. Both of them are discussing national politics, and they are responsible for reviewing the imperial edicts, signing them, and supervising whether the imperial edicts are reasonable. The six departments are the six subordinate departments of Shangshu Province, namely, the official department, the ritual department, the household department, the Ministry of War, the Ministry of Industry and the Ministry of Punishment. The Chief Executive is called the official minister, the ceremonial minister, the household minister, the ministry of war minister, the ministry of industry minister and the ministry of punishment minister. Their ranks are between the first and the third, and they are in charge of the operation of all walks of life in the country, equivalent to the ministers of every department in modern countries. Each Ministry has four departments to manage specific affairs, which constitutes a perfect and scientific state management machine, and plays a self-evident role in consolidating the central political power and promoting the comprehensive and operable development of society. After Emperor Wendi of the Sui Dynasty ascended the throne, he saw that the system of selecting talents before the Sui Dynasty had always implemented the "Nine Grades System". The biggest drawback of this system is that it pays too much attention to the family background and pedigree of talents, and it is easy to form the bad habit of cronyism, which sets an invisible obstacle for the truly talented children of poor families. As a result, Emperor Wendi of Sui Dynasty soon ordered the abolition of the "Nine-grade Zheng Zhi System" and the implementation of the "Imperial Examination System". The imperial examination system, regardless of birth and lineage, anyone can sign up for the imperial examination at all levels. As long as there is real talent and practical learning, anyone has a chance to stand out. The imperial examination system lasted more than 300 years from the seventh year of Emperor Wendi (AD 587) to the end of the thirty-first year of Guangxu in Qing Dynasty (1905). It is the longest-lasting method to select talents in the world, which effectively improved the disadvantages of the previous employment system, completely broke the monopoly of blood relationship on talents, and made many ordinary scholars have the opportunity to join the upper class. At the same time, it also provided great convenience for people with lofty ideals in ancient times to embark on their official careers and devote themselves to the country. It is a good thing for the country and the people to successfully implement the imperial examination system during Emperor Wendi of Sui Dynasty. Emperor Wendi of Sui Dynasty was an ambitious and enterprising emperor. During his 24 years in power, he made remarkable achievements and initially built the Sui Dynasty into a powerful dynasty, which undoubtedly made a good start for his great-grandchildren. After the death of Emperor Wendi in 604, his second son Yang Guang (569-6 18), aged 35, succeeded to the throne. He was known as the Emperor of Yang Di in history, and his reign was 14 (604-6 18). Generally speaking, his advantages and disadvantages are mixed. Yang Guang, the site of Chang 'an City in Sui and Tang Dynasties, has shown ambitious and self-centered personality since he was a teenager, but he is very shrewd and likes to pursue extremes or even extremes in everything, but he is often good at hiding and concealing his motives. Because he is the second son, he can only be relegated to the king of Jin and is not qualified to be a prince. Therefore, he has been jealous of his half-brother Yong Yang, and has been trying to catch him, and has been spreading rumors about his brother in North Korea. Finally, under the strong pressure of public opinion in the Qing Dynasty, Emperor Wendi of Sui Dynasty ordered the abolition of Yong Yang in 600 and changed Yang Guang into a prince. It is only a matter of time before he sits on the highest throne. In 604, Yang Guang finally got his wish and sat in the long-awaited dragon chair, but before he got hot-headed, he came up with a crazy idea, that is, to move the capital from Daxing City (Chang 'an) to Luoyang, more than 700 miles away. First of all, he re-selected a geomantic treasure-house along the Luohe River in the east of Luoyang 18, and mobilized millions of craftsmen. After nine months of construction, he finally built a new capital here, which is comparable to Daxing City. While building the new capital, another great project, the Sui Grand Canal, is also being dug vigorously. Moving the capital is a major event related to the country. Emperors were very cautious about moving the capital, and Yang Di's decision to move the capital was made after many considerations. The first reason for the model of Luoyang City in Sui and Tang Dynasties is that the geographical location of Luoyang is more advantageous than Daxing City. The Yellow River Basin, where the Guanzhong Plain is located in 800 miles, has fertile land and rich products. For a long time in history, it was the center of national economy, culture and politics. However, with the 400-year war in Wei, Jin, Southern and Northern Dynasties, the economy was severely impacted. At the same time, the southern region was relatively peaceful and its economy developed rapidly, and it had surpassed the north in the Sui Dynasty. On the other hand, at this time, famine occurred frequently in Guanzhong area, which led to a sharp drop in grain output year by year, making it difficult for hundreds of thousands of residents in Daxing City to feed, let alone supply soldiers stationed in the frontier. Luoyang has a very good geographical location, located in the center of the Grand Canal. If the canal runs through Luoyang, we can make full use of the advantages of waterway to transport grain from the south and supply it to other areas in the north. The second reason why the Sui Dynasty dug canals was to strengthen the management and rule of the southern gentry. The gentry was a political group with special status formed in the Eastern Han Dynasty, which was composed of bureaucrats and scholars. In the Wei, Jin, Southern and Northern Dynasties, the gentry ushered in a glorious period of development, and they posed a serious threat to the security of the imperial court with their strong strength. After the reunification of the Sui Dynasty, this contradiction still exists, especially in the south of the Yangtze River. In order to effectively manage and rule the south, Yang Di decided to connect the north and south of the canal at all costs, so that the imperial court could attack quickly and break the threat of the gentry at the first time. In order to complete the feat of connecting the canal, Yang Di spent six years before and after, and used millions of laborers to dig the river day and night. From March 605 to the end of this year, the Tongji Canal with a total length of about 1000 km successfully sailed from Luoyang to Qingjiang (now Huai 'an) in Jiangsu Province, directly connecting the water traffic between the Yellow River and Huaihe River. In the autumn of 608, the Yongji Canal, with a total length of about 1000 km, was opened from Luoyang to Zhuo Jun, Hebei (now southwest of Beijing). During June10, the "Jiangnan Canal" with a total length of about 400 kilometers was opened, starting from Zhenjiang, Jiangsu and ending in Hangzhou, Zhejiang. At the same time, the channels of the Han River have been widened. The Sixian section of the Sui and Tang Grand Canal in Anhui Province, together with the Guangtong Canal dug by Emperor Wen in 584, formed a criss-crossing water transport system with a total length of 1700 kilometers between Luoyang and Hangzhou, which enabled ships to freely and quickly enter and leave the two cities and exchange goods between the two places, effectively promoting the economic development of the two places. Another great contribution after the opening of the Grand Canal in Sui Dynasty was to cultivate the famous city Yangzhou. Yangzhou enjoys a superior geographical position. With the north-south connection of the canal, Yangzhou has gradually become a north-south transportation hub. Thanks to water transportation, it became rich in Jiangnan and became one of the most prosperous cities at that time. After the completion of the Grand Canal in Sui Dynasty, it immediately became a very influential artery of water traffic in ancient China. In addition to its prominent role in military and politics, it has also played an important role in people's livelihood and made great contributions to the country and the people. Luoyang City and the Grand Canal have been built perfectly, but how to solve the problem of feeding hundreds of thousands of people in the new city has become another problem that has to be faced squarely. One day, while eating, it suddenly occurred to Yang Di that the south is warm and rainy, and it can produce two crops a year, which is more than enough to eat. Why not transport the grain from the south to the north through the Grand Canal and store it in Luoyang, which can not only meet the grain demand of Luoyang, but also distribute the grain to all parts of the north at any time with Luoyang as the distribution center, which can completely alleviate the pressure of food shortage in the north. During the implementation of the granary distribution map of Sui Dynasty, Yang Di was very aware of the unity of knowledge and practice. According to the Records of Sui Shu Foodstuffs, from the first year of Daye (604), Yang Di successively built six granaries in Luoyang City and its surrounding areas. They are: Xingluocang (located in Gongyi, Henan), Huiluocang (located in the northeast of Luoyang), Liyangcang (located in Xun County, Hebi City, Henan Province), Guangtongcang (located in Huayin, Shaanxi Province), Heyangcang (located in Meng County, Jiaozuo City) and Changpingcang (located in Gushan State, west of Sanmenxia today). Among the six granaries, Luocang is the largest, which is not so much a granary as a fully functional granary city. The interior is divided into management area, granary pit area, road and canal. The whole is rectangular, with a length of 1 1,000m from east to west and a width of 355m from north to south, with a total area of 350,000m2, which is equivalent to the total area of 50 modern standard football fields. The management area is an office that records the entry and exit, scheduling and distribution of grain. The main road is 28-40 meters wide, which is convenient for all kinds of wagons to transport grain, and the canal is used to dredge and discharge groundwater. The granary cellar in Sui Dynasty was located in the innermost part of the whole granary city, which was used to store grain. It is cylindrical and has good moisture-proof and waterproof functions. Each silo has a depth and diameter of 10 meter, and can store 500,000 Jin of grain. It is estimated that there are more than 700 silos in Luo Hui warehouse, which are neatly arranged in the warehouse city. The whole warehouse in Luo Hui can store about 350 million Jin of grain. You can calculate an account. During the period of Yang Di, the total population of China was about 50 million, and the population of Luoyang, the new capital, was close to 65.438+0 million. If each person can consume 700 Jin of grain every year, only one stored grain in Luoyang will be enough for Luoyang residents to enjoy for half a year. If the stocks of the other five granaries are added, even if there is a famine in Luoyang within one or two years, there will be no worries about the food problem. The construction of such a huge project was completed by manpower without the help of any mechanical equipment. Emperor Yang Di and the people of Sui Dynasty showed their unparalleled wisdom and perseverance. According to historical records, when Luocang was built, 2 million laborers were mobilized from all over the country at one time, with Minister Su Yang as the engineering director. It took two million people nine months to finish this big project day and night. Through archaeological excavation and restoration of the construction scene, it is conceivable that the construction steps of the granary are like this. First, an annular foundation trench is dug underground, with an outer diameter of about 17m, an inner diameter of about 1 1m, a width of 2-3m and a depth of about 2m. Then use special tools to tamp the surface of the foundation trench to achieve high strength and toughness, and naturally form a silo pit. After that, a water tank cellar with a depth of about 10 meter was dug at the pit mouth, and the prototype of the cellar was made. The next process is to dry the wine cellar with dry wood fire, in order to make the wine cellar more solid, firm and dry. The next process is to carry out special treatment on the silo surface to increase the moisture-proof effect and protect the grain, which is the same as modern people painting the building with a layer of paint. The usual practice is to coat a layer of ready mixed paint on the surface of the silo, and mix it with white paste mud, diatom mud and hay powder. Because of its high viscosity and fine texture, white paste is not easy to penetrate water, and it can effectively prevent water from further infiltration when it is wet. Diatom mud has large pores and good hygroscopicity. The granary with heavy moisture will put some charcoal, which also has the function of moisture absorption and moisture prevention. The last step is to lay a thin board for the silo painted with ready mixed paint. Because of the high viscosity of white plaster mud, it is completely possible to stick wooden boards on the silo surface, which is the same as that of modern people sticking tiles on the wall. After the board is laid, lay a thin straw mat on it. At this time, the granary was officially completed and can be directly used to store food. Hangzhou, the destination of the Grand Canal in Sui Dynasty, has a low technical content in building a granary in terms of the difficulty of modern architecture. However, in the Sui Dynasty, where technology was not developed enough more than 1000 years ago, the time, manpower, material resources and financial resources spent on building them were amazing, and the construction process was very complicated. Without courage and perseverance, it is impossible to achieve it. The completion of these major projects, for Yang Di, vanity satisfaction can not appease him for a lifetime and make him immortal. His ambition did not fade with age, but became stronger. He saw that he had all the potential comparable to Emperor Wu of the Han Dynasty. Therefore, in his later years, Yang Di became more selfish and ambitious, building great projects in China, and at the same time, he pursued the East and the West, which was the main reason for the demise of the Sui Dynasty. The great projects he built, such as the Grand Canal and the granary, had not played a great role in the Sui Dynasty. They only enjoyed the benefits of 10 years, and were completely replaced by the Tang Dynasty in May of June19. Fortunately, relying on the foundation laid by the Sui Dynasty, the Tang Dynasty quickly realized the dream of strengthening the country and enriching the people.