In fact, Emperor Yang Di was very literate. He built canals, built the Great Wall, established imperial examinations, concentrated power, became a powerful country, removed future troubles, conquered four barbarians, conquered the western regions, and merged with the world. The song "Dead Song of Undirected Liaodong Waves" scolds Emperor Yang-ti's crusade, but why do Li Shimin, a recognized generation of famous teachers, and Li Zhi, his usually fragile son, like red-eyed cocks, have to win Goguryeo? As long as we carefully read the historical records of that year, we can clearly understand that Koguryo at that time was by no means a so-called vassal state. This is also a highly concentrated, semi-grazing and semi-farming military force, which has the ability to conquer neighboring countries and bully the Central Plains. It sometimes attacked and plundered the Sui Dynasty. In that year, Yang Di mobilized thousands of troops, a total of one million, and made three expeditions to the East. It's not because Koguryo didn't. Emperor Yang Di once said, "Don't worry about future generations!"

People only remember Emperor Yang Di's three trips to Jiangnan by dragon boat, but few people remember how much the 4000-mile Grand Canal contributed to the prosperity and stability of China! This is tantamount to completely denying a magnificent masterpiece just because the last line is not well written. "I forgot this river after all, and the road is long and Xiu Yuan is awkward."

It's just that the last emperor never lost any good reputation. How can the legitimacy of the new dynasty be explained if the former master is not degraded to nothing? On the whole, a dissolute emperor is not enough to evaluate the former emperor.

As we all know, Yang Di was the worst emperor in the history of China, because he died with the demise of the Sui Dynasty. For more than a thousand years, there have been irrefutable cases. The author didn't mean to just write the word conviction. Stupidly commenting on historical figures, merit is merit, if you pass, you will pass, and if you fail, you will be innocent. In the final analysis, it depends on the social significance of his historical activities, whether it is progressive or reactionary I believe that Emperor Yang Di is a great historical figure, because he is one of the greatest emperors in the history of feudal society in China, but I totally deny that he was finally lost in the blood and fire of peasant war, which was once the most brilliant page in the history of China, reflecting the narrow and fragile traditional thinking mode of China literati.

Although we can't expect Wei Zhi, who came down from Wagangzhai and wrote history with the aim of "taking Sui as a mirror", to leave us with a fair evaluation of Emperor Yang Di's Sui Shu; We can't even expect all China literati and their historians, as representatives of small-scale production concept culture, to objectively understand Emperor Yang Di; Even this year, he is still regarded as the object of criticism rather than research. Therefore, if we don't do some hard work from scratch and turn over all the materials of Emperor Yang Di, I'm afraid we can't get rid of the fog and get close to his true face.

We can almost say that most of what Qin Shihuang did was not to burn books to bury Confucianism; We can also say that most of what Emperor Yang Di did was done by Emperor Taizong, but the Zhenguan era of Emperor Taizong was far less prosperous than that of his early career. However, both Qin Shihuang and Emperor Taizong have the reputation of "the first emperor through the ages", while Yang Di has fallen into a notoriety reviled by the world.

We can't imagine that if Yang Di died a few years earlier and Qin Shihuang and Emperor Taizong lived a few more years, their historical evaluations would be lost one by one, but we can re-study Yang Di and give him justice.

Yang Guang, Emperor Yang Di of Sui Dynasty, was brilliant, magnificent, ambitious and creative. His critics can't deny these advantages.

The indissoluble bond between Yang Di and Yangzhou.

Yang Di is a controversial emperor in the history of China. Before he took office, he served as the secretariat of Yangzhou for nine years. During his reign as emperor in 14, he toured Yangzhou three times until he died in a mutiny and was buried in Yangzhou. The reporter came to Yangzhou on the eve of "Fireworks March" and went to Yang Di's mausoleum to see who Yang Di was in history and what he did in Yangzhou.

Yang Diling is located in the north of Tang Lei, Huaisi Town, Hanjiang District, 6 kilometers north of Yangzhou City. The entrance to the mausoleum is magnificent and enters the mausoleum area. On the beam of the tall stone building, there are four big characters that read "Yang Di Ling". The cemetery covers an area of 30,000 square meters. From south to north, there are stone archways, mausoleum gates, Tang Lei, stone bridges, altars, Shinto, city walls, stone tombs and so on. The whole mausoleum is unique in shape and magnificent in momentum, which is a typical architectural style of Sui and Tang Dynasties. The tomb is a pyramid with a flat top, with a height of12m and equilateral trapezoid on four sides. The giant tombstone in front of the tomb is engraved with "Ruan Yuan, Governor of Zhejiang Province, a monument built before the 13th year of Qing Jiaqing's registration" and "Inscription of Yangzhou magistrate Yi Bingshou".

According to Lu, the stationmaster of Huaisi Town Cultural Station, in that historical storm, the emperor's mausoleum was built and moved six times. In 6 18 AD, Yang Di died in the "Jiangdu Palace Rebellion" by the traitor Yu Wenhuaji. At that time, the filial piety queen and imperial secretary could only bury her in Liu Zhuting Hall of Jiangdu Palace, and make a coffin with a bed board. This was the first burial. Jiangdu Lord Chen Ling read the old favour of Emperor Yang Di. After Yu Wenhuaji led his troops to leave Jiangdu, the people gathered in mourning mourned the tragic death of Emperor Yang Di and were reburied in the audience of Wu Gong, the imaging hall of Jiangdu Palace. In 622 AD, Tang Gaozu Tang Gaozu ordered the mausoleum of Emperor Yang Di to be moved to present-day Tang Lei.

For the fourth time, in the twenty-second year of Zhenguan of Emperor Taizong (AD 648), after Xiao died, Emperor Taizong ordered him to be "sent to Jiangdu and buried together" and renovated the mausoleum at the same time, which should be the most complete and largest period of the mausoleum. However, due to thousands of years of natural and man-made destruction, the wooden buildings of Yang Di Mausoleum were destroyed, until the early Qing Dynasty, only one tomb remained. For the fifth time, in Jiaqing 12 of Qing Dynasty (AD 1807), Ruan Yuan, a rural sage in Yangzhou and a university student in Qing Dynasty, made textual research and paid for the restoration, and asked Yangzhou magistrate to write Yi Bingshou's tombstone. The sixth time, 1999, the Yangzhou municipal government department invested to restore the original state, which was completed in June 2000. Lu said that for more than 65,438,000 years after the Qing Dynasty, there was only one big mound left here, which the locals called "Huang 'adun". As we all know, Yang Di is an unlucky emperor, and there will be no valuable funerary objects in his tomb, so he has not been stolen so far. During the "Cultural Revolution", someone once dug up the mound and exposed the huge blue bricks and slabs on the grave, but the relevant departments quickly came after hearing the news and sealed the soil to stop a destructive act.

He has been in charge of Yangzhou for 9 years

A large number of graphic materials are displayed in the showroom of Yang Di Cemetery, which briefly introduces the life, merits and demerits of Emperor Yang Di. Yang Guang, Emperor Yang Di of Sui Dynasty, was the second son of Emperor Wendi of Sui Dynasty. In 590 AD, Yang Guang was transferred to Yangzhou as the general manager, and served in this position for 9 years. His titles include Taiweigong, Yangzhou Secretariat, Yangzhou Secretariat and so on. During this period, he put down the armed rebellion of Jiangnan strongmen and did not leave until 600 AD when he was appointed as the Crown Prince.

In the early Sui Dynasty, China was still in a state of division, especially when the Chen Dynasty occupied Jiangnan to compete with the central government. In the autumn of 588, 20-year-old Yang Guang was ordered to lead hundreds of thousands of Sui troops to break through the Yangtze River Graben in one fell swoop, enter Jiankang (now Nanjing), and capture Chen Houzhu and his imperial concubine Zhang Lihua hidden in the well. Later, the folklore Yang Guang was infatuated with Zhang Lihua's beauty and produced many peach jokes. However, according to many historical records, it was Yang Guang who personally ordered the beheading of Zhang Lihua. Yang Guang ended the separatist war in the country for nearly a hundred years and opened a new era of unity and prosperity, thus establishing a high prestige.

Immediately, Yang Guang's father, Sui Wendi, renamed Nanyanzhou as Yangzhou of Chen Dynasty and set up the general manager's office in Guangling. At that time, the situation in Jiangnan was unstable, and the local gentry and landlords incited chaos. "Wang Wenjin of Wuzhou, intellectual of Huiji, Shen Xuan of Suzhou and so on. They are all opposed to sending troops, claiming to be the emperor and setting up officials. " There are also many local tyrants who "claim to be the viceroy and capture counties". It started in Huaizuo, Sanwu, East Zhejiang and West Zhejiang, and then spread to Zhejiang and Fujian. In order to quell the rebellion, Wendi reassigned Yang Guang as "Yangzhou secretariat, governor of Jiangdu" and military and political chief of Yangzhou forty-four states. "After more than 700 wars, the capital turned thousands of miles" and finally put down the rebellion. Later, Wei Zhi, the harsh editor-in-chief and minister of the Tang Dynasty, could not hide his achievements: Emperor "has a unique voice among Ng Wui in Nanping and Xiongnu in the north."

At that time, Yang Guang was based in Yangzhou, carefully managed the south and recruited talents, which laid the foundation for him to become the crown prince and later emperor. Of course, his being an emperor also has something to do with his cunning.

Comment on advantages and disadvantages

After Yang Di's death, the name spread. Posthumous title, the first emperor of the Tang Dynasty, was killed when he added "Yang Guang", which means "internal goodness and external disorder", which means "being demoted" and "being evil". The evaluation of Yang Di by later generations mainly comes from Sui Shu compiled by historians in the Tang Dynasty. In the eyes of future generations, Yang Di is "the first dissolute emperor in the world", which seems to be the conclusion for thousands of years.

But many scholars hold different views. Yangzhou's master said: "In the era of feudal autocracy, there was a habit of public opinion. After the final decision, you can only speak with one voice. " This is especially true for the evaluation of Emperor Yang Di. Sui Shu, compiled by the Tang Dynasty, was designed to draw lessons from the demise of the Sui Dynasty, consolidate the Li Tang regime, and naturally demote the former emperor to a very low level. Later generations inherited Sui Shu's theory, coupled with the rendering of novels and legends, Yang Di became the most dissolute and heartless emperor in history.

Many experts believe that the emperor did have some brutal acts of arrogance and extravagance, but he also did many great things, such as directing the destruction of Chen, completing the reunification of the motherland, resetting the county system and creating the imperial examination system, and so on. Zhang Yuanhua, director of the Cultural Management Office of Hanjiang District, said: "It is obviously not credible to say that Emperor Yang Di dug the Grand Canal to visit the south of the Yangtze River. The Grand Canal was actually dug for political and economic purposes, to communicate and strengthen the economic and cultural ties between the North and the South. "

Yangzhou, as the epitome of a dynasty, left many stories of Yang Di. Yangzhou is the beginning of Yang Di's career and the end of his life.

After Yang Di's death, he was scolded by later generations, but the North-South Grand Canal completed by him played a silent role in the social development of China. Emperor Yang Di did many things in his life that were beneficial to the development of ancient culture and economy in China and contributed to the development of history.

Six "firsts" of Emperor Yang Di;

1, the first to pacify Chen Nan and unify the whole country, ending the division of the three countries for nearly 400 years;

2. First, the longest North-South Grand Canal in the world was dug;

3. First, the territory of "Tai Qin Han Dynasty" and Tang Song Dynasty was established;

4. Take the lead in promulgating the "no summer" open policy, receiving foreign missions and sending envoys;

5. The article "Ten evils" was first abolished in law, and the punishment was reduced;

6. First build an unprecedented and exquisite library for collecting ancient books.

Re-exploration of Four Motives for Yang Di to Dig Canal

Investigation activities on the protection and utilization of the Beijing-Hangzhou Grand Canal have been started. The delegation has successively investigated and studied Beijing, Tianjin, Hebei, Shandong, Jiangsu, Zhejiang and other places along the Beijing-Hangzhou Grand Canal, which is a large-scale all-round inspection in the history of the Grand Canal.

This has led to discussions on the reasons for digging the Grand Canal, such as "coveting the beautiful scenery of Jiangdu", "seeking wealth in the south of the Yangtze River", "showing off force in the south of the Yangtze River and tapping the spirit of imperial power" and "attacking North Korea".

The Grand Canal is an artificial canal with the earliest digging time and the longest process in the world. Some of its passages were built in the Spring and Autumn Period, and were dug up by Yang Di, the Emperor of Sui Dynasty. After the development in the Tang and Song Dynasties, it finally formed its present scale in the Yuan Dynasty, and it was renovated and renovated in different scales in the Ming and Qing Dynasties.

There are different opinions about Yang Di's motives for digging canals in ancient and modern times.

Perhaps it is the function of "tourism fever", and many posts think that "digging the Grand Canal is the fruit of Emperor Yang Di's lust for the beautiful scenery of Jiangdu". It is biased to regard "wanting to visit Jiangdu" as the only motive for Yang Di to dig canals. However, Emperor Yang Di had his personal desire to dig the North-South Grand Canal.

Commenting on the opening of the canal, Zhang said: "Naturally, everything is beneficial to the national economy and people's livelihood. But for the benefit of the monarch and the king, he acted too hastily and exhausted the people's strength, so he abused politics for the sake of national subjugation! " (Yu Gong, Volume 7,No. 123) Emperor Yang Di really longed for the beautiful scenery of Jiangdu. At that time, Emperor Wendi of Sui Dynasty transferred Yang Guang, the king of Jin, from the general manager of Bingzhou to Yangzhou as the general manager and the capital of Zhenjiang. Yang Guang has been in Jiangdu for a long time. He served as the secretariat of Yangzhou from the 10th year of Kaiyuan (AD 590) and didn't leave Jiangdu until the 20th year of Kaiyuan (AD 600), which lasted eleven years. At that time, Jiangdu County was one of the famous historical and cultural cities, which was prosperous and talented, and once enjoyed the reputation of "the best in the world". Hong Mai's Rong Zhai Essay (Volume 9) and Prosperity of Yangzhou in Tang Dynasty once said that Yangzhou "merchants are like weaving, so the proverb says' Yang Yi Er', which means that the world is prosperous, Yang is one, and Shu is two". The poet Du Xunhe said in the poem "Send Shuke to Weiyang": "It is said that the scenery of Xichuan is complex, and Weiyang scenery is better than Xichuan." It can be seen that "Yang Yier" was a popular proverb that year. According to "Geography of Sui Shu", there are sixteen counties in Jiangdu County, which was a large county with many counties and a large population in the south of the Yangtze River at that time. Judging from the poems written by Yang Guang in Yangzhou, Yang Guang loves Jiangdu not only because Jiangdu is a big town, but also because Jiangdu has beautiful scenery. The first cloud in his poem "Moonlit Night on a Spring River":

"In the twilight, Jiang Ping is motionless, and spring flowers are in full bloom.

The waves will leave the moon, and the tide will bring stars. "

This poem truly describes the beautiful scenery of Yangzhou Linjiang. Legend has it that "Moonlit Night on the Spring River" was written by my uncle Bao, but his works have been passed down to this day. Yang Guang can use it to chant the scenery of Yangzhou, which shows that he has considerable literary accomplishment.

There is a historical basis for Yang Di to miss Jiangdu, admire Jiangdu and visit Jiangdu three times. Therefore, the legendary novels of Tang and Song Dynasties, such as Talking about the River written in Song Dynasty, wrote that Emperor Yang Di dug the North-South Grand Canal because he missed the beautiful scenery of Jiangdu and dug up the royal spirit of Suiyang. However, this is only one of the motives for Yang Di to dig the Grand Canal, and it cannot be regarded as the fundamental reason, let alone the "only reason". In this regard, we have seen the real intention of Tang to open the canal at that time.

He said in the Twelve Rhymes of the Bianhe River: "In previous years, Bianshui opened, not for anything else, or for Yangzhou alone?" Yang Di has been in Jiangdu for more than ten years, and his lust for Jiangnan's products is of course one aspect. Yang Di dug the Jiangnan Canal, which is also said to be "the expedition to the East". This kind of travel, of course, has an element of enjoyment, such as going to Jiangdu three times, but it is impossible to simply regard it as a kind of enjoyment. Otherwise, it is impossible to explain the trip to Longyou in the west and the trip to Yanmen in the north, because those places are not "land of luck". The year before the Jiangnan Canal was dug, Yang Di said to assistant minister Cai Zheng, "Since ancient times, emperors in Jiangdong have had hunting ceremonies, but they have stayed in the palace for a long time, so they don't meet the people. What's wrong? " Answer: "That's why it can't last forever."

(Zi Jian 18 1) Here, two meanings are clearly stated:

First of all, the canal digging by Emperor Yang Di was related to the cruise. He doesn't want to "sit in the palace", but wants to "swim" all over the country.

Secondly, Emperor Yang Di dug canals, which fundamentally solved the problem that the new dynasty could not live forever. In other words, Emperor Yang Di's four rounds of inaugural ceremonies were mainly to follow the old adage that "the emperor ordered the princes", to perform the duties of imperial emperors, to understand the situation and consolidate his rule through cruises, rather than to serve the "king of subjugation" in the Southern Dynasties. Obviously, this "hunting patrol" is not a simple pleasure and play, but a military and political demonstration.

Some people think that the motive of Emperor Yang Di to take drastic measures to dig the Grand Canal is "purely to seek wealth and personal pleasure in the south of the Yangtze River". It is also biased to use the word "pure" to judge the uniqueness of motivation. Those who hold this view deny the relationship between canal digging and attacking Korea. There is a passage in "Learning from the Same Resources": Yang Di, the emperor of Sui Dynasty, will be lucky for Jiangdu. "It is also accidental to leave a palace to write a poem: it is good to dream of Jiangdu." At first glance, Yang Di's expedition to Korea was an accidental decision when Jiangdu was lucky after the canal was dug. Actually, it is not. Yang Di's poems are actually a kind of "joke".

How could such an important event as Liao be "accidental"? Emperor Yang Di's expedition to Korea was by no means an accidental decision on a whim. According to History as a Mirror, when Emperor Wendi of Sui Dynasty learned that King Gaotang of Korea "was afraid when he heard of Chen's death, and commanded a large army to accumulate grain, which was the policy of refusing to keep it", he wrote a letter to reprimand Gaotang, saying that "although the vassal attached himself, his honesty was not finished" and warned Wang that if he did not "vent his heart easily, his rate would be determined by the charter" and "if he did not keep his religion, he would complain" that he was diligent and diligent. Hu Sansheng pointed out: "It has always meant North Korea since the Sui Dynasty." (Zi Tong Zhi Jian (Volume 178)) Until the last years of Emperor Wu of the Han Dynasty, Emperor Wen's decision obviously influenced Yang Di, and Emperor Yang Di himself called the conquest of North Korea "the first purpose" (Biography of Sui Shuyi). At that time, Yang Liang and others led millions of people to attack North Korea, but they were defeated because of "the army was constantly short of food" and other reasons. It is common military knowledge that "the horses and soldiers have not moved, and the hay comes first"

Emperor Yang Di, who inherited the first decree and conquered Korea, knew this well. Therefore, after Yang Di ascended the throne, he first ordered the construction of the North-South Grand Canal to meet the needs of attacking North Korea. According to the biography of Yan Pi, the emperor "will launch the battle of Liaodong, from Luokou to Cao. Who supervises his service. " This fully shows that Emperor Yang Di dug the North Canal for his military purpose of attacking Korea.

Some people think that tapping the royal spirit of Emperor Yangdi "is actually the motivation for Yang Di to tap the North-South Grand Canal". Re-emphasize the word "practical" and exclude other factors. According to Yan Shi, Emperor of Yang Di, edited by Qidong Savage in Ming Dynasty, it is said that when you hear Geng playing, you will feel the breath of the emperor in Suiyang. When Qin Shihuang was here, Jinling also had the spirit of a king. The first emperor had the pillars cut down, and then the spirit of a king was extinguished. If you cut off the river and cross Suiyang, the qi of the son of heaven will be broken. This river is ten percent, not dangerous, not far, and can save future trouble. Isn't it beautiful? Emperor Yang Di was very happy after hearing this. So I decided to cut off the river.

In Yan Shi, it is described as follows: when the canal was dug, an ancient hall stopped digging the canal, surrounded by white stones, which were very strong. A shovel and a hammer, nothing happened, and the masons were ordered to chisel, leaving no trace. On the door, with the biggest stone hanging to bump, nothing happened. In "Sui History Legacy", he played a male part. When the canal was dug to Suiyang, all the people in the city were removed and the houses were demolished to facilitate construction. The officials and people in the city refused, and they asked the river officials to divert. Among them, 180 households received 3200 gold to pay tribute to officials in order to ease the road. He Guan moved out of the imperial edict, saying it was an imperial edict to dig a city to vent his anger. The novels of Ming Dynasty originated from the legends of Tang Dynasty. The novel is not faithful to history, but it reflects the social customs at that time to some extent. The so-called "breaking through the spirit of imperial power" actually reflects the strong demand of consolidating the Sui Dynasty.

Yang Di's motive and purpose of digging the North-South Grand Canal is not single, but a combination of many factors. Therefore, it is necessary to comprehensively analyze. Comprehensive analysis is the most basic method in mathematical problem-solving thought, and it is also historical materialism to treat historical events. The so-called comprehensive method refers to the thinking method of "leading the fruit from the cause", and the so-called analytical method refers to the thinking method of "seeking the cause by holding the fruit". These two kinds of thinking are not endless development from one side, but exploration in comprehensive factors. The motive and purpose of digging the canal is not only the motive of coveting the beautiful scenery of Jiangdu, but also the purpose of finding the wealth of Jiangnan; There are both motives for showing off in the south of the Yangtze River and excavating kingly ways, as well as the purpose of attacking Korea. Its engineering is a great comprehensive engineering, and its motivation is also the synthesis of many factors. Its main motive is to promote the development of the North-South economy and consolidate its integration. This motive may not be clear to Emperor Yang Di personally, but as a ruling group, it is considered.

Only subjective motivation, no objective conditions, it is difficult to complete everything. The North-South Grand Canal dug by Emperor Yang Di is no exception. At that time, the conditions for digging the Grand Canal were: first, the development of the southern economy; Second, eliminate the separatist regime; Third, the accumulation of mining technology; Fourth, the existence of some foundations connecting north-south water transport.

Digging canals is an important event in the history of Sui Dynasty and even China. Without subjective motivation, it will delay the opportunity; With motivation and no conditions, things can't be done well. In the Sui Dynasty, the conditions were met, and Yang Di was determined to dig the canal, so this big project was established within a few years.

Yang guang (569-6 18 April 1 1), namely, emperor Yang Di (reigned from 604 to 6 18), English, small print Ayi, Huayin (now Huayin, Shaanxi), Emperor Wendi of Sui Dynasty.

In the first year of Kaiyuan (58 1), Yang Guangsheng was made King of Jin in Daxing. Later, he led an army south to destroy Chen Nan. In November of the 20th year (600 years), he was established as a prince, and in July of the 4th year of Renshou (604 years), he succeeded to the throne. During his reign, he repaired the Grand Canal of Sui Dynasty; Build the east capital, move the capital to Luoyang, and change the state into a county; Change the weights and measures to the ancient style; Have a great influence on future generations. However, frequent wars, such as personally conquering Tuguhun and Goguryeo, abused the people's power, caused the people's frequency to rise, and the world was in chaos, leading to the collapse of the Sui Dynasty.

In the 14th year of Daye (6 18), Xiaoguo Army launched a mutiny in Jiangdu, and Yang Guang was killed by rebels. More than 40 poems were recorded in the poems of Sui Dynasty, Emperor Dong Yang of Sui Dynasty and Emperor Dou Jiande of Xia Dynasty.