Emperor Yang Jian of Sui Dynasty wrote poems.

Sui Scroll 22, Chronicle 17, Five Elements 1

In the tenth year of the founding of the emperor, the great ancestor was fortunate enough to merge with the state, and hosted a banquet for King Xiao of Qin and the prince. The emperor's four-character poem said: "There are many beauties, and the jade beauty lasts only a moment. Once the flowers fall, the white hair is hard to get rid of. Next year and the next year, who will have it and who will not."

There were two emperors in Chinese history. Among them, one was Qin Shihuang and the other was Emperor Wen of Sui Dynasty. During his reign, Emperor Wen of the Sui Dynasty carried out large-scale reforms to the national management system. In the eyes of Westerners, Emperor Wen of the Sui Dynasty was the greatest emperor in Chinese history.

First, establish the system of three provinces and six ministries. The central government has three provinces: Shangshu, Menxia, ??and Neishi, with Shangshu Ling, Nayan, and Nei Shiling as the chief officials. They perform the functions of prime ministers and assist the emperor in handling state affairs. The Ministry of Internal History and the Ministry of Menxia are confidential departments. The Ministry of Internal History is responsible for drafting and promulgating the emperor's imperial edicts; the Ministry of Internal Affairs is responsible for reviewing the imperial edicts drafted by the Ministry of Internal History and the memorials prepared by the Ministry of Shangshu. The Shangshu Province is the country's highest administrative organ, which consists of six departments: the Ministry of Personnel, the Ministry of Rites, the Ministry of War, the Duguan Department, the Duzhi Department, and the Ministry of Industry. Each department has a minister as the chief. Under the order of the minister, there is a left servant and a right servant. The left servant is in charge of the officials, rituals, and military affairs, and the right servant is in charge of the three departments of Duzhi, Duguan, and the Ministry of Industry. This not only strengthened the centralization of power, but also created a new stage of the separation of the three powers in China's feudal society.

Secondly, simplify local administrative agencies. During the Southern and Northern Dynasties, localities were in chaos and each had their own affairs. The three levels of administration at state, county and county were extremely chaotic. In order to allow their relatives and friends to serve as officials, the rulers did not hesitate to increase the number of administrative agencies. The land was hundreds of miles away and several counties were juxtaposed. Households were dissatisfied. Thousands, divided into two counties. By the early Sui Dynasty, there were 241 states, 608 counties, and 1,524 counties in the country, with a total of 2,373 administrative structures above counties. In view of this shortcoming of having fewer people and more officials, and ten sheep and nine shepherds, in line with the principle of saving and eliminating idleness, and merging the small with the big, Emperor Wen of the Sui Dynasty carried out drastic institutional reforms in the third year of Emperor Kaihuang's reign. He abolished counties and implemented a two-level system of prefectures and counties. , administered counties by prefecture, and at the same time merged some prefectures and counties into provinces. In the third year of Emperor Yang's reign in the Sui Dynasty, the prefectures were changed into counties, and the prefecture and county system was restored to the prefecture and county system of Qin and Han Dynasties. By the time of Emperor Yang of the Sui Dynasty, 40 local institutions had been streamlined across the country, with only 190 counties and 1,255 counties remaining. While streamlining the administrative structure, Emperor Wen of the Sui Dynasty also strictly implemented fixed numbers and fixed posts: the number of officials in Shangshangzhou was 323, which decreased to 167 in Xiaxiazhou; the number of officials in Shangshang County was 99, and it decreased to 49 in Xiaxia County. people. This not only greatly saves national expenditures and reduces the burden on the people, but also improves administrative efficiency and strengthens the central government's control over local governments.

Once again, torture was abolished and the "Kaihuang Code" was revised. All 81 capital crimes, 150 crimes of exile, more than 1,000 tortures with sticks and sticks, and genocide and other evil laws of the previous generation were all abolished, which greatly reduced the cruelty and barbarity of the law, which is of epoch-making significance in China's legal system.

Fourth, continue to implement the land equalization system. In the early Sui Dynasty, on the basis of the land equalization system of the previous dynasty, Emperor Wen of the Sui Dynasty stipulated that male and middle men were entitled to 80 acres of bare land (for growing grains), 20 acres of Yongye land, and 40 acres of bare land for women. The exposed field will be returned after the death of the recipient, while the Yongye field does not need to be returned. For ordinary farmers, the policy of encouraging farming and mulberry farming with light corvee and low taxes was implemented; for the powerful nobles' behavior of annexing land, a crackdown was carried out. This improves farmers' production enthusiasm and increases national tax revenue.

Fifth, set up charity warehouses to provide relief to the hungry. Emperor Wen of the Sui Dynasty set up charity warehouses, also known as social warehouses, which were set up in the countryside. The grain storage was donated by the people to provide relief to the victims in times of famine. It also clearly stipulates the standards for households to donate grain to the social warehouse: "The upper household does not need more than one stone, the middle household does not need more than seven dou, and the lower household does not need more than four dou." Ordinary people can afford to donate, which is an effective social security for the poor.

Sixth, establish an imperial examination system for selecting scholars. Before the Sui Dynasty, powerful families monopolized government affairs. Emperor Wen of the Sui Dynasty implemented the imperial examination system, which valued talent and learning rather than family status. Although the common people come from a poor family, as long as they have talent, they still have the opportunity to become an official. This "merit-based" reform weakened the hereditary privileges of wealthy families and had a great impact on future generations.

Someone in the West published an article called "The Emperor of China in the Eyes of Westerners". The greatest emperor mentioned in it was Emperor Wen of the Sui Dynasty Yang Jian, and the second was Qin Shihuang. These two emperors Both were the emperors who reformed the most in Chinese history, but Emperor Wen's reforms were of greater significance than those of Emperor Shi. Therefore, Westerners believe that only reform can enhance national strength. During his reign, Emperor Wen of the Sui Dynasty carried out large-scale reforms to the national management system, so in the eyes of Westerners, Emperor Wen of the Sui Dynasty was the greatest emperor in Chinese history.