Why did the Sui Dynasty, which died in the second year, become a dynasty remembered by history?

History is always strikingly similar. No matter how it develops and changes, similar things will always happen again. Qin unified all countries and established the first feudal autocratic dynasty in the history of China, but only the second one perished. Coincidentally, more than 800 years later, China once again ended the fragmented situation and established the Sui Dynasty, but it was only a flash in the pan and declined rapidly. After the Qin and Sui Dynasties unified the whole country, they went crazy again, and the foundation they worked so hard to build was destroyed. So, what are the similarities between the two dynasties and how far-reaching impact they have had on later generations?

The comparison between the Qin Dynasty and the Sui Dynasty was the first. They lived great and died quickly.

There are four unified dynasties in the history of China, all of which were established after the Great Division, but only the Qin Dynasty and the Sui Dynasty have many similarities, which really have comparative value. The Qin Dynasty was originally a remote vassal state. After several generations of monarchs' unremitting efforts and strong reforms, they finally unified the six countries, swept the land of China, and established the first feudal autocratic country in the history of China. After the Qin and Han Dynasties, China once again entered a state of separatism. First, Wei Shuwu was divided into three kingdoms, followed by the Jin Dynasty and the Southern Dynasties. This is also the most frequent period of regime change in China's history. Emperor Wen of the Sui Dynasty unified the north and the south, put down the rebellion, and finally re-established a unified dynasty. A neutral country in troubled times needs the courage and perseverance of the monarch to end division and achieve reunification. There is no doubt that this is a great feat that can go down in history. But it was only in the second generation that Qin and Sui declined rapidly, which eventually led to the rise of Han and Tang Dynasties.

Second, the epoch-making political system and literary martial arts.

The Qin dynasty ended the enfeoffment system, implemented the county system, established a unified degree, quantity and balance, implemented a strong policy in politics, economy and culture, completely eliminated the fetters and patterns of the old system, and established a systematic and complete national system, which can be described as a great achievement of later generations. The Sui Dynasty also promulgated many measures to ease class contradictions, implemented a new household registration system, established the imperial examination system, and formulated a set of standardized and relatively fair talent selection mechanism, striving to break the class monopoly.

Third, haste makes waste.

Both Qin Dynasty and Sui Dynasty were divided countries. At the beginning of the founding of the country, they should have rested, but the rulers lacked political experience and were eager to find an effective strategy for governing the country, which quickly made the country strong, but increased the burden on the country and the people. In order to consolidate the rule and prevent national unrest, both the Qin Dynasty and the Sui Dynasty formulated strict legal systems and cruel punishment systems, and established huge bureaucratic machines.

Fourth, the issue of heirs.

In the choice of heirs, Qin and Sui did not choose the eldest son to succeed, but Qin Shihuang tampered with the testamentary edict, and Emperor Wendi of Sui changed Yang Guang to be the heir because he was disappointed with the prince.

Digging the grand canal and dredging the water conservancy between the north and the south have a far-reaching impact on the economic and cultural exchanges between the north and the south; Conquering Koguryo was premature, but he did what all kings would do in the future, but the timing was problematic. Emperor Yang Di had a strong curiosity, a desire to explore and a desire to achieve great things. Although he did not meet the expectations of sages and kings in people's minds at that time, he made outstanding contributions to China's scientific and technological development and institutional innovation, and his literary attainments were also excellent.

Influence on future generations

The Han Dynasty after the Qin Dynasty and the Tang Dynasty after the Sui Dynasty all saw prosperous times. Although the Qin and Sui Dynasties perished quickly, they laid the foundation for the later prosperous times. First of all, these two systems have been used for reference by later generations. Qin unified writing and currency and established various statutes. For example, Qin established a population tax system to support Qin's military expenditure, which was used for reference after the establishment of the Han Dynasty. The reason for the rapid demise of Qin always reminds the rulers of the Han Dynasty. Therefore, the policy of recuperation was implemented in the early Han Dynasty. Only by restoring people's livelihood and improving the national economy can the country maintain long-term stability. Although the establishment of the Sui Dynasty was short, the measures of optimizing institutions and developing the imperial examination system in the Sui Dynasty were also used for reference by the Tang Dynasty.

Secondly, the peasant uprising in the late Qin and Sui Dynasties dealt a blow to the separatist forces hidden in China. The so-called "no breaking, no standing", with the impact of the peasant uprising on the powerful aristocrats, laid the foundation for the consolidation of the Han and Tang dynasties. At the same time, the influence of the landlord class was weakened, and countless peasant classes got rid of slavery and became free themselves, laying the foundation for the economic development and long-term stability of the later regime. The sharp class contradictions in the Qin and Sui Dynasties always reminded the rulers of Han and Tang Dynasties that only by putting people's interests in mind and reducing exploitation can social class contradictions be alleviated and the fate of the dynasty be prolonged.

Both the Qin Dynasty and the Sui Dynasty ended the long-term division, achieved reunification, and established many groundbreaking systems, which made many contributions to later generations. However, due to the tyranny and harshness of the ruling class, sharp social contradictions were triggered, which eventually led to the uprising, so both dynasties perished early. However, these two dynasties were different from the short-lived regimes in the previous separatist regime. They all laid the foundation for the later prosperous times, provided reference and left a far-reaching influence in history.