Examples of Emperor Sui Yang’s extravagance and waste

First, give gifts and get promoted.

When Emperor Yang of the Sui Dynasty came to Jiangdu, he specifically asked how many people were giving gifts? Those who give more gifts will be promoted, and those who give less will be dismissed. Wang Shichong, the Prime Minister of Jiangdu County, gave him a bronze mirror screen, and he was immediately promoted to the position of Deputy Governor of Jiangdu. Zhao Yuankai, the Prime Minister of Liyang County, presented strange smells and was immediately promoted to the Prime Minister of Jiangdu County. Therefore, local officials searched as much as possible and prepared gifts. People in the Jianghuai River were taxed extremely heavily and their livelihoods were cut off. They began to eat bark, grass and leaves. Later, the bark, grass and leaves were eaten up, forcing people to eat each other.

Second, show off your power and wealth.

Emperor Yang of the Sui Dynasty wanted to boast of the prestige of the Sui Dynasty and induce the countries in the Western Regions to join the dynasty. Seeing the profits, foreigners came to the DPRK one after another, and the counties and counties along the way spent a lot of money on hospitality and farewell. One year, foreign envoys and businessmen gathered in Luoyang. Emperor Yang of the Sui Dynasty performed for foreigners on the street outside the imperial city gate on the night of the 15th day of the first lunar month. There are 5,000 steps (about 4 kilometers) around the theater, and there are as many as 18,000 musicians. The sound of drums can be heard dozens of miles away, and the lights are as bright as day. The performance does not end until the end of the first year. When foreigners entered Luoyang to do business, he arranged for local merchants to decorate the market luxuriously and pile up valuable goods. The merchants wore gorgeous clothes, and even the vegetable sellers used dragon beard mats to spread the floor and place vegetables. When a foreigner passes by the hotel door, the owner invites him to dinner. The foreigner is full of food and wine, and does not want a penny. He praises and expresses his gratitude and leaves in a hurry. The trees and poles in the market are wrapped with silk and other materials. Some people asked why the cloth was not used to make clothes for the naked poor. The businessman had nothing to say.

Evaluation of the past dynasties

Yang Tong: "The emperor Ming Dynasty followed the law of heaven and earth, and mixed with Huarong. The east is covered with flat wood, the west is connected with thin willows, the front is over Dangao, and the back is over. In the capital of Youdu, wherever the sun and moon come, wherever the wind and rain come, with round heads and square feet, and with good temperament and food, they are all brought into the title of ministers and concubines. Change the customs and change the customs. All things in the world are blessed by it, and the people use it without knowing it. The ancestors went to the south to serve themselves, so they were lucky to be saved in the past years. Visiting everywhere, stopping and standing, driving on the clear road, the eight villages are as before, and the seven collections are not moved. Unexpectedly, they are caught in Xuanbi, and the disaster is unexpected, and it extends to Mianqi. On the day of the ban, the five emotions collapsed. You can't defeat yourself if you climb the trumpet and poison yourself."

Zu Junyan: "The bamboos in the Qingnan Mountain can write endless sins; the waves in the East China Sea can't stop the evil."

Li Shimin: " Emperor Yang of the Sui Dynasty inherited the legacy of Emperor Wen, and if he could always stay in Guanzhong, how could he be defeated? So he ignored the people and went to Jiangdu. He refused to accept the advice of Dong Chun, Cui Xiang and others, and killed the country for his own sake. "The world laughs." "At the beginning of Emperor Yang's reign in the Sui Dynasty, the world was strong and abandoned its virtues to defeat the enemy. Those who wanted to benefit those close to them were enough to gain great territory. However, when their intentions were full, disasters and disasters were imminent, which ruined their great cause and served as ministers. I. Yehu Khan is also very powerful. He relies on his wealth and provocation, but his parents are in trouble and he is on the verge of destruction."

Zhu Jingze said: "The emperor is smart and knowledgeable. You know, don't you know that the dragon can cause harm if it disobeys the fishermen? The ants can cause disasters when they come out of the water? Isn't it because lust intoxicates his heart and heaven takes away his warning? This river has been destroyed for thousands of miles. If there is no dragon boat incident in the water palace, Emperor Yu will not have much merit." Jiwu went to Rongyi. The Zhao people were exhausted and the new leader was in mourning. "

Zhao Heng: "At the beginning of the Sui Dynasty, Emperor Yang killed five people in order to thank Sanwu. His lack of moral integrity is a shame."

An Yaochen said: "Emperor Yang of the Sui Dynasty neglected his wealth and was determined to pursue his insatiable desires. He left Shuofang and traveled to Liao. On the left, there are thousands of banners and thousands of banners, and the whole world is in chaos. The land collapses and the fish are destroyed, and the country is destroyed."

Zhu Yuanzhang: "Emperor Yang of the Sui Dynasty raised an army in vain, conquered Ryukyu, killed the barbarians, and burned them. He captured thousands of men and women in his palace, but he did not have enough land to support him, and he did not have enough people to command him. He only wanted to gain fame, and he was recorded in the history books and was ridiculed by future generations."

"The downfall of a country has always been caused not by lack of finances, but by arrogance and indulgence. If Xia Jie, Shang Zhou, Qin Shihuang, Sui Yang Emperor, Jin Wanyan and Liang Yan were greedy for money and lust, indulged in wine, and feasted day and night, Failure to repair the state affairs will lead to the death of the country."

Wang Fuzhi: "The Sui Dynasty also rebelled against the world, but Yang Guang's rebellion was even more severe.

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"Cambridge Chinese History of the Sui and Tang Dynasties": "It is very difficult to characterize the character of the man historically known as Emperor Yang of the Sui Dynasty. Except for some vague feelings, one cannot expect to have him in the concentration. Behind the large amount of falsified history and legends that are said to be the classical "Last Faint King", we have more information about the actual situation of this person. Historical documents contrast Emperor Wen's prudence and frugality with Emperor Yang's profligacy, but as can be seen from the section below on the construction of the Eastern Capital and the completion of the canal system, this stark contrast is overstated. Folk literature depicts Emperor Yang as a dissolute man who indulged in women in all kinds of whimsical ways. But one will find that even hostile historians cannot hide the fact that his first wife, an intelligent and educated woman, was never neglected by him and replaced by other favored concubines in the palace. She always Respected, and obviously pampered. After all, Emperor Yang of the Sui Dynasty was a connoisseur of beautiful things, an accomplished poet and a unique essayist. He may have been a bit like a political aesthete. The characteristics of this kind of person can be expressed in the following language: Indeed, self-deception Perhaps it is a rule, because a political personality with a strong artistic component has an ostentatious imagination that can dramatize its personal history and subordinate all reality to ambitious plans. ”

“The Confucian historians’ moral evaluation of Emperor Yang was indeed harsh, because they described him as a formidable and typical ‘foolish emperor of the last generation’. In folklore, dramas and stories, his image has been greatly distorted by the freewheeling whims of authors and audiences - people living in a world of unrestrained use of power, luxurious palaces and unlimited sensual pleasures. Can produce this kind of emotional cries. Among the emperors of China, he was by no means the worst. Judging from his background at the time, he was no more tyrannical than other emperors. He was talented and well-suited to consolidate the great work started by his father, and he had this ambition when he came to power. "

Zheng Zhenduo: "Although Yang Guang is not a very smart politician, he is an excellent poet. ”

Hu Ji: “At the historical juncture when China was transforming from aristocracy to imperial bureaucracy, and from a clan society to a post-club society, Yu Wentai, Yu Wenyong, Yang Jian, Yang Guang, Li Shimin, and Wu Zetian All six people made historic contributions. Among them, Emperor Yang of Sui and Wu Zetian were the ones who went furthest in political reform. But the latter two are the ones who have had the most dirty water thrown at them in history. "

Meng Man: "Emperor Sui Yang was a great tyrant, but a tyrant is not a coward. Although Emperor Sui Yang had no virtue, he was meritorious. It's just that his achievements are not unified with the happiness of the people, so there is a saying that "Wei Huan is nothing more than the resentment of the people, and his glory is blurred by blood." In other words, he failed to deal with the relationship between merit in the present and benefit for the future. Instead, he became a sin in the present and benefits for the future. This was the biggest problem of Emperor Sui Yang. "He is a tyrant." In order to conquer Goguryeo and realize his political ideals, he ignored the objective conditions and acted willfully, dragging the people and the country into disaster, so he is called a tyrant... He is a faint king... In this third period, he no longer knows his own destiny What is the responsibility? I don’t want to fulfill any responsibility. I just go about my life in a muddle-headed manner, which is called a foolish king. ”