kingdom · China, Tibet and Mongolia

Sui Dynasty

581 CE – 618 CE · capital Daxing (Chang'an)

The short dynasty that reunited China in 589, built the Grand Canal and laid the institutional foundations of the Tang.

Origins

Yang Jian, an aristocrat of mixed Han and Xianbei background and father-in-law of a Northern Zhou emperor, seized power as regent and took the throne in 581 as Emperor Wen. He built a new capital, Daxing, beside old Chang'an, absorbed Western Liang in 587 and conquered the Chen dynasty in 589.

Rule and society

Emperor Wen issued the Kaihuang Code, kept the equal-field land system and fubing militia, reformed local administration, took regular censuses and began recruiting officials by examination. He was a fervent patron of Buddhism. His son Emperor Yang built the eastern capital at Luoyang and linked the Yellow River and Yangtze with the Grand Canal, using vast forced labour.

Decline and legacy

Three failed invasions of Goguryeo between 612 and 614 drained manpower and sparked revolts across the empire. Emperor Yang withdrew to Jiangdu, where he was murdered in 618; Li Yuan, who had taken Chang'an, founded the Tang Dynasty, which kept most Sui institutions.

Lineage

Western Liang (555-587) 555 CE – 587 CE Northern Zhou 557 CE – 581 CESui DynastyTang Dynasty 618 CE – 907 CE Zheng (Wang Shichong) 619 CE – 621 CE

Connections (7)

Chen dynasty was conquered by Sui Dynasty589 CE
Early Ly dynasty was conquered by Sui Dynasty602 CE
Chi Tu paid tribute to Sui Dynasty607 CE – 610 CE
Xia (Dou Jiande) split from Sui Dynasty617 CE
Liang (Liang Shidu) split from Sui Dynasty617 CE
Qin (Xue Ju) split from Sui Dynasty617 CE
Liang (Li Gui) split from Sui Dynasty617 CE

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Cite this page

APA: The Epoch Institute. (2026). Sui Dynasty. In The Epoch Institute States Register. https://the-epoch-institute.org/state/sui-dynasty
MLA: “Sui Dynasty.” The Epoch Institute States Register, The Epoch Institute, 2026, https://the-epoch-institute.org/state/sui-dynasty. Accessed .
Chicago: The Epoch Institute. “Sui Dynasty.” The Epoch Institute States Register. 2026. https://the-epoch-institute.org/state/sui-dynasty.
Harvard: The Epoch Institute (2026) ‘Sui Dynasty’, The Epoch Institute States Register. Available at: https://the-epoch-institute.org/state/sui-dynasty (Accessed: ).

Last reviewed October 2026Random state ↻