END OF THE SUI DYNASTY
The Sui dynasty (581–618) was one of the shortest dynasties in Chinese history, but also one of the most significant. Its founder, Emperor Wen, reunified China after nearly three hundred and sixty years of chaos and alien domination.
A conscientious monarch, Emperor Wen worked hard, lived frugally, and built a stable and prosperous country. But his son and successor, Emperor Yang, was one of history’s most notorious rulers—ambitious, cruel, egomaniacal, and callous to the suffering of the people.
The first thing Emperor Yang did after succeeding his father was to build another capital in Luoyang, because a fortune-teller told him that the existing capital, Chang’an (the present-day Xi’an), was an unlucky location for him. Two million laborers were conscripted to construct magnificent palaces and a huge pleasure park for him. The entire project was finished within a year under intense pressure. By then four out of every ten laborers had died from exhaustion.
Hardly had the new capital been completed when the emperor embarked on an even more ambitious project—the digging of a canal system, the Grand Canal, to link the north and south of China. More than three million laborers were conscripted. Because there were not enough men, a large number of women were used. During the six-year construction, nearly half of the laborers lost their lives.
Emperor Yang loved traveling. He was on the move every year during his fourteen-year reign, and his trips imposed an intolerable burden on the people. If he traveled by water, tens of thousands of men had to be hired to pull his extravagant fleet along rivers and canals. If he traveled on land, tree-lined boulevards and imperial dwelling places had to be built and large numbers of horses and carriages had to be prepared. Wherever his entourage went, relentless requisitions were made on the local populace in the form of rare delicacies and luxury goods for imperial consumption.
While the masses were groaning under his oppression, the emperor delighted in the company of hundreds of beautiful women in his harem. As he took his pleasure with them, mirrors were hung on the walls of his bedchamber so he could feast his eyes on the carnal scenes. He particularly liked to tie a virgin’s hands and feet on a “virgin cart” while deflowering her.
Before the people could recover from the domestic burdens, the emperor launched a war against the Korean kingdom of Koguryo because he suspected Koguryo of forming a secret alliance with the Turks against China. Special war taxes were levied, new soldiers were recruited, and corvée labor was employed to construct war vehicles and navy vessels. Since shipbuilders had to stand in the water day and night, the lower bodies of many decomposed; many also died of overwork or disease. Emperor Yang led three expeditions; all ended in disaster, with the loss of hundreds of thousands of lives.
While Yang was waging campaigns in Korea, a rebellion broke out at home. It soon turned into a tidal wave of uprisings sweeping over the entire realm. Yang rushed back to China but was unable to quell the popular revolts. In the end even his own generals mutinied and the emperor was strangled to death in his palace.
ROAD TO POWER
Many ambitious men rose to contend for the title of emperor. Taizong’s father, Li Yuan, was one of them. It wasn’t until three years later, after many hard-fought battles, that the house of Tang—named after Li Yuan’s hereditary fief—emerged victorious.
During this period, Shimin, his second son, proved himself to be a valiant fighter, a superb commander, and a gifted strategist who carried out his assignments with distinction, earning his troops’ fierce loyalty and his enemies’ respect. Shimin’s military feats played a crucial role in solidifying the power of Tang. Consequently, Li Yuan appointed him commander in chief of the army. A fearless warrior, Shimin openly admitted that he’d personally slain nearly a thousand men in various battles.
Li Yuan had twenty-two sons and nineteen daughters. In accordance with imperial tradition, he named his eldest son crown prince. But Shimin’s soaring reputation made his brother, whose own military merits were far from illustrious, feel ill at ease. The court ministers were divided into those who were loyal to the crown prince and those who considered Shimin the more deserving to succeed to the throne.
Shimin didn’t openly proclaim his aspiration but began preparing himself for the throne early on by recruiting an impressive array of political and literary talents as his think tank. After finishing a day’s work, he would study the Confucian classics, history, and literature under the tutelage of well-known scholars and discuss with them current affairs and policy matters.
The sibling rivalry culminated in a fratricide in 626, when Shimin and his men murdered the crown prince and another brother in an ambush and forced Li Yuan to relinquish power. Shimin became the second Tang emperor and took the imperial title of Taizong. His reign was officially inaugurated in 627 when he was twenty-eight, or twenty-nine according to Chinese reckoning, which defines a child as one year old at birth.
TAIZONG AND HIS ADVISERS
A charismatic ruler, Taizong went about his work with boundless energy and enthusiasm, and he demanded equal exertion from his officials. He consulted his gifted advisers at daily meetings, drawing on their knowledge and experience to run the government. His senior ministers slept in shifts so that he could summon them at any time, day or night, to discuss the affairs of the empire.
A man of sharp intellect, Taizong possessed shrewd judgment and knew how to use people’s strengths and avoid their weaknesses. He wouldn’t hesitate to hire a former enemy if the man had talent and integrity. He pardoned most of the followers of the crown prince on account of their loyalty to their master. For example, General Yuchi had been a rebel commander and Defense Minister Li Jing had been a high-ranking Sui general. Senior Minister Wang Gui had been an adviser to the crown prince. Senior Minister and Chief Remonstrant Wei Zheng, another senior adviser to his brother, had been a hated figure in Taizong’s camp.
“Why did you set my brother against me?” demanded Taizong as Wei Zheng was brought before him.
“If the crown prince had listened to my advice, he would never have come to such an end,” Wei Zheng replied calmly.
Taizong had long heard of the man’s talent, and his candor impressed him. He asked Wei Zheng to be one of his advisers.
“Wei Zheng should be executed,” someone suggested.
“No. Wei Zheng was loyal to his master,” Taizong replied. “I can trust him. It is those who betrayed their master in difficulty who deserve to die.”
In an attempt to remove the stigma of slaying his brothers, Taizong conferred noble titles on them posthumously and had them reburied at a grand ceremony attended by their former subordinates. This conciliatory gesture made these people feel at ease working for the new ruler.
Assembled around Taizong was a range of confidants, advisers, and supporters, each with unique strengths. They complemented one another, forming a strong management team. For example, Prime Minister Fang Xuanling was detail-oriented and good at planning; his colleague Vice Prime Minister Du Ruhui was quick, decisive, and resourceful. The two men made a perfect partnership.
Most of Taizong’s advisers were his elders. Wei Zheng and Du Ruhui were his seniors by nineteen years, Fang Xuanling by twenty-one years, Li Jing by twenty-seven years, and Wang Gui by twenty-eight years.
Taizong once asked Senior Minister Wang Gui to give an appraisal of his colleagues. “I’m not as assiduous as Fang Xuanling,” replied Wang Gui, “who puts work above everything else. I’m not as impassioned as Wei Zheng when I remonstrate; not as all-around as Li Jing, who has the caliber of a prime minister and a general; neither am I as good as Wen Yanbo, who knows how to convey Your Majesty’s ideas clearly, or as good as Dai Zhou, who handles matters big and small equally well. But I have my own strength. I have a strong sense of justice. I promote the virtuous and crack down on the wicked without reserve.”
Taizong and his other ministers thought it was a fair assessment.
LISTENING TO REMONSTRANCE
What set Taizong apart from most emperors was his willingness to listen to different opinions and heed remonstrances. Remonstrance was the time-honored practice in ancient China of officials criticizing the ruler’s policy and personal behavior and advising him on ways to improve his government. Taizong went out of his way to encourage his ministers to criticize him for his mistakes. They could either speak to him face-to-face or write to him.
Stalwart and dashing, Taizong cut an intimidating figure at court. He had an imperial bearing. When provoked, his face would change color and strike fear into those around him. After Wei Zheng cautioned him about it, Taizong said to his ministers: “If I want to see myself, I need a mirror. If I want to know my faults, I need loyal ministers. Please speak out freely about my faults. I promise I won’t become angry.”
True to his words, he was exceedingly gentle with his subordinates. He might not like what he had heard but nevertheless kept a pleasant countenance. He was willing to admit his mistakes in public and praise those who pointed them out. Time and again, he offered monetary rewards to those who remonstrated with him.
As a result, not only senior ministers but petty officials, and even court ladies, came forward to offer suggestions and remonstrances. When their memorandums became too numerous, Taizong had them posted on the walls of his living quarters so that he could read them after work.
CHIEF REMONSTRANT WEI ZHENG
The most outspoken adviser was the Confucian moralist Senior Minister and Chief Remonstrant Wei Zheng, who’d earned Taizong’s trust and respect with his candor, loyalty, fearlessness, and profound knowledge.
In the first three years of Taizong’s reign, Wei Zheng made more than two hundred suggestions, asking Taizong to conduct himself and his policies in accordance with Confucian principles of virtue and benevolence.
Wei Zheng skillfully used extravagant praise, subtle hints, plain ridicule, and blunt attack, laced with historical anecdotes and classical allusions, as tactics for his remonstration. As a result his remarks carried irresistible power. The subjects of his remonstrances were extensive: the inconsistencies in Taizong’s taxation policy, his ill-conceived proposal of awarding hereditary fiefs to his children, his interest in the fair sex and creature comforts, his lack of humility, his vanity, and so on.
Some of Wei Zheng’s comments, though scathingly critical, were voiced in front of other ministers. Taizong had to accept his criticism with as much grace as he could muster. Sometimes Wei Zheng’s words were too caustic and roused Taizong to anger. Most ministers were frightened, but Wei Zheng would keep his composure, totally unawed and uncompromising. In fact, it was the young emperor who was a little afraid of the avuncular remonstrant.
Taizong loved birds. One day he was playing with a lovely sparrow when Wei Zheng came to see him. Afraid that Wei Zheng might scold him for playing during working hours, Taizong hid the bird inside the sleeve of his robe. Wei Zheng pretended not to notice and stayed on to discuss various business matters for so long that by the time he left, the bird had already been smothered to death.
A senior minister was not impressed. “Wei Zheng talks too much,” he said, “harping on the same tune until Your Majesty listens to him. He treats you like a child.”
“I’ve got battlefield experience,” said Taizong, “but know little about running the government. I value Wei Zheng’s advice. He is helping me make fewer mistakes and is not afraid of offending me. I hope all of you will follow his example.”
But Wei Zheng apparently pushed the emperor to the limit one day. Taizong was livid with anger when he came home in the evening.
“I’m going to kill that boor,” he grumbled.
“Who are you talking about?” asked Empress Zhangsun.
“Wei Zheng! I raised him from the dust. But he dares to insult me before the entire court. I’ll never be my own master as long as he is around.”
The empress withdrew to her bedroom. Moments later, she came out in her regal costume and kowtowed to her husband, who stared at her in puzzlement.
“I heard that an enlightened ruler is served by faithful and upright ministers,” she said. “You’ve just told me Wei Zheng is such a man. That means you are an enlightened ruler. I want to congratulate you.”
She went on to explain, “Even as your wife, I have to watch out for your mood when I talk. I don’t want to provoke your anger. But Wei Zheng has the courage to tell you the truth even when he knows the truth may displease you.”
Instantly, she turned Taizong’s anger into joy. So he let Wei Zheng continue to “scrape scales off the dragon” with impunity, this being a Chinese metaphor for directly criticizing the ruler. He was moved by Wei Zheng’s loyalty and genuine concern for the well-being and longevity of the dynasty.
He urged his senior ministers to accept remonstrances as he did. A titled position—the remonstrant—was created. Thirty-six remonstrants would sit in various court meetings and voice their opinions.
PROSPERITY AT HOME
Along with his ministers, Taizong devoted major efforts to economic reconstruction. He thought the country was like a patient who needed recuperation after more than ten years of civil war and political instability.
Tang China was an agrarian economy. But there was a labor shortage. War and war-related migration had caused the population to drop to about twelve million—less than a third of what it had been in the Sui dynasty. One of the first decrees Taizong issued was that men had to get married by twenty and women by fifteen, while widows and widowers were encouraged to remarry. Wealthy people were urged to provide money for their poor relatives and neighbors to enable them to afford marriage. An important criterion for evaluating local officials was the number of marriages that took place in their localities.
Taizong released thousands of palace maids, not only to reduce expenditure but to allow them to marry. He also requested that the Turks and other foreign states allow the two million Chinese who’d fled to their lands during the warring years to come home.
Taizong renewed an ancient rite in which he, the Son of Heaven, officially started the plowing season by tilling a field himself. His message was this: farming was now the nation’s priority. To promote farming, taxes and corvée duties were kept low. A male over eighteen years of age would be given a hundred mu (approximately fourteen acres) of land, of which twenty mu would become his permanent property and eighty mu had to be returned to the state upon his death. In return, he only had to pay a tax of less than 3 percent on his income in the form of grain and cloth plus perform twenty days’ corvée duty a year. In the event of natural disasters, taxes were reduced or exempted.
Irrigation works were carried out throughout the country. In some regions, there was not enough arable land. So Taizong encouraged migration by offering tax exemption as an incentive to those who would leave home to open up virgin soil in faraway places.
In a few years, the economy recovered; the war-ravaged country was on its way to prosperity.
RECRUITING TALENTS
Taizong was eager to recruit “the worthy” to work in his government. The criteria for “worthiness” were erudition, moral integrity, and filial piety. His zeal for education was prompted by a desire to have a pool of talented individuals from which he could choose, particularly those who were dedicated to the Confucian values of loyalty to the ruler and duty to the people.
Thousands of students and scholars swarmed into Chang’an each year to sit for imperial examinations. All candidates, including many foreign students, were on an equal footing, regardless of race, family background, or hereditary privileges.
Taizong instructed Prime Minister Fang Xuanling to appoint to office those who possessed both talents and virtues, not only those with specialized skills.
For a long time, appointments in the central government had been deemed more prestigious than those in the provinces. Provincial posts had become dumping grounds for those officials who’d performed poorly in the central government.
Taizong fe
lt sure that provincial officials would be perceived by local people as the emperor’s deputies. So he sent out commissioners to scrutinize their conduct and job performance.
He wrote the names of these provincial officials on the screens in his room and kept a record of their performances. Their promotions and demotions were determined by the merits and demerits he recorded. The bases for promotion were talent, honesty, prudence, diligence, and fair-mindedness.
PROMOTION OF EDUCATION
Taizong was convinced that selection for the civil service was vital to good government and even the survival of the dynasty. Selection through means of examination embodied the Confucian ideal of equal opportunity in education for all. Taizong ordered more examinations to be held each year and more schools to be built, not only in the capital but also in the provinces, counties, and villages. Qualifications for teachers were standardized.
Confucian doctrine served as a guide in formulating the policies of Taizong’s government, and temples to Confucius were erected all over the country. Since the Han dynasty, there had been many different versions and confusing interpretations of Confucian classics. Taizong appointed a renowned scholar to preside over the compilation of an authorized version, which was to be used by all schools and serve as the basis for imperial examinations.
From time to time, Taizong went to the imperial university to listen to the lectures, often generously rewarding good lecturers. One day he visited there dressed in plain clothes. A large number of candidates lined up outside the entrance where a bulletin board listed the names of those who’d passed the examination.
The Ruler's Guide: China's Greatest Emperor and His Timeless Secrets of Success Page 9