Ancient emperors were often believed to have pursued wealth and pleasure during their lifetime, and after their deaths, they would also show their glory with burial goods such as gold and silver treasures, rare antiques, etc. However, the mausoleum of an emperor subverts this perception, what is the reason for this?
On November 16, 2013, the Archaeological Society of China announced that the Sui and Tang tombs had been discovered in Yangzhou City, which was the final resting place of Emperor Yang Guang and Empress Xiao of the Sui Dynasty. This news has attracted widespread attention in the society, and this group of tombs was discovered during the construction of a real estate project in Caozhuang, Situ Village. There are a total of two brick chamber tombs in the tomb, which are buried by Emperor Yang Guang of the Sui Dynasty and Empress Xiao. During the excavations, experts found gold and silver decorated objects and cultural relics such as gilded copper pavements and gold-inlaid jade belts. These are typical royal tomb specifications and are not available to the average person. However, the mausoleum of Emperor Yang of Sui was unusually simple, even more modest than the tombs of the rich. In historical records and film and television dramas, Yang Guang, the Yang Emperor of the Sui Dynasty, is often portrayed as one of the most discredited emperors in Chinese history. He was considered to be a mediocre, brutal, and unscrupulous ruler of the country.
Misunderstandings and slanders against Emperor Yang of the Sui abound throughout history, also because the most authoritative Book of Sui was written by Tang Dynasty historians, and this smear may have been motivated by political necessity. But there are two facts that cannot be ignored, the first is that he is very pampered and respectful of his official empress, Empress Xiao. After the death of Emperor Yang of Sui, Empress Xiao arranged his burial, and after his death, he was buried with Emperor Yang of Sui. Secondly, Emperor Yang of Sui did not build a mausoleum for himself during his lifetime, despite the fact that he had unified the country and accumulated a lot of wealth at that time, which is not common in history.
Although the Sui Dynasty only existed for a short period of more than thirty years, like the Qin Dynasty, it was a short-lived dynasty in history. However, these two short-lived dynasties completed two real unifications in Chinese history. One ended the war in the Spring and Autumn Period and the Warring States Period, and the other ended the ** period of the Northern and Southern Dynasties. These two dynasties also made outstanding contributions to the political system. For example, the Qin Dynasty established a centralized system such as the emperor system, the system of three princes and nine kings, and the county system, while the Sui Dynasty established a new political system of feudal dynasties such as the system of three provinces and six ministries and the imperial examination system. It can be said that the glory of the Han Dynasty and the prosperity of the Tang Dynasty are actually a continuation of the two dynasties of Qin and Sui. It is worth noting that two of the most famous projects in Chinese history, the Great Wall and the Grand Canal, also came from these two dynasties. The Zhou, Qin, Han and Tang dynasties are often said nowadays, but the importance of the Sui Dynasty is ignored. Emperor Yang of Sui was actually a leader with a grand strategic vision, and his failure was to act in too haste.