Emperor Yang of the Sui Dynasty: His Life, Times, and Legacy

6. The Bureaucracy

6 The Bureaucracy The Sui administrative system created by Wendi was a milestone in the political history of premodern China. In contrast to the cumbersome bureaucratic models of the Southern and Northern Dynasties, Wendi’s was a more efficient , better delineated, synthetic system that survived the Sui itself to become the foundation of the Tang bureaucratic structure. Clearly, it is within the framework of this system that we have to examine Yangdi’s bureaucratic apparatus . Still, unsatisfied with the status quo, Yangdi introduced a number of major changes to civil administration and the military with a far-reaching impact on the relationship between sovereign and bureaucracy and between central authority and local government. Civil Administration Central Government Before his rise to power, Wendi saw an atavistic system of bureaucracy in action during his tenure as a key court official of the Northern Zhou. The Northern Zhou system had been created by the Western Wei (535– 557) power-holder Yuwen Tai (505–556), one of the most controversial institutional reformers in history, based on the Rites of Zhou (Zhou li ). Assisted by his chief court adviser of Han descent, Su Chuo (498–546), Yuwen Tai initiated a number of institutional reforms to consolidate his power in Guanzhong while attempting to distinguish himself from the Eastern Wei (which closely identified itself with the Xianbei tradi107 tion), as well as from the Liang dynasty in the South that regarded itself as the inheritor of the Han and Wei-Jin legacy. Although stressing his Xianbei connections, Yuwen Tai modeled his reforms on the ancient Western Zhou prototype. At the head of the newly created government was the grand chief minister (chengxiang; later, da chengxiang ). Directly under him were the Six Offices, named after Heaven and Earth and the four seasons. The officialdom was classified according to an archaic hierarchical system, composed of nine appointment ranks (ming ), with rank nine being the highest.1 On coming to power in 581, Wendi not only ordered the extermination of the surviving male members of the Northern Zhou royal house, but also set out to destroy the Northern Zhou’s bureaucratic structure. The Sui shu succinctly sums up the dramatic transformation of the officialdom from Northern Zhou to Sui: Giving special consideration to the surviving documents of Feng and Hao (Western Zhou), [the Northern Zhou] set up the Six Offices [based on the Rites of Zhou] to take charge of government. Their elaborate institutions are commendable. When Gaozu (Wendi) came to power, numerous measures had to start anew. The Zhou offices were again abolished while the Han and Cao-Wei systems adopted.2 Why did Wendi introduce such drastic institutional reforms? There are no easy answers to the question since traditional sources provide little information . The most apparent explanation may be sought in the fact that the Northern Zhou system was based on an archaic tradition that was allegedly Western Zhou in origin and not on the political reality of the times. The system clashed with the pragmatism of Wendi. Furthermore, as a usurper, Wendi was anxious to justify his raison d’être as the new dynastic ruler by creating his own identity while distancing himself from the power he had replaced, just like the Yuwens who wanted to differ from the previous Northern Wei. Considering the harrowing experiences the Yangs had gone through under the Northern Zhou, Wendi may well have harbored strong resentment against its royal family and institutions. As a key member of the Northern Zhou court, Wendi’s father Yang Zhong had fallen afoul of Yuwen Hu , the great power manipulator at court and the chief enforcer of the Northern Zhou system. Wendi himself narrowly escaped Hu’s murderous attempts. Although Wudi took Wendi under his wing, he and Wendi had entirely different religious beliefs. After Wudi’s death, Wendi had a rather perilous existence at the court of Xuandi , who threatened on a number of occasions to exterminate Wendi and his family.3 108 Yangdi and His Empire Wendi’s thorough reorganization of the central and local administrative systems was to become his greatest political legacy. Ignoring its Northern Zhou predecessor, Wendi’s complex new system was based on the Han, Northern Wei, and Northern Qi traditions.4 The central government was composed mainly of the Five Departments, Six Boards, and Nine Courts. Of the Five Departments, three were in charge...