Emperor Yang

The second emperor of the Sui dynasty (reigned 604-617). His surname was Yang and given name was Guang. Traditionally, it is pronounced "Yodai" and not "Yotei". Yang is a posthumous name indicating a wicked emperor. He was the second son of Emperor Wen of Sui, and his mother was Empress Wen Dugu. He first became King of Jin, played an active role in defeating the Southern Chen Dynasty, and overthrew his brother, Crown Prince Yong, to become Crown Prince himself (600). He ascended to the throne by allied with the powerful minister Yang Su, but it is said that he killed his father, Emperor Wen, and raped his wife. After ascending to the throne, he actively carried out large-scale civil engineering works, such as repairing the Great Wall, building Tokyo (Eastern Capital) in Luoyang, and completing a grand canal connecting the north and south, placing an excessive burden on the people. He himself sailed a dragon boat down this Grand Canal and made extravagant tours, but the opening of the Grand Canal connected the North and South by water transport, making it easier to transport goods from Jiangnan to the North, and greatly contributing to the fusion of the North and South. Externally, he defeated the powerful Turks to the north and the Tuyuhun to the west, and also launched three expeditions to Goguryeo, which was in danger of forming an alliance with the Turks. The first expedition in 612 was particularly large-scale, mobilizing an army of 1.13 million men and a transport force twice as large. However, he was still unable to completely subjugate Goguryeo.

During the second expedition (613), Yang Xuangan's rebellion broke out in the rear, and although it was put down in two months, rebellions broke out in various places after that, and the period of rebellion at the end of the Sui dynasty began. This was due to Emperor Yang's excessive mistreatment of the people, combined with famine and floods. However, Emperor Yang was not just an incompetent tyrant, as can be seen from the establishment of the Daye Li and Daye Law Codes and the completion of the Grand Canal. Emperor Yang was the ruler of the fallen Sui dynasty, and his achievements were recorded by the Tang Dynasty historians, who overthrew the Sui dynasty, so one could say that only his bad side remains. In his later years, Emperor Yang moved to Jiangdu (Yangzhou), near the beautiful north bank of the Yangtze River, and lived a luxurious life, ignoring the wars, until he was killed by his vassal Yu Wenhua. Prince Shotoku's envoy to the Sui Dynasty was sent to Emperor Yang. Emperor Yang was a devout Buddhist and was devoted to the wisdom of the founder of the Tendai sect, bestowing upon him the Buddhist title of Master Zhizhe. He was also a first-rate poet, and his most famous work is "Inba Chojo Kukkou."

[Texture and tide]

"Emperor Yang of Sui" by Miyazaki Ichijo (1965, Jinbutsu Oraisha) " "Emperor Yang of Sui and Emperor Taizong of Tang" by Nunome Shiofuji (1975, Shimizu Shoin)

Source: Shogakukan Encyclopedia Nipponica About Encyclopedia Nipponica Information | Legend

中国、隋(ずい)の第2代皇帝（在位604～617）。姓は楊、名は広。古来「ようてい」と読まず「ようだい」と読む。煬は悪逆な皇帝を示す諡(おくりな)である。隋の文帝の次子で、母は文献独孤(ぶんけんどっこ)皇后。初め晋(しん)王になり、南朝陳の討滅に活躍し、兄の皇太子勇を失脚させて、自ら皇太子となった（600）。権臣の楊素と結んで帝位についたが、そのとき父文帝を殺し、その妃を犯したといわれている。即位後は万里の長城を修築したり、洛陽(らくよう)に東京（東都）を営造し、南北を結ぶ大運河を完成させるなど、盛んに大規模な土木工事をおこし、人民に過重な負担を与えた。自らこの大運河に竜舟を浮かべて、華美な巡幸をしたが、大運河の開通は、南北を舟運で結び、江南の物資を北へ運びやすくし、南北融合に大きく貢献した。対外的には、北方に強盛を誇った突厥(とっけつ)や西方の吐谷渾(とよくこん)を討ち、また突厥と結ぶおそれのあった高句麗(こうくり)に三度にわたって遠征した。とくに612年の第一次遠征は、113万の大軍と、その倍の輸送隊を動員した大規模なものであった。しかし、それでも高句麗を完全に制圧することはできなかった。

　その第二次遠征のとき（613）、後方で楊玄感の反乱が起こり、これは2か月で鎮定されたが、こののち各地に反乱が起こり、隋末の反乱期に入った。これは、煬帝の過重な人民の酷使のうえに、飢饉(ききん)、水害が重なったためである。しかし煬帝は大業礼、大業律令(りつれい)の整備や、大運河の完成にみられるように、単なる無能な暴君ではない。煬帝は隋の亡国の君主であり、煬帝の事績は、隋を倒した唐朝史官によって記されているため、その悪い面ばかり残っているという見方もできる。煬帝の晩年は、戦乱をよそに風光の美しい揚子江(ようすこう)北岸に近い江都（揚州）に移ってぜいたくな生活を営み、最後は臣下の宇文化及(うぶんかきゅう)に殺された。聖徳太子の遣隋使は、煬帝のもとへ派遣されたものである。煬帝は熱心な仏教信者で、天台宗の開祖の智ぎに帰依し、智者大師の法号を贈った。また、詩人としても一流で、「飲馬長城窟行(いんばちょうじょうくっこう)」は代表作である。

［布目潮渢］

『宮崎市定著『隋の煬帝』（1965・人物往来社）』▽『布目潮風著『隋の煬帝と唐の太宗』（1975・清水書院）』

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