Chapter 13 Chapter Thirteen Sui Yang Emperor's "Dragon Boat"

In 581 AD, Yang Jian, a great aristocrat of the Northern Zhou Dynasty, abolished the 9-year-old Jingdi Yuwenchan of the Northern Zhou Dynasty, and established himself as the emperor.He was Emperor Wen of the Sui Dynasty (reigned 581-604 AD). Emperor Wen of the Sui Dynasty sent general Yang Su to build various warships in Yong'an (Renfu County, today's Fengjie Baidi East, Sichuan). A slapstick, 50 feet high, can slap enemy ships.It can carry 800 soldiers, and the flag is added to it.The second is the "Yellow Dragon Boat", which can carry more than a hundred soldiers.In 587 A.D. (the seventh year of Kaihuang), the Sui Dynasty dredged Shanyangdu in Yangzhou to facilitate the passage of boats.He also sent generals Han Qinhu and He Ruobi to garrison Lujiang (now Hefei, Anhui) and Guangling (now Yangzhou, Jiangsu) to cross the river to destroy Chen.In October of 588 AD (the eighth year of Kaihuang), Emperor Wen of the Sui Dynasty ordered to attack Chen. More than 510,000 people set out in eight routes. They took advantage of the fog on New Year's Day in 589 (the ninth year of Kaihuang) to cross the river, occupied Jiankang, and captured Chen's empress. Kill Chen.The Sui Dynasty destroyed Chen, ending the split situation of nearly 400 years since the end of the Eastern Han Dynasty (with the short-term unification of the Western Jin Dynasty in the middle).After the reunification of the whole country, the social order was stable and the economy of the north and the south developed.Emperor Wen of the Sui Dynasty continued to implement the land equalization system since the Northern Wei Dynasty, and stipulated that farmers over the age of 50 could pay silk as a substitute for labor, so that farmers had more time to engage in production.In more than 20 years, the area of ​​cultivated land in the Sui Dynasty increased greatly, food was plentiful, the handicraft industry, especially the shipbuilding industry, was greatly improved, and the country became prosperous and prosperous.

In order to consolidate the regime of the Sui Dynasty, the Jiangnan area was further controlled after the Pingchen Dynasty, property in the south of the Yangtze River was expropriated, and the north-south communication was strengthened. The Sui Dynasty also dug the Grand Canal running through the north and the south.In 584 A.D. (the fourth year of Emperor Kaihuang), Emperor Wen of the Sui Dynasty ordered Yu Wenkai to lead a hydraulic engineer to dig the Guangtong Canal (Fumin Canal) to divert Weishui from Daxing City (the new capital built by Emperor Wen of Sui Dynasty, in the southeast of the old city of Chang’an, today’s Xi’an, Shaanxi) to the east. Tongguan is more than 300 miles long, and water transportation is convenient.After Emperor Yang Guang of the Sui Dynasty ascended the throne in 605 A.D., he ordered the opening of the canal three times.

The first time: in 605 AD (the first year of Daye), the Jiqu and Hangou were further opened for the purpose of driving dragon boats in Jiangdu (now Yangzhou, Jiangsu).Therefore, it is also called "Yuhe".Starting from Xiyuan in Luoyang, the eastern capital, Tongji Canal diverts Gu and Luoer waters into the Yellow River, flows eastward, and then diverts water from the Yellow River into the Bianhe River via Shangqiu from Banzhu [Zhuzhu] (north of Xingyang, Henan today). Enter Anhui to Sixian County and join Sishui River, and enter Huaihe River at Xuyi [xuyixuyi] (northeast of Xuyi, Jiangsu today).Then follow the Huaihe River to Shanyang (now Huai'an, Jiangsu).The opening of the Hangou is to widen and straighten the Hangou opened by Fuchai, the king of Wu, so that the water will flow from Shanyang to Jiangdu (now Yangzhou, Jiangsu) and flow into the Yangtze River.Tongji Canal "Water surface is 40 steps wide, leading to dragon boats; both sides are avenues, planted with elms and willows, more than 2,000 miles from Dongdu to Jiangdu, and the shade of trees intersects. Every two post houses have a palace, which is a place for stopping. From Chang'an) to Jiangdu, there are more than forty palaces" (Du Bao's "Daye Miscellaneous Notes").

The second time: in 608 A.D. (the fourth year of Emperor Yangdi's great cause), the Yongji Canal was dug. Bi Chuan ").The construction of the Yongji Canal mainly uses natural waterways to lead from Sishui County (now Xingyang, Henan Province) in the northeast to Lianqin River and Qi River in the North of the Yellow River, to Linqing to Tianjin Huibai River into the sea, and then to Zhuojun (now Zhuozhou City, Hebei Province) in the north. The total length is more than 2000 miles. The third time: in 610 AD (the sixth year of Emperor Yangdi's great cause), the Jiangnan River was built.From Jingkou (now Zhenjiang City, Jiangsu Province) to Yuhang (now Hangzhou, Zhejiang Province) water flows into Qiantang River.The Jiangnan River is widened and deepened on the basis of the old Jiangnan River, and has a total length of more than 800 miles and a width of more than ten feet.The Grand Canal was completed in just six years, reflecting the requirements of social and economic development.

The Sui Dynasty opened the Grand Canal and expropriated people's power excessively.When the Ji Canal was opened, more than a hundred people from Henan and Huaibei were confiscated.When the Yongji Canal was opened, "more than one million people were dispatched from the counties in Hebei... As a matter of fact, Ding men refused to provide, and women began to serve." people.Migrant workers are on the road one after another, and the people's grievances are boiling.According to "Sui Shu Yuan Hongsi Biography": "At the beginning of Daye, Emperor Yang had the intention of taking Liaodong, and sent Hongsi to Donglai Haikou to supervise the selection of ships. The servants of the states suffered from beating Chu (stick punishment), and the officials supervised the service. , Standing in the water day and night, dare not rest a little, from the waist down, there are all maggots, and the dead are thirteen or four." This aspect shows the suffering of shipbuilders and migrant workers, and it can also be known that Donglai (now Shandong Ye County) Haikou It was an important shipbuilding base in the Sui Dynasty.

"In the winter of the seventh year, the Zhuo County will be assembled. Divide the soldiers from the south of the Yangtze River and the Huaihe River with the general Xiaowei to protect the children. Don't use the boats to help the sea, and the boats will be hundreds of miles away, and the army will be carried." ("Tong Dian Water Transport") The ships front and back Connecting for hundreds of miles, how huge is the momentum of the shipping! The Grand Canal starts from Zhuojun in the north and reaches Hangzhou in the south. It connects the five major water systems of the Haihe River, the Yellow River, the Huaihe River, the Yangtze River, and the Qiantang River. The total length is more than 2,700 kilometers. County Code·Henan Mansion") became the north-south traffic artery, played a major role in the economic and cultural exchanges between the north and the south, and still has a profound impact on later generations.

Pi Rixiu, a poet of the Tang Dynasty, said in Bianhe Nostalgia: The smooth flow of water transportation shows the development of the shipbuilding industry.Emperor Yang of the Sui Dynasty took the "Dragon Boat" of the palace on the water three times to visit Jiangdu through the canal. When it comes to dragon boats, there has long been a folk tradition of dragon boat racing on the Dragon Boat Festival.It is said that it was raised to commemorate the patriotic poet Qu Yuan.Concerned about the country and the people, he threw himself into the Miluo River on the fifth day of May in 278 BC. The people were afraid that the dragon in the water would swallow his body, so they made the boat into a dragon shape and drove on the river, beating gongs and drums to disperse the dragon in the water. .This is the reason for the Dragon Boat Festival on the fifth day of May.The ancients believed that the dragon was a huge and sacred monster, and if one could ride a dragon across the sea for nine days, one would become a god.If you want to cross the sea, you have to take a dragon boat. The emperors of all dynasties in our country pretended to be the real dragon emperor, and they wanted to use the dragon's power to strengthen their rule among the people.They have majestic and gorgeous palaces on the ground, and they will live in Fengge dragon boats on the water.

Emperor Yang of the Sui Dynasty was desperate for extravagance and did not hesitate to abuse the power of the people.He repeatedly recruited a large number of migrant workers to harvest large timber in the south of the Yangtze River to build tens of thousands of dragon boats and ships of various names.The people were unbearable in hard labor, and four out of ten died.Emperor Yang of the Sui Dynasty ordered the opening of the Ji Canal in March of the first year of Daye (605 A.D.), and in August he toured Jiangdu on a dragon boat.It was the first time that Luoyang was returned to Luoyang in April of the second year of Daye (606 A.D.).The second time was to travel to Xingjiangdu in March in the sixth year of Daye (AD 610). In February of the following year, he rode a dragon boat and entered Tongji Canal to Zhuojun.The third time was when he traveled to Jiangdu in July in the 12th year of Daye (616 AD), and was killed in the 14th year (618 AD) and died in the Sui Dynasty.

The dragon boat on which Emperor Yang of the Sui Dynasty rode was tall and tall, with four floors, 45 feet high (29.51 centimeters from the current Sui ruler), and 200 feet long. The upper floor has the main hall, inner hall, and east and west halls.There are 120 rooms on the second floor in the middle.These boats are "decorated with red powder, decorated with gold, jade, pearls and emeralds, and carved beautifully" (Du Bao's "Daye Miscellaneous Notes").The lower floor is where the servants live.The dragon boat that the empress rides on is called "Xiang Chi [chi Chi]", which is slightly smaller than the emperor's dragon boat, and the decoration is extremely luxurious.In the fleet, there are nine water halls with three floors called "Fujing", and there are also called Yangcai, Zhuniao, Cangzhi, Baihu, Xuanwu, Feiyu, Qingfu, Lingbo, Wulou, Daochang, There are thousands of large ships with various names such as Xuantan, Ban (zhou (collapse) to earth) [ta ta], Huang Mie and so on.Servants, kings, princesses, officials, monks and nuns, Taoist priests, and foreign guests ride separately according to their grades.Another part of the ship carried items used by all passengers below the empress.There are more than 80,000 boatmen in total.Among them, there are hundreds of people holding the dragon boat of Emperor Yangdi, and 9,000 people holding the "Yangcai" class and above boats.These 9,000 people are called "Dianjiao", all wearing splendid clothes.The soldiers of the Twelve Guards took thousands of boats, and they all went on their own.The names of the boats are Pingcheng, Qinglong, 艨艟, 艚 [cao Cao] (zhouyuan) and so on.When the ships sailed, they were connected end to end for more than 200 miles, shining on Sichuan and land.The cavalry escorted the shore, and the flags covered the field.Residents within 500 miles of the prefectures and counties they pass have to come to "donate food", and the extra prefectures have to donate 100 liters.The food is delicious food, water and land rare treasures, and the harem can't finish it, so they dig holes and bury them when they set off.The people were bankrupt and unable to live.

In the ninth year of Daye (AD 613), Yang Xuangan, the son of Yang Su, Minister of Rites, raised troops in Liyang (now Jun County, Henan Province) to rebel against the Sui Dynasty.In the 11th year of Daye (615 A.D.), Emperor Yang ordered thousands of dragon boats to be rebuilt, with specifications exceeding the old ones.In July of the twelfth year of Daye (AD 616), Jiangdu dragon boats were built and sent to the eastern capital Luoyang.Emperor Yangdi wrote a poem to leave the palace, "I dream of Jiangdu, and it is also accidental to conquer Liao", so he toured Jiangdu for the third time.Daye built thousands of dragon boats in 11 years, and it took only one year to build them. It can be seen that the Sui Dynasty had strong shipbuilding capabilities and high technology.

The large dragon boat has several floors, and a lot of large wood is used for the hull.Timber has a limited length, which requires connecting many smaller and shorter pieces of wood.At the same time, the technical requirements for the connection between the frame and board of the hull, and between the hull and the superstructure are very high, and if the connection is not good, it will not be strong. Therefore, the connection is extremely important in the structural strength of a dragon boat.The connection method of the Sui Dynasty dragon boat is to use mortise and tenon joints combined with iron nails.Using iron nails is much stronger and more reliable than using wooden nails and bamboo nails.This advanced method has been widely adopted in the Sui Dynasty.