Emperor Yangdi of Sui - Cruelest King in Human History

Jim

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posted on 5 years ago — updated on 1 second ago

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Regarded as one of the worst tyrants in Chinese history. He murdered his father to take the throne. During his reign, he forced millions of peasants to work on his grand projects (the Grand Canal and the rebuilding of the Great Wall). Six million workers perished. Yangdi’s self-indulgence was enormous. He build massive palaces for himself to indulge in endless banquets, alcohol, and concubines.

Tomb

In April 2013 the tomb of Emperor Yang was discovered in Yangzhou. Two brick-lined tombs were discovered in the Hanjiang District of Yangzhou during work on a housing development. A stone epitaph found in the western tomb was inscribed with the title "Tomb epitaph of the late Emperor Yang of Sui" (隨故煬帝墓誌), indicating that the tomb was that of Emperor Yang. It is thought that the other tomb may be that of the emperor's consort, but it has not been properly excavated yet.

The tomb is 4.98 × 5.88 meters in dimension, which is smaller than many non-royal tombs of the period. The reason for the tomb's small size according to Chinese archaeologists is that the emperor died suddenly when he escaped to Yangzhou during a coup, and there was no time to build a grand tomb.

The top of the tomb had been damaged by later buildings built on top of it, and the tomb had been robbed in antiquity. No coffin or human remains have been found in the tomb, but a number of artefacts have been recovered, including a pair of lion-shaped gold-inlaid iron door-knockers and a jade belt with gold decoration.