Page:A Chinese Biographical Dictionary.djvu/926

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A Chinese Biographical Dictionary
907


killed by a gunshot wonnd while pursoing the flying enemy into the monntaius. He had married an Imperial princess, and was posthumously ennobled as ;^ |^ 3E-

Yang Enang i^ ^ (T. ^ ^). A.D. 580-618. Second son 2393 of Yang Chien , first Emperor of the Sai dynasty, whom he is said to have assassinated, as weU as his elder brother. Succeeding to the throne in 605, he forthwith gave himself up to extravagance and debauchery, spending ?ast sums over his palace and pleasure- .grounds at the new capital, Chiang- tu or modern Yang-chou. For his progress thither he levied from all officials above a certain rank a quota of ornamental ^'dragon-boats,** the whole forming a line of vessels nearly one hundred miles in length. The trees in his park were supplied in winter with silken leaves and flowers, and birds were almost exterminated to provide a sufficient supply of down for his cushions. He .is said to have prohibited women from wearing veils in public, substituting a. turban for the more modest custom hitherto in vogue. In 607 he visited the northern frontier, and held an assembly of the chiefs of Central Asia, building at frightful sacrifice of life another Great Wall from ;||^ ij^ Yfl-lin Fu in Shensi to the ^ Tzti river in Ta-t*ung Fu, Shansi. He entered into trading relations with the Turkic tribes, and spent laige sums upon embassies. In 608 he built a new palace at Fdn- chou in Shansi, and in 609 made an unsuccessful campaign against the Turkic tribes. From 611 to 614 he indulged in uusuccessful invasions of Korea; and the consequent pressure upon the people led to risings in Shantung, Chihli, Honan, and other provincens. In 615, while on a progress, he was besieged at Jf^ f^ Yen-mdn in Shansi for no less than a month by the Turkic Khan. In 617 as many as seven usurpers had established themselves at various points; yet all the time the Emperor was content to live in shameless debauchery at his capital. The future founder of the T^ang dynasty