in history. Their period is described as that of the Nan-peh
Chao, "Northern and Southern Kingdoms." The names of the principals
were Sung, Wei, Liang and Chin. The first
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only was Chinese, the others belonging to various branches of the
Tartar race. The chiefs of the Liang family were of Tibetan origin--a
circumstance which may perhaps account for their predilection for
Buddhism. The second emperor of that house, Wu Ti, became a Buddhist
monk and retired to a monastery where he lectured on the philosophy of
Buddhism. He reminds one of Charles the Fifth, who in his retirement
amused himself less rationally by repairing watches and striving,
in vain, to make a number of them keep identical time.

It may be noted that behind these warring factions there is in
progress a war of races also. The Tartars are forever encroaching
on the Flowery Land. Repulsed or expelled, they return with augmented
force; and even at this early epoch the shadow of their coming
conquest is plainly visible.

In the confused strife of North and South the preponderance is
greatly on the side of the Tartars. The pendulum of destiny then
begins to swing in the other direction. Yan Kien, a Chinese general
in the service of a Tartar principality, took advantage of their
divisions to rally a strong body of his countrymen by whose aid
he cut them off in detail and set up the Sui dynasty, The Tartars
have always made use of Chinese in the invasion of China; and if
the Chinese were always faithful to their own country no invader
would succeed in conquering them.

Though the Sui dynasty lasted less than thirty years (589-618,
three reigns), it makes a conspicuous figure on account of two events:
(1) a victorious expedition in the north which reached the borders of
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Turkestan, and (2) the opening of canals between the Yellow River
and the Yang-tse Kiang. The latter enterprise only hastened the
fall of the house. It was effected by forced labour; and the
discontented people were made to believe, as their historians continue
to assert, that its chief object was to enable a luxurious emperor
to display his grandeur to the people of many provinces. We shall
see how the extension of those canals precipitated the overthrow
of the Mongols as we have already seen how the completion of the
Great Wall caused the downfall of the house of Ts'in.

Yang-ti, the second emperor of the Sui dynasty, though not wanting
in energy, is notorious for hi