In 589, an emperor named Wendi united northern and southern China, again. He restored a strong central government, and made himself the first emperor of the Sui Dynasty. Short lived, this dynasty only lasted through two emperors from 581-618. Sui's greatest accomplishment was the completion of the

Grand Canal, which connected the Huang He and Chang Jiang rivers.

This provided a route for trade between northern cities, and

rice farmers of the Chang delta. The dynasty started to decline when endless amount of labor was being forced into projects. They were overworked and overtaxed, and decided to revolt. In 618 a member of the imperial court killed thesecond emperor of Sui. Even though it was short lived, the

Sui Dynasty built a very strong foundation for the achievements of the next     dynasty.