One empire again
Open the map in 540 and look at China: it is split between northern and southern states. Now drag the time slider to 600. What has changed, and why would one ruler now need to connect north and south?
Open this view on the mapSui dynasty · 604-618
The Sui and the Grand Canal
In 589 the Sui reunited a China that had been split for centuries. Emperor Yang then joined its great rivers with the Grand Canal. Students trace the canal on the map and weigh a project that helped build China and helped bring down its builder.
- Length
- 50 minutes
- Ages
- 11–14
- On the map
- 3 steps, AD 540 to AD 610
- Live lesson
- 7 rounds, 3 on the map
- Worksheet
- Two A4 pages, with Classroom
- You need
- A projector; phones for live
Live lesson · new in Classroom
Teach it live. The class answers on their phones.
Put the board on the projector. Students join with a six-digit code, no account needed, and tap the map: where was the frontier, where did the grain come from. Their pins drop in together when you reveal, and the closest student takes the round.
€19 per month: every lesson live, every worksheet, cancel anytime. Rome at its height runs live for free.
- 7 rounds
- 3 places to find on the map, quiz questions, a class vote and a one-line answer.
- About 15 minutes
- Run it as the map step, or to open the discussion. You move on with the space bar.
- A report
- Every answer, per student and per round, to read back or print after the lesson.
Introduction
5 minRead aloud
In 589 the Sui reunited a China that had been split for centuries. Emperor Yang then joined its great rivers with the Grand Canal. Students trace the canal on the map and weigh a project that helped build China and helped bring down its builder.
By the end of the lesson, students can
- Explain why the reunification of China in 589 needed new ways to connect north and south.
- Trace the Grand Canal on the map from the Yangtze to the Yellow River and beyond.
- Weigh the costs and benefits of Emperor Yang's building projects and wars.
Explore the map
15 minProject the map, or let students follow on their own devices. Each step opens the map at the right year and place.
Two great rivers
Jump to 610 and zoom in between the Yellow River in the north and the Yangtze in the south. Both flow from west to east. Why did the Sui need a waterway running north to south between them?
Open this view on the mapThe ends of the canal
Find Hangzhou in the south and the area of modern Beijing in the north, the two ends of the later Grand Canal. The canal is about 1,800 km long. Why is it so much longer than the straight line between them?
Open this view on the mapClass discussion
15 minPick two or three. They run from what happened to why it mattered.
- For centuries China had been split between north and south. What did the Sui achieve in 589, and why was it hard to keep the country together afterwards?
- The south grew more rice, but the capitals and the armies were in the north. How did the Grand Canal solve this problem?
- Emperor Yang used forced labor on a huge scale. How do you think ordinary families felt about his projects?
- Why did three failed wars against the Korean kingdom of Goguryeo weaken the Sui so badly?
- The Sui lasted only 37 years, but parts of its canal still carry boats today. How should we judge a ruler whose projects outlive him?
Game round
10 minRule History has no Sui ruler, so play Wu Zetian, who ruled China about 70 years later. Let students take turns making rulings about building projects and wars. Then compare: would Emperor Yang have made the same choices, and what did they cost him?
Open Rule HistoryWorksheet
5 minThis worksheet comes with Classroom
€19 per month unlocks every worksheet, every live lesson and the class workspace. The free lesson prints without a subscription.