IN course of time the T'o-pa became too thoroughly sinicized
and too completely blended into the Chinese population to avoid
becoming decadent. In 534 the dynasty split into two branches
which shared the north of China; subsequently each of these royal
houses was replaced by its respective major-domo. In 581 the two
kingdoms were reunited by an energetic minister, Yang Chien, who
founded a new dynasty, the Sui. Yang Chien completed his task in
the year 589 by conquering the Chinese "Byzantine" empire (then
under the Ch'en dynasty) with its capital at Nanking, that is to say
the whole of South China. After being divided for two hundred and
seventy-one years ( 318-589), China was again united. Ch'ang-an
(modern Sian), the ancient western capital, became once more the
seat of government.

Yang Chien (the emperor Wen-ti) was a man of sterling qualities
who, although comparatively uneducated, was a careful admini-
strator and gave everything his personal attention. He was a cautious
and thrifty man who dealt severely with dishonest officials and
succeeded in restoring strict order in society and the state, though the
methods he employed in doing so were sometimes distasteful. In
foreign affairs he reaped the benefit of Chinese unification.

Since the middle of the sixth century an event of primary im-
portance had occurred in Upper Asia. This was the foundation of
the Turkish Empire. In fact it is only towards this period that the
Turks first appear in history, at least under that name (in Chinese,
T'u-chüeh). In the Turkish language it signifies "the strong", and
was probably the name of a Hun tribe originating in the Khangai
mountains of Outer Mongolia. During the first half of the sixth

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