Скачать или смотреть Chinese History | Build Back Better… Until Everyone Collapsed: The Sui Dynasty’s Grand Canal

Book: How to Be an Emperor: The Rise, Rule, and Ruin of Emperor Wen of Sui
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In the early 7th century, the Sui Dynasty launched one of the most ambitious infrastructure projects in world history: the Grand Canal. Spanning over 1,000 miles and built by more than five million conscripted laborers, this megaproject aimed to solve China's core problem — connecting the political capital in the north with the economic engine in the south. The result? A logistics revolution, a brief economic boom... and total political collapse.

This video explores how the Grand Canal unified a fractured China, enabled the rise of state power, and transformed trade — but also how it pushed the Sui regime beyond the breaking point. Infrastructure doesn't just build economies; it shapes the survival of states. Sometimes for centuries. Sometimes for only a few years.

This is a case study in statecraft, logistics, overreach, and unintended consequences.