Wendi

or Wen Ti

Chinese god of literature. His chief heavenly task is to keep a register of men of letters so that he can mete out rewards and punishments to each according to merit. He had 17 reincarnations, during the ninth of which he appeared on earth as Zhang Ya. His writing earned him canonization during the Tang dynasty.

Wendi

or Wen-ti orig. Liu Heng

(born 203 BC, China—died 157 BC, China) Fourth emperor of the Chinese Han dynasty. His long reign (180–157 BC) was one of good government and peaceful consolidation of power. Under his rule, China's economy prospered and its population expanded. To later ages Wendi epitomized the virtues of frugality and benevolence in a Chinese ruler.

Wendi

or Wen-ti orig. Yang Jian

(born 541, China—died 604, China) Founder of the Chinese Sui dynasty, which reunified China after centuries of instability. He was born into a powerful family in northern China, an area controlled by the non-Chinese Northern Zhou dynasty (557–81). When the Zhou emperor died unexpectedly, Wendi seized the throne, overcame his rivals, and in 581 proclaimed the Sui dynasty. Intending to build a strong, centralized state, he designed a huge new capital at Chang'an and attacked entrenched local interests. Families with hereditary local power were replaced with officials selected by examination, who were forbidden to serve in the areas from which they came and were rotated frequently. Wendi conquered the dynasties of southern China and broke the power of the Turkish empires in Turkistan and Mongolia. He put the equal-field system into practice and produced a new legal code. His government brought in tax revenues and maintained price-regulating granaries. In old age he became deeply involved with Buddhism, building shrines and dedicating relics. See also Yang Di.