First ruled by a progressive leader and then by his ne’er-do-well son, this brief period closed with the arrival of a third emperor, one who would usher in the T’ang dynasty, another Chinese golden age. But first, Sui potters took preliminary steps toward inventing porcelain by molding white clay into simple forms and applying a clear glaze. A strong Indian influence is evident in both the abundant sculpture and the numerous Buddhist temples and meditation caves dating from the Sui.
