Research on the Rules of the Late Qing Officialdom

Author: Ren Hengjun
Publisher:
Publishing Date: 2003-08-01
Features: The author, both explicitly and implicitly, repeatedly reminds readers that "the rise and fall of talent is related to the survival or demise of the court." This simple truth, could the high ruling authorities not understand? Not at all, it's just that they have no choice. Why? Because the country is not a country, but a court of one family or one clan. Trapped within it, the (the is a Chinese idiom meaning "the person in the situation is confused"). Originally an illegal usurpation of the previous dynasty, illegal plus illegal, passed down from generation to generation. They claimed to inherit the Mandate of Heaven to replace the previous dynasty, but it was ultimately illegal. Unable to govern officials according to the law, how could undercurrents not evolve into mainstream? In a word, it is the system that causes this. This is a real "yellow book" to whip the corpse of the emperor. For autocratic emperors, controlling foolish and obedient people was their usual way of recruiting officials. The "hard to be foolish" that emperors claimed was also this principle. In 1846, which was the 26th year of the Daoguang reign, the Daoguang Emperor knew that the important post of Governor-General of Jiangnan was held by a foolish man named Bi Chang, but he was unwilling to replace him with someone slightly more capable. Jiangnan included the provinces of Jiangsu, Jiangxi, and Anhui today. Historical records show that when the court officials heard the Daoguang Emperor asking about Bi Chang, they thought he would be punished for his foolishness. Who knew that the Emperor merely laughed and let it go. In 1847, Bi Chang was still transferred to the position of Inner Minister without any punishment. Just as the Daoguang Emperor was laughing with the pride of a medieval emperor, the domestic and international situation had already become extremely severe. The failure of the Opium War had not made the court realize its mistakes, and now foolish officials were everywhere, corrupt and rotten, yet they had not shown the slightest awareness. These fools gathered together, willingly playing the tricks of governing a country with fools, and never stopped until the country's fate collapsed, the Qing dynasty became unclear, and only death ended it. After the Daoguang and Xianfeng emperors, fools were not the privilege of any single emperor but the "secret recipe" of feudal emperors. Until the ruthless and cruel Empress Dowager Cixi came to power, the situation of fools not only did not improve but worsened. Like the previous dynasties, obedient and foolish talents were still prioritized for recruitment. In Mr. Ren Hengjun's book "Research on the Rules of the Late Qing Imperial Court," the author records the corruption during Empress Dowager Cixi's reign as follows: Prince Lixun of the Lixin clan, a descendant of Prince Daishan of the eight founding "iron hat" princes, had almost nothing except the so-called noble status of being from a family of founding revolutionaries—in terms of corruption and bribery, he was extremely capable. Precisely because of this, the official saying that "fools often become high officials, and high officials are inevitably corrupt" held true. In 1884, during the transition of power in the 10th year of the Guangxu reign, Wang Shiduo became the Chief Military Affairs Councillor. After that, the Empress Dowager Cixi, known as the "not the first, not the last" (a person who brings disaster to the country), was able to smoothly implement her imperial will. In the later years of the Guangxu reign, which was the most corrupt and dark period of autocratic rule in China, the proportion of foolish people recruited by the foolish court was even higher, and it became uncontrollable. The famous fool of the court, Gangyi, was naturally given important positions. This man, unlearned and ignorant, often misspelled words, and infamous for his incompetence, even misread "" as "" and called Yu the "King," pronouncing Gao Yao's "Gao" as the original character. Despite this, he was still recommended as a capable minister comparable to Huang Tianba. In a corrupt court, those who loved wealth, beauty, and flattery were everywhere. Who had the ability would be removed, who served the people would be dismissed, and who deceived the world and gained the Emperor's favor. Therefore, in corrupt dynasties, every official did as they pleased, regardless of praise or criticism—no one could do anything about it. In 1894, the 20th year of the Guangxu reign, during the celebration of the Empress Dowager Cixi's 60th birthday, Gangyi purchased 10,000 taels of pure gold from the Guangzhou Customs and delivered it to the capital, with additional funds dedicated to the Empress Dowager. Under Gangyi's flattery, the Empress Dowager naturally rewarded him, and from then on, Gangyi's career flourished, rising steadily to become the President of the Strategy Bureau, Vice President of the Grand Council, and Military Affairs Councillor. With great power came greater corruption, and he ruined the Hundred Days' Reform, promoted blind isolationism, manipulated and exploited the Boxers, and ultimately became a (a person condemned through the ages). This book, "Research on the Rules of the Late Qing Imperial Court," was originally an old, yellowed book. This new edition is published so that the old book is no longer yellow. A few years ago, when the book was published by the Sanlian Bookstore as part of the "Zhonghua Wenku" series, it was originally titled "The Magical Corruption," meaning a magical whip for the corpse of the corrupt emperor. After its publication and entry into the market, it was quickly collected by readers. Due to the limited print run, it became a rare collection, and it was difficult to find in bookstores. This time, Hainan Publishing House did a good job by republishing the old book, ensuring that the "yellow book" is no longer yellow, and the readers of the world are fortunate. Mr. Ren Hengjun, the author, once dedicated himself to researching the rules of the late Qing imperial court. Like Wu Si's research on "hidden rules" and the "blood-reward law," he is also a scholar in the field of official studies. Here, official studies include the relationships between officials and the emperor, officials and the people, as well as the institutional factors, ethical concepts, social values, and customs and culture that dominate these relationships. Some say that in China, "" (relationship studies) is the true "" (productivity), and official studies is a typical example of relationship studies. In "Research on the Rules of the Late Qing Imperial Court," the author carefully selected historical examples in this regard, with most of the original materials taken from historical records, notes, memorials, letters, diaries, and the like. The corruption of the late Qing imperial court listed in the book is all based on the original materials of the parties involved, not the author's fiction. The author's argument is that the corruption, apart from the moral decline of officials, was mainly due to the problems of the feudal autocratic regime itself, which was a corrupt system. In this book, Ren Hengjun attempts to explore first the inherent flaws of the feudal autocratic regime. In his view, it is these internal flaws that corrupt the high-ranking officials, making them lose their conscience and humanity, and ultimately leading to the collapse of the feudal autocratic system. Today, in the 21st century, the "historical laws" shown in "Research on the Rules of the Late Qing Imperial Court" are not limited to the late Qing imperial court but also apply to the Republic of China government and subsequent governments, which are unlikely to break free from such "vicious circles." In the final years of the Qing dynasty, the imperial court was in chaos and corruption, the administration was (inept and corrupt), and the situation was beyond redemption, ultimately leading to the fall of the crown. If people look back three and a half centuries, it was a thriving scene: the Manchu, who lived on the periphery and accounted for only a tiny fraction of the national population, launched an invasion, establishing the second dynasty in Chinese history ruled by a minority ethnic group. The last dynasty had the lessons of the previous dynasty's successes and failures, the "Zizhi Tongjian" (Comprehensive Mirror for Aid in Government) was more than enough. In the early years after entering the capital, none of the emperors and officials failed to hope for a long-lasting dynasty that would last for generations without end. The Qianlong Emperor gave his descendants three names: Yong, Mian, and Yi. The Daoguang Emperor added five more: Zai, Pu, Yu, Heng, and Qi, which together formed the idea of a dynasty lasting for ten thousand generations. What they did not expect was that the character "Pu" had not even been used when the Qing dynasty fell. In Chinese history, the historical drama of official corruption, with its identical structure, has been performed for over 2,000 years by the end of the Qing dynasty. The emperors of the late Qing dynasty repeated the efforts to restore order but repeated the futile outcome—measures to save the crisis became factors that led to the collapse of the state. Official corruption, from the perspective of ideology, ethics, and behavioral norms, was intertwined with the bones of history and culture, performing the downfall of twenty-three dynasties in a cycle of decline. However, where exactly lies the root of official corruption? Look at the late Qing imperial court—the setting sun of the empire reflected the faint light of this special historical and cultural political scene. In Chinese history, the historical drama of official corruption, with its identical structure, has been performed for over 2,000 years by the end of the Qing dynasty. The emperors of the late Qing dynasty repeated the efforts to restore order but repeated the futile outcome—the measures to save the crisis became factors that led to the collapse of the state. Official corruption, from the perspective of ideology, ethics, and behavioral norms, was intertwined with the bones of history and culture, performing the downfall of twenty-three dynasties in a cycle of decline. However, where exactly lies the root of official corruption? Look at the late Qing imperial court—the setting sun of the empire reflected the faint light of this special historical and cultural political scene.