Emperor Xianfeng was not an excellent successor, the picture is a painting before he ascended the throne
There are three considerations for the secret storage box behind the "Fair and Bright" plaque.
First, it is not good to establish a prince.Since Qin Shihuang, the establishment of a prince has almost become a common practice in the two thousand years of imperial history.The emperor's personal qualities, talents, morals, preferences, etc. are of great importance to the country and the nation.Therefore, selecting the best and most outstanding successor to the throne is a top priority for a country, a nation, and a dynasty.The monarch should be the most outstanding and outstanding representative of the entire country and various ethnic groups in the current dynasty.Of course, limited to the hereditary system of the throne, only the best talents within its scope can be selected.The lessons of Emperor Kangxi's two establishments and two abolitions of the prince will be remembered forever.
Why do you say "it's not good to establish a prince"?The successive dynasties have followed the hereditary system of the throne, which has its own reasons.From the perspective of China and the world in the 21st century, we will re-examine the succession system of the throne in the family world, and we will have a new understanding.We say "establishing a prince is not good", because "establishing a prince" has "three disadvantages": one is easy to be arrogant.The crown prince indulged himself, anyway, he was an iron throne, so he didn't need to work hard to cultivate his body and mind.Second, it is easy to form a party.The crown prince is the future successor, and some people lean towards the prince, which is easy to form a "crown princeling party".In this way, "imperial power" and "reserve power" form a contradiction.The third is prone to infighting.The other princes tried to attack and frame the prince's forces, and sought to become the crown prince themselves.This was the case in the Kangxi Dynasty, so is it not the case for an enterprise or a company?
Second, one person is definitely not good.After the death of Emperor Daoguang, what about the throne?One person decides.What's wrong with being alone?Give two examples.One is the Daoguang Emperor Li Yizhu (zhu).In the Qing Dynasty, there was no family law of establishing a descendant to grow up.Emperor Daoguang had many princes to choose from, but it can be said that it was "inappropriate" for him to establish his eldest son, Yi Chi.Yi Chi is lazy, cowardly, lecherous, and lacks a sense of historical responsibility.The second is the Empress Dowager Cixi's "Yizhi Dingchu" - Emperor Guangxu Zaitian (tian), elder brother Pujun (jun), and Emperor Xuantong Puyi.Princes, nobles, ministers of the imperial court, ministers of the Ministry of Internal Affairs, ministers of military aircraft, ministers of the guards, and academicians did not participate.Cixi changed the ancestral system of succession to the throne.Zaitian's succession to the throne was neither elected by the Manchu nobles' meeting, nor announced in the form of a will, nor was it a secret crown prince, but was "determined by one word" by Empress Dowager Cixi.Both Zaitian and Puyi were selected at the intersection of the bloodlines of the Aixinjueluo family and the Yehenala family. Puyi was selected at the intersection of the bloodlines of the nephew of Cixi, the son of Zaifeng, and the son of Niu Hulu, the goddaughter of Cixi. In this regard, there is no precedent for this in the Qing Dynasty.It is a bad historical example that the Empress Dowager Cixi does not put the country, the country, and the country as the most important thing, but puts the self-interest first.
Third, we cannot do well behind closed doors.Since Daoguang in the Qing Dynasty, the international situation has changed greatly.Guo Songtao of the Qing Dynasty not only saw the "strong boats and guns" in the West, but also saw the parliamentary system in the West.Guo Songtao (1818-1891), Daoguang Jinshi, governor of Guangdong, Minister of the Ministry of War, the first ambassador to the United Kingdom and minister to France, advocated learning Western science and technology and the parliamentary system.He said in "The Journey to the West": "The reason why the West enjoys the country for a long time is that the monarch and the people also rule the country!" ", and even wanted to burn down his house, and after his death, he had to dig up his grave and burn his body.
In the two hundred years since the Qing Dynasty entered the customs, looking at the general trend of the world, the general development trend is democratization.The Qing Dynasty closed its eyes and ignored the general trend of the world, but appointed 6-year-old Tongzhi, 4-year-old Guangxu, and 3-year-old Xuantong as emperors. This completely deviated from the trend of world development. 6-year-old Tongzhi, 4-year-old Guangxu, and 3-year-old Xuantong, who were their opponents in the world at that time?
United States: Lincoln (1809-1865), his family was poor, his father was a shoemaker, and his mother died at the age of 9. He became a lawyer through self-study, and was elected the sixteenth president of the United States (1861-1865). Slavery, which defended national unity, was assassinated.
Germany: Bismarck (1815-1898), Prime Minister of the German Empire (1862-1890), at the same time as Tongzhi and Guangxu, served as ambassador to France and foreign minister.He unified Germany through three dynastic wars; he implemented a high-pressure policy internally, and was known as the "iron and blood prime minister".
Japan: Ito Hirobumi (1841-1909), served four times as Prime Minister of Japan, roughly at the same time as Guangxu.He used to be the governor of Hyogo Prefecture and studied the navy in the UK, which means that he has both grassroots work experience and overseas study experience.During his tenure, he drafted the Meiji Constitution and played a major role in abolishing the Japanese feudal system and establishing a modern country.Victory in the Sino-Japanese War forced the Qing government to sign the Treaty of Shimonoseki.Later, he was assassinated by Korean patriots in Harbin.
Russia: Alexander II (1818-1881), Russian Emperor (1855-1881), roughly at the same time as Tongzhi and Guangxu.During his reign, the serf system was abolished, and major reforms were carried out in finance, culture, justice, and military affairs. His term of office was hailed as the "Era of Great Reforms".He was later killed by the Democrats.
Empress Dowager Cixi, who is in control of power, often regards herself as the Lafayette, and the picture is the "Prajna Paramita Heart Sutra" written by her.
United Kingdom: Queen Victoria (1819-1901), Queen of England (1837-1901), roughly at the same time as Cixi (1835-1908).Some people say: Britain is also the queen!However, the United Kingdom implemented the prime minister system and the parliamentary system at that time. Queen Victoria strictly abided by the principles of the Constitution during her tenure, while Empress Dowager Cixi implemented the "queen" system.
Empress Dowager Cixi and her puppet emperors Tongzhi and Guangxu were contemporaries of Lincoln in the United States, Bismarck in Germany, Hirobumi Ito in Japan, Alexander II in Russia, and Queen Victoria in England.How can this pair of orphans and widows, as the highest power in the Qing Dynasty, rival them?However, Cixi can remove a political king like Yixin at will without any restrictions.The Empress Dowager Cixi is not subject to any supervision—no legal supervision, no administrative supervision, no public opinion supervision, and thus forms a totalitarian and autocratic situation-"one man rules the world, and the world serves one man"!
Sima Qian has a famous saying: "Study the relationship between heaven and man, understand the changes of the past and the present."At that time, many Western countries had already industrialized and had a democratic system, and the Qing Dynasty was still a family and a monarchy.At the end of the Qing Dynasty, the Empress Dowager Cixi implemented a dictatorship through "listening to the government-training the government-handling the government" for half a century.Therefore, the fall of the Qing Dynasty and the rise of the Republic of China are not only the inevitable logic of history, but also the natural choice of public opinion.
From the trajectory of the succession and evolution of the Qing Dynasty emperor, let's make a brief historical review.
The competition between the Qing Dynasty and the foreign powers was not only a contest of economic and military power, but more importantly, a contest of the quality and wisdom of the supreme ruler.In the late Qing Dynasty, Emperor Jiaqing was Yongjun, Emperor Daoguang was Yujun, Emperor Xianfeng was Cowardly, Emperor Tongzhi was stubborn, Emperor Guangxu was Aijun, and Emperor Xuantong was Youngjun.The last three young emperors—6-year-old Tongzhi Emperor, 4-year-old Guangxu Emperor, and 3-year-old Xuantong Emperor—wouldn’t it be a big joke to be the heads of the Qing Empire!And it is the Empress Dowager Cixi who is in charge of the court.We do not stand on the standpoint of feminism, but stand on the standpoint of the Chinese nation to investigate this phenomenon.As a woman, Cixi is undoubtedly outstanding and excellent. She is very smart and knows how to manipulate power.We use the ruler of a politician to measure Cixi and find that she does not have the vision, broad-mindedness, strategy of governing the country, and innovative spirit of a politician.Empress Dowager Cixi lived in the Forbidden City or the Summer Palace for many years. She did not understand agriculture, industry, education, business, or the military. Great powers, how can they be undefeated?In particular, Empress Dowager Cixi has been in power for nearly 50 years.In the tide of democratization of world politics, the imperial power of the Qing Empire was increasingly highly concentrated.This is not only an important reason for the tragedy of Chinese history during the Tongzhi, Guangxu, and Xuantong dynasties, but also the inevitable result of the family and the monarchy.In the family and monarchy system of the Qing Dynasty, the emperor could only choose among the Aixinjueluo clan, but not the best and most outstanding head of state among the people.In the face of international competition, the survival of the fittest, the laggards will be beaten, the battle will be defeated, and the Qing Dynasty will be cut off.
The secret storage box behind the "upright and bright" plaque in Qianqing Palace is just a historical memory.This historical memory inspires people: to take the road of democratization and internationalization.
