Chapter 30 The Problem of Martyrdom in the Late Qing Dynasty

When changing dynasties, there is a landscape that is indispensable. If it is missing, those who write history later will feel inexplicable regret.When the dynasty is dying, if there are many martyrs, it is said that it means that the dynasty is very kind and treats the scholar-bureaucrats well.If there are few martyrs, it means that the dynasty is not very good, and the officials and scholar-bureaucrats don't think much about it.Because the so-called martyrdom is supposed to be a matter for officials and scholar-bureaucrats, and it is a matter of being loyal to the emperor because of the salary of the emperor. Even if the common people think about the goodness of this dynasty, it seems that they have never heard of martyrdom, because they do not have that title and are not qualified.According to the statements of a large number of old and young survivors later, the Qing Dynasty ruled for more than two hundred years, and it was absolutely benevolent and generous, which is quite interesting.But it is strange that at the time of the demise of this dynasty, martyrs are quite rare.Among the many Han bureaucrats, very few people think about the good of this dynasty, and even if they think about it, they are unwilling to accompany their lives.At the time of the incident, the bullets did not have long eyes, and some people were killed, but it was rare for someone to wipe their necks, drink medicine, or commit suicide by jumping into a well.

"I wanted to be martyrdom, but my concubine wouldn't do that?" In fact, throughout the dynasties, no matter how many or few martyrs there were, there were always more officials who survived than died.In other words, there will always be more martyrs than those who are not.Those who claim to be dragged down by concubines are truly confessing their feelings. More people often use their parents as a shield under the guise of filial piety, and they still cherish their lives in their bones.However, it is a bit unusual that there are so few martyrs like Qing Dynasty.There are quite a few Manchus who died. For example, Zai Mu, the deputy governor of the Eight Banners Garrison in Zhenjiang, and Gui Yin, the prefect of Anlu, Hubei, were all suicide martyrs.Especially for the latter, the husband and wife were hanged together in the Confucian Temple, which is somewhat tragic.However, in the eighteen provinces, among the Hanchens, there was not a single martyrdom among the governors, governors, chief envoys, and inspectors, except for a few people such as Shanxi governor Lu Zhongqi who was killed by the rebels. They all smeared oil on the soles of their feet and walked away.Including those after ZTE's famous ministers, they all went first.Compared with the Taiping Heavenly Kingdom, when one city after another was destroyed, they committed suicide and wiped their necks. It really doesn't seem to be a dynasty.

Of course, it’s a bit absolute to say this. In Hanchen, there were still some people who wanted to commit suicide and martyrdom at the time of Xinhai, but they were not determined enough, and they were all dressed in court clothes, so they didn’t die.This person was Ma Jizhang, the inspector of Hubei during the Wuchang Uprising.Ma Jizhang is a Muslim. Back then, Muslims believed in religion. When talking about ethnicity, they were considered Han people.It's not easy for a Hui citizen to take the position of inspector.When the uprising happened, I heard that the governor had left and Wuchang City was taken by the rebels. I didn't know which muscle was wrong, so I made up my mind to die.He told his family not to leave, put on his court clothes, went straight to the lobby of the Neisi Yamen, held his big seal, sat on a chair, and said that he would commit suicide as soon as the revolutionaries arrived.In the beginning, there were a few yamen servants accompanying him, but then they all slipped away one by one, leaving only the old man Si, sitting stupidly in the lobby.The Revolutionary Party didn't come, but many spectators came. Everyone looked at Mr. Ma like a monkey. Mr. Ma felt a little uncomfortable-the Revolutionary Party had completely forgotten about this place, and no one came, of course. Master Si no longer had an excuse to commit suicide.There is also news that someone actually wanted to kill him, but was stopped, saying that he would not be given a chance.The fundamental reason is that a government office has no money, no soldiers, a revolution, and a lot of things to do, and no one thinks about it.In fact, if the old man really wanted to commit suicide, he would have shot himself in the head with a pistol as soon as he entered the lobby, and he had to wait for the revolutionaries to come, which shows that he was a little timid from the beginning.After waiting for a long time to die, no matter how determined people are, they will be shaken.At this time, his eldest wife was in the back hall, and she only listened to her husband's order not to leave, and she didn't know where she was. After a long time, she couldn't bear it anymore, so she led all the concubines to the hall to visit.Seeing her husband in full body drape, sitting on a chair in a serious manner, he couldn't help laughing.So, all the wives rushed up and embraced Mr. Nisi out.While walking, the master still muttered, why don't the rebellious party come?Neither the wife nor the concubine is willing, so martyrdom is definitely out of the question.Master Naisi went home and changed into casual clothes, took his family's clothes and clothes with him, and slipped out of the city.The only possible martyrdom deed in the history of the late Qing Dynasty fell by the wayside.An advanced model, just like this, was wiped out under the neglect of the revolutionary party and the coaxing of his wives and concubines.

The fact that no Han people were martyred became a serious shortcoming for the editors of the later "Drafts of Qing History".As we all know, these old historians, from Zhao Erxun down, are all Han Chinese, and they are all lovers of the Qing Dynasty. The dynasty they love has no martyrs, and it is a matter of their own face.Therefore, we saw the martyrdom of a completely irrelevant person in the "Drafts of Qing History".The person involved in the deeds, surnamed Hu and named Guorui, was selected by the public to become an official in Yunnan.But when the revolution happened, he had no official position and stayed in Yunnan without returning. In the biography of "Manuscripts of Qing History", the historian asked him to express his indignation that no one died, and then he jumped into the well to commit suicide. " He also said: "The capital fell, and it was used to die. If a wise man does not take it, a fool will eventually be a fool." But I thought about it for a long time, and I really couldn't figure out how this hero who threw himself into the well wrote the words on his back. Up.All the officials responsible for guarding the soil slipped away if they could, and a completely irrelevant person committed suicide by jumping into a well.Such advanced deeds have always been suspicious.Maybe this man died because he was poor and neglected, just in time for the change of the times, and by the way, making a headline to report it is also a good thing that good people often do.In any case, even if he really died for the Qing Dynasty and died honorably, it would not be able to save the face of many Qing government officials who refused to die. I haven't even thought of dying. I really can't do it. I just want to go.At the last moment of the dynasty, around the little emperor and the empress dowager Longyu, there was no one who went to court.There is nothing more tragic than the end of the dynasty.

On the one hand, we can say that the traditional morality has been a little bit stretched by the invasion of Europe and the United States for many years.It can also be said that the revolutionary party's anti-nationalist propaganda for many years still played a role.In fact, in an upper-class society where the theory of evolution has been popular for many years, it is somewhat difficult to wholeheartedly resist a revolution that accepts the most advanced Western systems.Especially when the legitimacy of the Qing Dynasty's rule was already very small, and when it made unpopular mistakes during the New Deal, as a Hanchen, it was even more difficult to do so.What's more, it is human nature to be greedy for life and fear death. Originally, when the dynasty changed, it was rare to be able to resolve to die. For future generations, the big deal is that they will not be officials of the new dynasty. If they really want to take their own life into it, they are really stupid.How could a person who insisted that "a fool is not a fool" be a superior in the first place?In the Qing Dynasty, the old and the young increased, in fact, after the founding of the Republic of China, things were not done well.Some people feel that, in comparison, the country under the new system is not as good as the old dynasty, and no matter whether it is reserved or not, it will not be reused in the Republic of China, and it will not be able to sell it at a price.So, each of them became a nine-pound old lady, full of cynicism and complaints.If I knew this earlier, why did I give up such a precious dynasty so easily?