Chapter 33 1. The Song Is Not Finished, Dongfang Bai

Relying on dynastic change (dynasty change) and continuous blood transfusion (foreign invasion), the imperial system went through ups and downs to the beginning of the 20th century, and at this time it ended itself.This is an unexpected thing.Because the empire did not generate the power to overthrow it from within, nor did it think its way was over.According to past experience, it can completely extend its life through its self-repair function, but its future was ruined in one fell swoop, as the saying goes, "the song is not finished, the East is white". Indeed, Qingyuan should not have died.

Among the dynasties in the history of the Chinese Empire, the Qing Dynasty had the largest territory and the largest population.The Western Regions in the Han Dynasty, Tubo in the Tang Dynasty, Inner and Inner Mongolia, and Taiwan were all included in its territory, far exceeding the "traditional territories" of the Han, Tang, Song, and Ming Dynasties since the Qin Dynasty.The population of the Qing Dynasty also exceeded that of all dynasties.According to statistics, the population of the Qin Dynasty was no more than 20 million, the maximum of the Han Dynasty was 60 million, the Jin Dynasty was more than 16 million, the Tang Dynasty was 45 million, the Northern Song Dynasty was 46 million, the Yuan Dynasty was more than 50 million, and the Ming Dynasty was more than 6000. Ten thousand, Qing's population is at least hundreds of millions.Many of the so-called "450 million compatriots" are the "human resources" or "population heritage" left by the Qing Empire to the Republic of China.

Qing military power is also very strong (second only to Yuan).The defeat of the Qing Empire in wars with foreign powers often makes people mistakenly think that it is vulnerable.In fact, within the scope of traditional warfare, it has achieved brilliant results.We might as well make a comparison with Tyrant Qin, Strong Han and Prosperous Tang.Qin's military power is very strong.Qin Shihuang "takes the land of Baiyue from the south, thinking of Guilin and Xiangjun"; "builds the Great Wall in the north and guards the fence, but the Huns are more than 700 miles away. "On the Passing of the Qin Dynasty").What was the outcome? "The garrison is called, Hangu is lifted, the people of Chu are torched, and the scorched earth is pitiful!" (Du Mu's "Ode to Efang Palace") Han's military power is also very strong.Emperor Wu of the Han Dynasty was very happy with his achievements, and he was invincible. "Driving a long car to break through the gaps in Helan Mountain" is not an ideal in the Han Empire, but a reality.What was the outcome?A Yellow Turban uprising will make it burnt out; a Dong Zhuo rebellion will make it die.However, even when the Qing Empire suffered heavy losses and the country was in decline, it was still able to pacify Xinjiang, recover Ili, and suppress the Taiping Heavenly Kingdom.As for the pacification of the San Francisco, the acquisition of Taiwan, and the dealing with the sectarian party in the early stage, it was even more invincible.The Qing Dynasty was not a "paper tiger".

Tang and Qing also pale in comparison.The Tang Dynasty conquered Korea, but failed repeatedly, and the Qing Dynasty conquered North Korea before the customs.The Tang conquered the Turks intermittently, and the Qing Zeren subjugated the Mongolian tribes in Monan before entering the pass. After entering the pass, they repeatedly attacked Junggar and won great victories. Almost all Mongolians became subjects of the Qing Dynasty.Tang conquered the Western Regions, victory or defeat was impermanent, Qing sent troops to win, pacified Huijiang, and formally included it in the Chinese territory.Tang conquered Tubo, with more losses than victories. The Qing Dynasty used troops six times and won five times with complete victories.The military power of a dynasty can be used for nothing more than two ends, one is to secure the interior, and the other is to fight against the outside world.No matter which item, the Qing Dynasty is not inferior to the previous dynasties.Even after repeated defeats in wars with the great powers, they did not end up subjugated like the Song and Ming Dynasties.

A vast territory, a large population, and a strong armed force do not mean that the dynasty must be strong, and it does not mean that its rulers will be able to stabilize the country.The territory of the Yuan Dynasty was vast, the population was large, and the force was stronger, but it died in less than a hundred years.On the contrary, when the same "foreign race" entered the Central Plains, the Qing's life expectancy was much longer.Moreover, after the abdication of the Qing emperor, he could still enjoy the honorary title and the palace remained unchanged, so the ending was not too bad.In fact, the national fortune of the Qing Dynasty was very long. Even if it was counted from entering the customs in 1644, there were 267 years, second only to Han (426 years), Tang (289 years), Song (319 years), and Ming (276 years). .But the Han Dynasty had Xinmang, which were actually two dynasties; the Tang Dynasty had Wuzhou, which was actually cut in half;And if counting from the founding of the country in 1616, the state of the Qing Dynasty would exceed that of the Ming Dynasty, which lasted for 295 years.Calculated in this way, Qing should be ranked first.The secret of long-term peace and stability lies not in the strength of soldiers and horses, let alone the vastness of land and resources, but in the clarity of politics.Under the premise of both a centralized political system or an autocratic system, the situation in the Qing Dynasty cannot at least be said to be the worst.On the contrary, the so-called "Great Age of Kang, Yong, and Qianlong" in the Qing Dynasty lasted 134 years, far exceeding the "Government of Wenjing" (50 years) of the Han Dynasty, the "Government of Emperor Kaihuang" (24 years) of the Sui Dynasty, and the "Rule of Zhenguan" of the Tang Dynasty (23 years), Song's "Government of Taizu Taizong" (30 years), Ming's "Rule of Renxuan" (11 years).Of course, there were other "governing the world" in the various dynasties, but they were intermittent, far inferior to the "governing the world" of the Qing Dynasty for three consecutive dynasties, which was consistent to the end.

In fact, in the Qing Dynasty, there were no chaos of eunuchs, no misfortunes of relatives, no licentious and ruthless kings, and no emperors and empresses were deposed or killed. It should be regarded as "stability and unity".Qing rulers (including emperors and regents) were also mostly diligent.Except for "three festivals and two birthdays" (Spring Festival, Dragon Boat Festival, Mid-Autumn Festival, birthdays of the emperor and queen mother), they work almost every day, and "everything is done on the same day".Reading dozens or hundreds of memorials every day is nothing but a common thing.The imperial system of the Qing Dynasty was quite perfect, and the work efficiency and confidentiality were relatively high.From the central to the local, the system is strict, the structure is complete, and the orders are smooth.Therefore, although the disasters continued, they never shook the foundation of the country and caused divisions. In the end, the political power was completely handed over in a peaceful manner.Qing politics was not as corrupt as most people imagined.

People's livelihood and ethnicity are basically not a problem.The so-called "basically not a problem" means that the people's livelihood and ethnic relations are not the worst, at least not so bad that the government forces the people to rebel.In fact, the life of the rulers in the Qing Dynasty was still frugal, and the annual expenditure of the royal family was only 30,000 taels, which was far lower than the 1.61 million taels of the Ming Dynasty.They attach great importance to people's livelihood issues, and their policies are considered loose.Since the implementation of "the allocation of land into the mu" during the Kangxi period, it was announced that "never add taxes", so that during the more than 210 years from Kangxi to Daoguang, people's livelihood was prosperous, and most people were able to maintain a well-off life.Although it was destroyed by the Taiping Heavenly Kingdom in the late Qing Dynasty, the national economy still performed well. Between 1895 and 1913, the national capital industry developed at an average annual rate of 15%. Is this a sign of collapse?Of course, the life of the majority of civilians under centralized rule is still difficult.But this is a common problem of the past dynasties, not the Qing Dynasty but unique.What's more, no matter how hard the people's livelihood in the late Qing Dynasty was, it was not like the late Qin, Han, Sui, Tang, and Ming.The Qing Dynasty did not perish because of people's livelihood issues.

The same goes for ethnic issues.There have been ethnic problems in all dynasties, but the situation in the Qing Dynasty is relatively good.The Han and Tang conquests continued, and as a result, both sides suffered losses, so they had to make peace with each other; Song and Ming let themselves go, but were unable to fight back, and finally the country was ruined and the family was destroyed.Yuan was in the worst situation, blatantly implementing policies of racial discrimination and genocide, and ended up being wiped out himself.Only the Qing Dynasty, combining strength and softness, acting both soft and hard, turned enemies into friends, defeated many with less, and successfully created the "republic of the five ethnic groups" of Han, Man, Mongolia, Hui and Tibet.Mongolia is its relatives (the Mongolian and Manchu nobles have been intermarried for a long time), the Han people are its subjects (the policy of "Manchu and Han integration" was implemented after Kangxi), Tibet is its subject (the Dalai Lama and the Panchen Lama are both canonized by it), and Xinjiang is its jurisdiction land (later more formally established as a province).The "barbarians" and "foreign enemies" that were once a headache for many dynasties, together with the rulers of the Qing Dynasty who were also regarded as "barbarians" and "foreign enemies", have all become "Chinese" and "our own people".How amazing this is!

Of course, ethnic conflicts always existed, and voices of "anti-Qing and Ming Dynasty" and "expelling the Tartars" were heard endlessly, but this needs to be analyzed.In my opinion, there are four reasons for this.One is the deep-rooted thoughts of "discrimination between Yi and Xia" and "people who are not of our own race must have different hearts", the second is that the memory of the pain of "Ten Days in Yangzhou" and "Three Massacres in Jiading" is still fresh, and the third is that the Manchu and Han races Not equal in many respects (especially unequal political treatment), and revolutionary rebellion needs a straightforward, inflammatory slogan.In a country with strong national sentiments, nationalist slogans are precisely the most provocative, not to mention the fact that the Han people were originally the majority.But in any case, ethnic conflicts in the late Qing Dynasty never developed to the extent that national uprisings broke out in the late Yuan Dynasty.On the contrary, in the face of the invasion of Western powers, people of all ethnic groups can share the same hatred, unite against the outside world, and face the national calamity together.The Qing Dynasty did not perish due to ethnic issues (the above summary refers to the research results of Mr. Zhao Wumian, please refer to Zhao Wumian's "Grand Ranking of Chinese Dynasties").

In fact, as Mr. Huang Renyu said, the Manchu monarchs conformed to the Chinese tradition far more than the native-born emperors of the previous dynasties; and the powers they could exercise were also better than those of previous dynasties (please refer to "The Great History of China").This is mostly because they, as the ethnic minorities who ruled the Central Plains, are always wary of the subversion of the regime, so they are prepared for danger in times of peace, make great efforts to promote their own (Manchu) strengths, and avoid the other (Han) weaknesses, thus developing the imperial system to the extreme. .In other words, within the framework of the imperial system, they have done quite well, not worse than previous dynasties.Qing, what reason is there to perish?

Generally speaking, the fatal blow to a dynasty is nothing more than internal strife and foreign invasion.In history, there are those who perished due to internal strife (such as Han and Tang), some that perished due to foreign invasion (such as Jin and Song), and some that perished due to the double blow of internal strife and foreign invasion (such as Ming and Qing).Those who died due to foreign invasion were mostly due to weak national strength.For example, the Western Jin Dynasty was originally a fragile dynasty established with great difficulty during the war, but it implemented a wrong political system (that is, the clan system and the enfeoffment system), which led to the rebellion of the Eight Kings, the self-destruction of the Great Wall, and finally the "five chaos in China" .The Northern Song Dynasty (like the Jin Dynasty, who also gained power through a court coup), emphasized culture over military affairs, was poor and weak (wealth was concentrated in the cities, troops were concentrated in the capital, rural areas were barren, and border defenses were weak). Summoning, and finally the "Jingkang Difficulty".Those who died in civil strife were mostly due to lax discipline.For example, at the end of the Han Dynasty, the foreign relatives were in chaos, the eunuchs were in chaos, and the emperor's power fell.At the end of the Tang Dynasty, feudal vassals and towns were separated, eunuchs exercised power, and the emperor died unexpectedly.Their demise should be said to be "natural".The Ming and Qing Dynasties were different.In the Ming and Qing dynasties, the national power was not weak, and the discipline was considered strict (the Qing was better than the Ming), so they were all dynasties that enjoyed the country for a long time without any breaks in the middle.The emperors of the Ming Dynasty had many problems. For example, Hongwu killed people like hemp, Yongle was ruthless, Zhengde ran amok, Jiajing made alchemy and took medicine, and Wanli ignored the government for forty years.But although the Führer has problems, the government is not bad.The government of the Ming Dynasty had a relatively complete management system, a relatively strict bureaucratic system, and a basically competent bureaucratic group that could handle military affairs step by step and ensure the normal operation of the state apparatus.Moreover, the emperor and courtiers can generally live in peace.Except for the last emperor, Zhu Youjian, those "conservative monarchs" in the Ming Dynasty generally did not intervene much in cabinet affairs (unlike the emperors in the Qing Dynasty who were arbitrary in everything); courtiers can also abide by the righteousness of the monarch and ministers, and rarely covet the heart .Therefore, if the Ming and Qing dynasties were reversed, the so-called "republic of virtual monarchs" does not seem to be impossible.Of course, due to the reasons we will talk about later, it is only "seems".There are of course many reasons for the death of the Ming Dynasty.One of them is that they do not pay much attention to human rights, and do not take officials and people seriously.In the Ming Dynasty, the rule of secret agents was implemented for a long time. Dongchang, Xichang, and Jinyiwei were rampant and domineering, disregarding human life.The emperor of the Ming Dynasty, with the constitution of heaven in his mouth, abused his power indiscriminately, and at every turn he would stick in front of the court and peel off the real grass.Coupled with the fact that eunuchs use their affairs (such as Liu Jin), treacherous officials monopolize power (such as Yan Song), the emperor is willing to degenerate (there are many examples), officialdom is corrupt (there are also many examples), and the people are desperate (for example, forcing Li Zicheng to rebel), they must die. What's more, Emperor Chongzhen Zhu Youjian's luck was not good.When he took over the regime, the Ming Dynasty was already riddled with holes.As far as the cycle of chaos and chaos is concerned, it is the end of the dynasty at this time; and the corruption of the political situation is beyond control, and the shortcomings of the dynasty have accumulated hard to recover.To make matters worse, at the end of the Ming Dynasty, internal and external troubles occurred at the same time. The already stretched imperial court took care of one thing and lost another. How could it stand up to this internal and external attack?Therefore, although the unlucky Emperor Chongzhen did not have the virtue of subjugating the country (not licentious, but also very diligent), he had the destiny of subjugating the country.Daming will not perish by his hands, but also by others.Sure enough, as soon as Li Zicheng entered Beijing and Dorgon entered the customs, Ming died. The Qing Dynasty did not perish immediately due to the Opium War and the Taiping Heavenly Kingdom.Because Qing at this time, although not in the prime of life, is not old, and his vitality is not completely exhausted.However, the demise of the Ming Dynasty was just another change of dynasty, and the imperial system was not damaged at all, but it lasted for another two or three hundred years.The Qing is not dead, but once it collapses, it will be buried together with the imperial system. Why is this? Because "the comer is not good".