Chapter 54 Section 8 The Decline of the Old Post Post

After the middle of the Qing Dynasty, the feudal society entered a period of total collapse.With the development of the feudal system, the old-style postal stations naturally had many irreparable disadvantages.Especially the toiling masses living under the feudal post administration suffered in dire straits.During the Kangxi period, there was a poet who described the miserable life of postmen at that time: "Tired and dark-faced, withered and withered, the water is deep and muddy, and the clothes are torn and shoulders and skinless. I dare not speak of my suffering, and I want to speak first." Qin Songling's "Dian Hushang Xing").If it is a tracker who is forced to be caught as a water post to pull a boat, the situation is even more miserable.A poet Liang Qingbiao wrote in the poem "Traveling the Boat" that: "The poor people have no food, and the boat is like a jejunum for several days. The frost is hot and the sun is blowing, and the skin is worn out by the side of the road. Many former boatmen died. Then the boatman continued. Seeing the separation of flesh and blood, can An Neng get rid of the poison? I dare not pray for my life, but I hope I will be buried in the belly of the fish! The wind on the poor river is desolate, and in the middle of the night phosphorus flies to the new ghost and cries."

The postmen who served under such harsh conditions naturally could not have the enthusiasm to work, and the servicemen fled one after another.In the northeast of Wuqing County, Hebei, there is a Hexi post, which is located in the thoroughfare of the Jingdong waterway and has always been the throat of water transportation in various dynasties.In the early Qing Dynasty, the postal service here was very developed, with 152 servants and 33 post horses.But in the Guangxu period of the late Qing Dynasty, the post service here was sluggish, and there were only 30 servants and 24 post horses left.At that time, a low-level official who was also in charge of post affairs wrote a "Diary of Hexi Post".In his writing, Hexi Post has become a dilapidated institution: dilapidated houses, stables that are about to collapse, old and sick horses waiting to die, postmen suffering from hunger and cold, all constitute a bleak picture. There are also unscrupulous officials who continue to blackmail, causing delays in reports, communication congestion, and postal services cannot be carried out normally.Such a post station, of course, cannot bear the heavy responsibility of the post post and communication, and has become a social wart, so there is no need to continue to exist.

Therefore, knowledgeable innovators have long proposed to cancel this outdated traditional post station. Feng Guifen, a famous thinker in the late Qing Dynasty, wrote a special article "Discussion on Cutting Post Stations".He profoundly exposed the abuses of the Qing government's post office, and pointed out that a Taoist priest used to spend 500 miles to arrange orders in the name of celebrating festivals and birthdays, which was a great waste of manpower and material resources.Feng Guifen shouted: "The country uses limited funds to fill the private pockets of county officials and redeliver insignificant routine letters, so why bother with this post?"It is not only beneficial to officials, but also convenient to the people.Not only can save the country's annual expenditure of 3 million yuan, but also can borrow millions of postal income surplus.For a while, reformist thinkers Wang Tao, Xue Fucheng, Zheng Guanying, etc. wrote articles one after another, discussing the inconvenience of the old post post and the necessity of new transportation and communication equipment.Under the pressure of the situation, the Qing government began to run a new type of postal service in 1896, and post stations were gradually replaced.In 1913 after the Revolution of 1911, the Beiyang government finally announced that all post stations would be abolished.In ancient China, the post system has undergone a substantial change.The new postal era had begun.