In China in the late Qing Dynasty, it was a time of challenge and change. This period witnessed China's increasing internal contradictions and external pressures, the increasing corruption and inefficiency of the Qing Dynasty, and the increasing weakness and crisis of the country.
As a prominent figure in the late Qing Dynasty, Zeng Guofan's status and responsibilities were very important in the society at that time. However, his annual salary exposes a highly ironic reality.
According to historical records, Tsang's official annual income was not high. If calculated in monetary terms at the time, his salary was not even enough to support the basic needs of his family, which was in sharp contrast to his important role in politics and society.
This phenomenon of low wages is not an isolated case, but a common problem faced by the bureaucracy of the late Qing Dynasty. Due to the financial embarrassment of Qing **, most of the ** salaries are very limited. But that doesn't mean that all ** live in poverty. In fact, many people have earned extra income by means such as accepting bribes, intervening in the market, and abusing their power. This situation was particularly acute in the late Qing Dynasty, when bureaucratic corruption became a common social phenomenon.
Zeng Guofan in the late Qing Dynasty was not only an outstanding politician, but also a military general with high prestige, and one of the founders of the Hunan army. His life spanned from 1811 to 1872 and had a profound impact on modern Chinese history.
As a young man, Zeng Guofan was praised for his rigorous learning attitude and profound knowledge of Confucianism. In 1847, he was selected for the examination and was called to serve in the capital because of his outstanding talent and character. Despite this, Tsang's political career was not without its challenges, and he experienced many twists and turns in the political arena.
One of his most famous achievements in history was that during the Taiping Rebellion, he was ordered to organize and lead the Hunan army, which he waged a long struggle against the Taiping army. Tsang's talent in the military field, as well as the tenacity and perseverance he showed in the process, earned him a great reputation. Under his leadership, the Hunan army became a key force in suppressing the Taiping Rebellion.
In addition to his military achievements, Zeng was also regarded as a forward-thinking reformer. He advocated learning from the advanced technology and management methods of the West in order to promote China's modernization and development. At the same time, he has also demonstrated remarkable ability in local governance, focusing on people's livelihood issues and working to improve local economic and social conditions.
Despite this, Zeng's life was also full of complex contradictions and challenges. Faced with the widespread corruption and inefficiency of officialdom in the late Qing Dynasty, he struggled to maintain personal integrity while having to survive and thrive in a complex political environment.
Zeng Guofan, known for his strict style and unrelenting loyalty, was known in the late Qing Dynasty, but in that generally corrupt social environment, even he could hardly maintain absolute innocence.
Historical records show that although Zeng Guofan was a little stunned when he was young, he had a strong personality and a strong moral creed. When the emperor first ascended the throne and asked everyone to make suggestions, others flattered the emperor, and only Zeng Guofan dared to point out the emperor's shortcomings. This kind of independent thinking and the courage to express real opinions were very rare in the officialdom of the time.
But with the in-depth involvement in officialdom, Zeng Guofan's mentality has changed significantly.
On the one hand, it may be because of his deep understanding of life, morality, and officialdom, especially during the years when he was alienated by the emperor, and he began to appreciate the complexity and cruelty of officialdom;On the other hand, faced with the pressure of reality, he had to adjust his actions and choices.
Under the Qing Dynasty's Yulu system, **'s income included not only money, but also grain. However, for Zeng Guofan, such an income is far from meeting his various expenses in social interactions.
With the improvement of Zeng Guofan's status, he finally became a first-class **, with an annual salary of one hundred taels**, plus the government's subsidies, which seemed to be rich on the surface. But in reality, after deducting the necessary cost of living and social expenses, there is not much left.
According to Zhang Zhidong, the daily living expenses in the capital are extremely expensive, spending one tael a day, and even if you barely make ends meet, you need to spend more than 300 taels a year. For a ** like Zeng Guofan, this is undoubtedly a huge economic pressure.
According to historical records, the income of ordinary ** per quarter is only 31 taels and 5 cents and 31 Hu 5 buckets, which is far from enough to support basic living expenses, not to mention other expenses. Under these circumstances, Zeng Guofan was in financial difficulties and even had to go into debt.
Zeng Guofan once sighed: "I owe hundreds of taels of debts to the country and Yinzhuang, which makes me feel great pressure. ”
This was not uncommon in the officialdom of the time. Faced with meager wages and high living costs, many ** have to resort to other means to subsidize their lives, including improper behaviors such as accepting bribes and abusing their power. This phenomenon was particularly prevalent in the late Qing Dynasty, leading to widespread corruption in officialdom.
In 1860, after Zeng Guofan was promoted to governor of Liangjiang, his economic situation changed dramatically. This position made him the top military and political leader in Jiangsu, Anhui, Jiangxi, Shanghai and other regions.
Although the official annual salary of Zeng Guofan, who is the second grade**, is still low, about 180 taels**, which is equivalent to more than 50,000 yuan in modern currency, that is, less than 5,000 yuan per month. But his actual income is much more than that.
One of the most significant additional incomes** is "Raising Silver". This system originated in the Yongzheng period and became a routine in the Qianlong period. The amount of incorruptible silver is usually ten times or even a hundred times the standard annual salary, and for a senior like Zeng Guofan, the annual income of incorruptible silver can be as high as 18,000 taels, which is equivalent to about 5.4 million yuan in modern currency. This is undoubtedly a huge wealth for Zeng Guofan.
In addition, Zeng Guofan also had various informal incomes such as "fees" and "filial piety" from the local government. These were not usually recorded in official accounts, but were very common in officialdom at the time. Together, these additional incomes far exceeded his official annual allowance and pension, making his actual income far beyond the imagination of ordinary people.
Zeng's income reflects the problems that prevailed in the late Qing bureaucracy. On the one hand, the official salary of ** is meager, and it is difficult to meet the needs of life and social life;On the other hand, income from informal channels is staggeringly high, and this income structure directly leads to widespread officialdom corruption.
The lower ** has a meager income, and the upper ** enjoys unimaginable wealth. This disparity not only reveals the inequality of society at the time, but also reflects the increasingly corrupt nature of the late Qing Dynasty.
The low-level ** life in the Qing Dynasty was often difficult, and their income was not enough to maintain the basic life, and they often had to borrow money to survive. At the same time, they had to pay high "fees" to the top **. This kind of bribery was used to maintain the operation of officialdom and personal status, and became a common phenomenon in the late Qing Dynasty.
Shockingly, according to historical records, the average "fee" of the Qing Dynasty's governors was as high as 180,000 taels**, which was ten times that of their incorruptible silver. The purpose of raising incorruptible silver was to ensure that it was incorruptible, but in fact it evolved into legalization.
Talking about popular science in three minutes This kind of corruption does not only exist in ordinary people, but even the ministers of the DPRK and China are immersed in it. Empress Dowager Cixi, the most powerful woman in the late Qing Dynasty, was equally known for her extravagance and corruption. Under her influence, the corrupt atmosphere inside and outside the court became more and more serious, and the morality and efficiency of ** further declined.
The fall of the late Qing Dynasty was closely related to those who only pursued personal interests. These should be the pillars of the country, but they neglect their responsibilities and focus on immediate interests, harming the interests of the country and the moral foundation of society.
In the last years of the Qing Dynasty, Zeng Guofan was known for his rigorous academic style and profound Confucian cultivation. But when the country was in crisis, in order to maintain his army, the Hunan army, and to gain support in the imperial court, Zeng Guofan had to make some decisions that went against his original principles.
The issue of funding was one of the main challenges faced by Zeng Guofan in the process of training. Due to the financial constraints of the Qing Dynasty, the resources that could be provided to him were very limited. In order to keep the army running and morale, Zeng Guofan began to explore other funds**.
According to historical sources, Zeng even began to accept favors, allowing his Hunan army to plunder to raise military expenses.
The maintenance of the Hunan army not only required a large amount of materials, but also the payment of soldiers' salaries. Against the backdrop of war and financial difficulties at that time, legal funding was clearly insufficient. Although Tsang may have initially looked for other methods, he eventually had to take a more realistic approach.
Although this practice supported the development of the Hunan army to a certain extent, it also had a negative impact on the reputation of Zeng Guofan. He has always been regarded as a role model of integrity, and because of these actions, people have questioned his image.
Corruption in the late Qing Dynasty was manifested not only in financial abuse, but also in incompetence in foreign wars. In many foreign wars such as the Opium War and the Sino-French War, the defeat of the Qing Dynasty was largely due to military corruption and inaction. The army's backward equipment, lax military discipline, and embezzlement of military funds were all reasons for the repeated defeats of the Qing army.
The corruption and incompetence of the late Qing Dynasty not only caused great damage politically and militarily, but also profoundly affected the development of Chinese society.
In the late Qing Dynasty, China was in a difficult situation at home and abroad, and was in urgent need of a strong and honest government to lead change and development. Unfortunately, however, this period of corruption and incompetence has seriously hampered the process.
At that time, the Qing Dynasty, due to serious corruption, increased the burden on the people's lives and caused social dissatisfaction and turmoil. At the same time, successive defeats in foreign wars further weakened the Qing Dynasty's position on the international stage and exacerbated the country's crisis.
The ineffective management and corruption of the Qing Dynasty was particularly serious, and the high-ranking and luxurious lifestyles within the imperial court further exacerbated the ** and weakening of the state. Empress Dowager Cixi's extravagant life and abuse of power exacerbated corruption in the imperial government, causing the state finances to suffer. At the same time, the widespread problem of corruption has led to the loss of credibility among the people, leading to frequent social unrest and civil unrest.
In addition, the Qing Dynasty was slow to respond to the threats of the Western powers and lacked effective countermeasures and a sense of reform. In the face of the aggression and pressure of the great powers, China's weakness and concession have caused China to gradually lose its sovereignty and right to speak.
The challenges faced by Zeng Guofan in his career are a microcosm of the inability of the entire Qing Dynasty to safeguard national interests and promote the process of modernization.
These problems in the late Qing Dynasty eventually led to the decline of the Qing Dynasty and the birth of China. The experience of this historical period profoundly reflects the major changes in Chinese society and politics.