The title is a means of rewarding the meritorious generals and relatives of the emperor in ancient timesAlthough the title system of each dynasty is different, the basic framework of the feudal dynasty established by the Han people is not much different.
The Qing Dynasty, as a unified feudal dynasty established by non-Han people, itself faced complex ethnic relations, so the title system was also different from that of the previous Han court.
We often hear about the names of Baylor and Beizi, but we have rarely heard of the Han people who are crowned kings. In order to manage the vast land of China, the rulers of the Qing Dynasty put a lot of thought into the setting of the title levelIt is roughly divided into several categories, such as princes, kings with different surnames, and kings with iron hats.
What's the difference between these dazzling titles?What is the order of order?
Portrait of Huang Taiji).
Nurhachi was born into an aristocratic family of the Jianzhou Jurchens, who inherited the family title, he was the commander of the Ming Dynasty。But later, as the struggle between the Jurchen tribes became more and more fierce, and the Ming gradually became corrupt and degenerate, he simply raised the anti-flag in anger.
After decades of hard work, he conquered the north and south, and finally unified the three large Jurchen tribes of Jianzhou, Haixi, and Haidong in the northeast, establishing a unified Jurchen regime.
In the process of his struggle, in addition to the close ministers who fought side by side with him at the beginning, his second son Daishan, nephew Amin, fifth son Mang Gurtai, and eighth son Huang Taiji also accompanied Nurhachi on the battlefield, and gradually honed into a good hand at leading troops to fight. They fought desperately on the battlefield for Nurhachi's great cause of reunification and made great contributions.
After Nurhachi became Khan, in order to reward these four descendants of the clan with outstanding military achievementsThe title of the supreme leader of the Jurchen tribe canonized by the Jin Dynasty was "Bo Jilie", and it was slightly modified to Baylor, and the four were canonized in turn.
Portrait of Huang Taiji).
They are the famous four Great Baylors in the early years of the Qing Dynasty, who not only represent the highest title of the Later Jin, but also participate in the decision-making of political and military affairs together with NurhachiDivide the proceeds of the war.
As Nurhachi led the Jurchen tribe to become stronger and stronger, the Ming Dynasty launched a large-scale extermination war, the Battle of Sarhu, but unfortunately this battle ended in Jin's victory. Since then, the Ming Dynasty has lost its absolute advantage in dealing with the Houjin, and can only sigh after thatLet Houjin become stronger and stronger, and the scope of the territory is getting wider and wider.
The development of the Later Jin Dynasty was booming, and more and more people joined the Qing army to fight the world together, and more and more people got knighthoods. After Nurhachi's death, several Baylors fought fiercely for the power of HoujinIn the end, Huang Taiji defeated all the competitors and inherited Nurhachi's throne.
After he came to power, in order to suppress the power of his former rivals, he included Baylor, who did not have the parliamentary power before, into the Eight Kings Parliamentary GroupParticipate in the decision-making of state affairs and the distribution of benefits.
Although this policy divided the rights of the original contenders for the throne, with the gradual expansion of the post-gold business, more and more people participated in the distribution of benefits. In order to resolve the increasingly fierce political struggle,Huang Taiji simply formulated a clear hierarchy of titlesThe distribution of benefits is no longer an equalization system, but a reward.
Overall,There are 10 levels in total, which are the prince, the prince of the county, the bailer, the beizi, the prince of Zhenguo, the prince of Fuguo, and the four generals of Zhenguo, Fuguo, Fengguo and Fengen.
Among them, Dai Shan is Prince Heshuoli, and Dolgon is Prince Heshuorui, and they are both at the level of princesHowever, they are distinguished by their respective titles.
Huang Taiji stills).
Later, after the Auxiliary Duke, Dorgon added several titles that did not participate in political decisions. At this point, the title system of royal family members in the early Qing Dynasty was basically sound.
In addition to Daishan and Dolgon, he also named Zierharang, Duoduo, Haoge, and Shuosai as Prince Zheng, Prince Yu, Prince Su, and Prince Zhuang respectively, and Yuetuo and Lekedehun were respectively Keqin and Shuncheng County KingsThe above are the six princes and two county kings in the early years of the Qing Dynasty.
In ancient China, the feudal dynasties, in order to encourage members of the royal family and their supporters to serve the prosperity of the dynasty from generation to generation, set up a variety of title systems, such as duke, marquis, uncle, son, and male.
Stills from Dolgon).
But as the royal family multiplied, land resources were limited. In order to maintain the stability of the dynasty, the original feudal rulers stipulated the conditions for inheriting the titleto control the number of knighthood recipients.
That is, future generations must make a certain contribution in order to inherit the title smoothly, otherwise the rank will be reduced, and their food and territory will be reduced. The Prince Heshuo of the Qing Dynasty, like them, was also a hereditary succession system, that is,If the descendants do not make corresponding contributions, they will be demoted to inherit the title.
As a result, many royal families that were very prominent at the beginning will slowly decline with the passage of time, and only those families that have always contributed to the prosperity of the dynasty will remain glorious forever.
However, some heroes made great contributions to the Qing Dynasty, and it can be said that without their contributions, the Qing Dynasty would have fallen into a desperate situation. To reward this small group of people who have made great contributions,The Qing Dynasty specially set up an iron hat king who was one level higher than ordinary princes.
Huang Taiji stills).
The Iron Hat King is a title that is literally like iron and very stable. It can be directly inherited by the descendants of the descendants who have received the title, and it is not affected by the merit of the descendants. In other words, the hereditary succession can inherit the title of the ancestor no matter how well the descendants perform, avoiding the decline of the family.
At the beginning of the establishment of the Qing Dynasty, there were a total of eight iron hat kings。That is, the six princes and the two county kings mentioned earlier. Of course, no title can be held forever, and once the person who obtains the title commits a mistake and violates the royal law, the emperor will deprive him of his title or reduce his title. You must know that any title is given by the emperor, and it can be granted or reclaimed.
In the late Qing Dynasty, there were four other members of the royal family who were lucky enough to receive this title, namely Yinxiang, Prince Yi of the Kangxi period, Prince Gong of the Daoguang period, Prince Yixun of Alcohol, and Prince Yixuan of Qing.
These people keep their noble titles in their families for generations, no matter how mediocre their offspringAs long as there are still men, they can inherit the throne of the iron hat king of their ancestors.
Huang Taiji stills).
The princely titles of the Qing Dynasty were titles that only the descendants of the royal family deserved, but the great dynasty was not only composed of royal family members who contributed to the Qing Dynasty. With the continuous expansion of the foundation of the Qing Dynasty,More and more non-royals are joining the cause of creating a new dynasty.
In the history of the Qing Dynasty, there were many Han people who made immortal contributions to defend or open up the Qing Dynasty. In order to reward this part of the Han people's meritorious heroes, the emperor of the Qing Dynasty based on the existing dukes, marquis, uncles, sons, and men of the Han peopleAdded a king forward, and added three captains and a cavalry lieutenant.
At the beginning, in order to encircle the important ministers of the Ming Dynasty and provide the necessary conditions for the Qing Dynasty to enter the customs and open up the territory of the Central Plains, Huang Taiji decided to give the Ming Dynasty vassals who took the initiative to defect to the Qing court to be crowned king. This reward method did play a good role, recruiting a group of important ministers and good generals of the Ming Dynasty.
In the early Qing Dynasty, those who obtained the title of prince and marquis were Kong Youde, Geng Zhongming, Shang Kexi, Wu Sangui, and Sun Kewang. They were successively given the titles of King of Dingnan, King of Jingnan, King of Pingnan, King of Pingxi, and King of Yi.
Prince Gong**).
Before the fall of the Ming Dynasty, these people took the initiative to throw themselves into the arms of the Qing Dynasty rulers and made significant contributions to the unification of the Qing Dynasty. It's a pity that the Qing Dynasty didn't pay special attention to these Han kings with different surnamesThey were not given hereditary rights
Over time, these Han princes also declined, especially the outbreak of the rebellion of the three feudatories. Three Han kings with different surnames rebelled against the rule of the imperial court, causing great panic among the rulers of the Qing Dynasty.
After the end of the rebellion of the three feudatories, the Qing rulers were particularly wary of the Han Chinese. In order to limit the authority of the Han people, almost no Han people were crowned as kings. Even if the last years of the Qing Dynasty were turbulent, Zuo Zongtang, Zeng Guofan and others worked hard to save the Qing Dynasty, but they did not get a fair reward, but were severely suppressed several levels.
Among them, Li Hongzhang, Zeng Guofan, and Zuo Zongtang were awarded the Marquis of Su Yi, the Marquis of Yiyong, and the Marquis of Kejing. Especially Zeng Guofan, he suppressed the Taiping Army almost all over the country for the Manchu Qing **, and it can be said that without him, the Manchu ** would have died decades early.
Portrait of Zuo Zongtang).
But in the end, when he was rewarded, he was supposed to be crowned king, but because the court was suspicious and wary of the Han peoplewas suppressed and finally missed the king. From the beginning to the end, the Qing Dynasty did not have a few Han princes, which can be described as a pity.
In addition to the Han Chinese,There are also many heroes of ethnic minorities who can also be crowned kings, especially the Mongols in the north, such as the Horqin tribe, which was the first to establish an alliance with the Qing Dynasty. Later, several Mongol tribes in Monan successively bowed to the Qing Dynasty, including the Uzhumuqin Department and the Khalkha Right Wing Department.
The first to receive the title of prince were Oba the Prince of Korqin Shetu, the Prince of Korqin Darhan Batulu Manzhu Xili, the Prince of Korqin Zhuoliktu Wu Keshan, and the Prince of Uzhumuqin Zasak and Shuo.
Li Hongzhang**).
The Qing Dynasty was very generous to these non-Han princes of Monan, and basically granted hereditary rights. And for the other Transzazak tribes that were annexed in the later period,Although the Qing Dynasty also rewarded some princes, it did not give hereditary replacement.
Although the treatment of these princes with different surnames is not as good as that of the princes of the royal family, they have a certain degree of autonomy in their own territory and are much freer than the princes in the capital.