Ancient China attached great importance to posthumous glory, a trend that reached its peak in the Qing Dynasty, and the rulers, in order to cater to this trend, would also give posthumous honors according to their contributions to the country.
The peak of honor after the death of the Qing Dynasty was to enjoy the Taimiao, there were only 13 non-royal people, and only Zhang Tingyu was the Han people. Jingshi Xianliang Temple came into being, although it is low to enjoy a level of Taimiao, the requirements for enshrinement are extremely high, and there are only 177 people recorded in the Qing Dynasty.
Xianliang Temple includes Jingshi Xianliang Temple and Zhijiang Xianliang Temple, which usually refers to Jingshi Xianliang Temple. Yongzheng eight years to build, Yongzheng eleven years to complete, Yongzheng Emperor imperial book "Chongzhong Nian" four words hanging in front.
During the Spring and Autumn Festival, the descendants of the princes, the descendants of the ministers and the ** in Beijing must accompany them.
The Xian Liang Temple was established by the Qing Dynasty to commemorate the Manchu and Han civil and military ministers who made outstanding contributions to the construction and development of the country and had noble character and integrity.
These ministers who are enshrined in the Xian Liang Temple must have outstanding talents and noble morals, and after a detailed investigation and examination by the scholars and the Ministry of Rites, and the emperor himself proposes candidates, and the Jiuqing Council decides whether to enshrine them.
After enshrinement, they will be sorted according to the rank of the knighthood and placed tablets in the Xian Liang Temple, and the annual spring and autumn sacrifices are in charge of the Taichang Temple, and the Hanlin Yuan writes the sacrifice and records their deeds in detail.
The front hall of the Xianliang Temple has a prince's tablet, and the back hall is dedicated to other princes and ministers. Since the eighth year of Yongzheng, the emperor's posthumous rewards to the civil and military ministers of honor and virtue usually include the entry into the Xian Liang Temple.
In the tenth and twelfth years, Emperor Yongzheng invited the outstanding and meritorious people among the previously deceased princes and ministers into the Xian Liang Temple, and a total of 49 people were enshrined, including Yunxiang.
In the first year of Qianlong (1736), some ministers who had been enshrined in the Xian Liang Temple did not give them at that time. In order to make up for this regret, the Qianlong Emperor ordered that those ministers who had not received the gift of the title should be added to show the recognition of the mourning after his death.
However, it is worth noting that only the governor Xu Shilin was the only one who entered the Xianliang Temple and was not given the title. The original Xianliang Temple only had the tablet of Prince Yi Yunxiang in the front hall, and the tablets of the other 58 ministers were in Houyu.
In the tenth year of Qianlong (1745), in order to clarify the order of the tablets, the Qianlong Emperor stipulated that the order and rank of the positions of scholars, ministers of the guard, Shangshu, Dutong, generals, governors, vanguard commanders, commanders of the army, admirals, squires, governors, and deputy commanders should be arranged.
Among the 177 famous ministers who were enshrined in the Xian Liang Temple, we are familiar with names such as Ortai, Li Wei, Fu Heng, A Gui, Zeng Guofan, Zuo Zongtang, Li Hongzhang, etc.
Although there are also some people who have been withdrawn because they have sinned while they are alive, such as Ortai, Yu Minzhong, and Lin. The temple is mainly dedicated to those civil and military ministers who have upheld integrity, loyalty to duty, outstanding merit and perfect conduct in the court.
However, due to the strict criteria, most of the local governors could not be selected. However, considering that some local governors have indeed made significant contributions, since the tenth year of Yongzheng (1732), the provinces have established virtuous temples in the provincial capitals, and those governors, generals, and admirals who have made significant contributions to the people** and civil and military personnel who have served outside the country can be invited to enshrine even after their deaths.
Every spring and autumn, the local government will carry out sacrifices.
Although the status of the Provincial Xianliang Temple and the Jingshi Xianliang Temple are different, and the grades are also different, in any case, they cannot be compared with the reputation in the hearts of thousands of people.