When it comes to the gentry, then the first thing that comes to everyone's mind is naturally Mr. Wang Gang, the actor of He Shen in "Ji Xiaolan with Iron Teeth and Bronze Teeth", who is always smiling, with a kind and gentle and cute appearance, but the real Heshen in history is not like this.
He Shen (1750-07-01-1799-02-22), surnamed Niu Hulu, his real name is Shanbao, the word Zhizhai, and he is the owner of Jiale Hall, Shihu Garden, and Lvye Pavilion. A native of Manchuria, his ancestral home is Kaiyuan County, Fengtianfu (now Qingyuan County, Liaoning Province), and he was a scholar of the Imperial Court and a minister of military aircraft during the Qianlong period of the Qing Dynasty in China.
He Shen was born into a family of military attachés who were not wealthy, but he and his younger brother He Lin received a good education from an early age, and when he was a teenager, he was selected to enter the Xian'an Palace official school and received education in Confucian classics and Manchu, Chinese, and Mongolian characters. He Shen is talented, diligent and hardworking, and has outstanding achievements, so he has been valued by his teacher Wu Xinglan and others. In the thirty-fourth year of Qianlong, the 20-year-old He Shen inherited the title of third-class lieutenant of the ancestral light car. In the second year, he participated in the Shuntianfu Imperial Examination Township Examination, but he did not pass the examination. However, He Shen, who had no fame, later took charge of many cultural and educational undertakings because of his talent. In November of the 37th year of Qianlong, the 23-year-old He Kun was appointed as a third-class guard (Zheng Wupin), which became an important turning point in his life, and his subsequent life took off like a hanging.
A turning point in life
Once Qianlong read "Mencius" again, there are some small font notes in the book, it was dark at that time, Qianlong couldn't see clearly, so he asked He Shen to bring the lamp, and then He Shen asked which sentence it was, after Qianlong said, He Shen recited all the notes on this sentence, Qianlong was a little shocked on the spot, at this time, the young He Shen was handsome and chic, and quite talented, in such a chance to attract Qianlong's attention, from this time to run, soaring. In 1775, he was the imperial guard of the Qianqing Gate, and after serving as the deputy commander, he was suddenly promoted to the head of the household department, the minister of military aircraft, and the minister of the Ministry of Internal Affairs. In March 1780, he was conferred the title of Shoshu of the Ministry of Households, Minister of the Imperial Front, Minister of the Interior of the White Banner Guard, and Minister of the Parliamentary King. When He Shen was an official, he was good at dealing with people, holding important positions in the foreign affairs department of the Qing Dynasty, and even Macartney, the special envoy of the British king, praised He Shen's diplomatic skills. Emperor Qianlong favored him even more, and married his daughter to Heshen's son. With the growth of power, his selfish desires have also swelled day by day, and he has taken advantage of his position to wantonly form parties for personal gain and accumulate money. The Qing Dynasty represented by Emperor Jiaqing, Qian Feng, the superintendent of the imperial history, and others have repeatedly made peace with Shen, but due to the protection of Emperor Qianlong, He Shen was able to turn danger into relief.
In 1799, after the death of Emperor Qianlong, Emperor Jiaqing immediately ordered He Shen to be imprisoned and committed suicide with a piece of white silk. When raiding the house, it was found that in the more than 20 years that He Shen was in power, he had collected a staggering amount of property. According to reliable historical information, the total value of Heshen's property at the time of the seizure was about 10 million taels**. This figure is based on the record in the file of "The Complete Case of Heshen's Crime", which is obviously much lower than the 800 million taels ** in folklore.
and Shen's merits and demerits
Merit:
Understand financial management: During his tenure as the head of the household department, He Shen mastered the economic power of the Qing Dynasty, and added a lot of wealth to the country by managing the treasury, the treasury of the Ministry of Internal Affairs, and the customs duties of Chongwenmen. He opened up new sources of finance, such as opening pawnshops, setting up silver horns, operating industry and commerce, and conducting business with foreign countries, and provided sufficient funds for various projects and activities of the Qianlong Emperor.
Strong diplomacy: He Shen also excelled in foreign affairs, successfully handling the foreign affairs of the Qing Dynasty and other countries, and maintaining the peace and stability of the country. He distinguished himself in negotiations with Russia and Great Britain, ensuring that the interests of the country were not harmed.
Good Reforms: As the chief prime minister, He Shen implemented a series of political reform measures, including strengthening the centralization of power, improving the tax system, strengthening the defense of the frontiers, and promoting the development of culture and education, which promoted the progress of Qing society to a certain extent.
Fault: Selfish desires are expanding day by day, taking advantage of his position, wantonly forming parties for personal gain, accumulating money, and his life ends in tragedy.
Hobby Shen
In addition to beauties, He Shen loved to read and read a lot throughout his life, Qing history records He Shen liked to read "Romance of the Three Kingdoms" and "Spring and Autumn", proficient in the Four Books and Five Classics, and he agreed with Zhu Xi's concept very much in his early years. Although he later embraced realism, he also liked to hang out with literati and artists in his spare time. And "Dream of Red Mansions", one of the four famous novels, was also retained because of He Shen. He often wrote poems with Emperor Qianlong, and He Shen knew the style of Qianlong's poems very clearly. In order to cater to Qianlong, He Shen worked hard to learn and write poetry, and his attainments were very profound. He would occasionally show his research on poetry in front of Qianlong, and even regarded himself as a "sassy person" in his spare time. He Shen's poems are in line with Qianlong's aesthetic taste, and Qianlong often ordered He Shen to write poems on the spot to replace himself. In Heshen's poetry collection "Jialetang Poems", there are many poems that were written on the orders of Emperor Qianlong, from which it can be seen that Heshen's calligraphy attainments. Strong, rounded and full. Smooth and natural, pleasing to the eye. His writing is strong, and the power penetrates the back of the paper.
When He Shen first became an official when he was young, he insisted on honesty and integrity, and resisted corruption from the heart. But with the increasing favor of Emperor Qianlong and the increasing expansion of power, He Shen eventually fell into the abyss of corruption, and even wanted to overthrow Emperor Jiaqing, who had always been at odds with him, to inherit the throne. Finally, after the death of Emperor Qianlong, He Shen was liquidated by Emperor Jiaqing, and finally his family property was confiscated, his family was exiled, and he was given to die. When He Shen knew that he was going to die, he smiled and wrote the poem "Huai Cai mistakenly took this body" and ended his life.