Jiaqing's efforts, the decline of the Qing Dynasty How Jiaqing dragged down the Qing Dynasty
Jiaqing, the seventh emperor of the Qing Dynasty, was praised for his diligence and simplicity and concern for people's livelihood during his reign. Although there are mixed evaluations of him in history, it is undeniable that he was modest, kind-hearted, thrifty, opposed extravagance, and always kept a clear head, diligent and loved the people, and won the love of the people.
Jiaqing Emperor Historical Drama Stills Emperor Jiaqing began to deal with political affairs before dawn, and each trip will be completed in advance to complete the review of the folds, during the patrol, if the people stop the sedan chair and shout grievances, they will immediately stop to inquire about the situation and strive to solve it, and will ask the responsible person to solve the situation afterwards.
Such a benevolent monarch should have been unanimously praised by history, but Emperor Jiaqing only got an evaluation of "Renzong". Jiaqing inherited the "prosperous era of Kangqian" before the "Opium War", and some historians even believe that the decline of the Qing Dynasty began in Jiaqing, which is called "the decline of Jiadao".
So, what did Emperor Jiaqing do to make the Qing Dynasty turn from prosperity to decline?
After Jiaqing became pro-government, the first major thing was to severely punish ** and Shen, whose wealth was equivalent to the financial revenue of the imperial court for fifteen years. Jiaqing rectified the rule of officials and punished the henchmen of Heshen, and for a while, the trend of corruption in the government and the opposition was somewhat restrained.
However, Jiaqing did not carry out in-depth reforms, but only did superficial work, reused honesty and honesty, and advocated a simple lifestyle. It's a pity that he didn't establish an anti-corruption system, so that after the crackdown, all levels of ** fell into the atmosphere of accumulating wealth again.
During the Qianlong period, the wind of corruption in the imperial court began to sprout, and the Jiaqing Dynasty exacerbated the chaos of the officials, and the people lived a difficult life. During the reign of Emperor Jiaqing, many incredible things happened, such as the loss of the Great Seal of the Ministry of War, the poor people breaking into the palace to assassinate the emperor, the eunuchs raising sheep in the palace, and the hawkers opening markets in the palace, all of which reflected the negligence of the management of the imperial court at that time, and the serious chaos of the officials.
Although the Qianlong period saw the last prosperous scene of the Qing Dynasty due to the wealth left by the Yongzheng Emperor, this scene did not last. ”
When Western countries were experiencing the industrial revolution and production technology was changing with each passing day, although the Qing Dynasty was still a powerful country, the gap with Western countries was gradually narrowing.
However, in the Jiaqing period, there were peasant uprisings and natural disasters within the country, agriculture was severely hit, and there were Western countries with increasing strength externally, which gradually posed a threat to the status of the Qing Dynasty.
At a time when the country was facing a serious crisis, Jiaqing still adhered to the family laws of his ancestors and was unwilling to reform, which eventually caused China to fall behind the world.
Emperor Jiaqing was deeply aware of the grim situation of the peasant uprising in the Qing Dynasty, and he led by example, resisting luxury and living frugally. He.
Five. On the occasion of the 10th and 60th birthdays, gifts are refused and celebrations are not allowed.
However, although Jiaqing punished some ** filthy officials and lightly punished them, the stubborn diseases of the Qing Dynasty could not be changed overnight. In the absence of the most effective political system for punishing corruption, and the country's increasing corruption, the Jiaqing Emperor's daily affairs do not seem to have brought about substantial changes.
Jiaqing's rectification action has exacerbated the deficit of the national treasury, the financial situation is tight, and the local government is overwhelmed. Economically, the private economy is underdeveloped, and the agricultural economy is in trouble under the invasion of natural disasters.
In terms of people's livelihood, the people's disaster relief funds were **, life was difficult, peasant uprisings broke out frequently in various places, and the Qing Empire gradually declined.
Emperor Jiaqing was only a nominal emperor when he ascended the throne, and the real power was still in the hands of Emperor Qianlong. Therefore, Emperor Jiaqing needed to consult Qianlong for everything in the early days of his reign, and did not dare to have too many personal opinions, and acted in accordance with precedent and ancestral system.
It wasn't until Qianlong died of illness that Jiaqing was really pro-government. Although Jiaqing was not the best among the many princes of Qianlong, he had the least shortcomings, and he developed the idea of following the old system since he was a child.
After the pro-government, Jiaqing basically followed the old system, but the national situation at that time was very different from the past, and the same system was no longer applicable.
Emperor Jiaqing, known as the "Qing Dynasty workaholic", but his philosophy of governing the country was different from that of his grandfather, Emperor Yongzheng. When Emperor Yongzheng took over the Qing Dynasty, he clearly realized that the country was in a difficult moment, so he was determined to reform and reuse reformers such as Li Wei.
The Jiaqing Emperor, on the other hand, lacked the spirit of exploration, and his governance basically relied on the Confucian "Tao" and followed the old system of his ancestors. Wang Jie, Zhu Qi, Dong Huan and others he reused were all former ministers of the Qianlong period, and they had a large age gap with Jiaqing, and they were not staunch reformers.
Under their influence, Jiaqing did not carry out drastic reforms, but followed the old system, which also led to the accumulation of ills in the Qing Dynasty. However, Emperor Jiaqing is best known for his anti-corruption actions, he killed ** and Shen, laying a certain foundation for the future of the Qing Dynasty.
Although He Shen was criticized by ** and his moral character was criticized, his talent and ability were impressive. From a down-and-out young man to becoming the first assistant of the imperial court, and even marrying Qianlong's daughter, all this proves his extraordinary ability.
Under the protection of Qianlong, Emperor Jiaqing did not dare to investigate him when he was alive. His talent is not only reflected in catering to leaders and figuring out the divine will, but also in his cultural literacy, proficient in Manchu, Mongolian, Tibetan and Chinese, with an excellent memory and good at improvisation.
He has also demonstrated outstanding ability in handling government affairs and diplomacy. During the Qianlong period, he was recognized by the emperor for his talent in disaster relief work, and he was praised as a consummate statesman when he met with British envoys.
However, despite his talent, he was abandoned and liquidated by Emperor Jiaqing because of **.
During the reign of Emperor Jiaqing, some courtiers once advised to open customs ports to promote the development of the private economy and ease the pressure on the imperial court's tax revenue, but he did not accept it. This made it possible to break out the Opium War and a series of unequal treaties.
Emperor Jiaqing emphasized that human character trumps ability, and did not appoint people with poor morals, even if they were capable. Most of the people he reuses are people with high morals and incorruptible life.
However, when dealing with national issues, Emperor Jiaqing's courage and ability were insufficient, and even if he opened up his views, governed rivers, reduced taxes, and exterminated Tianlijiao, he could not reverse the decline of the Qing Dynasty under his rule.
This makes it difficult to hide this fact in all his exploits.
The Qing Dynasty's policy of closing the country to the outside world began in Yongzheng, carried forward in Qianlong, and solidified in Jiaqing. Guangzhou has become the only door for the four mouths of the dynasty to clear customs. This policy suppressed the development of domestic capitalism and widened the gap between China and the West.
During the Qianlong period, the country was rich, and China was a large agricultural country that was able to meet its own production. However, during the Jiaqing period, successive natural disasters and grain failures severely damaged the agricultural economy.
The long-term policy of emphasizing agriculture and suppressing business has caused the civil economy to languish, the corruption of the imperial court is prevalent, the people are living in hardship, social contradictions have intensified, and many peasant uprisings have occurred one after another.
For example, the White Lotus Rebellion, the Tianli Rebellion, etc., and even the rebel army approached the Forbidden City, threatening the security of the imperial dynasty, and the imperial court had to send heavy troops to suppress it, resulting in a sharp increase in national military spending.
Although Emperor Jiaqing confiscated a large amount of Heshen's property, these riches were depleted within a year. To sum up, the Qing treasury is becoming increasingly empty.
In the rolling wave of the industrial revolution, the productivity of Western countries has increased rapidly, and the commodity economy has flourished like never before. Although Emperor Jiaqing was well aware of the message of world change, in order to consolidate the imperial power, he still adhered to the policy of closing the country to the outside, ignoring the hardships of the people, and only doing symbolic disaster relief and pacification.
However, facts have proved that closing the country to the outside world cannot stop foreign aggression, and the hard work of Emperor Jiaqing cannot stop the wheel of history after all.
Technological innovation led to a leap in productivity, and Britain became a global power, while the Qing dynasty fell behind day by day, and backwardness meant being bullied. Twenty years later, the British opened the door of the Qing Dynasty with strong ships and cannons, and started the course of humiliation of the Chinese nation in modern times.
Emperor Jiaqing was exemplary in virtue, he advocated simplicity, diligent work, people-oriented, and even dared to introspect and reform official style. However, despite his great efforts in governing the country, the Great Qing Kingdom weakened in his hands, because he was not a master who was determined to reform, but only a master of success.
Therefore, we cannot blame him alone for the weakness of the Great Qing Kingdom, which requires us to deeply reflect and find more effective solutions.
The trajectory of history is irreversible, and in the change of times, the development of agricultural production will inevitably promote the improvement of productivity, and then give birth to the prosperity of the commodity economy. These evolutions are inevitable in history, not influenced by any one person or event.
The Jiaqing Emperor, as the ruler of the Qing Dynasty, in order to maintain his centralized rule, adopted a policy of boycotting the commodity economy and opening up the country, which eventually led to China falling behind the world, being ruthlessly defeated by the Western powers, and signing a number of unequal treaties.
Qing Historical Manuscripts, Qing Shilu, and Qing Dynasty Historical Grand View reveal this historical fact for us.