Corruption in the Song Dynasty

The Song Dynasty was not the most corrupt dynasty in history!

Three [Political Democracy in the Song Dynasty]

Zhao Kuangyin was proud of the separatist regime of the princes. He was deeply aware of the various disadvantages of the separatist regime of the princes to the people of the country. Song Taizu's release of military power over a cup of wine drew on the experience and lessons of the Tang Dynasty's feudal feudal regimes (which essentially meant the country was divided into four parts by force). It is a far-sighted strategy to strengthen centralization and promote the reunification of the motherland. Song Taizu Zhao Kuangyin not only did not kill meritorious ministers, but also stipulated in legal form that the emperor could not whip ministers in the court in the future. It is not allowed to insult the ministers. Subjects are not allowed to kill except for treason and rebellion. Taizu of the Song Dynasty passed down the "oath plate" that "no scholar-bureaucrats or those who write letters to the emperor shall be killed" and "any descendant who takes this oath will be killed by heaven". Emperors of all dynasties strictly implemented this ancestral precept. Even Zhao Gou, Emperor Gaozong of the Song Dynasty who killed Yue Fei and came to power due to the war, only killed three times. This is extremely rare in other dynasties. The rulers of the Song Dynasty attached great importance to learning from the historical lessons of China's past. Sima Guang compiled the famous "Zizhi Tongjian". Marked by the establishment of political advisors, the Song Dynasty implemented a collective leadership system of prime ministers and auxiliaries, which was a sign of a more rational operation of centralized power. To a considerable extent, the emperor must also listen to the collective opinions of the ministers and ministers. It should be said that the supreme ruler cannot handle the affairs of the government or decide the fate of ministers or even the life and death of his ministers based on his own joys and sorrows. The "civilianization" of national governance is a trend of historical development. The Song Dynasty established the country with benevolence and righteousness, and the political situation was clear and clear. In the Song Dynasty, there was no separatist rule by local forces, nor did eunuchs, concubines, and relatives have the power to interfere in political affairs and disrupt the country. There was no literary prison in the Song Dynasty. Officials would not lose their heads, have their whole families beheaded, or have nine clans wiped out because they said the wrong thing or wrote the wrong word. The Song Dynasty specially established the Yanguan system. During the reign of Emperor Renzong of the Song Dynasty, he further increased the power of Taiwan's remonstrances and the intensity of court debates. Governing the country with culture is a symbol of China's progress from a barbaric society to a modern civilization. The open and generous political atmosphere enables officials to dare to criticize government affairs and express their own political opinions. As a result, a large number of officials emerged in the Song Dynasty who dared to give direct advice in Chinese history, such as Kou Zhun, Fan Zhongyan, Bao Zheng, Ouyang Xiu, Su Shi and other great names. Only in the Song Dynasty in Chinese history could Bao Zheng quarrel with Emperor Renzong face to face in the court, and Bao Zheng's saliva splashed on Emperor Renzong's face. Even if Song Renzong was angry again, he didn't do anything to Bao Zheng. Bao Zheng still had the courage to give direct advice and was still promoted to an official. "In the reign of Renzong, those who are in doubt and in prison should be treated lightly." Song Renzong always dealt with difficult cases lightly. This shows the enlightenment and democracy of the emperors of the Song Dynasty. The entire society respects intellectuals, and the status of cultural people has increased unprecedentedly. All dynasties in the Song Dynasty cherished talents and treated officials favorably. Even if Lu Duoxun and Ding Wei were plotting for the throne, such major crimes were just a matter of exile. There was no so-called officialdom in the Song Dynasty, and lower-level officials could sue superior officials. Even the prime minister who is "below one person and above ten thousand people" is not immune to this. Among them, Bao Zheng impeached his immediate boss and several officials with higher positions than him. Figures like Bao Zheng could only emerge in the enlightened Song Dynasty. In the Song Dynasty, it was not uncommon for people to sue officials. Anti-corruption instructions were posted on the doors of government offices at all levels. People could appeal and sue officials until they won the case.

Taizu of the Song Dynasty summoned 300 people to go to Tianzhu to obtain scriptures and relics. Emperor Taizong of the Song Dynasty personally met with ancient Indian Brahman monks and Muslims. In the Song Dynasty, a large number of Christians, Jews and other believers owned their own houses, churches and temples. Coupled with the prosperity of Confucianism and Taoism in the Song Dynasty. It can be seen that China in the Song Dynasty was an open and multi-religious country. It’s just that in the Song Dynasty, Christianity, Judaism and Islam could not compete with Confucianism, Taoism and Buddhism. Long before Marco Polo arrived in China, a large number of European businessmen came to China to do business. Now the West has discovered that Italian businessman and scholar Jacob D'Ancona arrived in Quanzhou, China as early as 1271 and recorded a biography. At that time, there were a large number of Venetians, Jews, British, Saracens, Franks, Ceylonese, Indians, Javanese, Pisa and some black people living and doing business in Quanzhou, as well as people from Alexandria. People from Ria, Brugg and other places. A large number of Europeans and Asians did business or settled in China. At that time, there were a large number of mixed-race people in Quanzhou. Among them, the Song Dynasty assimilated a large number of Jews. This is "unprecedented and unprecedented" in human history. It is only recorded that there were 17 large Jewish families in Kaifeng, the capital of the Song Dynasty. They settled in China after accepting the three chapters of the agreement to "become to me in Zhongxia, abide by the ancestral customs, and leave behind Bianliang". The assimilation of Jews shows the prosperity of the Song Dynasty in all aspects. It can be seen that Chinese civilization and science and technology spread and influenced the West during the Song Dynasty. People of various faiths lived together in harmony in the enlightened and prosperous society of the Song Dynasty.

Harmony without difference is the overall portrayal of the Song Dynasty.

The Song Dynasty became the second period of academic freedom in Chinese history since the Spring and Autumn Period and the Warring States Period. In the Song Dynasty, for the first time, there were signs of the convergence of craftsmanship and philosophy traditions. The four famous academies of the Song Dynasty (Yuelu Academy, Bailudong Academy, Ehu Academy, and Songyang Academy) became holy places for Confucian disciples to absorb cultural milk. "There are three hundred Daolin disciples and a thousand disciples in the academy." Song Renzong Zhao Zhen loved to study and worship Confucian classics. For the first time, Zhao Zhen combined the Analects of Confucius and Mencius' Doctrine of the Mean for students to study. The Four Books and Five Classics are compulsory courses prescribed by Taixue. The highest institution of learning in the military field is called Wushu, which is equivalent to a military university. In the Song Dynasty, there were also specialized schools for science and technology, such as arithmetic and medicine. In addition, there were a large number of learning places such as private schools, residence halls, and book clubs in the Song Dynasty. "There must be one or two schools in every lane. The sound of string chanting is often heard by each other. During the great competition, there are occasionally candidates who have been selected to supplement the middle school." In the Southern Song Dynasty, there were at most one Taixue student in the Imperial College, which was once Yue Fei's mansion. More than 1,700 people. Taixue has student dormitories and a stadium. Candidates for Taixue come from all over. The admission rate is between 3% and 6%. Taixue implemented the five-year system of three houses. Those who first enter Taixue study in the outer house. After one year, those who pass the study will enter the inner house and study for two years. Those who pass the exam will be promoted to study in the upper house. Study in Shangshe for another two years, and those who pass the examination will graduate. The food expenses for Taipei students are completely covered by the government, which costs about 3,000 guan per person per year. The Song government only provided food expenses for Taixuan students, spending more than 5 million yuan every year. Rejuvenating the country through science and education not only promotes the prosperity of science and technology, commerce, literature and art, but also promotes diversified political thinking and the establishment of factions with democratic and enlightened political revenge ideas.

The political arena of the Song Dynasty was not a pool of stagnant water. The Song Dynasty had democratic partisanship, reformers, conservatives, war-fighting factions, peace-promoting factions, etc. Reformists and conservatives are not simply two factions. Nor is it fixed. In 1042 AD, Fan Zhongyan and Ouyang revised the reform laws and implemented the "Qingli New Deal". In 1069 AD, Wang Anshi carried out the political reform. Sima Guang opposed the reform, so did Ouyang Xiu, and so did Su Shi. But the arguments against and against are also different. When the reformists were in power, Su Shi opposed excessive reforms, and when the conservatives were in power, he opposed and abandoned all new laws. Sima Guang and Wang Anshi respected each other, but they had different political opinions. Although the two groups have different views and positions, they are not motivated by personal gain but put the interests of the country and the people first. Song's partisanship is a model of democratic politics.

In terms of philosophy, the Song Dynasty broke through the dull and conservative situation since the Five Dynasties. With the rise of applying the classics, emphasizing principles and doubting ancient thoughts, Zhou Dunyi, Shao Yong, Zhang Zai, Cheng Yi, Cheng Hao and Zhu Xi , Neo-Confucianism represented by Lu Jiuyuan and many other schools. As early as the pre-Qin era, "Laozi" and "The Book of Changes" have shown the principle of the unity of opposites. Zhang Zai, Shen Kuo and others in the Song Dynasty made significant contributions to dialectical logic. The Chinese nation has long had dialectical thinking and profound thoughts. "While the Greeks and Indians carefully considered formal logic very early on, the Chinese made outstanding contributions to the development of dialectical logic." The Confucian scholars of the Song Dynasty integrated various schools, introduced Buddhism into Confucianism, and built a New Confucian system, which not only It sublimated abstract thinking and promoted the strong and upright moral rationality and sense of integrity of scholars. The Song people pushed Chinese systematic philosophy to unprecedented heights. Song Dynasty went deep behind the phenomenal world, explored the ontology and deep inner connections of the universe system, and integrated the genetics and horizontal structure of the universe. The Song people's systematic thoughts on the generation and evolution of the universe and the thought of the unity of heaven and man are the harmonious unity of the social system and the heaven and earth system.

Zhu Xi pushed "reason" to the supreme position. Become a master of Neo-Confucianism. Neo-Confucianism developed to its climax with Zhu Xi and began to decline after him. Later generations of thinkers also made no essential breakthroughs. Zhu Xi once said: "Everyone must take sages as their duty." This is the central idea of ??Song Confucianism. Zhu Xi believed that there was no difference in the innate talents between ordinary people and sages, and taught the people to work hard on both moral sentiments and learning. Ordinary people can become sages as long as they set their aspirations, strictly demand themselves, and continue to learn. "Cultivate oneself, manage one's family, govern the country and bring peace to the world" is a religious thought that persuades people to actively participate in the world and realize their own value in life. Tell people that the real world is the entire struggle environment of life. This kind of thought calls for teaching people to approach the principles of nature in their mind, spirit, and experience. Therefore, Confucianism in the Song Dynasty was the religion of educated people.

In the age of cold weapons, the more barbaric, the more powerful, and the more backward, the more vicious. If you are backward and poor, you have the incentive to rob those who are richer than you. The Liao Kingdom was more barbaric than the Song Dynasty, so the Song Dynasty gave money and silk to the Liao Dynasty. Jin was more barbaric than Liao, so Jin destroyed Liao.

The Mongols were more barbaric than the Jin people, so the Mongols destroyed the Jin people. The Mongols were much more barbaric than the Song people, so of course the Song Dynasty could not defeat the Mongols. Throughout the history of the world, ancient civilized countries were wiped out by nations that were more backward and barbaric than them.

The richer a person is, the more afraid of death he is; the happier a person is, the more he loves life. The poorer a person is, the less afraid of death he is. A hungry person is more ruthless than a full person. A person who worries about having food to eat and clothing to wear will fight bravely than a person who has no worries about food and clothing. A robber will be more powerful than a scholar. Song people were too civilized and used to living a comfortable and wealthy life. Song soldiers are very weak. There is a poem from the Song Dynasty that says: "When my parents gave birth to me, they taught me how to cultivate mulberry trees; I didn't know the strictness of the government, but I was able to serve in the army! I can't stab with a spear, and I can't shoot with a bow; what can I do if I unite? It's futile and useless." People of the Song Dynasty are Born for production, creation, and peace. The Mongols were born to ride horses, plunder, and fight. Most people in the Song Dynasty have good nature, while most Mongolian people have evil nature. How could it be possible to defeat the Mongolian iron hooves, which were primitively ferocious and rushed out in the bloody wind?

What is terrifying about the Mongols is that they not only possess the brutal fighting power of primitive nomads, but also possess the advanced and superb technology of civilized nations. When the Mongols attacked the next city, the only kind of people left behind were not young and beautiful women, nor innocent children, nor old people, but the craftsmen and craftsmen of the city. In ancient times, the Mongols were just like in modern times. They not only possessed the fearless spirit of the Afghan Taliban, but also possessed high-tech armed technologies such as American atomic bombs.

The war between the Song and Yuan Dynasties was the most disparate ethnic war in Chinese history. Because one is the peak feudal civilization that is developing toward capitalism, and the other is the civilization of a newly formed nation that is in its primitive period.

Although the military force in the late Song Dynasty was relatively weak, it used its powerful comprehensive power, economy and culture to influence neighboring countries such as the Liao Kingdom and the Jin Kingdom. Promoted their Chineseization. Promoted the development and progress of the world. The Liao Kingdom gradually abolished slavery and the policy of discriminating against the Han people, and the Jin Kingdom was an out-and-out admirer of Song civilization. The imperial palace of the Jin Kingdom in Beijing was built exactly like the imperial palace in Bianliang of the Song Dynasty. The emperor of the Jin Dynasty wore Song-style imperial clothes, and the rank of civil servants was the same as that of the Song Dynasty. The Jin Dynasty implemented imperial examinations to select scholars, and the forty-ninth generation grandson of Confucius was also made a duke by the gold owner, who personally performed rituals and sacrifices to Confucius. From astronomical predictions to the compilation of calendars and court music, the Jin people imitated and applied the Song system. The Jin State also imitated the Song State in printing banknotes. Su Dongpo's new book just published in Song Dynasty today may be hawked and popular on the streets of Jin Kingdom tomorrow. From the copper coins left over from the Jin Dynasty, we can see that money is a typical Chinese copper coin with only Chinese characters. Judging from the architectural style and technology of Marco Polo Bridge that have survived to this day, the Jin people have completely become "Chinese" people. In just a few decades, the Jin State plundered, absorbed and learned a large amount of Song's wealth and culture. It evolved from backward primitive civilization to feudal civilization. By the early stage of the fall of the Jin Kingdom, there was actually little difference between the Jin Kingdom and the Southern Song Dynasty. The Kingdom of Jin became the second most powerful country in the world after the Song Dynasty. But the Kingdom of Jin also lost its once brutal fighting power in the prosperous life.

A large number of intellectuals like Zhu Xi were determined to resist the war at first, supporting the government in attacking and regaining the country. But later I saw a peaceful situation between the two countries. Increasingly, conservatives do not advocate using force to solve problems. We do not want the two countries to go to war and destroy the stable and peaceful lives of people in the two countries. Not engaging in war is not just a matter of a few people "living in peace". It is the aspiration of the people and is in the interest of the whole people.

The demise of a country and dynasty is not necessarily due to its own corruption and internal chaos, the monarch’s incompetence, and the people’s livelihood. A prosperous country may be faced with external barbaric forces, and may be caused by a momentary strategic decision-making error or a war failure. The emperors and rulers of the Song Dynasty were relatively enlightened and meritorious compared to the rulers of other dynasties. The demise of the Song Dynasty was not inevitable but accidental. There are many reasons for the demise of the Song Dynasty. The Song Dynasty was not defeated by one nation and one dynasty at once, but by the combined efforts of multiple nations and dynasties many times. Mongolia launched its attack on the Song Dynasty, the most prosperous and powerful country in the world, after annihilating the Western Liao, Xixia, Huacizm and other countries, pacifying the Middle East, conquering most of Europe, ruling most of the world, and subsuming all the surrounding countries of the Song Dynasty. . The Song people were too civilized, but they used advanced technology, gunpowder and warships to suppress the powerful Mongolian coalition for decades. The Song Dynasty was the country that lasted the longest under the brutal Mongolian iron heel. Song Dynasty was the creator of civilization, while Mongolia was the plunderer of civilization.

The failure of the Song Dynasty was because the Song people were too civilized, and the demise of the Song Dynasty was because the Song Dynasty developed too fast and was incompatible with the barbaric world at that time...

There is nothing to be ashamed of when a civilization is wiped out. Although Greece and Rome were both wiped out by barbarism, their civilization is still the pride of Westerners! People around the world still admire the height of civilization they created. No one in the West will slander Greece and Rome, and no one will revere the Turks and Turks. No country or nation will admire an uneducated, rude and powerful robber. But some of us Chinese people are a little strange now. We slander and criticize the dynasty that represents the pinnacle of Chinese civilization, and praise and beautify the barbarians who massacred our ancestors who created an outstanding, advanced and superb civilization in human history. We don't seem to know who our ancestors are. It is hard to imagine that today's Jews would worship Hitler and insult and belittle their Jewish ancestors who were massacred by Hitler. And this is exactly the case in China... We are used to beautifying the cold-blooded bandits who massacred our ancestors butchers into great heroes! We are used to slandering and scolding the great Song Dynasty, which brought so much honor and pride to China in the world. Only the Chinese in the world are passionate about reviling their ancestors. It is difficult to see Westerners reviling Aristotle in the West. In China, we not only criticize Zhu Xi, but also Confucius, who has been hailed as a saint by our ancestors for thousands of years and is revered as a great thinker in various countries around the world. As a Chinese, if he can even criticize Confucius and Zhu Xi, what else can he not do? Is he still Chinese? The ancient Greek Olympic civilization continues to flourish in the world and in China! However, Neo-Confucianism of the Song and Ming dynasties, which represents the essence of Chinese traditional cultural thought, has been criticized by the Chinese themselves as being useless. Most Chinese people today do not know how good, superior and rare their ancestors were. We were cut off from the inheritance and continuity of Chinese civilization by barbaric massacres. Do we still deserve to be called descendants of the Song people?

Joking about the buying and selling of officials in the Qing Dynasty

Article submitted by: Drunken and unconscious and posted in Jagged Talk [Deep Water Zone] Jagged Forum

This is what I posted The original article in the historical area was transferred to the deep water area, writing about the Qing Dynasty's official donation system.

I remember that among all the dynasties in Chinese history, only the Qing Dynasty used donations as a normal way to get promoted under the national system. Although other dynasties had them, they were not as systematic as the Qing Dynasty, and as a country, they were not as systematic as the Qing Dynasty. important financial resources to organize operations. Kangxi's expedition to Junggar was insufficient, so he issued an edict to encourage wealthy households to donate. Therefore, Shanxi Province alone donated 12,000 county magistrates in one year, and Gansu donated 17,000 people in half a year. However, the candidates who were waiting for the vacancies have not yet been officially appointed. As a result, more than 9,500 of the more than 10,000 supervisors failed, and even close to 60% of them handed in blank papers. (This is not a random number I made up to be alarmist. The eight-part essay is It’s very rare. If you don’t know how to do it, you just can’t. I’ll give you a sentence from the Four Books and Five Classics and ask you to break the topic and make an argument. If you don’t have any real skills, you can only hand in a blank paper); during the Qianlong period, it was stipulated that 20 shi of rice could be donated to one county magistrate. In Beijing, almost All the bannermen exchanged the old rice they were given for an official position; in the later years of Jiaqing, the national treasury was empty, and the number of child donations reached 220,000;... It was terrible. At that time, there were only 1,300 counties in the country, and there were more than 200,000 candidates waiting for him. Among the three model governors of Yongzheng, Li Wei was a slave of Yongzheng's family, Ertai was Yuyin of his ancestors, and Tian Wenjing was from a donation background, but none of them was a serious Jinshi. The trend of donating money was so rampant that in the late Qing Dynasty, there were almost no pure scholars in the officialdom. In the early days, the official Jinshis and the "right path" officials who were born with the same Jinshi did not stand in line with the "different path" officials who paid donations. However, In the later period, there will naturally be no such taboo. The reason is that there are too many people buying official positions with money. At first glance, they are almost all top hats bought with money. Etiquette and integrity are the four dimensions of a country. If the four dimensions are not maintained, the country will perish. Relying on this system of recruiting scholars, it is unjust to survive.

There is an interesting joke: a rich man from Shanxi Province, his family donated an official position to him when he was 6 years old. After waiting for more than 80 years, he finally received a letter of appointment from Tongzhi. After receiving it, his family immediately put on lanterns and decorations. , a big plaque was hung high on the door: A gentle family, so someone wrote a couplet: Yun Shou Kao: Over eighty years old, he is still called "Tong", and he is worthy of being a "Shu" student (the homophonic word is Tongzhi Tonghe Shenshu), especially if he is not yet familiar with the Five Classics. sparse).

Originally everyone knows about the corruption and ill effects of donations, and I don’t want to say more about it, but I just feel like it’s stuck in my throat, and I won’t say it out loud, so I’ll just say a few more words.

In the Ming and Qing Dynasties, a county magistrate's annual salary was only 60 taels of silver. Officials had no way to eat, drink, sleep, and move around on this money. In order to solve this problem, the Ming Dynasty created the methods of breaking fire and kicking grain piles. , when collecting money, charge more for the loss of smelting procedures; when collecting grain, kick it hard on the grain pile, and the sweeping sweeping that falls will be counted as your own pocket money. Don’t laugh, this is what Zhang Juzheng relies on to support himself. , and as long as it is not too excessive, ordinary people can generally accept it. After all, the salary income of officials is indeed small. But problems arose in the Qing Dynasty. During the Yongzheng period of the Qing Dynasty, the fire consumption was returned to the public. When the fire consumption disappeared, it became fashionable to use money to pay for grain taxes (an explanation: in the Qing Dynasty, the official price was 1 tael of silver and 1,200 copper coins, but the actual price of silver was Copper is expensive, and the black market price of 1 tael of silver can only be exchanged for 800 copper coins. People pay 1,200 copper coins to offset the tax, but officials can exchange for 1 and a half taels of silver. Therefore, in the three years of the Qing Dynasty, the prefects were cleared of one hundred thousand snowflakes. A large part of the silver snowflakes came from here) But in terms of national economic development, the Song Dynasty used to stimulate the development of private commerce, so 80% of the total world wealth at that time was in China; the Mongolian Yuan Dynasty made its fortune through robbery and massacre, and entered the Central Plains. They only care about "killing all the kings, Li, Zhao and Liu in the world", and achieve nothing except reducing China's population from 120 million to 41 million, and the economic development is a mess; the Ming Dynasty relied on electricity similar to today's In a similar way to the government, energy and transportation departments, the state implemented state monopoly, but at that time the monopoly was mainly salt, iron, tea and horses. In the Qing Dynasty, I was helpless. At that time, someone proposed to advocate commercial development, but the emperor did not allow it, but Kangxi issued a decree The edict states: "A prosperous age breeds people, and no wealth will be added." Money can't fall from the sky, so where does it come from? Donate an official position. Donating 4,600 taels of silver to a county magistrate is a win-win for both the country and the individual. It can be said to be the best of both worlds. You can spend 4,600 taels to buy an official with a salary of 60 taels a year. If you are not greedy, what are you waiting for? This greedy people are in bad luck.

To be honest, buying and selling officials has happened in every dynasty in Chinese history. If you spend money to buy an official, you must at least recover the investment cost. I read an article when I was reading unofficial history. The story is very interesting: When an official of the Kangxi Dynasty came to his post, he first inquired about local prices and asked about the low price of local eggs, 1 cent per egg. The old man was extremely anxious and immediately took out 30,000 copper coins and sent someone to the market to buy 30,000. Eggs, the price of eggs in the market rose sharply, and the chicken farmers were so happy that they gave the county magistrate a gold plaque. According to our intelligence, this old man should have sold the eggs for 3 cents each and made a lot of money, but the boss People who love their people as their own children should not do anything that is speculative. About 100 days later, the old man went to inquire about the market situation again. The residents were very kind to the old parents and said that the price of chickens is very high now (they use them to raise eggs for laying eggs). The old man was anxious again, so he went back The servant said: The price of chickens is high now, and the chickens hatched from my eggs are about to grow up. Each chicken can be sold for 100 yuan to stabilize the price of chickens. So the scholar was very happy and gave him a gold plaque. Year-end evaluation: Outstanding. The old man worked hard on it again and was promoted. With a capital of 30,000 yuan, a profit of 3 million yuan, and a good reputation of caring for the people like a son, I admire you, I admire you. This is countless times better than the "research, research" of being an official now, so the quality of our officials still needs to be improved. . I digress from the topic~~~ Let’s stop here. But in this way, the 2.97 million did not fall from the sky. The Qing Dynasty did not allow free trade and could not carry out capital write-offs. Those intermediate costs were transferred back and forth and were added to the heads of the people. These donated officials were running rampant below, and the people were in bad luck. The folk customs in the Hecha Mountain area of ??Shanxi Province have always been very good. When Kangxi passed by during his early expedition to the west, the people also gave 1,200 shi of food to the army. Kangxi wrote it himself "The folk customs are honest and simple" were erected and passed down. However, during the Qianlong period, the people here were in dire straits and rebelled. Qianlong sent Fu Heng to conquer, spending 3 million taels of treasury silver, and the black Chashan Mountain changed its color. Finally, when we investigated the reason, we found that all the officials who took office after Kangxi passed were all donated, and none of them were good. Grasshoppers boiled fat in their legs, and bed bugs scraped paint powder from their heads. The people appealed, but the ones above were still accepting official donations, and even higher officials were still accepting official donations. There was really no way to survive.

Some people may scold me when I say this, because history books say that buying and selling officials was most rampant in the Eastern Han and Ming dynasties. Nothing happened in the Qing Dynasty, at least in the Qing history manuscripts.

Just because I didn’t write it doesn’t mean I didn’t write it. The landlords in the Eastern Han Dynasty were too powerful, and the local armed forces even surpassed the central army in combat effectiveness. In the Western Han Dynasty, the purpose of expanding territory was to overwhelm China. During the reign of Emperor Wen, Chang’an was only a few dozen miles away from the northwest border, but in the Western Han Dynasty, Chang’an was only a few dozen miles away from the northwest border. At the end of the period, it took several months to walk from the northwest border to Chang'an; the Eastern Han emperor did little to open up the frontier, but the landlords' armed forces took over this function. Therefore, the Huns finally surrendered to Cao Cao. The landlords controlled the officials in the central trading center, so of course there was no taboo. The conclusion that eunuchs ruled the country in the Ming Dynasty was made by the Qing Dynasty, but in fact the Ming Dynasty has always implemented civilian rule. The emperor was not even as powerful as a bachelor in the Ming Dynasty. Therefore, it is difficult to draw a fair conclusion based on a history of the Ming Dynasty written by Manchus. In conclusion, at least I don’t quite believe in the book History of the Ming Dynasty. Manuscripts of Qing history are even less reliable. What else can a thick book do besides praise its virtues? The Qing Dynasty is written like a flower, the emperor is extremely wise, and the ministers are extremely loyal. After reading it, I really wish that Kangxi could live another 500 years. However, there are problems with the Qing History Draft. The biggest problem is that there are problems with the original materials of the Qing History Draft, the emperor's actual records, that is, the emperor's daily life notes.

The emperor must not read the actual records, let alone change them, because the historical record is as iron as steel. The first emperor to read the true records was Li Shimin. Li Shimin killed his brother and seized his legitimate son, forcing his father to abdicate. His reputation was not justified, so he read the true records. But after all, he did not dare to change it. He just found someone else to beautify it greatly. Therefore, among the twenty-five histories, there are two unique histories of the Tang Dynasty, and they are completely different. The first one to change was Zhu Di. It was difficult for Zhu Di to start a career, and his reputation and reputation were not as good as those of Li Shimin, so he changed the actual records. His biological mother did not want it, and he regarded Empress Ma as his biological mother. However, the emperor of the Ming Dynasty who followed him did not change it. It's not that they don't want to, it's that they don't dare. A bunch of civil servants are staring at him, and they can just talk casually. If they really use their brains, it's no exaggeration to scold him bloody. It was very different in the Qing Dynasty. The emperor was the master and officials were all slaves. Looking at books such as "Emperor Kangxi" and "Emperor Yongzheng", one thing the emperor often said is: "Don't keep this in the file, just take that out of the file." What is this file? Real record. Could it be possible that the stuff written by the Manchu elders using this kind of stuff as material could record the scandal of buying and selling an official position?

Not everyone in the Qing Dynasty kept silent about buying and selling officials. Some did, but the consequences were tragic. (This case of literal inquisition is very famous). During the Qianlong period, there was a scholar named He Shisheng in Leiyang, Hunan, who wrote an article denounced the system of selling officials. After receiving the report, the county magistrate was furious and arrested He Shisheng and tortured him to make him tell clearly: Who sold the official and who took it. The middleman, who buys it. But He Shisheng couldn't say clearly: Qianlong sold the official, and the Ministry of Revenue acted as the middleman. You bought it, right? So he was convicted of "slandering the government and being rebellious", and he was executed in Lingchi. His own son and his brother's son were beheaded if they were over 16 years old. Children under 16 years old, wives, and daughters were sent to Heilongjiang to be armored workers. slave. After the report was reported, the court ministers signed and agreed, and Qianlong responded magnanimously: "Special pardon, but execution instead." If it's not too late, behead the person and leave the rest as usual. Who dares to say buying an official position and selling an official position? That's called donating, not selling one's official position. It's like being laid off if it's not unemployment, or negative growth if it's not declining, it's a bit of a black humor. ~~~~Off topic again~~Sorry, sorry, I won’t talk about current affairs. I won’t talk about current affairs.

I don’t want to write more. If I continue to write, it won’t be called a joke. It will become a line of tears, and every word will make me cry. During the Opium War, the British were amazed when they saw China's imperial examinations and thought it was the most perfect official selection system in the world. Later, they created the current British civil service system based on this. But if they took a closer look, looked at the blood and tears behind the imperial examinations, and looked at the results of the Qing Dynasty's donation system, would they still think that way?

In addition, the price list of official donations from the Qing Dynasty is attached. It is richer than in supermarkets. Let's all take a look and weigh up what kind of official you can be.

Prices in the 39th year of Qianlong's reign: Among the Beijing officials: the fifth-rank official of the doctor, 9,600 taels of silver; the sixth-rank official of the chief, 4,620 taels of silver; among the local officials: the fourth-rank official of the Taoist priest, 16,400 taels of silver , the fourth-rank official of the magistrate, 13,300 taels of silver, the fifth-rank official of Tongzhi, 6,820 taels of silver, the seventh-rank official of the county, 4,620 taels of silver, and the county magistrate is the eighth-rank official of the deputy county, 980 taels of silver.

The price of the twenty-sixth year of Guangxu: Beijing officials: 2073 taels for doctors, 1728 taels for chiefs, local officials: 4723 taels for Taoists, 3830 taels for magistrates, 1474 taels for Tongzhi, 999 taels for county magistrates, and 210 taels for county magistrates. two.

The price has dropped to such an extent that it is not deflation. There are really too many donations and we cannot wait until there is a real shortage. Who is willing to spend that wasted money. Therefore, the more you donate, the more you donate, the more you donate, the more excessive it becomes, and the more you donate, the more cheap it becomes.