Why is it said that the prosperous age of Kangxi and Qianlong was a reflection of the Qing Dynasty? Is the prosperous age of Kangxi and Qianlong just a joke?

Many of the dynasties in ancient my country developed into a prosperous period, such as the prosperous age of Kaiyuan, the prosperous age of Kangxi and Qianlong, which were all eras that could be regarded as their peak periods at the time. However, many people believe that the prosperous age of Kangxi and Qianlong during the Qing Dynasty was actually just a joke, just a reflection of the Qing Dynasty, a moment of health before death. What on earth is going on? Why do you think so? What kind of era was the prosperous age of Kangxi and Qianlong? Why do many people think this is just a joke? Let’s take a look. 1. What is the historical truth of the Kangxi and Qianlong dynasties?

The "Kangxi and Qianlong dynasties", also known as the "Kangxi, Yongzong and Qianlong dynasties", were the prosperous times under the early rule of the Qing Dynasty in my country. It is a reflection of China's feudal society. It began with the suppression of the San Francisco Rebellion in the 20th year of Kangxi (1681) and ended with the outbreak of the White Lotus Sect uprising in Sichuan and Shaanxi in the first year of Jiaqing (1796), lasting for 115 years.

What is a prosperous age? We usually think of a prosperous age as having the following characteristics: national unity, political and economic stability, strong national power, and cultural prosperity. There is indeed doubt as to whether the "Kang-Qian Dynasty" really existed. Many scholars even said that the "Kang-Qian Dynasty" was a joke.

Technology:

It is undeniable that the "Kangxi and Qianlong Dynasties" were indeed another peaceful and prosperous age of feudal society, but at the same time it was an imperfect prosperous age. At that time, China seemed prosperous on the surface, but in fact it was stagnant. While China was still reclaiming wasteland, the West was developing rapidly. While the West was undergoing institutional reforms and the technological revolution was developing rapidly, China was still insular and inventive. There is no progress in creativity or technology.

People’s life:

In the eyes of the Ming Dynasty missionary Machani, the prosperous times of Kangxi and Qianlong were like this: “There was shocking poverty everywhere”, “people were ragged and even naked” , "an army as shabby as a beggar." "The rubbish we throw away is all eaten by others!" The British envoy Macartney was keenly aware of the decline of the Qing Dynasty at that time, and regarded the Manchu Qing regime as "a ship." A huge ship in tatters," predicting that it would "no longer have discipline and safety." He described the Manchus as nothing more than a clay-footed giant, with the "Chinese" degenerated into a "semi-barbarian" age.

Culture:

The policy of "emphasis on agriculture and suppression of business" adopted by the Qing government caused the developing capitalism to be absolutely suppressed, and the "Literary Prison" was established to persecute a large number of literati. It imprisoned the people's thoughts, slowed the development of the entire society, and widened the development gap with the West. Although the reform of native land and return to rural areas strengthened the country's management of the border, it intensified the contradiction between the central government and ethnic minorities, and caused uprisings among border residents.

Ethnic conflicts:

After the Manchus seized power across the country, they treated all ethnic groups in China as slaves and emphasized that Manchus and Han people could not intermarry. They encountered fierce resistance from the Han people and massacred innocent people. From the "anti-Qing Dynasty and restoration of Ming Dynasty" in the early Qing Dynasty to the "expelling the Tartars and restoring China" in the late Qing Dynasty, the Chinese people never stopped fighting against the Manchu Qing Dynasty.

So to sum up, the Qing Dynasty's entry into the customs actually caused historical regression. The income during the prosperous days of Kangxi and Qianlong was not even comparable to the annual income of the Song Dynasty. 2. How to view the prosperous age of Kangxi and Qianlong

The prosperous age of Kangxi and Qianlong is a true proposition, but it is a reflection of the late feudal period. In the corresponding historical period, it is still leading the world in economic terms. At that time, it was still the object of study and envy in the West, but the prosperous age of Kangxi and Qianlong can only be said to be a prosperous age of economy, not culture, but we cannot regard it as a joke.

The three dynasties of Kangxi, Yongzong and Qianlong were the most prosperous period of the Qing Dynasty. During these 130 years, good news came frequently in foreign wars, the domestic economy was prosperous, and people's living standards were greatly improved. However, in this prosperous age, Covering up the sorrow of culture, thought and culture have been greatly restricted for hundreds of years. People's thinking has become rigid and lacks creativity.

During the heyday of Kangxi and Qianlong, my country's GDP accounted for more than 40% of the world's total, but its total population only accounted for 20%. Its economic strength completely surpassed other countries. , so there is no doubt that this prosperous age is a true proposition, and it indeed represented the highest productivity at that time.

However, in this prosperous age, there are also endless scars. Take the Kangxi Southern Tour. Kangxi’s southern tours were all hosted by the Cao family. Although it was a supreme honor, it also caused the weaving. The government's deficit could not be filled even if the Cao family went bankrupt, and was eventually executed by Yongzheng. This was just a microcosm of this prosperous age.

Qianlong worked hard in his early years, and the entire national economy was still on the rise. However, Qianlong’s seven trips to the south of the Yangtze River not only emptied the treasury, but also allowed officials to take the opportunity to make money. In Qianlong’s later years, the entire prosperous era was already on the verge of collapse. This The foundation of the behemoth had been hollowed out, but it was just an illusion. This was one of the reasons why the Qing Dynasty quickly came to an end after Jiaqing ascended the throne. 3. Controversy over the Kangxi and Qianlong dynasties

Zhou Siyuan, a professor at the School of Chinese Language and Culture at Beijing Language and Culture University, disagrees that the Kangxi and Qianlong dynasties were “prosperous times” and can only be called “the rule of Kangxi and Qianlong.” He believes that the reason why the Han and Tang Dynasties are recognized as prosperous times has a lot to do with their relaxed political environment and high-spirited and enterprising spirit. The biggest mistake of the three dynasties of Kangxi, Yongzong and Qianlong was the idea of ??imprisonment, which was a severe and cruel idea of ??imprisonment represented by the Literary Prison. As for "The economic development during the Kangxi, Yongzong and Qianlong periods was a restorative development after frequent wars since the late Ming Dynasty. It was not a revolutionary increase in productivity caused by new production methods and the use of new science and technology. There were many great achievements in ancient China. Inventions, Mr. Needham once cited more than 1,000 great inventions in ancient China. Many of these 1,000 inventions have influenced the course of the world. But let’s think about it. In the 268 years of the Qing Dynasty, which invention in China influenced the world? ?Nothing, why did the Chinese who were so smart become unsmart by that time? This question is worth pondering."

Dai Yi, an expert on Qing history, affirmed the formulation of "the prosperous age of Kangxi and Qianlong". At the same time, he also pointed out four negative factors: isolation from the country, emphasis on agriculture over business, confinement of ideas, and contempt for science, calling it the "shadow of the prosperous age." He also refuted Zhou Siyuan, pointing out that "in the entire two thousand years of Chinese feudal society, there were no "new production methods" and "new science and technology", and it was all an autocratic feudal system. According to Mr. Zhou's reasons, There would be no "prosperous times" in China's feudal society." He also pointed out that "prosperous times have shadows, and there are also hopes in declining times." He does not believe that "prosperous times are beautiful and good, and everything is fine. This is not an objective historical fact, nor is it a dialectical way of thinking. "At the same time, it was pointed out that it took only more than 100 years in the early Qing Dynasty to more than double grain production. At a time when agricultural technology had not significantly improved, it was a remarkable achievement. Not only has the level of the late Ming Dynasty been restored, but it has also made great strides forward. This is the result of the efforts of the majority of farmers, and is inseparable from the Qing government's policies of attaching great importance to agriculture, rewarding land reclamation, building water conservancy projects, reducing taxes, promoting high-yielding crops (corn, sweet potatoes, peanuts), and encouraging and acquiescing to immigration.