Lei Yanshou, the outstanding founder of the modern police system
Wang Wenchao
Lei Yanshou, zi Manqing, born in 1869, is a native of Chelei Village, Shuangwang Subdistrict, Weinan Province, Shaanxi Province. His great-grandfather was named Lei Facai, a well-known local gentleman, and his family hall name was Wu Hondo, which was a well-to-do family with many people.
Lei Yanshou has been clever and clever since he was a child, and his family has great hopes for him. It is said that he began to enter the pì (甓) Zhai founded by his great-grandfather at the age of four to receive an enlightened education. Before him, this private school had already cultivated 3 talents and 1 lifter for the Lei family. When Lei Yanshou began to go to school, the tutor hired by Yongzhai was an old xiucai, who was rigorous and erudite. Under the strict education of Lao Xiucai, Lei Yanshou was able to recite it at the age of seven; at the age of eight, he had already read through the Spring and Autumn Classics; at the age of nine, he was able to write the middle hall and couplets for the villagers on behalf of his father; and at the age of ten, the "Four Books" and "Five Classics" he had read could already be integrated. His poems and articles often quote scriptures, and their words are amazing, and they are called "prodigies" by the villagers.
In 1844, at the age of sixteen, Lei Yanshou took the children's examination and successfully passed the Xiucai examination. Due to his excellent academic performance, the following year, he entered Xi'an Guanzhong Academy without examination, and studied under Bai Jingwei, a famous educator in Guanzhong. In 1889, he transferred to the Jingyang Weijing Academy to study under the education of Mr. Liu Guyu in the late Qing Dynasty. Guanzhong Academy and Weijing Academy were both famous institutions of education in Shaanxi at that time, and were the cradle of talents in Shaanxi. Wang Jie, Wang Ding, a scholar of Dongge University, Liu Guyu, a great educator, and Yu Youren, a kuomintang elder, were all from Guanzhong Academy. In 1893, after five years of hard study, Lei Yanshou took part in the township examination and successfully won the examination. In this shaanxi township examination, only twenty people were selected. In this year, Lei Yanshou was 25 years old, and according to the practice of the Qing Dynasty township examination, Lei Yanshou was awarded the title of "Wen Kui", and the "Wen Kui" plaque issued by the imperial court has been hung on the gate of the Lei family ever since.
In the spring of 1894, Lei Yanshou went to Beijing to take the entrance examination for the Ministry of Rites as a new person, and after successfully passing the initial examination, he took the re-examination at the Bohol Hall of the Forbidden City, and was finally awarded the title of Zhongshu of the Cabinet. But at this time, just in time for the Sino-Japanese War to break out, the corrupt Qing government was defeated. Soon, the news of the signing of the Treaty of Maguan, which had lost power and humiliated the country, came. In the spring of 1895, the crowd in Beijing was indignant, and Kang Youwei wrote the "Book of the Emperor shangjin shang". Eighteen provinces responded, more than 1,200 people signed, lei Yanshou is one of the petitioners, resolutely opposing the traitorous treaty.
After the failure of the bus to write, at the urging of the Reformers, in February 1897, the imperial court approved the establishment of the General Arts School. This school imitates the Western way of running schools, mainly teaching English, and cultivating Western talents. The Guangxu Emperor also summoned Zhang Yuanji, the head of the school, to encourage him. Lei Yanshou had the honor of being one of the first forty-five students. At this time, Yan Jingming and other people in the Beijing Restoration School of Shaanxi actively planned to establish the Kansai Society to study the art of enriching the country and strengthening the army and awakening the people's sense of innovation, and Lei Yanshou became the backbone of the Kansai Society.
In 1898, the Guangxu Emperor was determined to innovate, kang youwei, Liang Qichao and others gathered in the beijing division, and Lei Yanshou also actively participated in it. In the spring of 1898, Lei Yanshou's father suddenly fell seriously ill, and he had to interrupt his studies to return to his hometown to accompany his father. After that, his father died of illness, and Lei Yanshou kept the system for his father. Shaanxi is far from Beijing, the news is closed, and some people have misunderstandings about the reform and change method. He raised funds to buy hundreds of new books and newspapers in Shanghai, opened bookstores, and spread the ideas of reform and reform, which changed the atmosphere.
In 1904, the 36-year-old Lei Yanshou and his brother Lei Duoshou set off from Weinan and traveled more than 20 days to Kaifeng to participate in the examination. Due to the burning of the Beijing Gongyuan during the invasion of the Eight-Power Alliance, the 1904 Enkehui Trial Reform was held in Kaifeng. This test brought together more than 1,300 students from all provinces across the country. A total of 273 candidates were admitted to the examination. Hunan Tan Yanmin came out on top, and Lei Yanshou and his younger brother Lei Duoshou were on the list, which is an extremely rare thing in the country. The news spread to Weinan, and the local prefects, Zhixian, and Shaanxi Xuezheng went to Chelei Village to pay their respects.
Lei Longevity calligraphy
Subsequently, Lei Yanshou was awarded the title of Chief of works. In 1905, the Qing government established the Patrol Police Department, and Lei Yanshou was transferred to the Patrol Police Department. For China at that time, the patrol police system was not perfect in many aspects because it had just started, and it was necessary to learn from foreign experience. On the recommendation of Xu Shichang, Lei Yanshou was sent to Japan to investigate the police. Since the Meiji Restoration, Japan has established a complete Western policing system. The purpose of sending Ray Yanshou to Japan to investigate the Japanese police system was to understand the essence of the Japanese police system and grasp first-hand information to improve the police system of the Qing Dynasty. During the more than four months of inspection, Lei Yanshou traveled all over the japanese state capitals and counties. From the perspective of Orientals, he conducted a comprehensive investigation and personal experience of the whole process of Japan from the origin and evolution of policing to the introduction of western policing system. On the return steamer, he repeatedly thought about combing and sorting out, and finally compiled the results of his investigation into a book called "Outline of the Investigation of the Japanese Police". This book systematically introduces the birth, development and evolution of the Japanese police system, with a clear context and profound insights, providing first-hand information for the Qing Dynasty to study the Western police system, and providing a reference for the establishment and improvement of China's modern police system. In 1907, shortly after his return to China, he published the book under the name of "Weinan Lei Shi Yong Zhai". This work is one of the earliest works of public security theory in the process of the establishment of the Chinese public security police system, and provides authoritative first-hand historical materials for the study of the historical evolution of china's public security police system and the historical development of the Japanese police system. For this reason, he is also known as the founder of China's modern police system.
After returning from the inspection, the Qing government changed the Patrol Police Department to the Ministry of Civil Affairs, and he remained the head of the Ministry of Civil Affairs. At that time, the Ministry of Civil Affairs was responsible for police security, local administration, household registration management, disaster relief and other matters. At that time, Shangshu of the Ministry of Civil Affairs was the Prince of Su, and he attached great importance to listening to Lei Yanshou's opinions. Many of the major policies came from Lei Yanshou's suggestions.
When Zhang Zhidong and Yuan Shikai were ministers of military aircraft, they felt that the talent of the central organs was aging and it was difficult to meet the needs of the new policy, so they asked the Qing government to select outstanding talents to serve as military aircraft Zhang Jing. When the news broke, there was an endless stream of applicants, and hundreds of people took the exam. Lei Yanshou was selected as a military aircraft Zhang Jing with the excellent result of the first place, and entered the military aircraft department of the central organization of the Qing Dynasty. Since then, Lei Yanshou has become a close minister of the emperor, responsible for the processing of official documents, writing manuscripts, and writing edicts for the emperor.
In the past, there was a Beijing Normal School hall in Beijing, which was specially used to receive Weinan students and officials who came to the capital to do business. Originally built during the Kangxi Dynasty, the museum was set on fire by the rebels during the invasion of the Eight-Nation Alliance, and the homestead was illegally occupied by others. After Lei Yanshou entered the military plane on duty, he used his prestige to go to many places to recover the foundation, and then he paid for the silver and the Shaanxi Capital officials to rebuild the Shaanxi Guild Hall. For Shaanxi students and officials who went to Beijing, a self-reserved place was reserved for shelter and meetings.
In 1908, Li Tiren of Pucheng Zhi County retaliated by beating more than 30 teachers and students of the county higher primary school on the pretext of tracking down the revolutionary party, resulting in the death of one student. After the bloody case, Shaanxi's educational circles were filled with indignation, and they rose up in solidarity with the strike, petitioned for condemnation, and demanded that the murderer be severely punished. When the news reached Beijing, Shaanxi officials in Beijing were indignant and discussed countermeasures. It was decided that the Shaanxi Jingguan officials would jointly play the song, demanding that the cool official Li Tiren be severely punished, and entrust Lei Yanshou, who was in the military aircraft department, to maneuver from it. With the efforts of Lei Yanshou, he finally quickly obtained the emperor's imperial approval and dismissed Li Tiren from his post and investigated.
In 1912, after the abdication of the Qing Emperor and the establishment of the Republic of China, Lei Yanshou was recruited by Yuan Shikai as a staff member of the heavy minister. Yuan Shikai admired Lei Yanshou's talent and professionalism, and in just two or three years, Lei Yanshou was gradually promoted from secretary of the State Council to secretary of the Central Government, counselor of the Confidential Bureau of the Government Affairs Hall, and minister of the Secretariat Office of the State Council. After Zhang Zuolin entered Beijing, he also looked up to Lei Yanshou, and when he returned to Shenyang in 1928, Zhang Zuolin insisted on taking Lei Yanshou with him, and Lei Yanshou used the excuse to shirk it. At this time, Lei Yanshou was already 58 years old, and he had no intention of pursuing a career, so he was idle at home and focused on the study of historical palms and jinshi characters. During this period, Tan Yanmin and Yu Youren also repeatedly invited Lei Yanshou to serve in the Nanjing government, but Lei Yanshou refused one by one.
On December 19, 1928, Lei Yanshou suddenly suffered from cerebral hemorrhage and died of illness in Beiping at the age of 59. Before his death, he had said that he hoped to bury his ancestors and accompany his mother forever. At that time, during the war in the Central Plains, his body had to be temporarily buried in Beijing for three years. It was not until three years later, in 1932, when the war subsided, that his coffin was able to be moved to his hometown.
After Lei Yanshou's coffin was transported by rail to Shaanzhou, Henan, the local government and gentry heard that it was Lei Yanshou's coffin and took the initiative to organize manpower to carry the coffin to escort the westward journey. It traveled through seven counties, traveled more than 300 kilometers, and lasted more than a month before the coffin was carried to Chishui, Hua County, which borders Weinan. Chelei Village picked up the spirit of filial piety and rushed to Chishui Town early in the morning. The Weinan government and the Chelei people held a solemn ceremony to receive the spirit in Chishui. Subsequently, hundreds of coffin bearers were in groups of every 16 people, and the coffins were rotated straight to Weinan. At noon, the coffin was lifted to the east gate of the old county town. The then governor of Weinan County, the provincial government representatives sent by Yang Hucheng, and the township gentry from all over Weinan who had arrived were already waiting outside the east gate to greet them. After the round, the spirit team continued to move forward, slowly returning to Chelei Village. Lei Yanshou's coffin, after a long journey, was finally buried in Lei's ancestral home, fulfilling his last wish.
Note: This article refers to the "Linwei District Chronicle", "Lei Yanshou Epitaph" and other materials.