As we all know, the jade seal is the symbol of the supremacy of imperial power, and the small party seal has been endowed with connotations such as the rule of law and imperial power of the country. Therefore, during the Spring and Autumn Period and the Warring States Period, in order to emphasize that they were destined for heaven, there were often monarchs who risked the world to forge jade seals. The jade seal symbolizes imperial power, and the emperors of the past have carefully collected it, and it is impossible to leave it to others.
However, there was an emperor in the history of the Qing Dynasty who was supposed to abdicate during the internal meditation, but he did not give up the feeling of decentralization in the ceremony, so he clung to the jade seal and held on to it, which made the courtiers ashamed. It was not until the last prime minister dared to speak that he handed over the jade seal. What's going on here? See the breakdown below.
The reigning emperors of the Tang Dynasty passed away in their forties. The emperors of the Qing Dynasty generally had a high life expectancy, especially Qianlong, who lived to the age of eighty-eight and reigned for more than sixty years. In the meantime, the early princes of Qianlong passed away one by one, walking ahead of his father, leaving only Jiaqing still suffering.
First, in order to appease his son and the imperial power, and second, Qianlong respected his grandfather Kangxi very much and did not want to exceed his sixty-one years of reign, and based on his concerns, Qianlong finally announced the transfer of power the following year on the occasion of his eighty-fifth birthday.
Not only that, at the grand birthday banquet, Qianlong suddenly had a good mood, danced with dragons and phoenixes on the paper, and wrote a "Zen" character, "Zen" is the ancient emperor's system of passing the throne to others, Qianlong's move means to tell everyone that he will hand over the throne to Jiaqing.
The time came to the second year's Inner Zen Ceremony, all the ceremonies proceeded smoothly, Jiaqing looked like he was about to sit on the throne that he had in mind, but this old father had a moth, only to see Qianlong clutching the jade seal and not letting go, as if he was touching and kissing the jade seal like the closest lover, as if he was unwilling to hold the power of sixty years to delegate to others, and had the intention of regret.
Jiaqing and Qunchen did not know what to do for a while, until the prime minister Liu Luoguo stood up to break the deadlock and said to the Qianlong Emperor: Your Majesty should let go, which emperor has no jade seal? When the Qianlong Emperor heard this, he also felt that it was inappropriate for him to behave in this way, so he reluctantly loosened the jade seal and immediately handed it over, but Qianlong's eyes showed a look of reluctance.
Facts have proved that once the power is in power, it is difficult to delegate, even if he abdicates, Qianlong still holds the government as the emperor of the Taishang until his death at the age of eighty-eight, so his actual reign is sixty-four years, and his internal Meditation behavior is like a cover for the ear. Jiaqing was intimidated by his father and dared not speak out, and waited for another four more years.
During his lifetime, Qianlong reduced his servitude and countered the rebellion on the frontier, and during his reign, the population was densely populated, and he could be regarded as a promising king. However, when he was close to old age, he coveted authority, held the jade seal for sixty years and refused to give it up, and even reversed his own internal Zen measures, putting his son in an embarrassing situation, which was really ridiculous.
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