Text/Fu Huaxuan
People who have been mixed in the official field for a lifetime, at a certain age, retire home, and land safely, should have enjoyed leisure and ease; reading idle books to amuse their grandchildren, enjoying the joys of heaven, light fame and fortune in life, being a loose person, and living in peace in the sunset.
However, during the Qianlong period of the Qing Dynasty, there was a retired old man named Yin Jiaquan, who did not stay at home and honestly after retirement, had nothing to find to toss, and finally tossed his old life away!
The cause of this incident is because of his dead father, let's briefly introduce his father first.
Yin Jiaquan's dead father is not a simple character. His name was Yin Huiyi (尹会一), and he was a native of Boye County (博野 County, Baoding, Hebei Province). He was a jinshi in the second year of Yongzheng, and in the plain village of Boye, it was remarkable that he could produce a jinshi. Yin Huiyi first served in the Ministry of Works, from the chief of the staff to the foreign lang, Yongzheng five years outside the Xiangyang prefect, Yongzheng nine years transferred to the Yangzhou prefect, in office to strengthen the embankment, relief to disaster victims, construction of water conservancy, did some good things. Since then, he has successively served as the envoy of the two Huai salt transports, the two Huai salt governments, and the inspector of Henan, and his political achievements have been good, especially he attaches importance to agriculture and pays attention to the people's livelihood, and can be called a good official. Yongzheng died, Qianlong succeeded to the throne, and in the fourth year of Qianlong, Yin Huiyi became the imperial envoy of the left vice capital, and later he requested to go home to serve his elderly mother, which was approved. In the eleventh year of Qianlong, his mother died, and he returned to the official field until the expiration of the period of filial piety, and was appointed as a waiter in the Ministry of Works and a scholar of Jiangsu, and Qianlong changed to the Ministry of Works in the thirteenth year, continued to serve as a scholar, and soon died in office.
This is the resume of old father Yin Huiyi, looking at his life, he has done a good job. The highest official position he held was roughly equivalent to today's provincial and ministerial cadres.
As a son of Yin Jiaquan, the imperial examination was not as good as his Lao Tzu, only passed the examination, but this did not prevent him from becoming an official, perhaps because he was a eunuch family, he first did the chief of the punishment department, and then promoted to Langzhong, and later successively served as a political envoy in Jidong Province, Gansu Province, and finally to Dali Temple Secretary (equivalent to the president of the Supreme Court), and retired honorably in the forty-second year of Qianlong, which can be said to be able to retire from merit and enjoy the blessings of the family. Although Yin Jiaquan was not as good as his Lao Tzu in the imperial examination, after all, he was a scholar and a Confucian family style, he usually loved to read and was diligent in writing, he was responsible for the education of the flag children during his tenure at Dali Temple, compiled a "Primary School Encyclopedia", and wrote a lot of books himself, which can also be regarded as a celebrity.
Although Yin Jiaquan, who has retired and returned home to idle "seclusion", is very idle, he has an idle heart, he still pays close attention to "national current affairs", his tentacles are very sensitive, and he is idle and not hidden. In March of the forty-sixth year of Qianlong, when he heard that the Qianlong Emperor had gone on a tour of Mount Wutai and was stationed in Baoding Province, he felt that the time had come, and he was immediately excited, so he prepared two copies of the recital and asked his son to present it to the Qianlong Emperor.
What are these two recitals? According to the Qing Dynasty Text Prison Archive, the first recital was "Yin Jiaquan played for his father to ask for a fold", that is, the old man asked the emperor to give his father a title that had been dead for more than thirty years. Why? Because his son was a filial piety, the Qianlong Emperor once said that he would rule the world with filial piety, and when Yin Huiyi asked to go home to raise his mother, the Qianlong Emperor once wrote a poem to him to praise his filial piety. Yin Jiaquan felt that it was evidence that the Qianlong Emperor had already approved that lao tzu was a famous courtier, so he wrote this recital and asked the emperor to give him a tribute, and he felt that it was really logical in his heart.
There is a saying in the recital, "It is the standard of all the worlds, and it is not the private glory of the exclusive family." "That is to say, my father can really be called a model of all generations, and the emperor gave my father an honor, which is not unique to my family, but also shows that the emperor rules the world with filial piety." You see, he was still full of consideration for the emperor, thinking that he had given the emperor a chance to set an example.
As for the second recital, it is "Yin Jiaquan please fold Yi Father from the Temple of Ancestral Literature", that is, to ask the emperor to let him enjoy the treatment of a famous courtier and go to the Confucius Temple to receive sacrifices. In this matter, Yin Jiaquan himself was a little embarrassed to say it directly, so he first talked about the confucian masters of this dynasty who only had one Lu Longqi from the Temple of Qiwen, in fact, there were many people who had this qualification, and listed the names of Tang Bin, Fan Wencheng, Li Guangdi, Gu Badai, and Zhang Boxing, and said that they should all be from the ancestral hall, and finally replied shyly: "As for the minister's father Yin Huiyi, since he has been praised by the imperial poetry and praised for filial piety, he is already in the discipline of virtue, and he can be subordinate to the emperor, and he is not dare to ask for it." "Tell him his true intentions, or to give him Lao Tzu a name!"
To ask for an honor or to be a devotion is to be an honor, to have an honor of nothingness. Yin Huiyi has been dead for more than thirty years, what do you want this false name to do? Guangzong Yaozu? In fact, as a son, Yin Jiaquan himself wanted a name, Lao Tzu got the title, and deserved to enjoy the Temple of Confucius, he naturally had a radiance on his face, and he himself could also be blessed in the future, and he could also be given the title and may not be able to say anything, which was his true intention.
Such an old fool, wanting to be famous and want to faint, would have been a joke. When a man of insight hears it, he must hide his face and snicker. For the Qianlong Emperor, even if he ignored him, at most two sentences of criticism and sarcasm, it was not too much. But Tianxin was unpredictable, who knew which nerve of the Qianlong Emperor had been touched by these two folds, and his stern Zhu Criticism immediately made this matter unusual, and the nature of it completely changed.
It is said that these two recitals were submitted separately, and although the Qianlong Emperor was angry when he saw the first recital of the request, he had not yet attacked, but only replied, "And the remembrance is the state's canon, how can it be vainly requested?" This song should be punished by the ministry, and Nian Ru is the father's private affection, and is spared. If you are restless in your home, you cannot be traced back! Thanks. That is to say, the country has rules and regulations for such a thing as giving a name, so how can it make non-sub-demands? Live your life at home honestly, or you will be unforgivable! Although the tone is harsh, it is still a bit humane.
But then, the second copy was handed in from the recital. The Qianlong Emperor was furious at the sight! Aren't you stepping on your nose in the face? The imperial court did not let Tang Bin, Fan Wencheng, Li Guangdi and others from the Temple of Ancestral Literature, so what do you say "seems to be different from the meaning of the four disciplines of the Sacred Gate first virtue and then literature" (that is, Confucianism should first talk about virtue and then thesis), that is, I did something wrong? He also proposed that your father should be from the shrine, is this worth it?
This time, the Qianlong Emperor's reply was much simpler, just eleven words: "It is unforgivable to bark wildly!" Thanks. A mad dog is barking, how can it be forgiven? With such a sentence, Yin Jiaquan immediately stepped into the ghost gate with one foot, he probably never dreamed that it would be such an ending, right? However, the officials of the Military Aircraft Department who were responsible for undertaking the emperor's approval were very clever, and the emperor had already approved that this was a mad dog screaming, and of course it was necessary to investigate it immediately, find out all his crimes, and then punish him. In this way, Yin Jiaquan, who was dreaming in Boye's hometown, was waiting not for the great honor of the imperial title and the edict, but for the cold shackles. As soon as Zhu approved it, the Military Aircraft Department immediately arrested his son first, and then immediately sent someone to Yin Jiaquan's hometown to arrest him and arrest him, and at the same time confiscated the family property.
At this time, the Qianlong Emperor also ordered Yin Jiaquan to wear a flower plume and ordered him to be punished by the Ministry of Punishment. In this holy decree of the Qianlong Emperor, the Qianlong Emperor once again stated that Yin Jiaquan was completely "heartbroken and unscrupulous" in doing so, as if he had committed a heinous crime. Poor old fool Yin Jiaquan, who sought glory and gained misfortune, went from a retired state high-ranking cadre to a prisoner of the ranks in the blink of an eye. This is the end of the "official fans" and "honor fans"! Just as Mr. Lu Xun analyzed this matter, according to "Qianlong's opinion, it is believed that if he dares to 'bark wildly', he will not only make one or two sounds, and must be thoroughly investigated."
Therefore, this side arrests people, and that side is raiding the house, but the main purpose of the raid is not to confiscate property, but to collect evidence of the crime. The Qianlong Emperor's holy will clearly reads: "If there are any arrogant handwritten poems and letters, we must pay attention to searching and inspecting, and play them according to the facts..." One of the people in charge of raiding the family this time was Yinglian, the first Han scholar of the Qing Dynasty, and the other was Yuan Shoudong, the governor of Zhili at that time. Of course, they were "deeply aware of the Holy Will", so they copied them very thoroughly, reported them very carefully, and examined them very carefully—they registered in detail all the books, calligraphy, paintings, letters, and engravings they had found in Yin Jiaquan's hometown and Beijing apartment, checked the quantities, and reported to the emperor.
At the same time, Yinglian sent Hanlin scholars who were "proficient in the meaning of the text", "careful and cautious", and "investigated the affairs of books" to search for "arrogant handwriting" line by line in Yin Jiaquan's manuscripts, poems, and letters. Kung Fu does not live up to the "people with hearts", and they did find a lot of "wild barking" and "evidence of guilt" in Yin Jiaquan's text (according to a total of 131 songs). Faced with so much evidence, the presiding judge asked him, "What do you mean by these words you have written?" He defended for half a day, and finally had to say: "But the vain argument in my book is my damn place, what else can I argue?" "The emperor is holy, and the subjects should be punished for their crimes", The eleven-character Zhu Pi of the Qianlong Emperor had already convicted him of the case and sentenced him to death, what else could he justify? But there are two interesting passages, two interrogations and confessions about Yin Jiaquan's fear of his wife and his wife marrying a concubine Bo for him:
"Question: At that time, you were begging the emperor for a plume, saying that there was no plume, so you would go back and see your wife and children." You false Taoists are afraid of your wife, in the end the emperor did not give you a plume, how did you go back?
Confession: When I was at home, I once told my wife that I wanted to see the emperor to beg for Lingzi, so I did not hesitate to ask for grace at that time, and I originally wanted to get Lingzi to go home and boast. Later, the emperor did not reward me, and when I returned home, I felt really shy and difficult to see my wife. This is all my false Taoism, afraid of my wife, is true. "Question: Your woman is usually jealous, so if she marries a concubine for you, she will marry a fifty-year-old woman to you, knowing that this woman will not marry, and she has the name of not being jealous." It is always you who are a false Taoist scholar who is accustomed to doing this deceitful thing, and you women have also learned from you to deceive the world and steal your name. Don't you know? Confession: My woman wants to ask for a concubine for me, and since this fifty-year-old Li woman has decided not to marry, she will not be my concubine, and my woman knows it, so she wants this in the name of not being jealous. It is always what I do on a daily basis, all of which are deceitful and famous, so my woman also learns to do this deceitful and stolen name, and it is difficult to escape the emperor's insight. In any case, the two things of "begging for a feather" and "marrying a concubine" do not seem to be in line with "barking". But when it comes to false Taoism, it is probably a crime. Therefore, it is always Yin Jiaquan himself who is not "cautious" enough, and he is not prepared that such two things will also become his guilt, and he has fallen into the handle.
But one thing, and one of Yin Jiaquan's biggest crimes, is that he calls himself "Gu Rare.". Yin Jiaquan's birth year is unknown, but by the time Qianlong was forty-six years old, he was indeed more than seventy years old. "Life is seventy years old", this is the chinese folk customary saying, he calls himself a rare old man, there is really nothing wrong with it. Unfortunately, he met the Qianlong Emperor, who lived a long time, at this time also before the age of 70, and he wrote a royal poem in which he compared himself to an ancient and rare old man. At this time, "ancient rarity" became a special word of the Qianlong Emperor, and to avoid it, it was a major sin to use it. Therefore, this "Yin Jiaquan barking case" is also called "Gu Rare Case". Fortunately, in the end, the Qianlong Emperor also adhered to the "virtue of good life", came to a "felony light sentence", lenient treatment, and did not extinguish the door. Such a vigorous case, in the end, only Yin Jiaquan was hanged, and did not affect his family.
The retired old cadres who landed safely should have spent their old age in peace, but they had nothing to do, and the honor ghost was confused and lost his head. Pathetic!