According to the "Qing Manuscripts", from Qianlong to the end of the Qing Dynasty, the only ministers who were given three-eyed flowers by the emperor were Fu Heng and Fu Kang'an of the Qianlong Dynasty, He Lin of the Jiaqing Dynasty, Changling and Xi'en of the Daoguang Dynasty, and Li Hongzhang and Xu Tong of the Guangxu Dynasty. Even if there were meritorious ministers who were fortunate enough to get their eyes, there were only about 20 people in the entire Qing Dynasty. For the Qing Dynasty, whose country lasted for nearly 300 years and had a vast number of courtiers, those who could receive the reward of Flowers and Plumes were simply a drop in the ocean.
(The Prince with three-eyed flowers)
So, what is Hua Ling? Why is it so difficult for ministers to obtain hualing?
In some costume dramas, we often see some ministers or princes and nobles on the crown, not only inlaid with sparkling pearls and gems, but also dragged a colorful feather inserted in the pipe, which is the Crown Ornament that Qing Dynasty officials attach great importance to - Hua Ling.
Moreover, Hua Ling is also closely related to the achievements of officials and their future and destiny. If the minister makes a mistake, the emperor will often be angry and ordered: "Take off his top and wear the flower plume!" ”
On the contrary, when the courtiers have repeatedly performed miraculous feats, the emperor will generously shout: "Enjoy the eyes and flowers." ”
In the hierarchical feudal officialdom, Hua Ling is a kind of symbol of "distinguishing between the prestige and the rank of zhaopin", which is not worn by any official. Only meritorious servants, or those who have made special contributions to the imperial court, are eligible to wear the flower plume after being rewarded by the emperor's explicit order.
There are two kinds of plumes: blue plume and flower plume. The blue feather is the bird feather, and the flower feather is the peacock feather, which is divided into one eye, two eyes, and three eyes. The so-called "eye" is the eye-like circular pattern on the peacock's plume, a circle is counted as a glance, and the number of eyes reflects the difference in the rank of officials.
According to the Qing History Manuscript, those who were eligible to wear the three-eyed plume were members of the royal family who were lower in title than the prince, the king of the county, the shell of the bay of Baylor, and the gulun frontal donkey. In the Qing Dynasty and the clan, the nobles who were given the title of Duke of Zhenguo or Auxiliary Duke, as well as Heshuo's forehead, could wear two-eyed flower feathers. Officials with more than five pins must be at the emperor's side, born in Manchuria with yellow flags, yellow flags, and white flags, forwards, commanders of the guards, or staff leaders, to be eligible to wear one-eyed flowers.
The blue plume is a crown ornament of the same nature as the flower plume, made of osprey feathers, without eyes, and is generally rewarded to officials under six pins, or guards in the palace palace. It can also be rewarded to low-ranking but uniquely meritorious warriors.
(Tsune Image)
It can be seen from this that Hua Ling was a great honor for Qing Dynasty officials, and the Three Eyes Flower Plume was a supreme reward that could not be sought. Even the princes and nobles born in the imperial family were not born to wear the three-eyed plume. These members of the royal family were about 10 years old, and they had to undergo the emperor's riding and cultural examination of them, and after receiving the emperor's approval and reward, they could wear the three-eyed plume.
In the early years of the Qing Dynasty, the reward for hualing was extremely strict, according to the "Continuation of the Xiaoting Pavilion": "There is no one who gives hualing to foreign civil servants. In the later period, the scope of the reward of Hua Ling gradually expanded, from a single one that only emphasized military merit and "non-military merit is not allowed to be sponsored", to those who had special contributions in other aspects, and could also be sponsored to the emperor to receive Hua Ling.
It is precisely because of the prudence of rewarding hua ling, and the harsh conditions for obtaining hua ling. Therefore, the few officials in the entire Qing Dynasty who received this honor, even Qianlong's favorite courtiers and Yan, although they were above ten thousand people under one person, were not qualified to wear the three-eyed flower plume.
Fu Heng, a military minister during the Qianlong period, was both a scholar of the Bohol Temple and a prince Taibao, and made great contributions to the prosperity of Kangqian in the fight against Jinchuan and against Dzungar. Qianlong was grateful for his immortal deeds and rewarded him with two double eyes and one time with three eyes. Fu Heng was well aware of the honor represented by Hua Ling, and every time he was rewarded by Qianlong, he was grateful and sincerely afraid, and he wrote many times to resign, and did not dare to wear it easily.
During the Kangxi Dynasty, After Returning to the Qing Dynasty, Zheng Zhilong's general Shi Lang made great military achievements in pacifying Taiwan, and wrote to suggest that Tun invade Taiwan, be prepared, and was praised by Kangxi, and was given the title of Marquis of Jinghai and given a royal robe. However, Shi Lang actually refused to accept it, and instead pleaded with him to "give Dai Hua Ling according to the list of former ministers of the interior."
(Michimitsu Image)
According to the system, there is no precedent for foreign military generals to give flowers and plumes. However, Kangxi still satisfied Shi Lang's begging, and decreed that "in order to open up the frontier overseas, to cut down the tyrant and the false founder, to reward LingFu and to ze for future generations." It can be seen that in the eyes of the ministers, a flower plume is far more important than the marquis.
Although it is very difficult to get the flower plume, there are also lucky ones who inadvertently win the first prize and unexpectedly get this honor that everyone dreams of.
During the Daoguang years, when the Qing court was suppressing the rebellion in Xinjiang, it captured the rebel general Zhang Ge alive, and the Daoguang Emperor "hoped for success and thirst". It was late when the good news arrived, and the officers of the military department had already returned home, and no one could be found to present it to the emperor. Only one official, nicknamed "Han Yong", had not yet left, so he became the perfect candidate for success.
When the "Han Ling" reported the counter-rebellion victory report to Daoguang, Daoguang was overjoyed and immediately issued an edict: "Enjoy the flowers and plumes, and walk on the military plane." He thus became the most relaxed person to receive Hua Ling.
Later, with the fall of the Qing Dynasty, a donation system emerged, and Hua Ling was also among the donation cases. At the beginning, the donation of flower plumes costs 10,000 taels of silver, and the blue plumes also need 5,000 taels, and they can also refer to the discount of the donation of officials. Individual wealthy merchants can wear flower plumes after donating enough silver. Later, the value of Hua Ling plummeted to 200 taels, and at this time, Hua Ling had completely lost its former glory and was as cheap as a commodity bought and sold at will.
(References: Draft History of the Qing Dynasty, Examples of QingHui Canon, etc.)