Taimiao, refers to the emperor's ancestral temple, where the ancestors of the emperor are honored.
Originally, the temple was dedicated only to the emperor's ancestors. Later, the heroes who made great contributions to the country, after approval by the emperor, would also be enshrined in the Taimiao Temple after death. Such as the Tang Dynasty's eldest grandson Wu Ji, Li Jing, etc., the Song Dynasty's Cao Bin, Pan Mei, etc., the Ming Dynasty's Xu Da, Chang Yuchun and so on. This kind of treatment is called "worthy of the Temple".
Taimiao
Obviously, enjoying the Taimiao Temple is a high-standard treatment.
In the nearly 300 years of the Qing Dynasty, a total of 26 ministers were entitled to the Taimiao Temple. Helin of Hezhen was originally entitled to the Taimiao Temple, but due to the fall of Hezhen, he was withdrawn from the Taimiao Temple. Of these 26 ministers, the vast majority were Eight Banner Nobles, and only one Han Chinese. He was Zhang Tingyu, a famous minister of the mid-Qing Dynasty who was a scholar of the Guanbai Baohe Temple and a foreman of the Military Aircraft.
The reason why Zhang Tingyu was able to obtain the treatment of the Taimiao Temple was mainly because he participated in the preparation of the Military Aircraft Department and formulated various rules and regulations for the Military Aircraft Department. At the same time, he took the lead in compiling a number of important documents and historical books such as "Records of the Ancestors of the Qing Dynasty", "History of the Ming Dynasty", "History of the Four Dynasties", "Canon of the Great Qing Dynasty", "Records of sejong" and so on. In the late Qing Dynasty, Zeng Guofan's merits far exceeded Zhang Tingyu's, so why didn't he get the treatment of being worthy of the Taimiao Temple?
Zhang Tingyu
Zeng Guofan made the greatest contribution to the Qing Dynasty, of course, by creating the Xiang Army, and after 10 years of hard work, he captured Tianjing, the capital of the Taiping Heavenly Kingdom, and announced the end of the Taiping Heavenly Kingdom Movement. At the beginning, the Taiping Army defeated the Green Camp and the Eight Banner Army of the Qing Army, and it took only two years to fight from Guangxi to Jiangsu, and only sent a force of 20,000 people to invade the vicinity of Tianjin. Without Zeng Guofan, the qing dynasty's rule would be in jeopardy.
From this point of view, Zeng Guofan had the grace of "rebuilding" the Qing Dynasty, forcibly extending the life of the dying dynasty by 50 years.
Zeng Guofan
In addition, Zeng Guofan also led and participated in the Foreign Affairs Movement. He built an arsenal, a shipyard, and a translation library, and in his later years took the lead in sending this first batch of official students to the United States to study advanced science and technology. They have studied and lived in the United States for many years, and most of them have returned to China and made due contributions to the cause of modern and modern China in different positions.
In 1872, Zeng Guofan died of illness while serving as the governor of Liangjiang, and the Qing court gave him great honors, such as quitting the dynasty for three days, posthumously giving Taifu and the courtesy name "Wenzheng", entering the Zhaozhong Ancestral Hall and Xianliang Ancestral Hall in the capital, and establishing special shrines in various provinces. If Zeng Guofan can be matched to the Taimiao Temple, this matter will be even more perfect.
Empress Dowager Cixi did not dare to give Zeng Guofan the treatment of being entitled to the Taimiao Temple.
Empress Dowager Cixi
Since the First Opium War, the Qing Dynasty has been constantly worried about internal and external troubles, and the Eight Banners nobles have been weak in coping, and they have even suffered defeats. In this "great change that has not occurred in three thousand years", a group of Han Chinese represented by Lin Zexu, Tao Shu, Zeng Guofan, Zuo Zongtang, Li Hongzhang, etc. rose in the political arena and had an increasing influence on the political situation in the late Qing Dynasty. From the Xianfeng Emperor, the Tongzhi Emperor, the Empress Dowager Cixi and others, down to the princes and nobles such as Sushun and Prince Gong, they all trusted the Han people and held heavy responsibilities for the Han people.
This situation aroused the suspicion and dissatisfaction of the Eight Banners nobles of the Qing Dynasty. Although Empress Dowager Cixi regarded Zeng Guofan as her right arm, she did not dare to offend the Eight Banners nobles too much, especially in matters such as the taimiao temple. Because Empress Dowager Cixi repeatedly "bowed to the curtain and listened to the government" and took power as the empress dowager, she violated the ancestral system of the Qing Dynasty and did not dare to violate the ancestral system of the Qing Dynasty again on the temple worthy of the Taimiao.
The place where Empress Dowager Cixi bowed to the government
The deserving of the Taimiao Temple was an honor that did not involve actual power, and there was no need for Empress Dowager Cixi to offend the Nobles of the Eight Banners and create new contradictions in this matter.
In fact, Zeng Guofan may not be worthy of the treatment of the Taimiao Temple.
Zeng Guofan was an intellectual who was familiar with the "Four Books and Five Classics", and believed in Cheng Zhu Lixue all his life, which can be called the first great Confucian and the last great Confucian in modern times, and even meets the standards of saints. Inheriting the style of the Tongcheng school Fang Bao, Yao Nai and others, he founded the "Xiangxiang School" of the late Qing Dynasty. The Complete Works of Zeng Wenzhenggong, which he left behind, was widely circulated and had many loyal "fans". Liang Qichao said with admiration: "I am saying that Zeng Wenzheng is a collection, and it must be repeated three times a day." ”
Zeng Guofan was not a person who tended to be inflamed and possessive, and it was impossible to find a way to get the treatment of being worthy of the Taimiao Temple. After all, the Taimiao Temple was a place where the Qing emperors worshipped their ancestors and had no dime relationship with the Han Chinese. As a Han minister, Zeng Guofan would look very awkward to appear in such a place. If this is the case, the Eight Banners Nobles will not be happy, and Zeng Guofan will not be satisfied.
Zeng Guofan calligraphy
At the same time, Zeng Guofan was very cautious in his life. When he became a feudal official and held great military and political power, he paid special attention to not intervening in the high-level struggles in the imperial court, and even deliberately remained silent when Prince Shuo wrote twice to woo him. Such an extremely intelligent figure could not let himself be involved in the whirlpool of right and wrong after death because of the matter of enjoying the Taimiao Temple.
This is why Zeng Guofan was more meritorious than Zhang Tingyu, but he did not deserve the treatment of the Taimiao Temple.