"It is difficult to know that the oil is exhausted, and it is late to swaddle and talk late." The dangerous building is even more without beams, and Xinhai is thunderous and scattered. ——To Puyi
As we all know, the Qing Dynasty is the last feudal dynasty in the long history of China, although as of today, the Qing Dynasty has been overthrown for more than a hundred years, but the Qing Dynasty left posterity in addition to the shame of a hundred years, there are more historical thinking. As the longest feudal dynasty in China's history, the Qing Dynasty has many places worth telling.
Once upon a time, the Qing government was also so powerful, especially the glory of the Kangqian heyday, enough for the Qing Dynasty to squander a hundred years. Perhaps it is precisely because of the foundation laid by kangqian's prosperity that the descendants of the Qing Dynasty have fallen more and more, until they are slaughtered.
In fact, the biggest reason for the decline of the Qing Dynasty is the two-hundred-year closed country, at the same time, the decline of the Qing Dynasty is inseparable from the common disease of the dynasties, that is, corruption. Looking at the degree of corruption in the Qing Dynasty, it is also the most significant one in the past dynasties. So, how corrupt was the Qing Dynasty? It has been shown since the time of the Qianlong Emperor of the Qing Dynasty.
First, the kingdom of heaven has turned from prosperity to decline
For the Qing Dynasty, we all have a certain understanding of how brave the royal disciples of the Qing Dynasty, that is, the eight banners, were in the late Ming and early Qing dynasties. Judging from the situation at that time, the Eight Banners were the most powerful troops in the era of cold weapons.
However, the glory that belonged to the Eight Banners was only temporary, and after the Manchu Qing dynasty established the Qing Dynasty, the bloodiness and bravery of the Eight Banners disappeared, replaced by more and more greed and corruption.
The history of the Qing Dynasty dates back to the Kangxi period, and as an emperor who worked hard to rule, Kangxi was also a promising Ming Emperor of the Qing Dynasty. Under the administration of Kangxi, the territory of the Qing Dynasty reached a certain level, and the economy of the Qing Dynasty was also in a state of steady growth.
Subsequently, Yongzheng, the most diligent emperor of the Qing Dynasty, came online to carry out a new round of rectification of the Qing Empire. I have to say that the yongzheng emperor's diligence is really admirable, and only a dozen years of reign have allowed the Qing Dynasty to take off. It can be said that Yongzheng's contribution to the Qing Dynasty is obvious to all, but because of the short reign time, it has not been fully exerted.
However, waiting for Yongzheng's son Qianlong to succeed to the throne would do more harm than good to the development of the Qing Dynasty. In the early days of Qianlong's reign, there were certain political achievements, but they were all based on Kangxi and Yongzheng, and then realized their own development.
However, in the middle of Yongzheng's reign, the unprecedented prosperity made Qianlong become blindly confident, and at that time, he flaunted himself as an emperor of all ages, a ming emperor, and began to act extravagantly. It can be said that from the late Qianlong period, the luxury of the Qing Dynasty has begun to prevail.
We have also heard about what Qianlong did in the later period, and Qianlong has visited Jiangnan many times, and various affairs have occurred, and its extravagance can be imagined. You know, Qianlong is also known as the Emperor of Greed. Fortunately, however, during Qianlong's reign, there was such a big housekeeper as Hezhen, who did not suffer because of the problem of money.
But by the time the Jiaqing Emperor came to power, the wealth of the Qing Dynasty was already stretched to the limit, leaving only Qianlong to play a bad mess. Since then, the Qing Dynasty has begun to decline. However, the reputation of the Qing Dynasty's Heavenly Dynasty shangguo was still spread outside, and it was not discovered by the great powers.
Until the late Qing Dynasty, the British temptation completely exposed the poor and weak China to the world, and a cowardly China became the new image of the heavenly kingdom. Since then, the government of the late Qing Dynasty has also become a lamb to be slaughtered.
Second, two-level differentiation, the problem is serious
In terms of the economic strength of the Qing government in the late Qing Dynasty, it was no longer enough for the Qing nobles to practice the extravagance of the past. However, the Qing Dynasty still used heavy money to support the world, and lost the brave Eight Banners. Almost every year, the consumption of the Eight Flags is greater than the expenditure and expenditure of the people of the whole world. I have to say that this data is very amazing.
Even the financial crisis of the Qing Dynasty did not fail their royal descendants, that is, the children of the Eight Banners. But for Han officials, the Qing government was not as friendly as it was to the eight flags. Overall, the salaries of Han officials are very low and as low as we can imagine.
Take Zeng Guofan, one of the four mainstays of the late Qing Dynasty, his salary is also pitiful. According to historical records, when Zeng Guofan was still an official to the seventh grade, his annual salary was 45 taels of silver, plus some state welfare and year-end bonuses, and calculated, a total of more than one hundred taels of silver.
In fact, this one hundred taels of silver is not much, and even the normal living standards of basic officials cannot be met. It can be said that at that time, Zeng Guofan's salary was not enough to go to the restaurant several times. In this way, even the top officials of the state, the Qing Dynasty did not give extra grace, let them live a life of food and clothing.
However, the reason for this situation is mainly because the Qing government lacks money, the finance is tight, and it is all used for the royal family to eat and drink. In short, because of corruption, the Qing government lived a worse life than a day. Until the end, the Qing government completely fell into the bottom and could only be slaughtered by the great powers.
However, in the end, it is the people at the bottom of society who bear huge debts and live a poor life.
It can be said that at that time, the Qing Dynasty already had a serious polarization problem, the royal family and nobles were at the top, while the Han people were in the lower class, and in the long run, the political contradictions were extremely sharp, until they could not be resolved. It can be said that the economic problems caused by corruption were also one of the main reasons for the collapse of the Qing Dynasty.
Third, contradictions have intensified and the situation has forced it
In fact, the degree of corruption in the Qing Dynasty at that time was beyond our imagination. The low salaries of Han officials were already a common problem, but the more important problem was that the rulers of the Qing Dynasty did not hesitate to exchange strategic materials for money in order to meet their own extravagant needs, just for pleasure.
It is said that in the early days of the Sino-Japanese War, the imperial relatives and nobles of the Qing government did not hesitate to replace the shells with hollow bullets in name only in order to enjoy their happiness. In an instant, the Qing government's Beiyang Fleet was completely destroyed, while the imperial relatives of the Qing Dynasty still did not know their deaths, and they were still living a life of spending money in the rear.
In particular, the de facto ruler of the late Qing Dynasty, Empress Dowager Cixi, played with power and was a representative of cowardice and incompetence and extravagance. At that time, the Japanese invaders defeated the Beiyang Marine Division at the Battle of Jiawu, which made the thirty years of efforts of the foreign affairs movement in vain. In this regard, Cixi remained indifferent, still hosting a feast in the Forbidden City and celebrating a great birthday.
In this way, the degree of extravagance of the Qing government's ruler class was so high that ordinary people could not reach it. However, it was precisely because of the extravagance of the rulers that the speed of the Qing government's demise accelerated. Unconsciously, a vicious circle of joining the perdition was gradually formed, and the Qing government was put into it.
Due to the corruption of the Qing Dynasty, the qing dynasty's national strength declined and lagged behind the world powers. Subsequently, the Qing Dynasty was bullied by other countries and unequal treaties for land-cutting indemnities. In this regard, the rulers of the Qing government did not add these sufferings to themselves, but let the poor people pay for themselves. In this way, the original unsatisfactory life of the Chinese people has become worse.
In the long run, the Qing government also completely lost the people's hearts after squandering money. At this time, the Qing government not only had to face bullying from the great powers, but also had to face various revolutionary forces in the people. It can be said that at this time, the Qing government was already in a dilemma, and the national conditions of internal and external troubles also made the surviving Qing government go to a road of no return. In the end, the Qing Dynasty, with the joint efforts of the revolutionaries, declared its end.
epilogue:
Through the understanding of the history of the Qing Dynasty, it has to be said that there was a major drawback of the Manchu Qing Dynasty. Due to the lack of culture, this ideologically backward nation is unable to reasonably grasp the power of China. Perhaps in the early period of rule, the shortcomings and hidden dangers of the Qing Dynasty were not obviously exposed, but in the case of internal and external difficulties, the Qing Dynasty was like a dike full of holes, and it collapsed in only a moment.
As the saying goes: The of a thousand miles collapses in the ant nest. "The demise of the Qing Dynasty was also the result of the expanding abuses of its rule.
Reference: Draft History of the Qing Dynasty
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