"The spring clouds want to swirl, and the hundred acres of the south are brewed and passed." Looking back, it was still lost in the willow green, and only when it came did it identify the plum red. The picture of Ni Huangjing is really in the smoke and rain of the building. Want Qian Li Mu to carry the iron flute, the moon brightness qu crystal palace. ”
The Qianlong Emperor's "Yanyu Lou Rhymes with Han Ziqi Poetry" describes a beautiful picture of Jiangnan surrounded by smoke and rain, red and willow green. Jiangnan landscape is picturesque, drizzling rain, touching the bluestone paved path; even the wind is soft like water, quietly strolling in the alley, hovering in the gap between the girl's green silk, and from time to time gently dropping a sweet kiss on the forehead.
No wonder the Qianlong Emperor made six southern tours, often yearning for it, reveling in it each time, and could not help but write a large number of poems lamenting the beautiful scenery of Jiangnan.
As we all know, the Qianlong Southern Tour is huge and costly, and the silver needed is not all supported by the national treasury, and its main financial pillar is the two Huai salt merchants. It can be seen that in order to meet the southern tour of Qianlong, salt merchants actively donated silver and threw thousands of dollars, which also showed that the salt merchants had strong financial resources and the economic development of Jiangnan was very impressive.
In August of the fourteenth year of Qianlong, some officials said that Qianlong had toured west to Wutai Mountain and east to Qufu, and also held a Mulan Autumn Fox Ceremony, except that it did not go down to Jiangnan. The Jiangnan region was rich in materials and had a pleasant climate, and the local people were very eager for the emperor's arrival, so they pleaded with Qianlong to tour the south.
In September of the same year, a number of officials in the Jiangnan region jointly played a concert and pleaded with the emperor to tour the south. At this time, Qianlong handed over the matter of the southern tour to the university scholar Jiuqing for consultation. In October of the fourteenth year of Qianlong, the matter of the southern tour was decided.
In the sixteenth year of Qianlong, Qianlong began his first southern tour, passing through Zhili and Shandong to Jiangsu, and then crossing the Yellow River and the Yangtze River successively, and finally reaching Hangzhou. After a total of four months, he returned to The Capital.
So, how much charm does Jiangnan really have, even if it takes a lot of financial, material and manpower, it can make the Qianlong Emperor linger again and again? What did the Qianlong Emperor do when he went down to Jiangnan six times?
First, build water conservancy and observe the people's livelihood
In the first year of Qianlong, Sun Haosun sang about the flooding in Yangzhou, and Qianlong said that this matter would gather ministers on related affairs to discuss quickly. It can be seen that the Qianlong Emperor has always attached great importance to water conservancy. Qianlong's six southern tours were all modeled on the Kangxi Emperor's practice of controlling water, and said that "the matter of the southern tour is greater than that of He Gong."
On his way to the south, Qianlong observed the people's feelings while pondering the methods for building water conservancy projects. When he saw that the riverbank embankment in the Gaoyou area was almost higher than the people's houses, he could not help but sigh that the floods ruthlessly devoured people's lives and made the people's lives difficult and poor.
Then it was decided to excavate the Taiping River so that water from the Cheluo Dam area would flow into the Yangtze River to protect it from flooding.
During the second southern tour, Qianlong wanted to implement the "salary drawing strategy."
What is a "salary draw"? It is to reduce the amount of discharge, reduce the water level, and then make the relevant officials comply with laws and regulations, so as to achieve a gentle flow of water in the lower reaches of the river and avoid the phenomenon of flooding the fertile fields on the riverside. In the twenty-seventh year of Qianlong, Qianlong finally implemented the "salary drawing strategy", and in the following twenty years, he realized the wish that the lower reaches of the river would not be flooded.
To sum up, the Qianlong Emperor can be said to be a good emperor who worries about the country and the people, he pays attention to field investigation, personally goes to the flooded areas, and after investigation, personally makes decisions, effectively alleviating the flood problems in the coastal areas along the river.
Qianlong's six southern tours, each time going deep into the people, observing the people's feelings, and resolving practical problems are really commendable.
Second, win people's hearts and minds, and leave a name for eternity
Qianlong made a total of six southern tours, saying that he was following the example of his grandfather Kangxi in stabilizing Jiangnan and maintaining a stable situation, and that the six southern tours were "respectful and lawful" to Kangxi. In fact, the social situation during the Kangxi period and the Qianlong period has long been very different.
During the Kangxi Period, the Jiangnan region at that time, due to the fierce war led to killings and serious losses, the Kangxi Emperor toured the south in order to close the hearts of the resentful Jiangnan people in order to maintain social stability and calm the chaos.
During the Qianlong period, the Jiangnan region had long been peaceful, social stability, economic development, and people's lives were rich, although Qianlong's southward movement also played a role in comforting people's hearts to a certain extent, but the most important thing was to win the hearts of the scholars and merchants.
During the Ming and Qing dynasties, the economy was unprecedentedly prosperous, and the buds of capitalism appeared in the Jiangnan region, and new ideas immediately appeared. The group of scholars and doctors dared to challenge authority, had a sense of distress, and advocated a scientific and practical social atmosphere, which had a profound impact on society.
Especially in the early years of the Qing Dynasty, many intellectuals may have been stimulated by the demise of the Ming Dynasty, or the fierce war had just ended, and they were about to usher in the Taiping Days, advocating the further development of practical learning styles.
Later, due to the implementation of the policy of closing the country to the outside world and emphasizing agriculture and suppressing business, China's ties with Western countries gradually decreased, the impact of Western thought on Confucian thought was weak, and the ideology of the scholar group was solidified, and they did not dare to make too many remarks. Therefore, Qianlong's descent to Jiangnan has alleviated the anxiety of the scholar-doctor group to a certain extent.
In addition, the Economy of the Qing Dynasty was weak, the population decreased, the population of the Qianlong Period recovered to 200 million, coupled with the implementation of reclaimed wasteland and the planting of cash crops to increase production and meet the food needs of many people, handicraft industry and commodity economy had a certain degree of development, and merchants from the north and south gathered here for commerce.
When Qianlong went down to Jiangnan, he was very particular about eating, wearing, living, and traveling, and Qianlong brought a large number of people and horses to each trip, and the cost was bound to be huge, which provided a lot of business for Jiangnan merchants, brought a lot of wealth, greatly promoted the development of commerce, and naturally achieved the purpose of closing the hearts of businessmen.
To sum up, Qianlong's six southern tours have appeased scholars and doctors, and won people's hearts, and the huge demand has greatly stimulated the consumption of commodities in cities along the way, bringing rich benefits to merchants, and many central cities are extremely prosperous.
Third, swim in the landscape and seek pleasure
The Jiangnan region is rich in materials, the land is vast, the beauty is like clouds, and the landscape is picturesque, which is undoubtedly a good place to have fun. Even ordinary people will seize the opportunity to have a good time, Qianlong, as a generation of emperors, is naturally arrogant and extravagant, and will not miss this opportunity for pleasure.
As mentioned above, the main financial pillar of Qianlong's southern tour is the donation of silver by salt merchants, in addition, salt merchants also built a large number of gardens, from Yangzhou City to Pingshan Hall, everywhere pavilions and pavilions, known as "all the way to the mountain".
There is a poem that records: "At that time, the gardens built by the major merchants were in the world. ”
Qianlong made six southern tours, and Yangzhou salt merchants built gardens six times for the emperor to see. In addition, the "Yangzhou Palace Scenic Spots" shows that in the palace built for Qianlong, there are a total of 5154 corridors and 196 pavilions.
It can be seen from this that everywhere Qianlong's southern tour passes are wuhua tianbao, the pavilions are gorgeous, the scenery is gorgeous, the prosperity is sharp, and the silver spent can be described as huge.
It has to be said that the local salt merchants spent all their efforts and ran out of money for Qianlong's visit. In addition to donating silver, building a luxurious palace and a large number of gorgeous gardens, the salt merchants also spent a lot of money to invite hua and ya opera teams to set up a stage along the river to sing opera. While this move won Qianlong's favor, it also objectively promoted the development of opera culture.
In the Jiangnan area, in addition to the picturesque scenery, the beauty is even more touching, gentle and moving. Celebrity monuments, the land of fish and rice, green mountains and green waters, with graceful and colorful Jiangnan women, is simply a place that everyone yearns for.
As an emperor of a generation, Qianlong has seen countless beautiful women, but he still remembers the Jiangnan women with good faces and elegant manners.
To sum up, Qianlong's southern tour, life in Jiangsu and Zhejiang is indeed moist and unforgettable, immersed in the gentle countryside, strolling between the green mountains, swimming on the green water, it is simply a god-like day.
brief summary:
All in all, Qianlong's six trips to Jiangnan are indeed sightseeing and enjoying themselves, but it is not just about playing and having fun, the most important thing is to inspect the people's feelings, reduce taxes, build water conservancy, and benefit the people. During the Qianlong period, the state had abundant financial resources, and gradually a trend of pleasure and luxury arose.
On the way to the south, a large number of merchants, dramatists, and literati gathered in the main cities where the emperor passed, at the same time, salt merchants built a large number of gardens and palaces, and officials from all over the country also repaired roads, and the Jiangnan region was suddenly prosperous, which greatly promoted the development of the commodity economy and promoted the exchange of opera culture.
The southern tour cost a huge amount, which had an impact on the lives of the people, and the people complained, and after that, the economy of the Jiangnan region began to decline, and the prosperous scene was reduced. The Qianlong Emperor commented to himself that all his life he served the country and the people, did not make the people's lives difficult, and worked hard to be a good emperor, but only six southern tours really labored the people and wasted their money, and because of his arrival, officials from all over the country received them along the way, which was really a luxury.
Reference: Draft History of the Qing Dynasty
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