The Qing Dynasty was a dynasty established by ethnic minority rulers, and for dealing with relations with the Han, the emperors of the Qing Dynasty were mainly to co-opt and use, and could not talk about completely sincere interaction with the Han people. Nevertheless, there were also a considerable number of emperors who were very good to the Han Chinese. Among these emperors, it is probably the emperor Taiji who is closest to the Han people.
In the post-Kinnurhaci period, Nurhaci was mainly engaged in unifying the Jurchen tribes and the northeast region. His main concern was the conquest and alliance of the Jurchen tribes and the Mongols, that is, the relationship with ethnic minorities. As for the Surrendered Han people living in the northeast, they were subordinate to the Manchurians, mainly enslaved the Han people, and even massacred them. After Emperor Taiji succeeded to the Khan's throne, he changed the name of the country to Daqing in 1636 AD, and was actually the founding emperor of the Qing Dynasty. During the reign of Emperor Taiji, he changed Nurhaci's previous policy toward the Han and was relatively close to the Han. This is mainly manifested in the following aspects:
First, reuse Hanchen.
After Emperor Taiji ascended the throne, the political situation faced was no longer limited to the northeast region, but a war with the Ming Dynasty, and even the conquest of a vast area within Shanhaiguan. In the process, he also realized the truth that knowing oneself and knowing the other will win every battle. If you want to defeat the Ming Dynasty and conquer the Han areas, you must reuse the Han people, and use the Han Chen's understanding of Han civilization to be a shortcut to unify the whole country.
Therefore, during the Emperor Taiji period, he promoted many Hanchen and also adopted many Hanchen. Such as Fan Wencheng, Hong Chengzuo, Zu Dashou and so on. These Han courtiers were given high preferential treatment, such as treating Fan Wencheng as a military master, and whenever there was something important, fan Wencheng's opinion must be sought first. In order to persuade Hong Chengzu to surrender, he also took pains to put his own mink fur on Hong Chengzu and persuaded him. Not only that, in order to persuade Wu Sangui, who was guarding Ningyuan at that time, he wrote many letters in his own handwriting to persuade him, and even ordered Zu Dashou to play the emotional card, although he failed, but it can be seen that the Emperor Taiji's mentality of seeking talents is thirsty. Emperor Taiji's attitude toward Han Chen, a courtesy corporal, was difficult for many emperors of the Qing Dynasty to achieve.
2. Preferential treatment for Han min
During the Nurhaci period, the surrendered Han people were regarded as slaves, and the master and the slave slept in the same room, and they also needed to be followed when they fought, and if they were not satisfied, they would be beaten severely. In the period of emperor Taiji, in order to alleviate ethnic contradictions, at the same time, the number of Surrendered Han Chinese was increasing, and the original way of ruling was difficult to adapt to the situation at that time, so the Han Zhuangding was divided into separate residences, households were organized for the people, and the crime of fleeing people was exempted, although the phenomenon of Han people being enslaved was not completely changed, but to a certain extent, a tolerant attitude was adopted towards the Han people.
Third, respect Han Confucianism
Han Ru is also a member of the Han nationality, they have a high degree of wisdom, is a country's think tank, with them, in the process of formulating policies, the process of unification will be at ease, however, during the Nurhaci period, they are regarded as scourges, so more massacres, and the Emperor Taiji recognized their importance, so after taking the throne, han Confucian is also very important, stipulating that these students can get rid of their original slave status through examinations, and give them preferential treatment. In this way, Huang Taiji has received the support and help of many students.
4. Establish the Han Army
The original Eight Banners were mainly Manchurians, and with the continuous surrender of the Mongols and Han Chinese, Emperor Taiji also incorporated some of the Mongol and Han generals who could conscript good warriors into the Eight Banners system, forming the Eight Banners of Manchuria, Mongolia and Han. In this way, the Han people also changed their identities and became the Han army. Although among the Eight Banners, the Han army had the lowest status, they had escaped the fate of enslavement, and in the process of long-term conquest, with the increase of merit, their status was also increasing day by day, and they became an important force in the Eight Banners.
From the above, it can be seen that the Emperor Taiji treated the Han people differently from other emperors. During the Shunzhi Dynasty, although the Han people were also valued, it was difficult to compare with the Emperor Taiji. Although Kangxi was a ming emperor of a generation, he did not treat the Han people with such trust, and still dominated by the Manchus. After the fall of the Yongzheng Dynasty, with the serious phenomenon of Manchu Sinicization, a large number of layoffs began to be carried out to eliminate the Han army, especially after the Qianlong Dynasty, taking Chinese riding and shooting as the basis for the Qing Dynasty's survival, and punishing the Manchus with serious Sinicization, which actually reflected the estrangement of the Han people.
The phenomenon of Huang Taiji giving preferential treatment to The Han people has a profound historical background, because at that time Manchuria was in the transition from a corner of the northeast to the entire country, in order to ensure the development and growth of Manchuria, in order to unify the whole of China, huang Taiji could only use the wisdom of the Han people to achieve its goal faster. It is not so much that it is close to the Han people, but rather that it is the best policy of co-opting the Han people. Nevertheless, Huang Taiji still shows us his foresight and is a great emperor.