The Qing Dynasty was the last great unified dynasty in Chinese history, established by the frontier ethnic Manchus, although it inherited the system of the Ming Dynasty, but also had its own characteristics in many aspects, such as in the imperial heir system, the Qing Dynasty did not adopt the primogeniture system, but after many attempts, finally established the secret reserve system.
Although the traditional primogeniture system has its advantages throughout history, such as avoiding rivalry between brothers, there are also disadvantages, such as serious consequences if the eldest son is incompetent or dies early.
However, the Qing Dynasty did not establish a clear heir system during the customs period, and after many attempts, including the eight-king republic, the election system, etc., there was a certain degree of chance and uncertainty.
In his later years, the Kangxi Emperor tried to introduce the primogeniture system, and made his second son Yinren crown prince according to the traditional system. However, due to Kangxi's long life and Yinren's long-term reign as crown prince, Crown Prince formed a fierce struggle against princelings and other brothers, and eventually Kangxi completely abandoned the primogeniture system.
After the Yongzheng Emperor succeeded to the throne, he reflected on Kangxi's attempts and established a secret system of establishing a crown prince, no longer publicly appointing the crown prince, but recording the name of the person who made the crown prince in a secret edict, and placing it behind the "Zhengda Guangming" plaque in the Qianqing Palace, which was jointly dismantled by the imperial ministers after the emperor's death.
China has used the primogeniture system for thousands of years, and even emperors like Li Shimin and Zhu Di, who usurped the throne, did not think about changing, so why did the Qing Dynasty have to be unique and implement the secret reserve system? Let's take a closer look:
Let's take a look at these previous dynasties of the primogeniture system:
From the feudal princes of the Spring and Autumn and Warring States periods to the domination of the world by Qin Shi Huang, the logic of the state changed from the unity of the family and the family and the country to the state of government ruled by the Son of Heaven and hired officials. Although the emperor himself is the Son of Heaven and as the representative of state power, but the imperial power is wrapped in the royal small family, the royal only two people have a definite position in the state structure, the imperial power to govern the country needs to rely on a huge civil service system, from the royal inner hall to the farthest end of the empire, even in the capital, the imperial power must be achieved with the help of administrative officials at all levels. Imperial power was isolated and thin.
Qin Shi Huang did not even have an empress, and the thinness of his connections was not a sustainable institutional arrangement. The death of Qin II triggered the early Han Dynasty's thinking about imperial power, which was weak and lacked local support and response, and it was easy to fall into political isolation. After the death of Qin Shi Huang, the issue of his inheritance fell directly into the hands of Zhao Gao and Li Si, and there was no reliable system for maintaining imperial power.
The Western Han Dynasty first divided the seals and foreign qi in parallel, solving the problem of the transition from the family to the imperial power after the initial determination of the world, and the later result was that both directly challenged the imperial power. After Liu Bang's death, the issue of his inheritance fell into the manipulation of the Lü Hou clique, and the subsequent series of inheritances were inseparable from foreign qi, powerful ministers and eunuchs, and the Eastern Han Dynasty was a death spiral in which foreign qi and eunuchs calculated each other.
The prosperity of the early Tang Dynasty seemed to be a pattern of co-rule of monarchs and subjects, but due to the mobility of the civil service system, this co-rule was destined to not be maintained for a long time, and the randomness of the generation of imperial examination talents also determined that the combination of imperial examination talents and imperial power was only a combination of knowledge carrier and imperial power, not a combination of a stable group and imperial power. The Tang Dynasty was even the 9 emperors including Tang Muzong until the demise of the Tang Dynasty, 7 emperors were supported by eunuchs!
The yellow robe of the Song Dynasty was added to the body, and it was not in the right position, and it had to combine with the traitor and the divine right to maintain the stability of the regime. Because it is not a legal way to inherit the throne. In this case, the emperor needed to find other means to maintain the stability of the regime and prevent it from being overthrown by political opponents or opponents.
The Ming Dynasty initially formed the possibility of Zhu Biao and the Yuanxun clique co-rule, but as soon as Zhu Biao died, Zhu Yuanzhang completely rejected this system. Although eunuchs did not pose a threat to the imperial power, the separation of the civil service system and the imperial power made the imperial power empty, and the national government affairs were bound by the Taoist logic of the civil service system, which could not effectively solve practical problems. Historical imperial power required a specific ruling inner circle,
In addition to hiring officials, the Ming Dynasty also needed a specific mobilized group to fill the gap between the imperial power and the state executive power, and between the imperial power and the people. This group catered to the imperial power as a direct vassal of the imperial power, and the lower as the representative of the royal power, projecting the imperial power directly to a specific area of the imperial political and geographical territory, occupying key power nodes, thereby ensuring the directness and effectiveness of the imperial power, and resisting the dissolution and dilution of the imperial power by the huge administrative system. This group, though perhaps not active and conscious, is needed by dynasties and history to fill the gap between imperial power and state.
Now let's go back to the Qing Dynasty and why in the end they changed to a secret reserve system
At the beginning of the Qing Dynasty, the Eight Banners had more than 100,000 people, and after a long period of mobilization and integration, they became a force that could send officials and troops to all parts of the country and various power structures. This system has formed a dual management mechanism of imperial power and administrative power over the state, and it also reserves a greater game for the imperial power itself within the Eight Banners.
Because the Qing Dynasty came from the Xinjiang ethnic groups, the process of sinicization was full of attempts, including the system of heir to the throne.
When the Qing Dynasty had not yet entered the customs, the system of heir to the throne was very special. After the death of Qing Taizu Nur Hachi, Emperor Taizong of the Qing Dynasty inherited the throne through the election system of the Eight Kings. Although the Shunzhi Emperor Fulin was able to succeed to the throne by a compromise between Dolgon and Hauge, he basically succeeded to the throne using a selection system. The Kangxi Emperor inherited the throne because he had smallpox and had immunity, so Empress Dowager Xiaozhuang decided and obtained the consent of Shunzhi Emperor Fulin.
After the entry of the Qing Dynasty, China's ruling structure received an important upgrade, that is, imperial power and the eight banners ruled the world. Compared with the previous system of feudal princes and family worlds, this kind of state government ruled by the Son of Heaven and hired officials is of great significance in Chinese history. The emperor's control over the court and the empire was meticulous, and the civil servants were a screw in the structure of the empire's interests, and there was only one party in the world, unlike the Ming Dynasty. The inheritance of the imperial throne was based on the internal deliberative system of the Manchu Qing Dynasty, and the legitimacy of imperial power was quickly confirmed by the Eight Banners system, and the emperor himself no longer had to worry about the reliability of the imperial throne itself. The Eight Flags system has formed an excellent support and protection for the imperial power!
Despite the seemingly institutional rules, succession to the throne is still fraught with fierce competition and various contingencies. The slightest mistake can lead to a total loss. For example, due to the lack of a clear heir system, coupled with the sudden death of Emperor Taiji, Dolgon and Hauge competed for the throne, and if they had not compromised and chose Shunzhi Emperor Fulin to succeed to the throne, civil strife might have erupted. If this happens, the Qing Dynasty is estimated to be unable to enter China after the fall of the Ming Dynasty.
Of course, this is also because the Qing Dynasty had just been established at that time, and all aspects, including the system of heir to the throne, had not been determined.
Among the various attempts, the Qing Dynasty also tried the primogeniture system. For example, the Kangxi Emperor, the second emperor after the Qing Dynasty, was deeply influenced by Confucian culture, and he was more approved of the system of primogeniture. Therefore, he made his second son Yinren (嫡長子夭 early, Yinren actually the eldest son) as the crown prince in accordance with the first-born system.
Kangxi established the system of primogeniture, which was supported by Han ministers and some Manchu ministers who were sinicized. However, the Qing Dynasty entered the customs for only thirty years, and still retained many characteristics outside the customs, so not all ministers supported this system. This can be seen as an attempt by Kangxi to implement a policy of sinicization. However, Kangxi lived so long that his second son Yinren became crown prince and held the position for nearly forty years, and the conflict between him and Kangxi was serious, and it also triggered a fierce struggle between the princelings and other Aga opposition. Yinren was made crown prince twice and then deposed, eventually leading Kangxi to abandon the primogeniture system.
After Kangxi's failed attempt, the Qing Dynasty began to explore the reserve system again. After Yongzheng came to the throne, he learned from Kangxi's experience and took new measures to establish a secret reserve system. The crown prince was no longer publicly appointed, but the secret edict of the crown prince was placed behind the "Zhengda Guangming" plaque in the Qianqing Palace, and after the emperor's death, it was jointly dismantled by the imperial ministers. This secret reserve system is characterized by merit-based establishment, and it makes everyone in the world know that the state has a reserve prince, thereby stabilizing people's hearts. Compared with the primogeniture system, the secret reserve system is also more conducive to avoiding fratricidal killing between brothers for the throne.
The secret reserve system is indeed a major feature of the Qing Dynasty, and it has made a very meaningful attempt at the heir system. Compared with the eldest son system, the secret reserve system pays more attention to talent selection, no longer limited to family lineage, which is also to meet the needs of social development and change. In addition, because the secret reserve system does not openly appoint a prince, it can avoid the fight between brothers over the throne, thus ensuring the stability of the royal family and the peace of the country.
Of course, there are some problems in the implementation of this system, such as the possibility of competition and uncertainty among the heirs to the throne, and at the same time, more energy and investment are required for the education and training of the prince, otherwise there may be a shortage of talents. In addition, the implementation of the secret reserve system also requires a certain degree of political wisdom and power balance ability to avoid power struggles and political turmoil.
On the whole, although the secret reserve system is not perfect, in the historical background at that time, it was a relatively suitable heir system explored by the Qing Dynasty. The advantage of this system is that it avoids the internal chaos that comes with the competition for an heir, and it also avoids the premature involvement of the crown prince in politics, leading to a princeling-anti-princeling struggle.
The secret reserve system also maintained the political stability of the Qing Dynasty many times in later history. It fully reflects the innovative and enterprising spirit of the Qing Dynasty in the political system, and also has certain reference significance for the construction of the political system of later generations.