The governor of the Qing Dynasty was the highest administrator of each province, but there were some differences in political status. Just like the current secretary of the Guangdong Provincial Party Committee, as well as the secretaries of the Beijing and Shanghai Municipal Party Committees, the status is slightly higher than that of other provinces.
So the 15 governors of the Qing Dynasty (mid-Qing Dynasty) can be divided into several grades?
The first gear: Shandong, Shanxi, Henan
Since the middle of Qianlong, the basic pattern of "eight governors and fifteen governors" has been formed in the country, that is, the governors and governors of each province have been established, and there are no longer special governors for things, and the total number is 23 (excluding Caoyun and rivers).
The situation of Shandong, Shanxi, and Henan provinces is relatively special, because of the proximity to Beijing, the imperial court did not set up a governor in charge of military and political affairs, but took the governor as the highest military and administrative officer.
Therefore, although the governors of these three provinces did not have the title of governor in name, they actually played the role of governor, which is incomparable with the governors of other provinces.
However, according to the provisions of the Qing Dynasty bureaucracy, the duties of the governor and the governor were different after all, and the relevant regulations clearly stipulated that the governor could not interfere too much in the local civil affairs, and the governor could not interfere in the local military affairs. In this way, the governors of Shandong, Shanxi, and Henan provinces were more embarrassed.
During the Yongzheng period, there was a contradiction between the senior generals of the green camp in Shanxi and the governor, and they did not listen to the governor's moderation. Because according to the order of the imperial court, the generals of the green camp are under the control of the governor, and the governor has no privileges.
In view of the actual situation in Shanxi, Yongzheng issued an edict to the governor of Shanxi and the title of admiral, and after that, Shanxi Province no longer set up a governor (the Kangxi Dynasty also abolished the governor of Shanxi), and the governor directly controlled the general army of each town. This is also the first time in the history of the Qing Dynasty that he held the title of governor and admiral.
Soon, the governors of Shandong and Henan provinces also held the rank of admiral, and with the rank of admiral, the governor had actually become the highest military and administrative chief in the jurisdiction. Therefore, the governors of the three provinces are in the first gear.
The second gear: Jiangsu, Zhejiang, Anhui, Jiangxi
Needless to say, these four provinces obviously have economic and cultural advantages. Guangdong Province, which now ranks first, was far less economically powerful than Jiangsu during the Qing Dynasty, and even Anhui and Jiangxi could not compare.
It is said that the taxes of the two rivers and three provinces account for one-third of the imperial court, and with the addition of Zhejiang, then there is almost half. There are data to prove that during the Qianlong period, the tax in Jiangsu was more than 9,200,000 taels, Zhejiang was more than 4,700,000 taels, Jiangxi was more than 3,200,000 taels, and Anhui was more than 3,100,000 taels, totaling about 19,200,000 taels, and the total tax in the country was more than 43,000,000 taels.
In terms of education and culture, these four provinces are far behind other provinces, and more than 20,000 Jinshi and 114 champions, Bangyan, and Tanhua in the Qing Dynasty are 80% from the four provinces, and the number of Jinshi is also more than sixty percent.
The Qing Dynasty attached great importance to scholars, and regarded their imperial examinations as the foundation of the country, and a large number of talents came from Liangjiang and Zhejiang, which could never be ignored by the imperial court.
In addition to the economic and cultural aspects, Jiangnan was also the most uneasy place for the imperial court, where the scholars had a strong sense of worship for the former Ming and were dissatisfied with many of the imperial court's initiatives, and the emperor had to win them over. This is also a major political task of Kangxi and Qianlong's six southern tours.
Among the governors of the four provinces, the highest status is still Jiangsu, followed by Zhejiang, and the threshold for the governors of Jiangsu and Zhejiang provinces has always been higher. Moreover, the governor of Jiangsu and Zhejiang is also easy to be promoted to the governor, and he is more advantageous in his career.
The governors of Anhui and Jiangxi, because Qianlong followed the example of the three provinces of Shanxi and the title of admiral, their gold content was improved, and they were slightly stronger than the governors of other provinces, but despite this, the overall status was still inferior to that of the governors of Jiangsu and Zhejiang.
The third gear: Hunan, Shaanxi, Guangxi, Guizhou
The governors of these four provinces are geographically far away from Beijing, and their economy and culture are relatively backward. In particular, Guangxi and Guizhou provinces are notoriously poor provinces, and their annual taxes are not enough for their own expenses, and they still need support from neighboring provinces.
In the era of feudal autocracy, economic backwardness inevitably affected the status of officials, and many high-ranking officials were reluctant to serve in these provinces.
It is an eternal iron law that the poorer the local people, the more difficult it is to govern, and these provinces are inhabited by ethnic minorities, and various civil uprisings often occur during the Qing Dynasty.
Although the governors of the four provinces should enjoy the same treatment at the legal level, their personal economic income and political status are much worse than those of the wealthy provinces. Therefore, it can only be relegated to the third gear.
Fourth gear: Guangdong, Hubei, Fujian, Yunnan
Those who have a little understanding of the history of the Qing Dynasty should know the concept of "supervising the same city". Among the governors of the provinces, the governors of Guangxi and Guangdong were stationed in Guangzhou, the governors of Huguang and Hubei were stationed in Wuchang, the governors of Fujian and Zhejiang were stationed in Fuzhou and Fujian, and the governors of Yunnan and Guizhou were stationed in Kunming.
Originally, the governor and the governor had their own division of labor and duties, but because the governor had a high rank, respected status, and was generally a banner person, the governor had the absolute right to speak in the case of the governor in the same city.
In addition, the governor was stationed in the same city as the governor, and the governor's originally limited military power was also deprived, and it was very difficult for the military and political governor of the province to intervene, and even civil affairs were under the supervision of the governor at all times, and it was difficult for the governor to let go of his hands and feet to carry out his work.
In the history of the Qing Dynasty, it was still common for the governors of the same city to be at odds with each other, and most of them were governors. It was not until Guangxu's later years that the governor of the same city was finally abolished, and he was appointed as the governor and governor.
The above division method is the personal opinion of the imperial history, and there will inevitably be a position that is not in place, so please forgive me if there are errors and omissions.