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Text: Tian Ka
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introduction
For Hurd, the world has mixed reviews.
At the end of the 70s of the 19th century, the Qing government's customs revenue reached 30 million taels of silver, four times that before he entered the customs.
But it is Hurd, who is quite honest in many people's mouths, that when he went on a business trip abroad, a rental reimbursement document had to make people think deeply.
Is Hurd's "incorruptibility" true or false? Why is it so popular in the world?
1. Who wouldn't like "high salary and incorruptible"?
The British media once said that Robert Hurd was a person who loved China very much. At first, he served in the British Mission in China, and later joined the Qing government after being favored by the Qing government.
During Hurd's 45-year tenure, he had a great influence on the Qing government. Of course, there are two theories about whether it is good or bad, one is that he promoted the development of the Qing government in the direction of modernization and efficient work, such as making a lot of efforts in navigating the lighthouse, the formation of the Beiyang Naval Division, and the management of customs.
(Robert Hurd)
He even spent three years learning Chinese to get to work faster, and wrote a book about China's imminent rise at a time when the Qing government was in decline.
And when it comes to his most famous, it is probably the "high salary" he mentioned when he was in charge of customs.
As the name suggests, the four words of high salary and honesty are used to raise honest officials.
In the Qing Dynasty, the salaries of officials were somewhat lower than those of previous dynasties. During the Kangxi period, Zhao Jing, the imperial historian, once said to the emperor that "the monthly salary is less than five or six days", and said that "the people who do not take it will be hungry and cold".
This is a direct reflection of the fact that accepting bribes has become common among officials. Including Li Ciming, a low-level official who later said that half of his income in the past 20 years was given by others.
Based on this, Hurd proposed a high salary. How high is this salary?
(Map of treaty ports during the Qing government)
For example, the annual salary of an inspector is between 600 taels of silver and 2,400 taels of silver, which varies according to different ranks. And at that time, even the lowest-level inspectors were paid higher than the six-grade officials.
Not only that, in addition to the high salary, HD also proposed a "pension fund" system. The longer you work, the more pension you get.
On the contrary, if corruption occurs in the course of work, it will be severely punished and investigated to the end.
As a matter of fact, after these people have taken the high salary, who will think of pinning their heads to the waistband of their trousers? Not to mention, there is also a "pension fund." Once misplaced, won't this high salary and high benefits be wasted?
(Qing Dynasty customs drawing)
Therefore, after the implementation of the system, most people are still relatively obedient, holding high salaries in a proper manner, and doing similar work as before. Occasionally, there are one or two disobedient ones, and Hurd will take it as a "killer and monkey".
In the 30 years since this measure was promulgated, the Qing government has not only discovered only five corruption cases, but because there is no corruption, the customs revenue has also risen several times more than in the past.
At that time, Hurd could be said to be a big celebrity in the Qing government, and the officials liked him because he proposed Gao Yulu, and the Qing government admired him even more, and even Prince Gong Yixin couldn't help but praise him again and again when he saw Hurd, and said: "If there are 100 more Hurd, how good it would be."
I have to say, who doesn't love such a person when he walks in the "workplace"?
However, when some other information about Hurd gradually came to light, the "real appearance" of Hurd caused a lot of discussion.
2. Reimbursement documents trigger "possibility"
This "true appearance" is also one of the reasons why some people do not recognize Hurd.
First, during Hurd's time in the Qing government, the Qing government was repeatedly invaded by foreign powers.
(Group photo of HD with foreign executives of Qing Dynasty Customs and their families)
Second, during Hurd's tenure at the helm of Customs, most of the customs laws he promulgated were almost "ultra vires", and he seemed to use a system similar to that of the British in terms of managing officials.
Finally, there are also some "unreasonable" aspects of Hurd's income, which makes people speculate whether the "high salary" he proposed is only aimed at others, not himself.
(Photo of Hurd as a young man)
In 1878, Hurd went on a business trip to France, and when he returned, he produced a rental reimbursement slip. What is puzzling is that although this house is a garden house and has been rented for half a year, the amount is too high.
The half-year rent is 50,000 francs, which is already higher than the rent of the Qing government's embassy in London. You know, the annual rent of the London embassy at that time was only more than 25,000 francs.
And what kind of luxurious house does this Heard live in, which is more expensive than the embassy?
Not only that, Hurd had previously mentioned that his annual income was 4,000 pounds a year, but in 1885, the year Hurd died of a sudden illness, he received an "olive branch" from the British government.
The British government may have seen his achievements in the Qing government, so it offered to give him an annual salary of 25,000 pounds to let him work for the British government.
(Hurd)
This salary is "unusually" high.
But Hurd refused, and the reason for his refusal was later accidentally revealed in the course of his correspondence with his wife. Speaking of this, Hurd said: It's okay to go, but the salary is not as high as before.
"Before" refers to the time when the Qing government was in charge of customs. In this way, his £4,000 annual salary is clearly wrong. And the Qing government will give Hurd more than £25,000 a year?
After all, the annual salary of 25,000 at that time was several times higher than that of cabinet ministers, even in the UK. So, who exactly "lied"?
(Standing Working on Hurd - Drawing)
Through these subtle details, it seems that the real situation of Hurd is worthy of our deep consideration.
Of course, some people may say that maybe Hurd has an additional "side hustle" such as running a business. So that he can have extra income every year?
This speculation is not impossible, but there is a premise, that is, he himself must first "break" the rule that he has set among officials that "no business" can be done. To put it bluntly, even if you want to do it, you can only do it quietly in private. Otherwise, wouldn't you slap yourself in the face!
(Hurd)
epilogue
Hurd's achievements in his 45 years at the helm of customs are true. But this does not ignore the fact that he himself does not have the possibility of "knowing the law and breaking the law".
As the formulator of the system, it is naturally very easy for him to find loopholes in it. Renting a high-rent garden house and refusing a high-paying job of £25,000 make people doubt the authenticity of his "integrity".
It is said that some capitalists who like to study will often like to check the reimbursement documents of their subordinates to find problems and explore human nature. So, will this be the case with Hurd's rental list? What do you think of Hurd?
Resources:
Historical Highlights|Robert Hurd, a Briton who has been in charge of China Customs in the late Qing Dynasty for 48 years, released by Customs, 2018-09-22
British media told the British man who was in charge of the customs in the late Qing Dynasty: his life was mixed and he had predicted the rise of China.Reference news,2018-11-17