Preface
Have you ever thought that an emperor with supreme power would be in financial trouble? It may sound incredible, but it has happened in history.
From the prosperous era of Kangqian to the dilemma of Daoguang
The Qing Dynasty reached its heyday in the Kangxi, Yongzheng and Qianlong dynasties. The territory is vast, the national strength is strong, and the finance is rich, and it is called "the prosperous era of Kangqian" by later generations. However, in the Jiaqing and Daoguang years, the situation changed dramatically.
What was the reason for this change? Let's start with the period of the Jiaqing Emperor.
At the beginning of Emperor Jiaqing's ascension to the throne, he faced a serious financial deficit. This is mainly due to the corruption and malpractice of the previous dynasties. The big corrupt official He Shen is a typical representative of this. He used his power to plunder the country's wealth, which nearly dried up the treasury.
In order to turn the situation around, Jiaqing was determined to eradicate the corrupt elements. Eventually, He Shen was executed, and the "Great Purge" temporarily alleviated the financial crisis. Regrettably, however, this has not eradicated the trend of corruption.
In the Daoguang period, the financial dilemma resurfaced. Although the emperor was thrifty, he could not stop the deterioration of the country's finances. What exactly causes this result?
Feed a whole bunch of idlers
As the ruler of a feudal dynasty, Emperor Daoguang had to bear expenses that were not just his own personal expenses.
First, he needed to feed a large number of court officials. These people included eunuchs, palace maids, etc., although they were not directly involved in government affairs, but they were the emperor's personal attendants. Their salaries are expensive.
What's even more troublesome is that the emperor also has to feed a large number of so-called "royal members". Most of these people are idle, but they also have to receive a generous "condolence fee" from the emperor.
By the Daoguang period, the number of members of the imperial family had swelled to an outrageous level. Every year, Emperor Daoguang had to allocate millions of taels of silver to meet the needs of these relatives. This is undoubtedly a heavy burden.
Corruption is everywhere
In addition to feeding these idle people, Emperor Daoguang also had to face another thorny problem - corruption. This stubborn disease was deeply ingrained in feudal dynasties and was almost everywhere.
Take the example of He Shen, a corrupt official in the Jiaqing period, who used his power to plunder the country's wealth and was eventually executed. But even so, the trend of corruption has not been fundamentally curbed.
During Daoguang's reign, corrupt officials were still rampant. They seem to be a group of professional "interior decoration experts", always keeping an eye on the financial trends of the imperial court, trying to transfer the silver taels to their own pockets.
The main reason why these corrupt officials are so rampant is that their "cost of crime" is so low. When caught, the punishment is often insignificant. So, as if they had won the "welfare lottery", they continued their "small actions" tirelessly.
What is even more puzzling is that these corrupt elements can still get the acquiescence of the emperor. In ancient empires, the emperor often played the role of "rule by man", providing super bodyguards for these unpopular bad habits.
Therefore, no matter how hard Emperor Daoguang tried to clean up the corruption, this stubborn disease still lingered with him. This is undoubtedly a huge financial burden.
Natural disasters are frequent, and the financial situation is even worse
In addition to feeding the idle and dealing with corruption, the Daoguang Emperor had to face another thorny problem – natural disasters.
At that time, natural disasters were frequent, especially the flooding of the Yellow River. Whenever this happened, the imperial court had to use a lot of money to fight the floods.
During the Jiaqing period alone, it cost millions of taels of silver to plug the gap in the Yellow River. More than two of these silvers have been lost, and it is difficult to say how much of them were actually used to control the water.
To make matters worse, local officials sometimes take advantage of the corruption to profit from it. This has undoubtedly increased the financial burden and made the problem of the flooding of the Yellow River more difficult to solve.
It can be said that natural disasters are undoubtedly a huge financial black hole, constantly devouring the silver taels in the hands of Emperor Daoguang. This undoubtedly added to the situation and made his financial woes even worse.
The peasants revolted, again costing silver taels
In addition to all of these problems, the Daoguang Emperor had to deal with another thorny problem – the peasant uprising. These uprisings often stem from the plight of the peasants who lost their land. In feudal society, landlords, bureaucrats, and merchants continued to engage in "land annexation", which led to more and more peasants losing their land.
Without land, the peasants were reduced to tenants of the landlords, paying exorbitant rents every year. When faced with natural disasters or other unfortunate events, even the most basic of survival becomes a luxury.
As a result, these hungry peasants raised their hoes one after another and launched a huge uprising. They demanded a redistribution of land to solve the problem of food and clothing.
These peasant uprisings dealt a heavy blow to the Qing government. In order to quell these riots, Emperor Daoguang had to use a large amount of silver taels. According to statistics, during the Jiaqing period alone, the Qing government spent nearly 200 million taels of silver to deal with these peasant movements.
It can be said that these peasant uprisings were undoubtedly a huge financial burden. It not only cost a lot of silver taels, but also seriously affected social stability and put Emperor Daoguang in an even more difficult situation.
Daoguang's "Road to Thrift"
Faced with various financial difficulties, Emperor Daoguang finally chose a "frugal path". Not only did he drastically cut his personal expenses, but he also hoped that society as a whole would emulate his "austere" lifestyle.
In Daoguang's "Thrifty Competition", he can be described as a gold medalist. Not only did he cut his expenses to an ascetic level, but he also hoped that through his example, he would lead the whole society to live a "simple" life together.
Regrettably, even if Emperor Daoguang tried so hard, he could not eradicate the problem of corruption. Corrupt officials are still rampant, and the state finances are still precarious.
The thrifty emperor probably did not expect that his "treasury slimming plan" was actually an important signal of the decline of the Qing Dynasty. It's like an old camel that only needs a pusher to bring it down.
And this ruthless promoter is the industrial revolution from the West. While Daoguang was still desperately counting the copper plates in the treasury, the British had already erected chimneys and railways next door, preparing to stage a big "I am strong" drama around the world. The fate of the Qing Dynasty seems to have been doomed, and it will be crushed by this straw called "modernization".
epilogue
Emperor Daoguang's financial predicament actually reflected the end of an era. This was not only the decline of the Qing Dynasty, but also the difficult process of the transformation of the entire feudal society into a modern industrial society.
In the process, we have seen corruption, natural disasters, peasant uprisings, and other problems that have exacerbated the financial crisis. Even a thrifty emperor could not cure these stubborn diseases.
The difficulty of this transformation is also reflected in the Daoguang Emperor's inability to cope with modernization. When the wave of the Industrial Revolution swept in the West, he was still immersed in the traditional agrarian society and could not make adjustments in time.
In the end, this "poor egg" emperor also became a victim of history. His story not only reflects the decline of the feudal dynasty, but also indicates the end of an era.
This story may give us some inspiration: if both individuals and countries fail to respond to changes in time and adapt to the new era, it will be difficult to avoid the fate of being eliminated by history.