Text/Bureau of Knowledge of Everything
All of the information stated in this article is based on reliable sources of information and is detailed at the end of the article
China has a long history, and many people may not know about some historical documents, but they have only heard of it, that is, the Silk Road and Zhaojun's exit from the fortress that are often mentioned in some history books.
However, there are many people, things and scenes in history that we have never come into contact with, and the Yamen of the Governor of Liangguang is one of them.
Perhaps many people don't understand the meaning of this name, but in fact, more than 100 years ago, the Governor of Liangguang already existed.
The Yamen of the Governor of Liangguang was appointed by Emperor Xianzong of the Ming Dynasty to set up the Governor's Office in Wuzhou, Guangxi, with jurisdiction over Liangguang, so that it was also known as the Governor of Liangguang, which was the first Governor's Mansion in Chinese history, have you ever understood?
It doesn't feel very strange to see this person, but the two things he accomplished in history are worthy of praise for future generations, his name is Lao Chongguang, he served as the governor of Liangguang and Guangdong, and he also served as the governor of Guangdong, with great responsibility.
During his tenure, Guangzhou was in dire straits, and because Guangzhou was being occupied by the British and French forces at that time, the imperial court sent people to negotiate many times, but they were all in vain, until Lao Chongguang became the governor of Liangguang.
The first thing Lao Chongguang did was to deal with the relations between Britain and France, so that the people could return to a stable living environment, and the second thing was to send troops to suppress the Taiping troops in Liangguang, Hunan, and Jiangxi.
This is the picture of the officials during Lao Chongguang's tenure, and all officials, regardless of their official positions, have to go to visit Lao Chongguang.
That is, we are now commonly known as the "three fires of new officials", no matter who they are, they will first hand them over to listen to the admonition, and it will be convenient to manage them in the future.
Since he took office, the officials of the two Guangxi provinces have also been reined in a lot, and the lives of the people have initially improved to a certain extent.
This one was an important minister in the late Qing Dynasty and also the governor of Liangguang, Ye Mingchen, but unlike Lao Chongguang's exploits, his thinking was influenced by traditional culture, and his integrity was in place, but pedantry also followed.
Because of the advocacy of no war and no surrender, and at the same time not defending or attacking, to a certain extent, it also intensified the arrogance of Britain.
This photograph was taken after he became a prisoner of the British army, and was even held in a cage to be viewed, and he thought that he would be able to be taken to England for trial so that he could meet the Queen of England as a counselor.
But what he didn't expect was that because of the retreat, the British army was not afraid of him for a long time, and instead of taking him to England, he was sent to India.
Seeing this situation, Ye Mingchen knew that it was hopeless to see the British queen, so he began to refuse to eat the food given by the British army, and after 15 days of not eating water and rice, he died of hunger strike.
At that time, in China, which was suffering from internal and external troubles, such an approach was undoubtedly a kind of self-paralysis and sacrifice, which was meaningless and would not change anything.
At this time, Guangzhou was already in danger, and the Second Opium War was coming, and the state officials who were supposed to give advice to the country and the people were hiding in their own paradise and living their lives with peace of mind, completely ignoring the danger of the people and the turmoil of the country.
Keeping the old rules, guarding their own high wind and bright festivals, when Guangzhou is turbulent and when the people are suffering, they still firmly believe that it will not affect themselves.
However, this kind of thinking made the Qing Dynasty slowly decline, everyone only thought about themselves, and sacrificed the people at the front, lost the hearts of the people, and lost the world.
In the garden of the Liangguang Governor's Palace, several officials were sitting in the garden leisurely basking in the sun, and the silver taels issued by the imperial court at that time were also squandered by these officials, so that during the Second Opium War, there was no silver treasury in Guangzhou to allocate silver taels to remedy.
As can be seen from the photos, even in the situation of internal and external troubles, the officials in the golden wire cages will still spend a lot of money to repair and build gardens and houses, and the food and clothing are extravagant and wasteful.
At that time, the Gao Feng Liang Festival would be regarded as a false and serious person, and Guangzhou at this time could only be described as a poor livelihood.
The people who were repairing the road outside the Liangguang Governor's Mansion were passing by the officials in the repair area at this time, and they sat in the sedan chair without stopping for a moment.
And the configuration of these officials when they travel is even more extravagant than that of the royal princess, six to eight people carry a sedan chair, and a person will follow them, and chic and waste has become the label of officials.
At this time, the officials who were standing outside the yamen of the governor of Liangguang were holding foreign guns and bayonets, usually one on the left and one on the left.
And the content they are responsible for is relatively simple, the first is to ensure the security of the entrance of the government office, and the second is to play the role of a notification, generally people need to meet the officials in the government is they go to the court, and only after getting permission will people enter.
And when the officials have to go out, they will also be responsible for leading the horses or preparations, and behind this official is a British woman.
It stands to reason that if you are too close to the government and do not report to the official and find someone, you will be expelled, but it is precisely because of the turmoil in Guangzhou that the official errand at that time may not be as valuable as this British woman.
Prisoners in shackles were often seen outside the yamen, and their crimes were usually minor and their punishments were relatively short, so there was no need to be kept in a cell at all.
It is also relatively easy to see the expression of this prisoner, and generally this kind of prisoner who is directly detained outside with shackles usually does not stay for more than half a month.
Some even have only one day, waiting for their family members to come to bail with money, and then they can leave, while those who do not have family members who are released on bail will stay at the gate of the government until they are released from prison.
And their food is directly delivered to the door, and they can only sit and sleep at the door at night, which seems to be a relatively light punishment, but because the weight of the shackles is too large, it is very uncomfortable to eat and sleep.
In the Governor of Liangguang at that time, high-level officials would live directly in it, and at that time, the entire government office occupied a very large area, and the buildings assigned to an official may be a whole independent courtyard.
Therefore, the wives and children in the family will also live in it together, which is equivalent to their own home, which is similar to the current staff dormitory.
The four wives in the picture are the official wives, who attached great importance to the law of respect and humility at that time, so it is not difficult to see that the two official wives in the middle of the photo have a very high status, and their high status means that their husbands' official titles in the governor's palace are very high.
The women sitting on both sides, compared with the middle ones, are more modest and gentle in expression and demeanor, and are not so arrogant and domineering.
At that time, the daily life of the official's wife was relatively simple, either chatting together or sewing clothes, because there were servants to take care of them, so they did not have to do their own daily food.
The only thing that needs to be done by themselves may be the longevity noodles of the husband or children on their birthdays, or the Fushou dumplings that need to be done by themselves, and the rest of the time it is up to them to be happy.
Although she is an official wife, the idea she received from a young woman is three from four virtues, and the rich and noble families will also focus on cultivating women's piano, chess, calligraphy and painting and female red.
At that time, the patterns embroidered by women, even without templates, were vivid, and the front and back looked the same.
The officials are preparing the picture of the time of the order, at that time it is the same as the workers who go to work, and when the time comes, there will be direct leaders next to the name and position, and those who arrive on time will draw a circle, and those who are late will directly cross out the name, and the day's salary will be halved.
If you can't go because of your health sickness, you must send the housekeeper to the government before the start of the order, and bring the so-called leave slip.
Although it was said to be a leave, at that time, the emphasis was on people arriving until Yulu, so even if they were absent due to illness, the day's Yulu would be deducted.
This photo is the scene of negotiations with foreigners at that time, and it can be seen from the photo that there are many officials from the Liangguang Governor's Palace, gossiping about their demands, but only one foreigner is present.
In fact, this is not because the officials want to give the foreigners a threat, so there are so many people, but because the foreigners understand the situation at that time and know that the Qing court will not easily start a war with their country, and they don't even dare to tear their faces, so they will swagger and send only one person.
In the process of negotiation, the foreigner's sitting posture has always been in an offensive posture, and his arrogant attitude makes him better in momentum.
A group of officials in the Governor's Palace, they are leisurely enjoying their current life, looking at the camera, although a little vigilant, but also with a sense of playfulness.
At that time, many officials liked to hold a fan, not to enjoy the shade but to highlight their status and show their elegance.
is obviously a group of officials with power, but they choose to escape, as if as long as they are in the Liangguang Governor's Mansion, everything that happens in the outside world will not have anything to do with them.
But they ignore that their own lack of strength is the origin of being slaughtered by others, and if they can't change the status quo in China, then sooner or later they will be as pitiful and pathetic as the people on the cusp of the storm.
The picture taken outside the Liangguang Governor's Mansion is obviously in two states with the inside of the palace, which looks like a leisurely stability, but outside the palace is desolate and dilapidated, perhaps this has also foreshadowed the future of the Qing Dynasty, even if the inside is magnificent, and the outside has long been bleak and dilapidated.
Nowadays, the Liangguang Governor's Mansion has been rebuilt, covering an area wider than before, although there is no trace of the past in the current Governor's Office, but these preserved old photos will become the documents for us to investigate and demonstrate the past, and look at different things in different periods, which is the charm of history.