In China's long history, countless dynasties are dotted like stars.
However, the great wheel of history rolls forward, and the end of each dynasty seems to be accompanied by the immorality and confusion of the rulers. But in these chapters of history,
One dynasty stood out as unique – the Qing Dynasty, China's last feudal dynasty.
The rulers of the Qing Dynasty, they were not flawless, everyone had their own shortcomings and flaws.
But when we count these emperors, we find a puzzling phenomenon - among these emperors, none of them can be named "faint kings".
This is an outlier in Chinese history, and people can't help but want to delve into its secrets.
The emperors of the Qing Dynasty, they were either diligent and loving the people, or civil and martial arts, but in any case, they did not plunge the country into irreparable chaos.
From Shunzhi to Xuantong, every emperor seems to have an indescribable sense of responsibility and mission, even in the last years of the storm, they have never given up the protection of the country.
In Chinese history, the Qing Dynasty was like a bright star with its unique art of governance and the operation of imperial power.
It not only skillfully circumvented the common political traps of previous dynasties, but also left a deep mark on the end of China's feudal society with its exquisite institutional design and the diligent governance of the emperors.
In the political arena of the feudal era, the interference of foreign relatives, the dictatorship of eunuchs, and the division of local territories were like stubborn diseases, which plagued all dynasties.
However, the Qing Dynasty resolved these problems one by one with its unique statecraft.
Although there was no shortage of fierce competition for the succession to the throne in the Qing Dynasty, such as the famous "Nine Sons Seize the Succession", it was all strictly framed within the established rules, avoiding national turmoil and demonstrating the Qing Dynasty's superb control over the operation of power.
What is even more amazing is the secret reserve system of the Qing Dynasty, which is not only an innovation of the traditional bureaucratic system, but also pushes it to an unprecedented height.
The establishment of this system was undoubtedly the pinnacle of the development of the bureaucratic system in China's feudal society.
When we turn our attention to the diligent governance of the Qing emperors, it is not difficult to find that they all showed extraordinary statecraft and diligent spirit without exception.
In stark contrast to the emperors of the middle and late Ming Dynasty who indulged in pleasure and neglected the government, the emperors of the Qing Dynasty, whether it was Shunzhi, Kangxi, Yongzheng and Qianlong, all became models of governance with their diligence and wisdom.
However, despite the outstanding performance of the Qing emperors in governing the country, they failed to become models for the emperors of the feudal era, but left a mixed evaluation in the long river of history.
In the long scroll of China's feudal history, the emperors of the Qing Dynasty are like a group of bright stars, writing remarkable chapters with their wisdom and diligence.
Two-thirds of these emperors, with their extraordinary talents and foresight, were not willing to settle for mediocrity and strive to lead the country to prosperity.
Even those relatively ordinary monarchs are not incompetent, but stick to their posts and do their best to maintain the stability and prosperity of the empire.
The emperors of the Qing Dynasty, they did not have absurd rulers like the Ming Dynasty, and each of them, with their ability and diligence, left a strong mark on the history of Chinese feudal society.
This is extremely rare in Chinese history. Often, the founding emperor of a dynasty is the wisest, while his successors are gradually weakened, as was the case with the rise and fall of the Han dynasty.
However, the Qing Dynasty seems to have broken this rule, and the transformation of this process from the prosperous Kangqian Dynasty to the Jiaqing Dynasty and then to the relative decline of the "Daoxian Tongguang" is jaw-dropping.
However, when we take a closer look at the history of the late Qing Dynasty, we will find that even under the aggression of the Western powers, the emperors of the Qing Dynasty still did not give up their efforts.
Take Emperor Daoguang as an example, his thrift and thrift reached the extreme, and even left a good story in history about wearing patched clothes.
At the banquet for the queen's birthday, the main thing is just a bowl of lo mein. In that prosperous palace, Emperor Daoguang's frugality was unbelievable, and he even stipulated that the annual consumption in the palace should not exceed 200,000.
This was undoubtedly an extremely strict standard in the imperial palace at that time.
Emperor Daoguang's diligence and thrift were not without purpose. His goal is to support the anti-smoking movement ahead by reducing the palace's expenses.
Such a Daoguang is undoubtedly a holy monarch. The irony of history, however, is that it was during his reign that the Opium Wars broke out, which became one of the great humiliations in modern Chinese history.
This makes us wonder, can a person's character and talent really completely determine his historical evaluation?
In the long history of the Qing Dynasty, the name of Emperor Xianfeng was like a meteor across the night sky, although it was short but shining.
As the last emperor in the history of the Qing Dynasty and even China, his ascension to the throne was full of mystery, because he inherited the throne by secretly establishing a prince.
At the beginning of Emperor Xianfeng's succession, he showed extraordinary determination and reform spirit.
In the face of internal and external troubles, he did not hesitate to wave the banner of reform, trying to save the precarious Qing Dynasty.
He boldly employed Han bureaucrats, such as Zeng Guofan, and relied on his well-trained landlord armament to turn the tide and suppress the Taiping Heavenly Kingdom and the Twist Army uprising. He also promoted Su Shun, who dared to do things, to jointly promote the reform of the government and try to eliminate the accumulated evils.
However, the wheels of history rolled forward, and Emperor Xianfeng's efforts failed to turn things around.
His reforms, though heroic, were rewarded with a series of humiliating unequal treaties.
Emperor Tongzhi, who succeeded Xianfeng, was also wise and martial, and he supported Zeng Guofan and Li Hongzhang in promoting the Westernization Movement and striving for self-improvement.
And Emperor Guangxu was a monarch with lofty ideals, and he supported Kang Youwei, Liang Qichao and others to initiate the Wuxu Restoration, trying to implement a constitutional monarchy and revitalize China.
Emperor Guangxu was even willing to weaken his imperial power, this kind of mind and bearing is really admirable.
However, the torrent of history does not always flow according to people's wishes. Despite the heroic struggles of the Qing emperors, their efforts always seemed to pass away from victory.
From Daoguang to Xianfeng to Guangxu, they all declared war on foreign powers, but in the end they failed to change the fate of defeat.
This makes us have to feel that the spirit of resistance is important, but in the face of the tide of the times, the power of the individual is limited after all.
As Li Hongzhang put it, China was facing "changes unseen in thousands of years."
The strength of the ships and the swift delivery of the telegram made the struggle extremely difficult.
The warriors of the Qing Dynasty, such as the Mongol cavalry led by Zeng Lingqin, were brave and fearless, but in the torrent of modern warfare, their sacrifices were so tragic.
Li Hongzhang, an outstanding politician and military strategist of the late Qing Dynasty, was deeply aware of this.
In his eyes, the kings of the Qing Dynasty were not incompetent, and their intelligence and diligence were enough to achieve great things in any different era.
But at that particular historical juncture, they had to face a cruel reality - no matter how hard they tried, they could not change the general trend of history.
This is a great change unseen in a century, and an old world is being replaced by a new one.
The monarchs of the Qing Dynasty, they may be able to fight and reform, but in this torrent of history, their efforts seem so insignificant.
Their tragedy lies not only in their failures, but also in the face of irreversible changes in the times.
The Qing Dynasty was overthrown, not because of their own shortcomings, but because they lived in an era that could no longer adapt to the development of the new productive forces and production relations.
This is a historical inevitability, the arrival of a new era, destined to accompany the disappearance of the old era.
And those once glorious kings, their efforts and struggles can only become a footnote to history in the end, and become the material for future generations to remember and think.