During the thirteen years of Jinghua, Zeng Guofan moved as many as eight times, of which he changed his residence five times in only 20 years of Daoguang. With the passage of time, his living environment gradually improved, and the rent also climbed from the initial monthly rent of 4,000 wen to 8,000 wen, 10,000 wen, and finally 30,000 wen, showing a steady upward trend.
[No housing subsidy, renting needs to take into account decency]
In the Qing Dynasty, there was no subsidy for housing. Except for a few officials who were gifted by the emperor, there were two main ways for Beijing officials to solve the housing problem: one was to build or purchase it themselves, and the other was to lease it.
For most Han Chinese officials, renting is undoubtedly a more suitable choice. Because of the high mobility of Beijing officials, there are often people who leave due to promotion or old age, and there are often people who need to return to their hometowns due to the death of their parents, so there are not many people who can live in Beijing for a long time. In addition, there are a large number of guild halls and residential houses in Beijing that are dedicated to renting, and renting is undoubtedly the best choice from both the supply and demand perspectives.
One of the major characteristics of renting houses in Beijing is that they pay attention to the decent appearance of their residences; another characteristic is the high turnover rate of houses, which is mainly due to the fact that the tenants of houses in other cities are frequently changed due to the annual examination; moreover, the rents of Beijing officials are mostly concentrated in the Xuannan area, especially on both sides of Xuanwumenwai Street and the south of Caishikou.
[Pay attention to feng shui, rope craftsman alley into an official "blessed land"]
The fourth characteristic of Jingguan rental houses is that they are superstitious about feng shui and are very particular when choosing housing. Examining the residential history of Jingguan, we can find an interesting phenomenon: the rope craftsman alley (later renamed Caishikou alley) located on Caishikou Street was actually inhabited by more than 30 important figures in the history of the Qing Dynasty. From Xu Qianxue, Hong Liangji and others in the early Qing Dynasty to celebrities such as Li Hongzao and Zuo Zongtang in the late Qing Dynasty, they all lived here.
Zeng Guofan's northern drifting rental experience
❶ Rent accounts for half of the salary
Zeng Guofan's rental process in Beijing just meets the above four characteristics.
When he first arrived, he, like many Hunan Beijing officials, temporarily lived in Changsha Hall (Changjun Hall) in Xuanwu District. Three days later, he rented four rooms at the Thousand Buddha Nunnery on Nanheng Street near the entrance of the vegetable market, with a monthly rent of 4,000 wen, which was converted into more than 30 taels of silver for the whole year. At that time, he was alone and did not need a mansion, so he chose to live in the temple, which was both economical and suitable.
In the twentieth year of Daoguang, Zeng Guofan moved to Wanshun Guest House outside Nanguozi Lane on Luomashi Street due to illness. After recovering from his illness, he moved to a quiet small cross-courtyard in Jiajia Hutong at the south end of Guozi Lane, where the flowers and trees were sparse, which was very suitable for recuperation.
Later, as Zeng Guofan's father and wife came to Beijing, he began to look for a larger house. After many house visits, he finally selected a house in the north of Luomashi Street in Mianliu Hutong, with a monthly rent of 8,000 wen, and more than 60 taels of silver for the whole year, which accounted for half of his salary.
❷ Invite "Feng Shui masters" to help find a house
During the many relocations, there was a time when Tsang was clearly influenced by the concept of Feng Shui. In the twenty-first year of Daoguang, his friend Wang Jixian visited him at his residence. Wang Jixian is a famous "feng shui master", and he believes that the feng shui of Zeng's house is not good. Zeng Guofan was shaken by this and decided to follow Wang's advice to move as soon as possible. He put aside his business and looked around for a new home. In the end, with the assistance of Wang, he chose a new residence with good feng shui at the north end of Rope Craftsman Hutong, which is considered to be the most "vigorous", and only then did he feel at ease. Coincidentally, two years later he was appointed as the chief examiner.
❸ Reason for moving: official promotion, pomp and circumstance
More often, the reason for the move was related to the promotion of the official position of the Zeng Guofan and the expansion of the family size. With the continuous improvement of his official position, the requirements for pomp and circumstance are getting higher and higher. In the twenty-fourth year of Daoguang, after he was promoted to the attendant of the Hanlin Academy, because he added three daughters to the family and his son was also of the age of studying, he needed to set up a family school, and the number of servant women also increased, and the family had a huge amount of expenses. So, he moved again to the north of Xitou Road in Qianmennei Nian'er Hutong, where there were 28 rooms with a monthly rent of 30,000 yuan, which was "extremely spacious". This is the first time he has moved to the inner city to live, and the annual rent is more than 200 taels. In the twenty-seventh year of Daoguang, he moved to the north of Nanhengjie Road again, and his new house was more spacious and magnificent, and the rent was naturally higher.
During the thirteen years of the Daoguang period, Zeng Guofan moved eight times, including five frequent changes of residence in the 20th year of Daoguang alone. On the whole, his living conditions showed a trend of improving day by day, and with it, the rising rent, from the initial monthly rent of 4,000 wen, gradually rose to 8,000 wen, 10,000wen, and finally even as high as 30,000 wen.
It is particularly worth mentioning that in the twenty-first year of Daoguang, Zeng Guofan's residence underwent two changes. From the beginning of the year to July, he lived in Cotton Six Hutong, and his monthly rent at that time was 8,000 Wen. However, in August, he moved to Ropesmith Hutong, and the monthly rent rose to 10,000 wen. This year, he spent a considerable amount of money on rent and moving and decoration, spending a total of 97.87 taels of silver, which shows that life was not easy at that time.