Preface
In the face of the phenomenon of no official and no corruption in Chinese politics at that time, Emperor Daoguang adopted a series of anti-corruption measures in an attempt to eliminate the bad habits of officialdom. However, these measures have failed to achieve the desired results.
What kind of cancer is corruption? How does it eat away at the very foundations of a country? So, what is the cause of this?
The wind of corruption is raging in the government and the opposition
On the eighth day of the first month of the twenty-fifth year of Jiaqing, there was a thunderclap in the Forbidden City, and Emperor Jiaqing died. Aixin Jueluo Minning, who was only thirty-nine years old, succeeded to the throne as Emperor Daoguang. As a young new emperor, Daoguang was familiar with the various malpractices left over from the previous dynasty. In his impression, corruption is undoubtedly the most deep-rooted and shocking.
Corruption has reached a hopeless point during the Jiaqing period. From the central government to the localities, from civilian officials to military attachés, from high-ranking to low-ranking officials, corruption and perversion of the law and favoritism and irregularities are everywhere. Some of the big men are even more openly ostentatious, extravagant and wasteful, and live a life of extravagance and erosion. They do not hesitate to extort the people by all means, resulting in the misery of the people.
What's more, they also use the proceeds of corruption to honor their superiors in order to get promoted and make a fortune. This not only increased the burden on the common people, but also seriously undermined the atmosphere of officialdom. In the face of such rampant corruption, Daoguang was heartbroken. He believed that in order to revitalize the Qing Dynasty, it was necessary to start by eliminating corruption in the officialdom.
The investigation of "bad rules" has sparked controversy
In order to curb corruption, Daoguang sought advice from the Minister of Military Aircraft Yinghe soon after he ascended the throne, hoping to completely rectify the rule of officials. Yinghe immediately played a game, suggesting that the "bad rules" in various places should be investigated.
The so-called "bad rules" mean that officials will levy various surcharges on the people in addition to normal taxes. There are many names for these expenses, some of which are called "Don't Respect", "Ice Respect", "Tan Respect", etc., and there are all kinds of them. The officials explained that the imperial court was too low and the office expenses were stretched, and that without these additional revenues, the local government would not be able to function normally.
Yinghe's twists and turns stirred up a thousand waves. Emperor Daoguang felt the same way, and he immediately issued an edict, asking the governors and governors of various places to personally organize people and horses, thoroughly investigate all bad rules in their jurisdictions, and keep what should be preserved, and the rest should be abolished.
After learning of this, Zheng Jialin, the imperial historian, agreed with Daoguang's approach. He suggested that the matter must be presided over by the governor and governor in person, and must not be a mere formality, and Daoguang also approved it. In this way, in the jubilation of the government and the opposition, the action to clean up the bad rules kicked off.
However, this huge anti-corruption campaign soon ran into trouble. Officials everywhere have expressed their opposition on the grounds that bad rules are an unspoken rule, and if they are publicly recognized and legalized, they will not only damage the reputation of the imperial court, but also encourage corrupt officials to openly extort money.
Among them, the most opposed voices were Wang Tingzhen, the secretary of the Ministry of Rites, Tang Jinzhao, the servant of the Ministry of Officials, Sun Yuting, the governor of Liangjiang, Jiang Youquan, the governor of Sichuan, and Fang Shouchou, the governor of Zhili. Their main reasons are the same as above.
In the face of such a strong opposition from within the officialdom, Daoguang had to temporarily stop the operation to clean up the bad rules. In his self-examination, he said: "At that time, I was in the midst of forgiveness, and I had just returned to Beijing from the palace of Emperor Kaoren Zongrui Emperor Zigong, and my mind was in turmoil. This means that he had just succeeded to the throne at that time, and he did not know enough about the actual situation at the grassroots level to make such a decision.
The next day, Daoguang continued to examine himself, admitting that it was caused by his "carelessness" and almost made a big mistake. In order to appease the anger of the public, he had to dismiss the Minister of Military Aircraft Yinghe, who had proposed a clean-up of bad rules, and praised those officials who stood up against it, praising them for "daring to speak out and being loyal to the country."
Judging from this series of measures, Daoguang obviously chose to temporarily back down in the face of strong opposition from officials. As a young new emperor, his authority had not yet been fully established, and if reforms were forced, it was likely to provoke even greater unrest, which in turn would threaten his dominance. Therefore, he had to give in first in exchange for the temporary support of the officials.
It is difficult to curb corruption by severely punishing corrupt officials
Although the crackdown was met with strong opposition from officials, Daoguang did not give up. Over the next few decades, he continued to take a series of measures in the hope of curbing the spread of corruption.
Among them, the most striking is the severe punishment of corrupt and bribe-taking officials. In the twentieth year of Daoguang (1840), he ordered the investigation of Lu Xilin, who was then the governor of Jiangsu.
Lu Xilin is cunning and insidious, and during his tenure, he embezzled and took bribes, extorted money, and displaced the people. After investigation, his guilt was conclusive. In the end, Daoguang dismissed him from his post and investigated him, and seized all the stolen money and goods.
This is just the beginning. In the following years, Daoguang successively investigated and prosecuted a number of corrupt officials, including Lu Yongzuo, the governor of Huguang, Zhang Yuanji, the governor of Jiangxi, and Zhang Yuanji, the governor of Jiangsu. For these people, Daoguang has never been soft, once it is verified, he will severely punish them, take their property from their homes, and bring them to justice.
At the same time, Daoguang also issued an edict requiring officials at all levels to strictly observe the "Festival of Honesty." In his edicts, he repeatedly stressed that embezzlement and bribery are serious crimes and must be severely punished. Any official who is found to be corrupt, regardless of his or her rank, will be punished severely, and he will not be merciful.
In order to demonstrate his determination, Daoguang also personally presided over a number of trials of corrupt officials. The most famous of these is the "Corruption Case of the Minister" in 1844. At that time, Zhang Yinhuan, the minister of the Imperial Mission, and others took bribes when they were presiding over the river works, which led to delays in the project and poor quality. When Daoguang learned of this, he was furious and immediately arrested them and personally presided over the trial.
During the interrogation, Daoguang was uncharacteristically stern and aggressive. He questioned Zhang Yinhuan and the others: "As ministers of the Imperial Mission, you should do your best for the country and the people, why are you so greedy?
In the face of Daoguang's anger, Zhang Yinhuan and others were terrified and cried for forgiveness. But Daoguang showed no mercy and finally sentenced them to death.
In addition to severely punishing corrupt officials, Daoguang also took another measure, that is, to increase the salaries of officials. As we all know, the salaries of Qing officials have always been low, which is also a major incentive for them to take bribes. In order to solve this problem, Daoguang ordered the implementation of a nationwide system of "raising incorruptible silver".
The so-called "maintenance of honest silver" means that in addition to the normal income of officials, a special allowance is given to reduce their economic pressure. The source of this money was mainly obtained through the collection of "standing silver". The so-called "permanent silver" means that in addition to the normal taxes, the imperial court will also levy some additional fees on the people.
Although this practice has increased the burden on the common people to a certain extent, Daoguang believes that as long as the officials' livelihood is guaranteed, they will no longer engage in corruption and bribery. As a matter of fact, at the beginning of the implementation of the system of "maintaining honest banks," some results were indeed achieved, and the corruption situation in some localities improved somewhat.
However, the good times were short-lived. Soon, some officials were not satisfied with the "maintenance of honest silver". They believe that the money will not be able to meet their own living needs, so they still look for other ways to continue to embezzle and take bribes. What's more, they simply take the "incorruptible silver" as their own and regard it as their own private money.
Faced with this situation, Daoguang also seemed helpless. After all, he has no right to interfere too much in the way officials live, only to exhort. Therefore, although the system of "raising incorruptible silver" did play a role in the beginning, it soon existed in name only.
Donation to buy officials exacerbates corruption
In addition to the above-mentioned measures, Daoguang has also issued several decrees, requiring officials at all levels to strictly abide by the "festival of honesty and shame" and not to destroy themselves with corruption. In his edicts, he repeatedly stressed that embezzlement and bribery are serious crimes and must be severely punished. Any official who is found to be corrupt, regardless of his or her rank, will be punished severely, and he will not be merciful.
However, the actual effect of these edicts was not ideal. On the one hand, Daoguang's authority is no longer what it used to be, and many officials don't care much about his words anymore. On the other hand, the trend of corruption has become deeply ingrained in officialdom, and it is difficult to completely reverse it with a few empty words. Therefore, despite Daoguang's repeated shouts, the phenomenon of corruption still persists.
In Daoguang's later years, the financial situation of the imperial court has always been very stretched. This is mainly due to the rapid increase in population, the reduction of arable land, and the backward agricultural production technology, which have led to a significant reduction in the country's fiscal revenue. At the same time, military spending, river work, disaster relief and other expenditures are increasing day by day.
In order to make up for the fiscal deficit, Daoguang had to reopen the practice of "donations", which was to buy officials and sell lords. The so-called "donation" means that a wealthy person can obtain a corresponding official position by donating a sum of money. This practice was not uncommon in the Qing Dynasty, but it was abolished for a time during the Yongzheng period.
Now, Daoguang has to re-enable it. According to statistics, at that time, the income from "donations" could account for as much as 25 percent of the income of the household treasury, which was enough to make up for nearly half of the deficit of the financial departments at all levels. In the face of such a huge temptation, Daoguang was powerless to resist.
As a result, wealthy people from all over the country have come to buy officials if they have money. Most of them are speculative businessmen and nouveau riche, who know nothing about being officials, let alone being honest and self-disciplined. The purpose of their buying officials is nothing more than to seek rent and make profits, so who cares about honesty and integrity.
With the addition of these corrupt officials and corrupt officials, the atmosphere of corruption will naturally become more rampant in the officialdom. In some places, there is even a situation in which "no officials are not greedy." Officials are openly ostentatious, extravagant and wasteful, and live a life of extravagance and decay. They do not hesitate to extort the people by all means, resulting in the misery of the people.
Faced with this situation, Daoguang also seemed helpless. After all, he has no right to interfere too much in the way officials live, only to exhort. And his empty edicts are simply insignificant in the eyes of corrupt officials.
What's more, Daoguang himself had to participate in the ranks of corruption. In order to maintain the normal operation of the imperial court, he had to continue the practice of "donating", thus contributing to the atmosphere of corruption. It can be said that he is in an unsolvable dilemma on this issue.
In this way, the corrupt officialdom continued to spread and grow under Daoguang's rule. By the time of Xianfeng, the situation had reached a point of no return. After the outbreak of the Taiping Rebellion, the vast number of peasants responded one after another, which was also a strong response to the corrupt rule since Jiaqing and Daoguang.
epilogue
Corruption intensified under Daoguang's rule and became one of the important factors leading to the fall of the Qing Dynasty. This massive anti-corruption campaign ended in failure and became a history that makes people sigh.
It warns us that in order to eradicate the stubborn disease of corruption, it is far from enough to do it alone, and we must make concerted efforts of the whole society in order to truly eradicate all evils.