Emperor Qianlong had a career in horseback and established countless meritorious deeds, and was known as the "Ten Perfect Old Man". He reigned for more than 60 years, making him the longest-reigning emperor since the founding of the Qing Dynasty. Before his death, he repeatedly hinted that he hoped to get a temple name that reflected his outstanding achievements. However, soon after Qianlong's death, Emperor Jiaqing gave him the temple name "Gaozong". This temple name seems to be revered, but in fact it makes people question the deep meaning of it. Historically, many "Gaozong" emperors did not have a very high evaluation, does this mean that Emperor Jiaqing secretly belittled Emperor Qianlong? Or did Emperor Jiaqing only respectfully give Emperor Qianlong a temple name that reflected his high morality and respect in his heart? Is there still some contradiction or estrangement hidden between the two people? What kind of historical causes are behind all this?
Emperor Qianlong's meritorious deeds and temple number expectations
Since the Kangxi Emperor created the country, the Qing Dynasty has continued its foundation for more than 300 years. In these long years, Emperor Qianlong was undoubtedly one of the most outstanding monarchs. He has been brilliant since he was a child, and was appointed as the prince by Kangxi at the age of thirteen, and personally handled government affairs at the age of sixteen.
After succeeding to the throne, Emperor Qianlong was diligent and studious, tireless, and devoted himself to Zhongxing culture and governance internally, and had many meritorious achievements in expanding the territory externally.
In the forty-third year of Qianlong (1778), Emperor Qianlong issued an edict to write the "Ten Complete Records of the Imperial System", which summarized the ten major achievements of Pingzhun, Dinghui, Jinchuan, Jingtai, Burma, and Annam. This record was engraved on a stone tablet and recorded in four languages: Manchu, Han, Mongolian and Tibetan, which shows the conceit of Emperor Qianlong's own merits. The people of the time even praised Qianlong for his "cultural governance and martial arts, all-encompassing", and deservedly praised him as "a perfect old man".
In addition to his outstanding martial arts, Qianlong's achievements in cultural governance are also extraordinary. He was keen on poetry and writing, and personally compiled the huge work "Siku Quanshu". His poetry masterpieces have also been praised by later generations, such as "To Chen Jizhi" and "The Pride of the Fisherman", which are all classics. What is even more commendable is that Emperor Qianlong was still diligent and fulfilled his achievements in his 60 years of long-term rule, and never abandoned the government.
It can be seen that Emperor Qianlong has made outstanding achievements in his life, and he is really an emperor through the ages. On his deathbed, he hinted that he hoped to obtain a temple name that reflected his high merits and virtues, so as to show his status and influence in the history of the Qing Dynasty. However, the "Gaozong" temple name given to him by Emperor Jiaqing made people question the deep meaning of it, which caused a lot of speculation and criticism. What kind of historical reasons are hidden behind the choice of this temple name?
The reason why Emperor Jiaqing went to the temple number of "Gaozong".
Soon after Qianlong's death, Emperor Jiaqing gave Emperor Qianlong the temple name of "Gaozong". This practice has aroused a lot of criticism and speculation from both the government and the opposition. Why did Emperor Jiaqing give Emperor Qianlong such a temple name?
Some people believe that this is due to Emperor Jiaqing's personal grudge against Emperor Qianlong. Emperor Jiaqing, formerly known as Aixin Jueluo Minning, was the fourth son of Emperor Qianlong. When he was young, Emperor Qianlong excluded him from the list of heirs to the throne and instead appointed his younger brother Aixin Jueluo Min Yi as the crown prince.
This undoubtedly left a psychological shadow on Emperor Jiaqing. Later, when Emperor Qianlong died and Emperor Jiaqing succeeded to the throne, he may have a sense of revenge and deliberately gave Emperor Qianlong a temple name that seemed to be respectful but was actually degraded.
Another theory is that the reason why Emperor Jiaqing went to this temple name was out of dissatisfaction with Emperor Qianlong's rule. Qianlong was mediocre and corrupt in his later years, which led to the gradual decline of national strength. He favored Ho Shen so much that his power was too great, and his profligacy almost depleted the treasury. Emperor Jiaqing, as a new generation of monarchs, may hope to use this temple name to show the government and the opposition that he will start a new situation and change his course.
There is also a more neutral statement, which believes that Emperor Jiaqing did not have any malicious intent on this temple name, but only out of a kind of piety. According to tradition, the emperor must not be arrogant during his reign, so Emperor Qianlong hinted that he hoped to get a temple name of "Chengzong" during his lifetime. Emperor Jiaqing gave him the temple name of "Gaozong", perhaps just out of a sense of respect, hoping to show the high status of Emperor Qianlong in the history of the Qing Dynasty.
In any case, Emperor Jiaqing's practice of giving Emperor Qianlong the temple name of "Gaozong" did cause a lot of criticism at that time. Some people think that this is a disparagement of Emperor Qianlong, while others think it is a kind of reverence. There may also be some complex power struggles and family conflicts hidden in this, making it difficult to fully see the reasons for this.
Emperor Jiaqing's private opinion of Emperor Qianlong
Emperor Jiaqing gave Emperor Qianlong the name of "Gaozong", which seems to be revered but is actually degraded, and there may be some private opinions and contradictions hidden in it.
As we all know, Emperor Jiaqing's original name was Aixin Jueluo Minning, and he was the fourth son of Emperor Qianlong. When he was young, Emperor Qianlong excluded him from the list of heirs to the throne and instead appointed his younger brother Aixin Jueluo Min Yi as the crown prince.
This undoubtedly left a psychological shadow on Emperor Jiaqing.
It is said that when Emperor Jiaqing was a child, Emperor Qianlong was very harsh and strict with him. Once, when Emperor Jiaqing was playing in the palace, he accidentally broke a precious porcelain, and Emperor Qianlong was furious and beat him on the spot. Since then, Emperor Jiaqing has had a fear and estrangement towards Emperor Qianlong.
When he grew up, although Emperor Jiaqing inherited the throne, he also had many dissatisfaction with Emperor Qianlong's ruling skills and style. Qianlong was mediocre and corrupt in his later years, and favored He Shen, making him too authoritarian. Coupled with profligacy, the treasury was almost depleted. As a new generation of monarchs, Emperor Jiaqing hoped to change course and reverse the government.
Interestingly, shortly after Emperor Jiaqing ascended the throne, he ordered He Shen to be killed. This is undoubtedly a kind of backlash and revenge against Emperor Qianlong's favor and Shen. To a certain extent, Emperor Jiaqing's name of "Gaozong", which seems to be revered but is actually degraded, may also imply dissatisfaction and criticism of Emperor Qianlong's ruling style.
In addition, it is said that Emperor Qianlong hinted that he hoped to get a temple name called "Chengzong" during his lifetime. Did Emperor Jiaqing give him the temple name "Gaozong" also deliberately violated Emperor Qianlong's will? Is there still a shadow of some family contradictions or power struggles hidden in this? All this, we can only guess out of thin air, and the real reason is probably best known only to the person concerned.
The meaning and evaluation of the temple number of "Gaozong" in history
Emperor Jiaqing gave Emperor Qianlong the temple name "Gaozong", which may have another deep meaning. In order to solve this mystery, we have to go back in history and look at the meaning and evaluation of the temple name "Gaozong" in the emperors of all dynasties.
The earliest "Gaozong" temple number can be traced back to Wuding in the Shang Dynasty. Wu Ding was the twenty-fifth monarch of the Shang Dynasty and was revered as "Shang Gaozong". He governed the country diligently, making the Shang Dynasty strong again, and was known as "Wuding Zhongxing" in history. This temple number is undoubtedly the highest affirmation of Wu Ding's merits.
However, with the passage of time, the meaning of the temple name "Gojong" gradually changed. Liu Zheng of the Han Dynasty was posthumously revered as "Han Gaozong", but he was considered to be the "master of the Han family", which made the Han Dynasty turn from prosperity to decline. Although Xiao Gang and Xiao Tong of the Liang Dynasty of the Southern Dynasty were also posthumously honored as "Gaozong", they were all kings of the fallen country and were difficult to convince the public.
In the Tang Dynasty, Li Zhi was posthumously honored as "Tang Gaozong", but he favored Wu Zetian, which eventually led to Wu Zetian seizing the Tang Dynasty. In the Song Dynasty, although Zhao Gou kept half of the country, he was a vassal to the Jin Dynasty and was nicknamed "Wanyan Gou", which was really a great shame for the Song Dynasty.
It can be seen that most of the "Gaozong" emperors in history are not well evaluated. This temple name seems to have become synonymous with irony and disparagement. Emperor Qianlong, as a generation of Ming monarchs, if he was posthumously honored as "Gaozong", it would undoubtedly make people have a demeaning and ironic association.
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Interestingly, it is said that Emperor Qianlong had a very poor evaluation of Song Gaozong Zhao Gou during his lifetime, thinking that he was "shyly praised as Zhongxing, and he is also deeply contemptible". Emperor Qianlong even wrote poems for this, lashing out at Zhao Gou. Now, Emperor Jiaqing has given Emperor Qianlong the same "Gaozong" temple name as Zhao Gou, which inevitably makes people have a kind of ironic and demeaning association.