Many readers have written private messages to me, asking who was the most official among the Han courtiers in the Qing Dynasty? In fact, this question is too broad, if only in terms of official positions, it is meaningless. Because according to the Qing system, the university scholar is the highest rank of the civil official, and the Hanchen university scholar is like a cow feather.
However, we can compare several aspects such as official position, real power, title, honor, etc., but it is also difficult to determine who is the first, and the controversy is large. If you look at it in chronological order, you can list a top ten ranking list.
The first thing to explain is that the characters in the ranking list do not involve the early Qing Dynasty, because it is a university scholar who is not yet a zhengyipin, and there is no military minister. So the time is set in the Yongzheng Dynasty, to be precise, after the seventh year of Yongzheng. From the perspective of authority, the governor of the late Qing Dynasty was a dictatorship, so the local governor was also ranked.
1. Zhang Tingyu
Zhang Tingyu was a favorite of the Yongzheng Dynasty, the son of the university scholar Zhang Ying, and a Kangxi Dynasty official to the Left Attendant of the Punishment Department. After Yongzheng ascended the throne, he made great progress in his career, and successively served as a scholar of the Rebbe Shangshu, hubu Shangshu, and Shangshu of the Bureaucracy, and a scholar of Bai Bao and Dian University.
After yongzheng established the Military Aircraft Department in the seventh year, Zhang Tingyu became one of the first military aircraft ministers and formulated the rules and regulations of the Military Aircraft Department, although he ranked after Prince Yunxiang of Yi, but was actually the head of the Military Aircraft Department. Because of his diligence and prudence, he was deeply favored by the Yongzheng Emperor, and was later crowned as a count, and his will was entitled to the Taimiao Temple.
Zhang Tingyu was a courtier, but he did not have much dazzling place in politics, and he was mostly engaged in writing work. What is rare is that he became the only Hanchen of the Qing Dynasty who was worthy of the Taimiao Temple, and he ate royal incense forever, which alone could overwhelm the crowd.
2. Liu Tongxun
Liu Tongxun was an important minister during the Qianlong period, successively serving as the imperial history of ZuoDu, the viceroy of Caoyun, the Shangshu of the Ministry of Works, the Shangshu of the Bureaucracy, and a scholar of Baidongge University. In the thirty-seventh year of Qianlong, he served as the chief minister of military aircraft. Liu Tongxun was a pragmatic minister who was ordered to handle disaster relief and water conservancy projects in the face of danger many times.
Moreover, Liu Tongxun was also known for his strict law enforcement, and he handled many important cases in his life, and was deeply trusted by the Qianlong Emperor. The Qianlong Emperor was quite self-proclaimed, believing that he had no name for himself in the dynasty, but he had a heartfelt respect for Liu Tongxun. In the thirty-eighth year of Qianlong, Liu Tongxun died and was posthumously awarded the title of Taifu (太傅) with the posthumous title of Wenzheng (文正).
3. Yu Minzhong
Yu Minzhong is a lucky man in both the imperial examination and the official field, and he is 23 years old and the first. His career experience was different from the previous two, basically serving in the Hanlin Academy, and the highest position in the six ministries was also a waiter. But with his good luck, Qianlong was appointed as the Minister of Military Aircraft in the twenty-fifth year as Hubu Shilang, and thereafter he accumulated Hubu Shangshu and Jin Wenhuadian University Scholars.
After Liu Tongxun's death, Yu Minzhong was promoted to chief military minister. Because of his merits in leveling the size of the Kanegawa, it was shaped purple light pavilion. In the middle of the Qianlong Period, Yu Minzhong was the first powerful minister of the government and the public. However, after Yu Minzhong's death, due to the failure of his son and nephew to expose his corrupt deeds, he was ordered by Qianlong to withdraw from the Xianliang Ancestral Hall.
4. Dong Yu
Dong Yu was a famous Hanchen in the middle and late Qianlong period, successively serving as a Shu Jishi, a choreographer, a waiter of the Ministry of Works, a scholar of Dongge University, a scholar of Jin Wenhuadian University, and a minister of military aircraft. Dong Yu, Liu Yong and Ji Xiaolan were contemporaries, and although their fame was not as good as the previous two, their influence in the political arena was higher than theirs.
In the fifty-second year of Qianlong, The Prince Taibao of Dong Yujin, after the pacification of Taiwan and Gorkha, was listed as a meritorious hero and the figure of the Purple Light Pavilion. What needs to be pointed out is that Dong Yu is a clean and honest official, and he has always been incompatible with Hezhen. After his death, the Jiaqing Emperor gave a great evaluation, calling it "only the article is passed on to the nephew, and there is no currency to put the farm".
5. Cao Zhenyong
Cao Zhenyong was a major minister of the Daoguang period, successively serving as an editor of the Hanlin Academy, a bachelor of attendants, a shangshu of the Ministry of Works, a scholar of Wuyingdian University, and a chief military minister. In the Daoguang Dynasty, Cao Zhenyong was definitely a well-known figure, this grandfather did not have any outstanding political achievements, only by speculating on the emperor's thoughts, he was at the top of the civil officials, and one of the famous sayings he pursued was "less talk, more prostrations".
In that era of Wan Ma Qi, Cao Zhenyong led the general ministers who were only promised, and together with the Daoguang Emperor, they drunkenly dreamed of death, ignoring the crisis of the country and the suffering of the people, although he was still a clean and honest official, not a traitor, but also a veritable mediocre minister. However, such a figure actually figured the Purple Light Pavilion several times, and after his death, he was posthumously promoted to Taifu and was given the title of Wenzheng.
6. Penh Shih En
Pan Shien was the most blessed person of the Han Dynasty in the Qing Dynasty, he was 24 years old and the first, through the Qianlong, Jiaqing, Daoguang three dynasties, can be described as the elder and important minister. He was an official to Tobe Shoshu, a scholar of Takeeiden University, and a minister of military aircraft. In particular, he was favored in the Daoguang Dynasty, and was a central prominent figure along with Cao Zhenyong and Mu Zhang'a.
Pan Shi'en was an official, had no outstanding political achievements, and wrote a lot in his lifetime for his studies. This Xiang Ye had an extremely high life expectancy, at the age of 86, and indeed blessed, and people at the time evaluated him: the senior ministers of this dynasty, the five people who gave birth to the Taifu, the eight people who feasted on Qionglin, the eight people who were the prime ministers, and only Pan Wengong was also a prince. And the great worship is not co-organized, the cardinal court does not start to study, all of them are different. Rich and noble, descendants inherit martial arts, and the well-being of the public is only one person for three hundred years.
7. Zeng Guofan
Zeng Guofan is more familiar to everyone, when he was an official in Beijing, his career path was relatively smooth, and there was a saying of "seven moves in ten years". The six waiters almost turned in a circle, but in that era, it was not surprising that the erpinguan was not surprising. Zeng Guofan's origins mainly came from the later formation of the Xiang Army to suppress the Taiping Heavenly Kingdom.
Since the second year of Xianfeng, Zeng Guofan has been serving as an official abroad, and later the official resides as the governor of Liangjiang, controlling the military affairs of the four provinces, and worshiping Wenhuadian University. Unlike the above Han courtiers, Zeng Guofan had never been on duty at the military plane, so he could not be called the prime minister.
However, since the beginning of the Qing Dynasty, there has been a situation of decline in centralized power and the dictatorship of local governors, especially the strength of the Xiang army group has increased greatly, and most of the governors in the country are from the Xiang army group, so Zeng Guofan is considered to be the originator of warlords in modern China. Although Zeng Guofan did not serve as a military minister, his honor was not low, and after the reconquest of Jinling, he was awarded a first-class marquis and hereditary replacement. Posthumously presented to Taifu ( 太傅 ) , Tan Wenzheng ( 谥文正 ) .
VIII. Li Hongzhang
Li Hongzhang's situation was roughly similar to zeng guofan, and he also started with the Huai army. But unlike Zeng Guofan, his specialty mainly lies in diplomacy and foreign affairs. Li Hongzhang held the post of Viceroy of Directly Subordinate to him and Minister of Beiyang, the head of the feudal territory, and the official was a scholar of the Wenhua Temple, and also served as the deputy minister of the Navy.
Li Hongzhang's life was met with mixed reputations, but on the whole, Li Hongzhang played a positive role in the development of modern China, and it can be said that the diplomacy of the late Qing Dynasty could not be played without Li Hongzhang. Although he also did not serve as a military minister, people at the time and posterity liked to call him "Li Zhongtang". He also received many honors, such as first-class marquis, posthumously given to Taifu, and three-eyed flower plume, and Yuwen Zhong.
IX. Zuo Zongtang
Zuo Zongtang was also a member of the Xiangjun clique, and unlike Zeng and Li, Zuo Zongtang was not smooth on the road of the imperial examination, and only obtained the status of a person. However, Zuo Zongtang's military talent was extremely high, and he was also quite talented. In the suppression of the Taiping Heavenly Kingdom Movement, he made many military achievements, and was the governor of Zhejiang, the governor of Fujian and Zhejiang, and the governor of Shaanxi and Gansu.
Zuo Zongtang's greatest achievement in later generations was to recover Xinjiang and ensure the integrity of China's territory. After his achievements, Cixi issued an edict ordering Jin Dongge University scholars to be on duty in the Military Aircraft Department and briefly served as military aircraft ministers, so according to the saying that "university scholars who are not military aircraft ministers cannot be called true prime ministers", Zuo Zongtang was slightly higher than Zeng and Li. Similarly, Zuo Zongtang also had many honors, knighthood of the second rank, posthumously awarded the title of Taifu, and Yuwen Xiang.
10. Yuan Shikai
Yuan Shikai started in the military and studied under Li Hongzhang. He was an important figure in the political arena at the end of the Qing Dynasty, and as a descendant of the Huaijun concubine and Li Hongzhang' mantle, he organized and trained the six towns of Beiyang and became the first modernized army. In his career, Yuan Shikai was also an extremely popular minister, and the official was directly subordinate to the governor and the military minister.
At the same time, Yuan Shikai was a figure spanning both the old and the new era, not only a heavy minister of the former Qing Dynasty, but also the president of the Republic of China, and also served as emperor for 83 days. However, Yuan Shikai's restoration of the emperor made the biggest failure of his life and became one of the most controversial figures in modern history.
The above ranking is the author's personal point of view, the knowledge is shallow, and there is no academic value to speak of. Readers who have high opinions are welcome to correct them in the comments section.