"Kangxi Dynasty" is a classic Qing Dynasty film and television drama, in this drama, in addition to chen Daoming played by the Kangxi Emperor and SiChenggawa played by Xiaozhuang, other supporting roles are also very outstanding. The highlights of the characters such as Mingzhu, Suo Etu, Zhou Peigong, and Li Guangdi are very prominent, especially the "stubborn old man" Yao Qisheng played by Teacher Su Yanshi, whose image is even more vivid.
However, since it is a TV series, it is inevitable that there is an artistic component in it, and many plots and history are not in line with each other. For example, Yao Qisheng's character image is far from the real situation in history, and his biggest "failure" is that after Yao Qisheng recovered Taiwan, the Kangxi Emperor rewarded him for his meritorious deeds and named him "Hangzhou West Lake Waiting".
Yao Qisheng was born as a man, but he was not a person who was designated by the Shunzhi Emperor as "never to be used", he started from Xiangshan Zhi County, Guangdong Province, and has always been a political envoy in Fujian. In the seventeenth year of the Kangxi Dynasty (1678), he was promoted to the governor of Fujian, responsible for platform matters. At the end of the twenty-first year of the Kangxi Dynasty (1682), that is, the year that Shi Lang sent troops to Taiwan, Yao Qisheng died of illness, and after his death, he was posthumously awarded the title of Shangshu of the Bingbu and the Crown Prince Taibao. That is to say, Yao Qisheng did not wait for the day when Taiwan was recovered.
Let's talk about Yao Qisheng's sealing of the West Lake. First of all, I would like to emphasize that this is not to pick the faults of the TV series, but to share with you some knowledge about the Qing Dynasty knighthood.
"Hou" was a title in the Qing Dynasty and had little to do with the official position itself. According to the practice of the Qing Dynasty, the title was awarded into three systems, namely the title of clan, the title of meritorious servant with a different surname, and the title of Mongolian knight. The titles of the clan are prince, county king, baylor, shell, etc.; Mongolian titles also have titles such as prince and county king, but on this basis, mongolian honorific titles will be retained. I think everyone is familiar with this.
The titles of meritorious servants with different surnames mainly refer to titles other than the Aixinjue Luo clan, such as the founding five ministers of the early Qing Dynasty, such as Eyidu, who belong to the titles of different surnames, and these titles have nine grades, namely Gong, Hou, Bo, Zi, Male, Light Vehicle Lieutenant, Riding Lieutenant, Cloud Rider Lieutenant, and En Riding Lieutenant. Moreover, the first six titles are divided into three grades, such as the first class duke, the second class waiting, the third class light car lieutenant and so on.
The Qing Dynasty was the Manchu people's Jiangshan, so there was special treatment for the Eight Banners of Manchuria, under normal circumstances, the most knighted titles were still the Eight Banners of Manchuria and the Eight Banners of Mongolia, of course, many of the Han army banners were also knighted. The Han people were knighted by no more than a dozen people in the Qing Dynasty, among whom Wu Sangui, Shang Kexi, Kong Youde, Geng Zhongming, and Sun Kewang were the highest, all of whom were princes.
However, these five people are obviously different from other Han people, they are the founding heroes of the Qing Dynasty, who have made great contributions to the Aixinjue Luoshi Jiangshan, and there are also many other Han people who have been enthroned and waiting, but they are basically subordinate to the Eight Banners of the Han Army.
According to Qing custom, non-military merits cannot be knighted. As a civilian official, no matter how good his political performance, wanting to get a knighthood is like ascending to heaven, Zhang Tingyu, the first favorite of the Yongzheng Dynasty, is senior enough, he is only a third-class earl, and later he was erased by Qianlong.
The first han Chinese to be made a marquis was Zeng Guofan, and after the Taiping Heavenly Kingdom Movement was suppressed, Zeng Guofan was made a scholar of Wuyingdian University and was given the title of First Class Yi Yong. Later, Zuo Zongtang recovered Xinjiang, surveyed the northwest, and was promoted to the rank of Marquis of Wenhuadian University with military merit, and was posthumously awarded the title of Marquis of Suyi of the First Rank.
Whether it is Zeng Guofan, Zuo Zongtang or Li Hongzhang, there are obvious marks on them, that is, military merit. With their position in the dprk at that time, they were only made a marquis. On the other hand, Yao Qisheng, a feudal official was only a political achievement, and did not have great military achievements, how could the Kangxi Emperor easily grant him a marquis?
What is even more inexplicable is that even if Yao Qisheng was made a marquis, he would not emerge as a "West Lake Waiting". The original words of the "Kangxi Dynasty" are like this, Kangxi said to Yao Qisheng: "On merit and character, I don't know what is good to seal you, so I will seal you as the Waiting for the West Lake of Hangzhou, and where there is a palace, I will also reward you." ”
The marquises of the Qing Dynasty were first, second, third, etc., and under any circumstances, the official title of marquis must be added to the rank, and must not be sloppy. Moreover, the marquises of the Qing Dynasty would be given names such as loyalty, courage, and sincerity that fully reflected the personality characteristics of the person being sealed, and they would never use place names or scenic spots as titles. Therefore, the Kangxi Emperor's canonization of Yao Qisheng as "West Lake Hou" is a great fallacy.