Dai Quheng: A generation of famous people
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Wen | Shi Lusheng
Under the ancient imperial examination system, the first place in the first rank of the jinshi, is the highest achievement of the imperial examination that the reader dreams of. Not all the historical figures may not be able to achieve fame in the official field; but they can be famous for generations by virtue of their fame.
It is difficult to take the exam and it is difficult to go to the blue sky. When most of the leaders in history took this title, they were usually thirty or forty years old, and their intelligence and knowledge were at the peak of their lives. But there are also many people who have obtained the title at a very young age, and the iq value of such people is often close to 140, which is very rare.
At what age are young people in history when they attain fame? We pull and pull by dynasty:
The youngest champion of the Tang Dynasty was named Mo Xuanqing, a native of Guangdong, who took the first place at the age of 17, and he was also the youngest champion in the entire history of ancient Chinese imperial examinations;
Mo Xuanqing
The youngest champion of the Song Dynasty was Cheng Su, a native of Zhejiang, who was 18 years old when he took the first place.
The Yuan Dynasty imperial examination system is not representative and is ignored here. Jump directly to the Ming Dynasty: The youngest champion is called Fei Hong, a native of Jiangxi, who was 20 years old when he won the first place in the temple examination.
So who was the youngest leader of the Qing Dynasty? The youngest are tied for two: Yu Minzhong and Dai Quheng, from Jiangsu and Jiangxi, respectively, who were both admitted to the yuan at the age of 23.
Yu Minzhong
It is worth mentioning that the two youngest leaders of the Qing Dynasty, Yu Minzhong and Dai Quheng, turned out to be "master-apprentice" relationship. Why are "master-apprentice" relationships in quotation marks here?
Because they are not authentic teachers and students, but the relationship between the examiner and the candidate, because of this relationship, the general world also regards the latter as a protégé of the former. In ancient times, many of the nepotism in the officialdom of Kao Ershi were formed in this way.
There is a table about Minzhong, temporarily pressed not table. The protagonist of this article is Dai Quheng.
Dai Quheng
The Fujian Pinzang Tianxia Plaque Museum has an inscription plaque of Dai Quheng, which reads: "Jin Xuan Shimao". Xuan is a root herb that was often used in ancient times as a metaphor for the mother; "Tsubaki" refers to the father. Obviously, this plaque is used to praise the mother of the recipient of the plaque, probably a birthday plaque. This is not to be repeated.
Qing Jiaqing Ninth Year (1804) [Jin Xuan Shimao] Plaque Dai Qu Heng Title Fujian Pinzang Culture Company Collection
The point is that Dai Quheng wrote this plaque for one of his fellow countrymen. At that time (the inscription time of Jiaqing 9th year) Dai Quheng was very popular around the emperor, like the sun in the sky, but he was able to inscribe a plaque for a nameless fellow, which shows his deep affection for his hometown.
Since this is a plaque spawned by the feeling of fellow countrymen, let's also talk about Dai Quheng's hometown and life:
Dai Quheng's ancestral hometown was in Xiuning County, Anhui Province, but when his grandparents arrived, his family moved to Dayu County, Ganzhou City, Jiangxi Province.
In other words, the Dai Quheng family is a veritable Hakka. In present-day Ganzhou City, more than 95% of the population, their ancestors are Hakka people who migrated from elsewhere like the Dai family.
Speaking of the Dai family, I have to say that from the perspective of the imperial examination, in the middle of the Qing Dynasty, Dai Quheng's family, looking at the whole of China, can also be regarded as one of the top two imperial examinations:
Dai Quheng himself was the youngest ruler of the Qing Dynasty, and his father Dai Diyuan, his uncle Dai Junyuan, and his brother Dai Xinheng were all from jinshi. The name of the so-called "Xijiang Four Wears" came from this way.
Since Dai Quheng's father, uncle, and brother were all jinshi, they were naturally academic masters. Under the influence and guidance of the three xueba, it is conceivable that Dai Quheng is of course a fighter in the xueba.
In his early years, Dai Quheng lived with his father, who was an official in various places, and his ability to read naturally received true transmission. But when it came time for Kaokeke, he had to return to his hometown. The reason is simple:
The Qing Dynasty did not allow "college entrance examination" immigrants, and where you were from, you had to go back to where you were to take the (county-level) county examination, the (city-level) government examination, and the (provincial-level) township examination, and obtain the identity of a child student, a show talent, and a person, respectively, to be eligible to participate in the national examination.
So from the age of fifteen, Dai Quheng returned to his hometown of Dayu County, Ganzhou, and participated in the county examination and the hospital examination for three consecutive years, but all ended in failure. Why? Isn't his level good?
Of course, it is not a question of Dai Quheng's level. The real reason is that the main officials in the county do not know whether it is because the level is too poor to read the mysteries in Dai Quheng's article, or because this official does not deal with the Dai family, anyway, this chief official has eliminated Dai Quheng from the admission list every time.
Later, the candidates who took the exam with Dai Quheng could not see it: This person was obviously a genius in the year of chaos, why didn't he even give him a child quota? So everyone donated money to buy a show talent identity for Dai Quheng. At this time, Dai Quheng was qualified to participate in the provincial township examination.
Excellent old drivers are only on the race track to see the level. After Dai Quheng took part in the township examination, he was out of control: first he won the first place in the township examination; then the following year, when the Qianlong Emperor was touring Tianjin, he was called to participate in the examination and won a first place.
After the meeting, the Qianlong Emperor admired Dai Quheng and directly granted him the position of secretary of the cabinet, and from then on Dai Quheng entered the career path. After another year, Dai Quheng took up the military aircraft department and served as the military aircraft Zhang Jing, that is, the subordinate officer of the military aircraft minister. This year, Dai Quheng was only 21 years old.
Only twenty-one years old, Dai Quheng became an assistant to the Minister of Military Aircraft, what is this concept? Almost all of the major decisions of the imperial court were in his sight.
But Dai Quheng's more powerful is still to come. In the forty-third year of Qianlong (1778), he took part in the temple examination. This time, there were a total of 7 examiners including the main and deputy examiners, all of whom were Qing Dynasty champions, including Yu Minzhong and Wang Jie, which was the top exam. If you can achieve fame, the symbolic meaning in it is extraordinary.
Dai Quheng won the title. Under the eyes of the seven former champions, have they been admitted to the titles, and on the road of the imperial examination, is there any greater honor than this? Without. Moreover, after this examination, Dai Quheng naturally became a protégé of the chief examiner Yu Minzhong.
Of course, it is said that Dai Quheng won the title, it was luck to him: he was originally ranked second, but because the candidate who ranked first, his sealed scroll was too tightly sealed, and the examiner could not open it for half a day when he opened the file, and the Qianlong Emperor could not wait, so he ordered the candidate of the second file to be the first, which was Dai Quheng. Isn't that luck?
The rumors that "it is said", Noshiya, and Dai Quheng who won the title by luck are not true. Moreover, even if it is true, history only remembers the result: Dai Quheng's identity as a leader is thus sealed.
When He returned to his hometown, he naturally raised his eyebrows and exhaled. The chief political officials of Jiangxi Province, feeling the great honor brought by Dai Quheng to the province, specially named a stone arch bridge built in the Ming Dynasty "Zhuangyuan Bridge". This bridge is still a famous place name in Nanchang City.
However, Dai Qu Hengqi was the chief examiner of Dayu County at that time, "he did not know Taishan with his eyes", and repeatedly did not let him pass the county test, so many years later, he wrote an oil poem when he returned to his hometown: "Thirty years ago, the county examination was nameless, the provincial examination was nameless, the Taoist examination was no longer nameless, and the eyes of the people could not open their eyes; in the eighty days, the township examination was the first, the meeting test was the first, the temple examination was the first, and the blue robe took off the purple robe and returned." ”
As mentioned above, the historical imperial examination leaders may not all become political leaders, and later there are unknown people in the political arena. For example, Dai Quheng, after he won the title, the Qianlong Emperor did not use him more seriously.
Qianlong originally greatly appreciated Dai Quheng, and Dai's chief examiner, Yu Minzhong, was also a university scholar and military minister that Qianlong relied heavily on, and dai Quheng was even more favored by Qianlong.
At first, this was indeed the case: Qianlong also wrote a poem praising Dai Quheng and Yu Minzhong as "masters and apprentices" who were once-in-a-century talents, comparing the two.
However, in the second year of Dai Quheng's examination, Yu Minzhong died, and Dai Quheng's nepotism was broken shortly after he climbed. This matter must have an impact, after all, Dai Quheng is still young, and losing his "backer" will be much worse. One or the other.
Second, Yu Minzhong did not deal with his military minister colleagues and gentry before his death, and once the former died, he and The gentry, who had already monopolized power, naturally would not look at Minzhong's "protégé" Dai Quheng with a good look. Everyone on the earth knew, and the gentleman did not nod, and almost no one could be promoted in the Qianlong Dynasty.
Third, after a few years, there were rumors of Corruption in Minzhong's lifetime, and Qianlong was suspicious of it, and his favorability toward Minzhong declined, and even he did not have much good feelings for Dai Quheng. It was not until the fifty-first year of Qianlong that the Gansu grain supervision case broke out, implicating Yu Minzhong, who was in charge of the government before his death, causing the Qianlong Emperor to be furious and Yu Minzhong to withdraw from the Xianliang Ancestral Hall.
All of the above led to Dai Quheng not getting a decent promotion opportunity under the eyes of the Qianlong Emperor, and the position of military aircraft Zhang Jing, a powerless subordinate official, was done for many years.
In the sixty years of Qianlong (1795), Qianlong retired to the throne of the Taishang Emperor, and Jiaqing stepped onto the stage of history as emperor. Since then, Dai Quheng has ushered in a period of political fortune.
Jiaqing
Jiaqing, who had just ascended to the throne, certainly did not have any real power, and the power was still firmly in the hands of the gentry, and the emperor Qianlong was appointed as the "second emperor" of the emperor. However, he did not prevent Dai Quheng from participating in the preparation of some major imperial court celebrations, such as the drafting of ceremonial documents, in accordance with the will of the Jiaqing Emperor.
At the emperor's side, there are some things that do not seem to have real power, but have great influence and are very symbolic or politically allegorical. In Jiaqing's view, Dai Quheng was very important; the most crucial point was that Dai Quheng was someone that Qianlong could rely on and assist in dealing with the gentlemen in the future.
Four years after Jiaqing, Emperor Qianlong died, and the gentry lost their protective umbrella. As we all know, after dealing with Qianlong's funeral, the Jiaqing Emperor almost immediately launched the work of attacking and gentry. In the process of dealing with peace, Dai Quheng has been Jiaqing's right-hand man from beginning to end.
Since then, Dai Quheng has officially become a heavy subject in the eyes of the Jiaqing Emperor, giving and taking, such as the sun in the sky. It can be said that how gracious and gentry Qianlong was at the beginning, how much Jiaqing relied on Dai Quheng. The world even has doubts in their hearts: "Will Dai Quheng become the second gentleman?" ”
But the doubts of the world are superfluous. Dai Quheng is fundamentally different from Hesheng:
He Sheng obtained favor by saying good things, doing intimate things, and doing everything possible to make the Qianlong Emperor happy; and Dai Quheng was a completely "straight man" in front of Jiaqing, choosing things that were beneficial to Jiaqing's governance of the world.
Dai Quheng's starting point for Jiaqing was as follows: "The minister is not here to make you happy, to say good things to make you happy, to serve you; the minister is here to help you govern the world." ”
Couplets written by Dai Quheng collected by Fujian Pinzang Culture Company
Seeking truth from facts, Dai Quheng's bookish and angry thinking, if in front of the emperors of all generations, it may be possible that nine times out of ten will cause trouble, and the future of the high-level people should not be thought of. But he was born with good luck, and after the candidates spontaneously donated money for him to buy Xiucai's identity, and hit the big luck "from the second rank to the first" to obtain the title, he was fortunate to meet the Jiaqing Emperor:
The Jiaqing Emperor listened very well to Dai Quheng's words, and he could mostly listen to what the latter said was right; if the latter said something wrong, he laughed and did not blame Dai Quheng. The Jiaqing Emperor commented on Dai Quheng: "He is loyal to everything, knows everything, and says everything. ”
The above is the "straight" side of Dai Quheng's personality. In front of the Jiaqing Emperor, Dai Quheng only needed to ensure that there was no fear of killing his head and could keep the psychological bottom line: "It is a big deal to resign from the government and not to do it." In this way, you can achieve "endless words". Of course, the premise is that the Jiaqing Emperor can listen to it, if he can't listen, Dai Quheng will not say it.
The difficulty is that Dai Quheng also knows the "song" of being a human being. Among his court colleagues, Dai Quheng used "qu" as the guideline and hardly talked about the rights and wrongs of others. This is easy to think of, but it requires great patience to really do it. Only this is a model of a person who is high in the world, and it is worth learning from us today.
Because of this, Dai Quheng was able to stand firm in the political arena of the Jiaqing period for a long time. From Jiaqing's second year to his death, Dai Quheng held a high position as a military minister. From cabinet bachelors to Tirenge university scholars, from prince shaobao to prince young masters to prince taishi, Dai Quheng enjoyed almost all the political glory or treatment that the Jiaqing Emperor could give.
Of course, Dai Quheng is not without political risks. In the fourteenth year of Jiaqing, Dai Quheng was strongly impeached by the counselor Hua Jie for two reasons:
First, when Dai Quheng took the main examination, he recommended Hong Ying, a candidate from his ancestral hometown of "fellow countrymen," as the champion, and Hua Jie falsely accused him of cheating for personal gain; second, the big salt merchants found out that there were serious acts of violating the law and discipline and inflating prices, and his identity was Dai Quheng's relatives. Hua Jie believes that Dai Quheng is harboring Cha Youyi.
These two things, either of them, are difficult to argue with, and Dai Quheng is likely to fall. But later, according to the facts of the case, to a certain extent, it "proved" Dai Quheng's innocence; more importantly, the Jiaqing Emperor believed Dai Quheng as always, and did his best to protect him from being discredited.
In the sixteenth year of Jiaqing, the Jiaqing Emperor instructed Dai Quheng to accompany him on a tour of Mount Wutai, proving that Dai Quheng was still "his own person" in the eyes of the Jiaqing Emperor. However, during the trip, Dai Quheng fell ill and returned to Beijing first. Dai Quheng eventually died at the age of fifty-seven.
At Dai Quheng's funeral, the Jiaqing Emperor personally came to pay tribute to him. This shows that Jiaqing really has true feelings for Dai Quheng. After his death, Dai Quheng received the highest political treatment that a dead person had: to enter the Ancestral Hall of The Virtuous. Dai Quheng's life has drawn a satisfactory end.