On a map of China, Guangxi and Guangdong are two contiguous provinces. People in the two provinces also have similarities in appearance, language, culture and customs. Historically, in order to facilitate jurisdiction and promote development, the Ming Dynasty and the Qing Dynasty established the post of Viceroy of Liangguang. The governor of Liangguang was first stationed in Wuzhou, and then moved to Zhaoqing and Guangzhou in Guangdong.
Zhaoqing and Guangzhou are both in Guangdong, so why did the Governor of Liangguang relocate his residence from Zhaoqing to Guangzhou?
Historical background
During the Ming Dynasty, the management of the two Guangdong areas was chaotic, which added many hidden dangers to the society. In 1449, the prisoner Huang Xiaoyang "escaped from prison and gathered a crowd and attacked Guangzhou by tens of millions", and the momentum was like a bamboo. The Ming court sent Meng Jian to patrol Guangdong and returned the Guangdong army to support the thieves in Guangxi. Tian Zhenhua, then the commander-in-chief of the Guangxi Army, because the unrest in Guangxi had not yet subsided, transferred back Wu Yi, the deputy general of Guangxi, who had suppressed Huang Xiaoyang's army in Guangdong, without asking for instructions. Subsequently, guangxi "Xun and Wuyao chaos", Guangxi general Wu Yi asked Guangdong officials for support, and Guangdong deputy general Dong Xing excused the local unrest in Guangdong.
Above_ Yu Qian's side portrait
Shangshu Yuqian then wrote to Emperor Ming of the Ming Dynasty, asking Weng Xin and Chen Wang to take over the position of chief soldier, and then sent Wang Ao to supervise military affairs. After this, Liangguang had the first governor Wang Ao, and the governor's residence was in Wuzhou. Since the Viceroy of Liangguang was set up for the purpose of controlling chaos, in order to facilitate the Governor-General's inspection and control of chaos, the Ming Dynasty built two Governor's Platforms in Zhaoqing and Guangzhou. Zhaoqing and Guangzhou were the two garrisons of the later Viceroy of Liangguang.
In 1580, Liu Yaojie, the governor of Liangguang, moved the residence of the viceroy of Liangguang from Wuzhou to Zhaoqing. After the death of the Ming Dynasty, there were many uprisings and turmoil in the Liangguang area, and Guangdong was also harassed by the Portuguese. During the Kangxi Dynasty of the Qing Dynasty, Liangguang was again involved in the San Francisco Rebellion, and the society has been unstable. In this case, the Qing court set up the governor of Guangdong and the viceroy of Guangxi, hoping to better cope with the complex situation. Later, the viceroy of Guangxi was dismissed several times, and the viceroy of Guangdong remained. In the twelfth year of Yongzheng (1734), the situation in Liangguang stabilized, and the governor of Guangdong became the viceroy of Liangguang, stationed in Zhaoqing. In the eleventh year of Qianlong (1746), the governor of Liangguang moved to Guangzhou.
Above_ Ye Mingchen, the governor of Liangguang in the late Qing Dynasty
Zhaoqing and Guangzhou were the two important garrisons of the Viceroy of Liangguang. The two are in Guangdong and have many things in common.
Convenient for Guangxi and Guangdong liaison
In the long run, since the Governor of Liangguang wants to govern Liangguang, it is best to be able to contact Guangxi and Guangdong conveniently and quickly.
1. Zhaoqing
Located in the west-central part of Guangdong Province and southeast of the Pearl River Delta, Zhaoqing is the border city of Guangdong and Guangxi. In terms of transportation, Zhaoqing is the only place in Guangdong to pass through the southwest provinces. Zhaoqing had a post station in the Tang Dynasty. The Ming Dynasty opened the water and land post road in Zhaoqing, of which the waterway road from Zhaoqing Songtai Station along the Xijiang River to Humen Yi in Wuzhou Province was the main passage between the two Cantons. Xiao Yan's "Making The House of Loose Grass" believes that Zhaoqing is a city in Guangdong Province close to Wuzhou, which can play a role in concurrently controlling Guangxi and contacting Guangdong.
2. Guangzhou
Guangzhou is located in the south-central part of Guangdong Province, bordering the Pearl River Delta in the south, across the sea from Hong Kong and Macao. In terms of transportation, Guangzhou is bordered by the South China Sea, and there are three rivers in the territory, namely the Xijiang, Beijiang and Dongjiang rivers. Therefore, it is the "Southern Gate" of China and the starting point of the Maritime Silk Road externally, and it is also an important transportation hub connecting the cities of the East, West, South and North. With superior transportation advantages, if Guangzhou becomes the residence of the governor of Liangguang, it can get timely information about the situation of Liangguang and facilitate liaison and command.
Above_ Qing Guangdong full map
Cultural advantage
Zhaoqing and Guangzhou have a good cultural foundation, and both are the birthplace of Cantonese culture. The level of education is considered to be developed in the two Guangdong areas.
Take an example of Zhaoqing. In 851, the 17-year-old Zhaoqing native Mo Xuanqing was inscribed on the golden list. He was not only the first ruler of Guangdong Province, but also the youngest of the Sui and Tang dynasties. During the Ming and Qing dynasties, Guangzhou had 528 jinshi, inferior to Hangzhou and Suzhou, ranking tenth in the country.
In addition, the cultural facilities in Zhaoqing and Guangzhou are also perfect. Zhaoqing Duanxi Academy, enjoying the reputation of "the first school in Lingnan", is also known as the "Four Great Colleges of Guangdong" along with Yuexiu Academy, Yangcheng Academy and Yuehua Academy in Guangzhou.
Cities with a better cultural foundation are naturally more conducive to management. In addition, the Governor of Liangguang set up the Governors in Zhaoqing and Guangzhou, presumably hoping that these two cities would become models for the development of education in the Liangguang region.
The Governor of Liangguang, Lao Chongguang, served from October 1859 to October 1862
All are convenient to defend against bandits in Guangdong
A large reason why Zhaoqing and Guangzhou were able to become the residences of the governors of Liangguang was that the two places were convenient to mobilize troops to resist bandits.
One of the reasons why Zhaoqing became the residence of the governor of Liangguang was that officials were able to easily requisition the resources of Liangguang to resist bandits. In the last years of Jiajing, there were many bandits along the coast of Guangdong, and they often harassed the interior of Guangdong. At that time, the governor of Liangguang was still stationed in Wuzhou, but some officials had already noticed Zhaoqing. According to the Minghui Canon, "Because of the fact that there are Kou in Hui and Chaozhou, the viceroy was temporarily moved to Chaozhou, and the matter was peaceful, and the relocation was resumed to Zhaoqing." "Wuzhou belonged to Guangxi in the Ming Dynasty, two thousand miles away from Hui and Chao in Guangdong, and communication was not smooth. Zhaoqing is located in Guangdong, not more than a hundred miles away from the two places, and it is more convenient to requisition.
According to the actual situation, Han Fengshan, the inspector of Jiaqing Guangdong, believes that "the coastal villages in the Guangdong Sea can pass through the outside world everywhere", so Guangdong has many pirates. As mentioned earlier, Guangzhou is one of the most important transportation hubs in Guangdong and is not near the sea. In the event of pirate incidents, Guangzhou can use its transportation advantages to quickly dispatch troops, and because it is not directly near the sea, it has a certain buffer space.
Above_ The Qing army fought fiercely with pirates, according to the "Jinghai Quantu", collected by the Hong Kong Maritime Museum
Zhaoqing has many advantages, why did the governor of Liangguang change from Zhaoqing to Guangzhou?
1. The economic development situation is different
During the Kangxi Dynasty, Wu Xingzuo, the governor of Liangguang, established the Drum Casting Bureau in Zhaoqing. The Drum Minting Bureau is the official office where officials mint coins. Generally speaking, the Drum and Casting Bureau will be located in the ruling center of various places, so Zhaoqing can also be regarded as the "two Central Bank". It seems that the rulers of the Qing Dynasty once had high hopes for the economic development of Zhaoqing.
But in fact, Guangzhou's economy has developed better. Guangzhou's foreign trade has always been prosperous. During the Qianlong period of the Qing Dynasty, Guangzhou Thirteen Lines was the only foreign trade trading house in the Qing Dynasty. It has trade relations with Europe, Latin America, Oceania, etc., and the customs benefits are very rich, becoming the "Tianzi Nanku". In this case, if the governor of Liangguang had been more concerned about the economy of Guangzhou, the silver would have been able to enter the account. Therefore, Guangzhou later became the residence of the viceroy of Liangguang.
Above_ The thirteen lines of Guangzhou in the late Qing Dynasty
2. Security considerations
Guangzhou was an important hub for the Qing Dynasty to transfer foreign tributes and domestic goods. Due to the high volume of trade and the value of goods, many pirates did not hesitate to take risks to hijack. For example, during the Qianlong period, pirates mistook the patrol ships of the Guangdong Marine Division for merchant ships, so they killed the general Qian Bangyan. Pirates kill people for money, and even kill officials, which shows that there are problems in Guangzhou's social security.
The problem of piracy is only one of the problems, and Guangzhou is also facing the uneasy Portuguese colonial regime in Macau and the British, French and other colonists who are eyeing Guangdong. Faced with a complicated situation inside and outside, in order to ensure the safety of Guangzhou and even the Qing Dynasty, Guangzhou naturally became the residence of the governor of Liangguang.
Above_ The Governor's Palace of Liangguang in 1900
The establishment of the Governor of Liangguang has many benefits for the development of Liangguang. Some governors of Liangguang spared no effort in cultural construction. For example, Nguyen Yuan, the governor of Liangguang between Jiaqing and Daoguang, founded Xuehai Hall during his tenure and discovered and trained many talents in the Liangguang area. Some governors of Liangguang paid attention to the agricultural development of Guangdong. For example, Sun Shiyi, the governor of Liangguang during the Qianlong period, advocated reclaiming shatian in Guangdong, which promoted the solution of the problem of insufficient grain production in eastern Guangdong. More importantly, the Governor of Liangguang was able to mobilize the resources of the Liangguang region, making the two neighboring provinces dependent in times of crisis.
Author: Xia Zhen Correction/Editor: Lilith
Resources:
[1] Shen Dengmiao, "The Temporal and Spatial Distribution of Jinshi and Talents in the Ming and Qing Dynasties and Their Interrelationship"
[2] Yang Jingxiu, "Game and Balance: The Power Operation of the Viceroy of Liangguang in the Ming Dynasty"
The text was created by the History University Hall team, and the picture originated from the Internet and the copyright belongs to the original author