Tongzhi Emperor casual clothes reading portrait (partial), picture source network.
At present, the epidemic situation is suspended without stopping learning, and throughout the new month, many teachers and students have been baptized by online classes, such as few fish in the water, and most of them are miserable.
This reminds me of the study career of the princes of the Qing Dynasty, the difficulty of which is unimaginable to us today: from the age of 6, I went to the study room to study, got up at four or five o'clock every day to study, studied 10 hours a day, 365 days a year, only 6 days off, and the rest of the time was reading.
Kangxi Emperor reading portrait, picture source network.
Moreover, the daily curriculum was also stuffed with Manchu literature, the Four Books and Five Classics, the Bow Horse Riding and Shooting, etc., and the life before marriage was arranged clearly.
In more than half a century, the Manchus, from an ethnic minority that did not even have a written language, not only completed the unification of their own ethnic groups, but also realized the transformation from slavery to feudalism, entered the Central Plains, established a multi-ethnic strong unified feudal dynasty, and maintained rule for nearly 300 years.
All this has a lot to do with the overall quality of the emperors of the Qing Dynasty, even the emperors of the late Qing Dynasty, such as Guangxu, were relatively diligent and did not appear as absurd as the previous generation. And these are not unrelated to the Qing Dynasty rulers' emphasis on the education of the crown prince, especially the education of the upper study.
<h1 class="pgc-h-arrow-right" > the emperor's business education-oriented</h1>
Before the Manchu Qing entered the customs, the general trend of the world was determined. In order to cultivate talents and meet the needs of completing the great cause of reunification in the future, Nurhaci and his father and son set up wide schools and vigorously grasped the education of their own children.
They clearly realized that the Manchu national culture is much backward compared with the Han nationality, and if we want to unify the country and maintain long-term peace and stability, we must absorb the culture of the Central Plains and strengthen the education of our children.
Emperor Taiji once ordered: "Now the sons of the beylers and ministers are studying, so it is really up to them to learn, to explain righteousness, and to be loyal to the king." From now on, all children under the age of fifteen are ordered to study. ”
He regarded imperial education as an important part of consolidating his political power, and one of the duties of the Hongwen Academy, which was set up at that time, was to give lectures to the emperor and the princes and princes by university scholars.
Nurhachi statue
Emperor Taiji statue
By the Kangxi Dynasty, the country was gradually stabilized, and the education system of the imperial family was more and more perfect. In particular, the Kangxi Emperor himself was a university bully, and there was a record in the literature that he read "to the point of overwork, with blood in his phlegm". He himself often went to check the study of the princes, "in the leisure of listening to the government, he always gave instructions, recklessly or intermittently." ”
Yongzheng was also deeply influenced by his father, and in the first year of Yongzheng set up a Shang Shu Room (daoguang later called shangxue) on the left side of the Qianqing Gate, which was the place where the emperor worked, and the purpose of such a close distance was to "be close to the forbidden palace, so that the inspector could also be inspected".
In the film and television drama, the upper study, the source network.
The following year, the Yongzheng Emperor also issued a special edict on the admission of the crown prince, clearly stipulating the furnishings in the upper study and the ceremony for teachers and students to meet, and paying special attention to the etiquette of the prince to the master. In this way, the crown prince knew the etiquette of the master, and the master also taught wholeheartedly.
In addition, the Yongzheng Emperor also established a secret reserve system, breaking the original system of succession of the eldest son of the concubine, but adopting the system of "lixian not the concubine": under the same educational conditions, through competition to seize the throne, so that the matter of the crown prince was relatively fairly resolved.
The so-called secret storage system is that before the emperor died, he wrote the names of his approved heirs into two sacred decrees, one of which was placed next to himself, and the other was placed behind the plaque of "Zhengda Guangming" in the Qianqing Palace, and after death, he took it out for comparison and confirmation.
In this way, every prince may become an heir, and each of them must work tirelessly and diligently, develop and improve himself in a more comprehensive way, and strive to impress his father and emperor with his unique talents, so as to gain an advantage and a decisive position in the final battle for crown prince.
The first emperor elected through the secret storage system, the Qianlong Emperor, paid more attention to the education of the crown prince, and formally issued an edict in the forty-third year of Qianlong (1778), stipulating that the crown prince and grandson should go to the study room to study from the age of 6.
Under the careful arrangement of these emperors, the Qing Dynasty gradually formed a typical form of royal education - the study system.
<h1 class = "pgc-h-arrow-right" > Prince's Course: Manchu Literature, Bow Horse Riding Archery</h1>
The courses studied by the crown prince and grandson in the study room were first of all Manchu, Mongolian and other languages and literatures, and even sometimes Tibetan, Uyghur, etc., while the Chinese language was mainly the Four Books and Five Classics, hadiths, questions, poetry and songs, calligraphy and painting and other Confucianism.
Because the Qing Dynasty was "immediately under the heavens", it also attached great importance to the training of riding archery martial arts.
Ma Jinlin Lang Shining's "Spring Suburb Reading Juntu", source network.
Each prince had a "master master" in charge of teaching affairs, and the crown prince and grandson had to accept their strict discipline, and these masters were carefully selected from among the Hanlin officials, all of whom were knowledgeable and highly respected contemporary Confucians.
There are special chinese, Manchurian and Mongolian masters who are specially taught, generally on duty by several people, and all of them are outstanding in the subjects they teach.
Among them, Manchurian and Mongolian masters are also called "Chenda". "Inner Zhida" is also divided into "Inner Zenda" and "Outer Zhida": "Neizhuda" teaches Manchu and Mongolian, and generally has three people on duty in turn; while "Waizhida" teaches bow horses to ride and shoot, generally each prince is equipped with five, and manages the kurama and bows and arrows for him.
According to the "Yang Ji Zhai Series", "Or there are five people in total, Yunnei Zhida and Wai Zhida, and nei Zhida teaches The Manchu Book, and is selected by the Eight Banners translators; the Outer Zhida teaches bows and arrows, riding and shooting, etc., which are selected by the Eight Banners counselor and the Zuo Leader, and the day is straight." ”
In addition, each prince is also equipped with several haha beads" (Manchu, also known as "haha beads", Chinese translation as "boys"), they are selected from the children of the Eight Banners, mainly to serve the prince and the master's tea and other things, similar to the book boys, they are also on duty in turn, two people a day.
In fact, the most important teacher of the princes is the emperor.
The emperors and grandchildren of the Qing Dynasty grew up in the imperial palace and were largely isolated from the world, especially in their childhood and youth. Accompanying them were their parents, in addition to the eunuchs and servants who served them. Therefore, the first education received was the emperor's words and deeds, that is, the royal "court training", which was also a way of education that the emperors of the Qing Dynasty attached the most importance to.
The Kangxi Emperor lost his father at a young age and often regretted that he had not been taught by his father. In the edict to depose the crown prince in September of the forty-seventh year of the Kangxi Dynasty (1708), it was written: "The subject has been orphaned since childhood, and has not received the discipline of his parents, but with this thought in mind, he does not dare to slack off on God." In order not to leave such regrets to his sons, the Kangxi Emperor personally taught them.
After the Yongzheng Emperor ascended the throne, he and his brothers recalled the teachings of the Kangxi Emperor before his death, compiled them into a book, and named them "Aphorisms on Court Training", which involved maintaining manchu customs, respecting ancestors and filial piety, cultivating the right mind, seeking education with an open mind, being diligent and thrifty, educating future generations, studying the classics diligently, disciplining people, the way of raising oneself, and the common sense of life, which concentrated on the purpose and earnest hope of the Kangxi Emperor's godson.
▲ "Aphorisms of the Court Training", engraved by the Qing Dynasty, the first page has the words "Empress Dowager Cixi Imperial Reward, Guangxu Thirty Years, Bestow, Reward Dai Hua LingHu Department Right Attendant and Steward of QianFaTang Affairs Plus Three Grades, Minister, Dai Hongci". Image source Artron Auction.
The Kangxi Emperor paid special attention to the education of the crown prince, starting from the doll. He believes: "For the sake of the superior, the godson will be strict from an early age." That is, the child's education must be grasped from an early age and strictly disciplined. Those children who are pampered from an early age "grow up to be demented and ignorant, that is, more willful and vicious." This is not love, but also harmful."
In addition, the Kangxi Emperor also attached great importance to teaching by example. It was precisely because of his influence that Yongzheng would be so diligent in government, so attached so much importance to the education of the crown prince, and attached importance to the study. The Qianlong Emperor was also deeply affected by this.
In the seventh year of Yongzheng, the Yongzheng Emperor personally wrote an inscription for the upper study, and Hongli wrote a Gongji poem: "On November 21, the Imperial Father's Imperial Book 'Standing on the Basis of Sincerity, Reading with Clarity as the First', a couplet, the gift of hanging the study, in order to teach the meaning of the teachings." ”
The Qianlong Emperor also wrote an inscription on the upper study: "Reading the end of the canon is in learning, and yu Xi is single-minded." ”
<h1 class= "pgc-h-arrow-right" > Prince's Class Schedule: Strict work and rest, cold and hot</h1>
According to records, the emperor and grandson of the Qing Dynasty had to go to the study room every morning (3-5 o'clock) to start studying their homework, no matter whether it was cold or hot, they could not be absent.
The teachers generally start classes at midnight (5-7 o'clock) and can only leave at noon (11-13 o'clock), and special circumstances will be extended to the application time (15-17 o'clock). During this period, it is necessary to first learn Manchu, Mongolian and other languages, and then learn Confucian courses such as the Four Books and Five Classics in Chinese.
▲ "University Map", written by Lü Fu, a Qing Dynasty bibliophile, this is the map he made to facilitate the world to grasp the way of "University", and later introduced to the Qing Dynasty Imperial Palace. Equivalent to what is called a mind map today. Image source @ Huang Shi Gong.
In the afternoon, the content of the study is bow and arrow, riding and shooting and other courses.
During the year, only New Year's Day, Dragon Boat Festival, Mid-Autumn Festival, Longevity and their birthdays can take a day off, Chinese New Year's Eve and the day before are only when they learn themselves (9-11 o'clock), only half a day off.
In addition, unlike the previous generation of princes who read books just to make a show, the education of the qing dynasty princes was extremely strict, and the successive Qing emperors also attached great importance to the education of the princes in the study, often personally examining poetry, riding and shooting, rewarding the superior, reprimanding and punishing the inferior.
Such a stressful course and such a small number of vacations show how hard the reading life of the Qing Dynasty princes in the upper study was.
Guangxu reading like, picture source network.
However, the achievements under this kind of high-pressure education must be remarkable, and the talents must be born from generation to generation, especially in Han culture, and there are famous scholars born in all royal palaces. Like the descendants of the British prince Azig are good at writing poetry, Murhazi's great-grandson Selch is one of the leaders, and his poetry is fresh and magnificent, very northern poet charm, which is deeply appreciated by Shen Deqian at that time.
In addition, there are Wang Hongzhan of YongzhengziziZi, Wang Yongrong of Qianlongzi County, Yong'en the Prince of Li, Yurui the Prince of Fuguo, Depei the Prince of Jian, Yongxing the Prince of Cheng, Chong Lu the Prince of Zhuang, and so on, who have made very outstanding achievements in calligraphy and painting, science, poetry, and even natural science and music law.
In this way, the princes of the Qing Dynasty were relatively outstanding in terms of learning, insight, will, ability, etc., basically having the quality of becoming a prince, and the emperors selected from them were also relatively strong in their abilities, which was also a strong proof of the relative success of the education of the princes of the Qing Dynasty.
After reading the curriculum of the princes of the Qing Dynasty, I don't know how many of us who stay at home can stick to it?
Acknowledgements and statements
The pictures in this article are partly from the Internet, and they are invaded and deleted.
Reference articles
LI Qian. Examination of Education of Princes in the Qing Dynasty[J]. Lantai World(3): 40-41.
Shi Yujiao. A Brief Analysis of the Education System of the Crown Princes during the Qing Dynasty[J]. Silk Road, 2013(4):48-49.
ZHONG Zhuojun, LI Shufang. A Brief Discussion on the Study Room and the Education System of the Qing Dynasty Princes[J]. Journal of Jilin Provincial Institute of Education:10, 2013(4):129-130.
(For more content, welcome to pay attention to the WeChat public account "Beijing Traditional Culture Alliance" to understand)