Editor's note
What were the characteristics of Qing rule? Secret Politics! The emperors of the Qing Dynasty, represented by Yongzheng, used this dark line of rule to break the hierarchical structure of bureaucratic rule and concentrate power in the hands of the emperor alone. At the same time, the bright line is not scrapped to ensure the normal operation of daily administration. However, secret politics will inevitably lead to disadvantages such as administrative inefficiency, lack of openness and transparency in policies, suspicion of ministers, and lack of information.
Compared with previous dynasties, the characteristics of the Qing Dynasty's rule are, in a word, said: secret politics!
The secret politics of the Qing Dynasty revolved around the twists and turns. It is an original ascending document of the Qing Dynasty, and there are extremely strict regulations in terms of secrecy: it must be written by hand, no fake staff, and it must be written in a secret room; After the recital was approved by the emperor Zhu, it was sent back to the performer, and it should also be opened and read in the secret room; The original performer shall not divulge the content of the recital; Officials are not allowed to listen to each other's recitals and the content of Zhu criticism. The so-called twists and turns are actually secret letters written directly to the emperor by bypassing normal administrative channels, and in layman's terms, they are small reports. Small reports were inevitable in ancient and modern times, both in China and abroad, but only in the Qing Dynasty were small reports legalized and institutionalized, and became the main basis for the supreme ruler's decision-making. In other words, the operation of Qing Dynasty politics centered on small reports, which is unique not only in Chinese history, but also in the world. The essence of this is to break the hierarchical structure of the bureaucratic system, so that the upper and lower officials monitor each other, and only the emperor is accountable.
Red patent leather folding box, the appearance is rectangular, there is a gold-plated "play" word above the front, the opening is attached to the buckle hanging two, and the lock two and the key are added on it. For the sake of security and confidentiality, the fold is encapsulated in a box during transmission (Source: dpm.org.cn)
The carrier of secret politics, in addition to the twists and turns, also has the court mail. After being reviewed and approved by the emperor, the person from the person who came brought it back. Sometimes the content of the instructions is too long, it is dictated by the emperor, and after the minister prepares the edict, it is reviewed by the emperor, sealed tightly, and handed over to the military department by the post station directly to the official, which is the so-called court mail, the original descending document of the Qing Dynasty. Like the folds, the characteristics of the court are also strong confidentiality, and it does not go through formal channels issued layer by layer. The fold is a small report, and the court mail (including the Zhu Batch on the fold) is equivalent to the leader's approval. As soon as you go up, secret politics closes the loop.
In the political operation of the Qing Dynasty, there were two lines, one bright and one dark. The Ming one, with the cabinet as the hub, follows the public channels layer by layer, which is mainly reflected in the document as the title book (up, all go to the post station) and the Ming issued edict (publicly released edict). The establishment of the cabinet is the inheritance of the system of the Ming Dynasty, but its power is not the same as that of the Ming Dynasty. The cabinet ministers can only uphold the emperor's will, and there is very little room for personal opinions. The secret one is that through the recital and the court, the dictator can throw off the bureaucracy and directly command the majority of officials.
However, there are times when clandestine politics fails. For example, because of its secrecy, unlike the Ming Decree, which has clear legal effect, may encounter an embarrassing situation. At the beginning of the Hongyang Incident, the Qing army collapsed at the first touch, and there was a tendency to collapse. At the critical moment, Zeng Guofan, a scholar who returned to Hunan to guard filial piety because of his mother's bereavement, took up the case and saved the Qing Dynasty with one hand. In the seventh year of Xianfeng, he complained to Qing Wenzong Yixu: "The edicts sent by the ministers before and after to aid Hubei, Anhui, prepare ships and cannons, and clean up the river are all sent by the court, and have not been explicitly decreed. From time to time, there are ridicules from the outside, or it is said that the ministers are self-invited to go to the war, and they should not receive official salaries; Or if the minister has not been edicted, it should not be called the word 'Qincha'. "The court sends a private message to a certain official, instructing him to deal with something, and the other officials are red-eyed and unwilling to cooperate, so there is a reason: I have not received an official notice, how do you know what is going on!
Qing Dynasty painter Wu Youru painted "Tianjia Town and Qizhou Battle Map". In 1854, the Taiping army and the Hunan army fought fiercely in Tianjia Town and Qizhou, Hubei, and the Hunan army won this battle (source: chiculture.org.hk)
Similarly, due to the non-public nature of the recital, even if the emperor had already approved the proposal in Zhu's criticism, it still needed to be played publicly in the form of an inscription. Sometimes, the report of the same political affairs is sent at the same time as the inscription, and usually the report will come first. In the 38th year of Qianlong, about a major case, the governor of Zhejiang, Sanbao, first submitted the inscription, and only submitted it a few days later. The secret is that the emperor should grasp the situation as soon as possible before the bureaucracy.
During the Yongzheng period, on the one hand, the Qing Shizong Yinzhen promoted the twists and turns on a large scale, making it gradually replace the title book and become the most important basis for central decision-making, on the other hand, he did not intend to completely replace the bright line with the dark line, on the contrary, deliberately maintained the bright line with the cabinet as the hub, which was manifested in the promotion of the cabinet to the Zhengyi Yamen. The meaning of this move can be clearly seen through an edict in the eighth year of Yongzheng.
Yinzhen first explained that since there is a question book, why do you still need to play it: "The ears and eyes of one person are limited, and the affairs of the provinces are not known by the governor, or the governor is unwilling to speak?" Therefore, there are also Zhun Ti (admiral), town (general soldier), vassal (political envoy), and Zhen (according to the inspection envoy) with the purpose of folding things. That is, Taoists, martial artists, etc., there are also occasional. It is nothing more than listening and watching it publicly, and wanting to know the outside world. "The Admiral and the Commander-in-Chief are the highest commanders of the Green Battalion in each province, and their rank is roughly the same as that of the Governor and the Governor. Provincial governors, governors, admirals, commanders, commanders, political envoys, and envoys were the main body of officials who were qualified to perform during the Yongzheng period. In addition, there are also individual Taoist officers and military attachés below the rank of chief soldier who have received this honor.
Inscription, one of the main documents for ministers to report government affairs to the emperor in the Ming and Qing dynasties (source: cos.fhac.com.cn)
The so-called "public hearing and viewing" means that high-ranking officials in the provinces can expose each other, or express their opinions at higher levels, so as to firmly grasp the control in the hands of the emperor alone.
Yinzhen's genius lies in the fact that he knows that although he can bypass the orderly bureaucratic system and directly control every move of the locality, once the rational administrative hierarchy system collapses, the political operation will fall into chaos:
Those who are governors, after receiving Zhu approval, if they want to see it put into practice, they should have a separate copy or a decision from the Ministry of Counseling. If it is a vassal officer, it should be specified in detail, and after the governor has a title or a consultation department, and then it will be put into practice. If Dan has been forced to do it on the pretext that he has already done it, such as the expenditure of money and grain, the impeachment of officials, and the military affairs and local projects of Miaojiang, and so on, the governor can encroach on the power of the six departments, and the vassal can control the elbow of the governor. If it is practiced for a long time, it will cause evils and cause great harm, and it is necessary to prevent it from gradually.
The governor could bypass the ministry and contact the emperor directly, and the clever use of this system was that the Son of Heaven could monopolize power. If the governors of various localities only handle government affairs in this way, it means that the six ministries exist in name only, and the central organs are virtually non-existent. If they don't take the governor in their eyes, make their own opinions, and discuss political affairs with the emperor at a higher level, but the governor doesn't know about it, won't the local area be chaotic?
As early as the beginning of his accession, Yinzhen had a clear understanding of this. In the first year of Yongzheng, he instructed Huang Shuwan, the political envoy of Fujian, on the fold: "Although you are allowed to play a fold, you must not hold your boss hostage because of this, and you can't do it without body ('body' refers to the system of superiors and subordinates). If there is an irregularity in the governor, he can only listen to it secretly, and he cannot make a statement to one person. There is no reason for two governors in a province, and the power is not one, and the lower is heavier and the higher is lighter, and it is not good governance. …… The performance is infrequent, and I am afraid that the boss will be suspicious. Through the twists and turns, Yinzhen asked his subordinates to monitor his superiors, but subverting the hierarchical structure was something he didn't want to see.
Qing Shizong Yinzhen Zhu Pi fold, now in the "National Palace Museum" in Taipei (source: theme.npm.edu.tw)
Therefore, the edict of the eighth year of Yongzheng emphasized that although you have already sent me a private message, and I have approved it, I have to go through the formal procedures again. Depending on the situation, the superintendent will either submit the manuscript or negotiate with the six departments. The feudal lord had to report his thoughts in detail to the governor, and the governor would submit the title book or consult the six departments. Worried about the collapse of the administrative system is the first reason why Yinzhen loves the dark line, but insists on not abolishing the bright line.
He goes on to talk about the second reason:
The civil and military officials of the various provinces tasted twenty or thirty pieces in one day, or as many as fifty or sixty pieces, all of which I personally read and wholesaled, never lingered, and no one praised (assisted) on the left and right, not only there were no archives in the palace to check, but also no one in charge of their affairs, such as the secretary in the ministry, the pen and the scribe, many people, in charge of the books, reading the rules, and inspecting the original committee. I just have a momentary opinion, and I can approve it as I go.
The myth that "no one is on the right side of the deal" is a myth of his own omnipotence, but the risks of a monarch who sets aside the bureaucracy and rules the country on his own are real. The importance of archives is reflected in the fact that the administration of the state operates on rules and needs to refer to the way similar incidents have been handled in the past. Even if the emperor has three heads and six arms, plus a few helpers, it is impossible to replace a professional institution that has relied on archives for a long time. Yinzhen is very clear that his personal considerations may be very lacking, and he frankly admits that "according to a momentary opinion, he will approve as he comes."
The issuance of an administrative order has to go through layers of approval, which is cumbersome but also to ensure its reasonableness. While bypassing the bureaucracy, the succinct also bypasses the design of the system to prevent errors. Secrecy was a double-edged sword, freeing the emperor from the shackles of bureaucracy and controlling politics like never before, but it also exposed the emperor to a sharply increased risk of error in his personal decisions. The bureaucracy is a safety valve, and abandoning it is tantamount to self-destruction. The purpose of going through the formal procedures is to let the relevant departments play the role of gatekeepers and avoid mistakes in decision-making.
Qing Dynasty cabinet question book handling process diagram, the main links are: the provincial question book sent to the cabinet, the cabinet to write a vote (processing opinions), the title book signed to the emperor to read the instructions, the internal affairs office will be approved by the emperor Zhu signature (instructions) to the cabinet approval office for approval, and finally, the approved red question book (red book) into the copy implementation stage (source: cos.fhac.com.cn)
In order to prevent the failure of the safety valve, "this chapter is not allowed to be introduced in any compromise and criticism, so as to coerce the subordinates and subordinates." When supervising the manuscript or negotiating with the six ministries, the emperor's instructions must not be disclosed. The reason is very simple, the emperor agreed, who would dare to say nothing? The so-called "coercion of ministers" is because they are worried that the governor will "panic the ministers and the nine ministers in the name of the holy decree, and make people dare not speak", so that the monarch's wrong decision will lose the opportunity to correct it. This is not Yinzhen's intention to give up dictatorship, but an inevitable requirement to ensure administrative rationality.
At the end of the edict, there was a warning to the local officials: "If the governor of the town and others fools the subordinates and acts as a prestige, the quasi-subordinate shall report the truth, or the ministry or the Metropolitan Procuratorate, and then report it." If the subordinates use this to hold their superiors hostage and act recklessly, they will participate in the performance according to the facts. In the same way that the emperor used the trick to undermine the existing system and establish personal authority, local officials could also use Zhu Pi to break through the restrictions of the system and seek personal gain. Yinzhen understands that although secret politics has strengthened dictators, failure to control them is tantamount to self-immolation.
The confidentiality of the fold also poses another potential risk. A few days after Yinzhen succeeded to the throne, he issued an edict:
The generals in front of the army (front), the governors of the provinces, Futi Town, etc., all the imperial examination Zhu criticism decrees (i.e., Zhu criticism) are respectfully sealed and submitted. If it is copied, kept, concealed, or burned, it is discovered later, and it is not forgiven, and the punishment is severe. The ministers and officials of the Manchu and Han dynasties in Beijing, all events have the imperial examination and Zhu's decree, and they are also respectfully sealed and submitted. If it is not investigated now, if there are unscrupulous people who accuse the purpose of the imperial examination in the future, fabricate and act, and there is no evidence, it will have a great deal to do with the imperial examination. After that, I will approve the secret decree and pay it in, and I shall not copy it and keep it.
During the Kangxi period, the system of retaining copies of the transcription of the military aircraft department has not yet been established, and the only top-secret document in the world, because of the existence of Zhu Pi, has huge potential energy, once it is used by "unscrupulous people", the consequences are unimaginable. If someone forges Zhu Pi, there is no way to distinguish the real from the fake. The Yongzheng Dynasty established a system of recording and deputy, but the copies were hidden deep in the palace and were only for decision-making reference, which was not enough to prevent local governments from taking advantage of this to deceive. Therefore, as soon as Yinzhen came to power, he took the recycling of the fold as a top priority.
In the forty-third year of Qianlong (1778), Shengjing General Hongsheng played a transcript, which is now in the "Palace Museum" in Taipei (source: theme.npm.edu.tw)
In short, the normal operation of day-to-day administration depends on open and transparent rules, and the secret politics of the deputies of the court is precisely the destruction of the rules. In order to concentrate power in his hands, Yinzhen relied on these unruly rules. In order to prevent the disastrous consequences of the dark line, he elevated the rank of the cabinet to maintain the authority of the bright line, although this greatly reduced the already very low administrative efficiency of the Qing dynasty.
The secrecy of the folds was maintained until the late Qing Dynasty. On the first day of the first month of the second year of Xianfeng, Zeng Guofan, a waiter of the Criminal Department, wrote in his diary: "Because I heard the rumors in the morning, the gentlemen in the same hall of the Criminal Department suspected that I had participated in the impeachment of the Criminal Department last year, and I was unhappy for one day. On weekdays, he didn't see anyone who believed it, so he attracted this group of suspicions and slandered him. Tsang's colleagues suspected him of speaking ill of them in the recital. The embarrassment is that Zeng Guofan can't defend himself, otherwise it would be a leak. He introspected and thought that he was not honest enough in his dealings with people on weekdays, which would lead to rumors, which was good, but on the other hand, making the ministers suspicious of each other was one of the goals that the Qing Emperor hoped to achieve through the twists and turns.
After the British and French forces burned the Old Summer Palace, Jiang Qiling, the newly outgoing Shuntianfu Yin Jiang Qiling, wrote the "Twelve Strategies for Zhongxing", which mentioned: "Since Mu Zhang'a, Zaiyuan (respectively Daoguang and Xianfeng Dynasty's ministers who were reused) and other countries, the government is no matter how big or small, entrusted to secrets, and often kept secrets. …… Gengshen's change (Xianfeng's 10th year of Anglo-French alliance invasion of Beijing), Kou was in the country, and Judah was a secret. If the courtiers occasionally make a statement, they will ask where they came from and who they got from, so that the Manchu dynasty stammered and tamed to the point of migration. Fortunately, there is still no explicit edict to tell the sea. The husband is so extreme, how can he hide it, and let the rumors and different words be shocked, far and near. "When the imperialist soldiers approached the city, the imperial court not only concealed the truth from the people, but even occasionally mentioned the matter in a letter, but was also severely reprimanded and labeled as spreading rumors. Qing Wenzong Yixu threw down the Manchu officials and fled to Chengde under the escort of his cronies, and after his safety was guaranteed, he did not publicly release the news to inform the officials and people of the whole country. No one in the whole country, except for a few high-ranking officials, knew the exact information about the political situation and the emperor himself. Things have come to such a point that the official does not provide reliable information, which will only cause rumors to fly everywhere and the whole society to fall into panic.
In October 1860, British and French troops looted and burned the Old Summer Palace (source: passerelles.essentiels.bnf.fr)
The root cause of this situation lies in secret politics. His subordinates mainly reported the situation in a memorabilia and did not make it public, and the emperor's decision was also basically issued through Zhu Approval or the Imperial Court. The vast majority of officials can only obtain information through various informal channels, and there is no guarantee of reliability. Under such circumstances, although the ministers had the intention to make suggestions for the country and solve problems, "they did not dare to use rumors as unfounded talk, and they were even more afraid that they would be punished for leakage", they were not only afraid that the information would be inaccurate and delay the country's major affairs, but they were also afraid that they would be punished for leaking secrets.
Jiang Qiling sighed: "Mrs. Chen's body, she did not hesitate to break her head in order to be beneficial, but fortunately, she broke the threshold and dragged it, and finally realized that although this body had made an accident, she was good enough to masturbate." If you sit for personal sin first, and start a big prison, affect friends, and involve innocents, then it will be useless to say anything, who is not discouraged and stammering? This Gengshen change, so there is no batch of scales in advance, saving words, not all the courtiers are unscrupulous, and the crime of carrying the wall and Duanhua robbery is not punishable. "If the scholar is able to make the monarch recognize the situation and make the right decision, he will be willing to do so even at the risk of angering the Son of Heaven and causing death. But now, as long as we talk about the current situation, whether it is right or wrong, we must first investigate the issue of leaks, not only ending up in prison, but also tracking down the source, and involving many innocent people such as relatives and friends. This time Beijing fell, not a single official dared to remind the emperor in advance of the improper measures and propose remedial measures, not because the officials in the capital were all selfish villains with no conscience, but the result of the long-term opacity of the government. Of course, Jiang put all the blame on Mu Zhang'a, Zaiyuan, Duanhua (the first two of the eight ministers who arranged for his son before Yixi's death) and others, for the sake of His Holiness, but in fact the culprit was the emperor himself.
Secret politics is jaw-dropping.
*The pictures in the article are all from the Internet
Source: "Reading" Issue 9, 2024