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119-760: In 1724, the second year of his reign, the Yongzheng Emperor issued the Shengyu Guangxun ( simplified Chinese : 圣谕广训 ; traditional Chinese : 聖諭廣訓 ; pinyin : shèng yù guǎng xùn ; "Amplified instructions on the Sacred Edict") in 10,000 characters. Evidently worried that the seven character lines of his father’s maxims could not be understood by local people, the Yongzheng Emperor's Amplified Instructions explains "Our text attempts to be clear and precise; our words, for

238-637: A jinshi scholar and official. Like Yongzheng’s Amplified Instructions , it was meant to be read to the people, but not to be read aloud word for word. It might have been difficult to understand the lecturer if the audience spoke local languages, and for him to elaborate in their dialect. Wang Youpu not only interpreted the maxims in more understandable language, he explained them with stories and anecdotes. He might begin by saying “Let all of you — scholars, farmers, artisans, merchants, and soldiers — take care in practicing ceremonial deference. If one place becomes good, then many places will become so, and finally

357-464: A "Kangqian Period of Harmony" ( Chinese : 康乾盛世 ; cf. Pax Romana ). In response to the tragedy of the succession struggle during his father's reign, the Yongzheng Emperor created a sophisticated procedure for choosing a successor. He was known for his trust in Mandarin officials. Li Wei and Tian Wenjing governed China's southern areas with the assistance of Ortai . In the early Qing period,

476-517: A "promotion" was Kangxi's way of protecting Yinzhen, Kangxi's secret chosen heir, by distracting the public's attention away from Yinzhen. The court officials, who believed that Yinti would be chosen as the heir, would also no longer pester Kangxi about the crown prince issue. Sending Yinti away to the northwestern border was also meant to separate him from Yinsi, his newly formed ally, and potential flatterers who wanted to curry favour with Yinti. Yinti would also be unable to use his commanded troops to make

595-474: A Confucian sovereign's benevolence: He ascribed Zeng's actions to the gullibility and naïveté of a youth taken in by Lü Liuliang's abusive and overdrawn rhetoric. In addition, the emperor suggested that Lü Liuliang's original attack on the Manchus was misplaced, since they had been transformed by their long-term exposure to the civilising force of Confucianism. The Yongzheng Emperor is also known for establishing

714-485: A Malacca periodical in English. The University of Glasgow conferred on him the honorary degree of Doctor of Divinity (D.D.) on 26 November 1820. Rachel Cowie Milne gave birth to six children for William, but two of them, David ( d. 4 May 1816) and Sarah ( d. 10 April 1817) died in infancy. Among the four surviving children, Rachel Amelia is the eldest, and the twin sons, Robert George and William Charles . Farquhar

833-735: A Manchu—Han population integration, a descendant of the imperial family of the Ming dynasty . Zhu was also paid by the Qing government to perform rituals at the Ming tombs and induct the Chinese Plain White Banner into the Eight Banners . Later in 1750, during the reign of the Yongzheng Emperor's successor, the Qianlong Emperor , Zhu Ming was posthumously honoured as " Marquis of Extended Grace ". The marquis title

952-826: A capable ruler, secret reports actually protected innocent magistrates from wrong accusations, as the reports provided alternative information sources beside the official charges. During the massive population growth in the Qing dynasty and increasing demand from peasant and military populations for grain, the Yongzheng emperor launched a grain campaign in which he incentivized officials in local and provincial governments to compete in buying land meant specifically for farming. The Yongzheng emperor offered officials 5-10 year tax holidays in which they were free from paying taxes. This campaign led to more than one million new acres of farmable land. While these campaigns led to more food and land for

1071-429: A coup d'état, since Nian Gengyao , Yinzhen's close aide, controlled the food supply and the return route of Yinti's troops. Promoting Yinti was also a way for Kangxi to control Yinzhen: if Kangxi's "investment" to Yinzhen turned out to be a failure, he still had Yinti as alternative choice. With Yinti as a potential competitor, Yinzhen would not fall into self-complacency and turn against Kangxi. Yinsi's clique, clinging to

1190-448: A forged edict if he had truly been the legal heir. Yongzheng also changed his story several times. When he punished Longkodo (who was supposed to be the only person who was informed of Kangxi's succession plan and informed Yongzheng and others about it after Kangxi's death), Yongzheng himself said that Longkodo was not present by the emperor's side on that day. According to historian Dai Yi , a report by Longkodo to Yongzheng also shows that

1309-534: A larger organization by Yongzheng called Cohong in 1725. This group was responsible for policing all trade within the Canton system . William Milne (missionary) William Milne (April 1785 – 2 June 1822) was the second Protestant missionary sent by the London Missionary Society to China, after his colleague, Robert Morrison . Milne served as pastor of Christ Church, Malacca ,

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1428-581: A mad man. Dai Yi, Meng Shen, Wang Zhonghan, Lin Qian and Yang Zhen are the notable historians who maintain that the fourteenth prince Yinzheng (later renamed Yunti) was Kangxi's intended heir. They point out that the conflict against the Zhungar was of such an existential importance to the Qing dynasty (which threatened to rip half of their territories apart together with the Mongol-Manchu alliance) that it

1547-537: A member of Ultra-Ganges Missions , the first Principal of Anglo-Chinese College , and chief editor of two missionary magazines: Indo-Chinese Gleaner (English), and Chinese Monthly Magazine ( 察世俗每月統記傳 ). Due to Milne's distinguished role in his missionary field, the University of Glasgow granted him a Doctor of Divinity (D.D.) in 1820. Milne was born in Braeside of Cults, a village few miles south to Huntly , in

1666-531: A missionary to China on 16 July 1812 at Rev. John Griffin's church at Portsea, Portsmouth , Milne proposed "to go from house to house, from village to village, from town to town, and from country to country, where access may be gained, in order to preach the Gospel to all who will not turn away their ear from it." Milne was married to Rachel Cowie, daughter of Charles Cowie, Esq. of Aberdeen, at St. Leonard's on 4 August 1812. They soon departed from Portsmouth for

1785-706: A missionary. It included Wang Youpu's Direct Explanation , as well. The Sacred Edict; Containing Sixteen Maxims of the Emperor Kang-He (London: Black, Kingsbury, Parbury, and Allen, 1817; rpr. 1870). F.W. Baller in 1892 published The Sacred Edict: Shen Yü Kuang Hsün, with a Translation of the Colloquial Rendering 聖諭廣訓. (Shanghai; Philadelphia: China Inland Mission, 6th ed., 1924). Yongzheng Emperor The Yongzheng Emperor (13 December 1678 – 8 October 1735), also known by his temple name Emperor Shizong of Qing , personal name Yinzhen ,

1904-590: A monthly basis, known as month selection. This random appointment procedure stemmed from the late Ming dynasty. Sun Piyang, a minister of the Board of Personnel during the Wanli emperor's reign of Ming, was said to have invented the method of drawing lots with the intention of introducing fairness into personnel selection when the Ming court was mired in faction politics. It was apparent that this rule-based appointment procedure

2023-465: A new crown prince. The Kangxi Emperor's eighth son, Yinsi , was the candidate preferred by the majority of the court as well as many of the Kangxi Emperor's other sons. The Kangxi Emperor, however, opted not to appoint Yinsi as his heir apparent largely due to apprehension that Yinsi's political clout at court was beginning to overshadow that of himself. Thereafter, Yinzhen sensed that his father

2142-511: A remediation to the people, and resentments began to gradually decrease. Hence the Yongzheng era was a peaceful and prosperous reign of Qing China. In 1712, the Kangxi Emperor deposed Yinreng again, and chose not to designate an heir apparent for the remaining years of his reign. This resulted in competition among his sons for the position of crown prince. Those considered 'frontrunners' were Yinzhi , Yinsi , and Yinti (the third, eighth and 14th princes, respectively). Of these, Yinsi received

2261-465: A result, Yinzhen's succession faced fierce opposition from former contenders such as Yinti, Yinzhi and Yinsi. Purging the dissidents and solidifying his own position occupied much of Yinzhen's initial reign as emperor. Researchers at Academia Sinica have disproved the theory, as official Qing documents, when mentioning sons of the Emperor, always list the son's title, as well as the son's rank amongst

2380-463: A specialized internal espionage bureau. The secret informants also had no privileges beside the secret reports and the reports had no legal authority, which prevented authority abuse from informants like the Ming internal espionage agents. Also, to avoid false accusation and incorrect reports from informants, Yongzheng collected information from various sources, and the accused person also had a chance to defend their actions and prove their innocence. Under

2499-453: A strict autocratic-style rule during his reign. He detested corruption, and punished officials severely when they were found guilty of an offense. In 1729, he issued an edict prohibiting the smoking of madak , a blend of tobacco and opium. The Yongzheng Emperor's reign saw the Qing dynasty further establish itself as a powerful empire in Asia. He was instrumental in extending what became known as

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2618-461: A traditional trick in Chinese politics. The popular history writer Yi Zongtian think that there were signs that showed Yinzhen as Kangxi's secret choice. First, according to Yongzheng's edicts and official historical account, Kangxi mentioned that Yinzhen alone was raised by Kangxi and how he expressed filial piety to Kangxi. In another occasion though, Yongzheng said that he was not a prince who

2737-434: Is hard to imagine Kangxi would have sent anyone but his most trusted son to deal with the crisis. Due to this, the "Fuyuan General-in-chief" position (which was already bestowed on Kangxi on his trusted generals several times before and carried with it exceptional powers) was raised to an unprecedented level of power and prestige unseen since the beginning of the dynasty. The deposed crown prince, Yinreng, and Yinzhen fought for

2856-520: Is still preserved by Museum of the Institute of History & Philology, Academia Sinica There are debates about the authenticity of extant copies of the Manchu version, but not only the part that mentions the heir's name is destroyed, the important sentence that praises Yinzhen's virtues also does not appear at all. There is a widely circulated legend, persisting even to the present day, that Yinzhen

2975-708: The Civil Service Examinations based on ethnicity and locality. The Yongzheng emperor, in an attempt to allow as many people to take the Civil Service Examination as possible, set up special exams for people in rural China. These special exams were called Miao exams and were located in Yunnan . In the 1730s, landholding shed people such as the Hakka were still not allowed to take the exams, Yongzheng made it legal for these people to take

3094-564: The Grand Council , an institution that had a major impact on the future of the dynasty. Militarily, Yongzheng continued his father's efforts to consolidate Qing's position in Outer Mongolia and Tibet through force. The Yongzheng Emperor died in 1735 at the age of 56 and was succeeded by his fourth son, who assumed the throne as the Qianlong Emperor . Although his reign was much shorter than that of both his father and his son,

3213-516: The Grand Council , which allows Qing to relay communication effectively and efficiently from region to region, thereby enabling the implementation of his domestic reform policy. With the establishment of his Grand Council, Yongzheng was not only able to discourage corruption, but he was in a position to launch several domestic reforms beneficial to the empire and its people. Canals and irrigation systems were reconstructed to support agriculture and maintain farmlands. During famines, he provided relief to

3332-606: The Ming dynasty , wrote the Six Maxims which inspired the Sacred Edict of the Kangxi Emperor, Following the publication of the original edicts, several versions in the Chinese vernacular were published, some with detailed commentaries or illustrations. The most widely popular was the Shengyu guangxun zhijie (Direct explanation of the Amplified Instructions on the Sacred Edict ) by Wang Youpu (王又樸 1680-1761),

3451-626: The 14th prince, Yinti. At the time of the Kangxi Emperor's death, Yinti, who held the appointment of Border-Pacification General-in-Chief ( Chinese : 撫遠大將軍 ), was leading a military campaign in northwestern China . He was also awarded an apparently grandiose title of "Fuyuan General-in-chief Prince" (撫遠大将軍王) and his departure ceremony was solemnly held. Some other princes, such as Yinsi and his clique, interpreted that Yinti might be chosen as heir and, therefore, pledged their support to Yinti and encouraged him to make military achievements to prove his "worthiness". However, Yi Zhongtian argued that such

3570-498: The 17th-century scholar Lü Liuliang . Zeng had been so affected by what he read that he attempted to incite the governor-general of Shaanxi-Sichuan, Yue Zhongqi (a descendant of anti-Jurchen General Yue Fei ), to rebel against the Qing government. Yue Zhongqi promptly turned him in, and in 1730 news of the case reached the Yongzheng Emperor. Highly concerned with the implications of the case, the emperor had Zeng Jing brought to Beijing for trial. The emperor's verdict seemed to demonstrate

3689-608: The Cape of Good Hope on 4 September 1812. The Milnes stayed at the Cape of Good Hope with John Campbell for a few days, and they did not arrive in Macau until 4 July 1813. Milne, with his wife and infant child were expelled by the Roman Catholic priests there after three days, and he left for Guangzhou , where he was able to begin study of the Chinese language. His observation regarding the difficulty of an English-speaker acquiring

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3808-653: The Chinese settlements in the Indonesian archipelago. Milne agreed and traveled south, distributing tracts and books, finally returning to Guangzhou on 5 September to spend the winter of 1813–1814 there. Milne spent most of his missionary career in the British Straits Settlements of Malacca , beginning in the Spring of 1815. He set up a printing press and school, continuing to preach the Gospel to

3927-402: The Chinese tongue has been frequently repeated: "Learning the Chinese language requires bodies of iron, lungs of brass, heads of oak, hands of spring steel, eyes of eagles, hearts of apostles, memories of angels, and lives of Methuselah." After six months with Robert Morrison as his first and only help that had come to join the work from England, he took Morrison's advice to visit Java and

4046-495: The Church of Scotland, and to join "another body of Christians" which was evangelical and with edifying preaching. As a result, in 1804, Milne was received as a member of a Congregational church pastored by George Cowie at Huntly. About 1809, he applied to the London Missionary Society . After conferring with a group of ministers at Aberdeen, he was sent to Gosport , where he studied under David Bogue for three years. Ordained as

4165-518: The Fund's money also received other kinds of allowances, and officers on business trips were also provide an allowance to cover their essential expenses, which had to be reported to the government. The "transparency nurturing" allowances beside removing the corruption incentive, also helped to publicized the magistrate's incomes, enabled the state to monitor, evaluate and detect any potential signs of corruption. Furthermore, all kinds of gifts and "ritual fees"

4284-481: The Ministry of Revenue to fabricate financial reports. To prevent the magistrates from fabricating the corruption cases as merely "deificit spending", Yongzheng demanded that the case of deficit spending must be investigated first, and punishment, sanction and compensation should be performed first in the case of deficit spending. Equivocation between deficit spending and corruption was strictly prohibited. To prevent

4403-664: The Veneration of Ancestor ceremony at the time Kangxi was dying, and even eighth prince Yinsi (who had had many clashes with Kangxi) made the lists of candidates. The onky one among adult princes who was put aside was Yinxiang, Yongzheng's important ally. Lin Qian also suspects that Yongzheng organizing the Sacrifice of Heaven of the sixty first year was an event invented later to justify Prin Yong's strange behaviours at that time, since no other records mention it other than Shilu , which

4522-407: The Yongzheng Emperor held Yinsi under close watch and kept him busy with affairs of state, reducing the chance of him conducting behind-the-scenes political maneuvers. Yinsi's allies received notably different treatment. Yintang was sent to Qinghai under the pretext of military service, but in reality was watched over by the Yongzheng Emperor's trusted protégé, Nian Gengyao . Yin'e, the tenth prince,

4641-418: The Yongzheng Emperor's reign began. The Yongzheng Emperor continued to perceive Yinsi and his party, consisting of the princes Yintang , Yin'e , Yinti , and their associates, as his greatest political challenge in the early years of his reign. To diffuse their political clout, the Yongzheng Emperor undertook a 'divide and conquer' strategy. Immediately after ascending the throne, the emperor bestowed on Yinsi

4760-520: The Yongzheng Emperor. Nonetheless, the increasingly sharp conflict between her two surviving sons caused their mother great sorrow. She died less than six months after the Kangxi Emperor. By forcibly dispatching Yinsi's party to separate locations geographically, the Yongzheng Emperor made it extremely inconvenient for his rivals to link up and conspire against him. While some of Yinsi's subordinates were appointed to high office, others were demoted or banished, making it difficult for Yinsi's party to maintain

4879-501: The Yongzheng era was a period of peace and prosperity. Yinzhen was the eleventh recorded son of the Kangxi Emperor, and the fourth prince to survive into adulthood. His mother, historically known as Empress Xiaogongren , was originally a court attendant from the Manchu Uya clan. Around the time when Yinzhen was born, his mother was of low status and did not have the right to raise her own children. For most of his childhood, Yinzhen

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4998-421: The affected regions by distributing resources. In reparation to the people, who were the backbone of the country, he issued an imperial decree to emancipate slaves under his reign. One of the several tax reform policies Yongzheng introduced was to shift the head taxation to the property taxation on landowners, which greatly reduced the tax burden on civilians. Additionally, Yongzheng was indeed in full support with

5117-500: The care of Rev. Andrew Reed (1787–1862). Both Robert George and William Charles Milne graduated from Homerton Academy and Marischal College of Aberdeen University. Later, William Charles followed his father's steps and became a missionary to China being sent by London Missionary Society, and a tutor to British translators in China. William Charles died in 1863 and was buried in a Russian cemetery at Beijing. Robert George Milne served as

5236-525: The commander of the northwestern expeditionary force. Yinti, who expected to be placed on the throne himself, was reluctant to recognise the Yongzheng Emperor's succession as legitimate. Yinti was accused of violating imperial decorum at the funeral proceedings of the late emperor, and placed under house arrest by the Yongzheng Emperor at the imperial tombs in western Beijing . Historians believe that their mother, Empress Dowager Renshou , favoured Yinti partly because she raised him herself, while she did not raise

5355-468: The construction of orphanages to shelter orphans, in building elementary schools to educate children, and poorhouses to house paupers. Perhaps the Yongzheng era (雍正: r. 1723–1735 CE) may have been overshadowed by his predecessor's accomplishments, the Kangxi Emperor , and his achievements may not have been as glorious as his successor, the Qianlong Emperor ; however, the Yongzheng era did serve as

5474-442: The county education commissioner for counseling. This led to corruption among officials who were no longer bound by law. In an attempt to stop this the Yongzheng emperor made it illegal to offer privileges to officials going through the legal system. This did not last long as the Qianlong Emperor reinstated legal privileges for officials that had passed the Civil Service Examination shortly after becoming emperor after Yongzheng. In

5593-418: The deposed Yinreng in the future, which was proven to be relatively correct. As a result, Kangxi not only didn't expose Yinzhen, but also became the accomplice with Yinzhen's act. Although Kangxi's meticulous plan enabled Yinzhen later to be crowned as emperor, it also created many disputes about Yinzhen's succession as there was no direct, intuitive way to prove Yinzhen's legitimacy. Kangxi's choice as Yinzhen

5712-530: The edict on the strangeness of Christianity . They would not need to be told that the mulberry mentioned in #4 was fed to silk worms. By the reign of the Kangxi Emperor there was a long tradition for the explanation of imperial edicts in popular language. Systematic village lectures began at least as early as the Song dynasty , when Confucian scholars expounded the virtues of cooperation and self-cultivation to neighborhood audiences. The Hongwu Emperor , founder of

5831-440: The emperor's own counter-measures against the magistrates. To counter the local magistrated well-built networks, Yongzheng organized a group of inspectors consisted of independent Imperial Commissioners and "clean" local chiefs, assisted with a group of regional officer-to-be. When a regional magistrate was found guilty, he would be replaced by a corresponding member amongst the inspector group who had no connection of interest with

5950-488: The emperor's sons and the son's name. In this case, the will mentions "Prince Yong, Emperor's Fourth Son, Yinzhen" ( Chinese : 雍親王皇四子胤禛 ), as well as Kangxi Emperor's high regards for Yinzhen, and his belief that Yinzhen can succeed on the throne. The problem with the will, or at least the Chinese version, as currently preserved, is that it was not Kangxi's creation. It was drafted three days after Kangxi's death by Longkodo under Yongzheng's instruction. Yongzheng's order

6069-459: The emperor, even if the suggestions were accurate and reasonable, would be heavily criticized by Yongzheng and the magistrate could be punished severely. That was the reason behind Yongzheng's apparently "erratic" and "unpredictable" behaviors in punishing and rewarding his subordinates. Emperor Kangxi's long reign left lasting achievements, but also many flaws and maladies, including budget deficit, inadequate tax revenues, and huge debts. Corruption

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6188-467: The emperor. The magistrate's works, reports, criticisms, suggestion, even flattery and blandishment, should be performed with sincere devotion to and sympathy with the emperor's interests and stance. Suggestion and criticism with adequate "sincerity", even if they were flawed and incorrect, was usually praised by Yongzheng. On the other hand, suggestions which were considered to only serve the magistrate's selfish interests and fame, or to only curry favour from

6307-484: The entire realm will be in excellent harmony. Won’t we then have a world in perfect concord?” Then he might go on: Wang would conclude: The 19th-century missionary and translator of the Sacred Edict William Milne describes the scene: Country magistrates sent to frontier areas could use the occasion to deliver lectures to non-Han peoples on the virtues of Confucian culture. One commented on

6426-445: The exams in an attempt to dispel anger at being excluded from the exams. A growing number of orphaned children or poor families came with the massive Qing population growth. The Yongzheng emperor sought to remedy this by mandating that orphanages (also called poor houses) be built in every county. These were funded not by local, provincial or high level government but privately funded and maintained. These orphanages existed less to help

6545-587: The first Chinese Protestant minister and evangelist. Liang Fa later became renowned as the author of the Christian literature that inspired Hong Xiuquan and the Taiping Rebellion . In these years Milne published a translation of the Sacred Edict of the Kangxi Emperor . His 1819 tract "The Two Friends" became the most widely used Chinese Christian tract until the early twentieth century. Milne

6664-407: The given tasks as a subordinate of the Emperor. Compared to other siblings (Yinzhi, Yinsi, Yinti, Yinreng), Yinzhen had no clear advantage. Unlike Yinsi, Yinzhen had neither a close association nor a good relationship with the majority of court officers and magistrates, he was also shunned due to his cold appearance and the legalist-style harsh treatment for any kinds of moral sin and legal violation of

6783-461: The governability of each jurisdiction was decomposed into four elements, or four "characters": Chong, Fan, Pi, and Nan. "Chong" (thoroughfare) referred to places at busy highways and was designed to capture the characteristics of commercial potential or military significance. “Fan” (troublesome) stood for places with a great deal of onerous official business. “Pi” (wearisome) indicated areas having difficulty collecting taxes. “Nan” (difficult) referred to

6902-437: The guilty magistrates from further exploiting the people to compensate for their deficit spending, Yongzheng immediately dismissed the magistrate before compensation began. Dismissed magistrates no longer had authority over the people and had no choice but to use their own properties to compensate. As the punished magistrate might use other connections as an alternative for their lost authority, paying compensation on behalf of them

7021-490: The highest positions in the land. The nature of his succession remained a subject of controversy and overshadowed the Yongzheng Emperor's reign. As many of his surviving brothers did not see his succession as legitimate, the Yongzheng Emperor became increasingly paranoid that they would plot to overthrow him. The earlier players in the battle for succession, Yinzhi , the eldest, and Yinreng, the former crown prince, continued to live under house arrest. Yinreng died two years after

7140-401: The hope of Yinti's future prospect, would also not do anything reckless. As a result, Yinti's "General-in-chief Prince" title appeared grandiose, but was actually hollow and dubious; it was neither "general" nor "prince" and could be interpreted in various ways, which could be used in favour of either Yinti or Yinzhen should the situation arise. Such dubious words with multiple interpretations was

7259-516: The important positions and in turn promoted local governance. Yi Zhongtian commented that Yongzheng had a very flexible and pragmatic tastes of talent enrollment, based on the advice of Ortai : " Amongst affairs, there are both essential and trivial, easy and challenging. Amongst people, there are both soft and hard, long and short. " The emperor, therefore, did not use dogmatic and abstract criteria of "talents" and "morality", instead he acknowledged that every person has both strengths and defects and

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7378-416: The issue because it seems insignificant. If it is a complex matter, do not just simply conceal away the issue because it could become a challenge. To have good governance and dissuade seditionists, is all in the ruler's wish. If civilians see a judicious court that is loyal and wholeheartedly for the country, and see that the court embraces its people; and civilians feel the virtue in their court marshalls, then

7497-409: The lecturer on the Sacred Edict who would come around. He set up tables with incense and candles on a street corner as offerings to the book. Then lecturer would first knock his head on the ground four times, recite the maxims, and start telling stories. Victor Mair comments that this popular form of story telling was probably more effective in spreading Confucian values than the condescending lectures of

7616-460: The local Chinese. In January 1816, Milne visited Penang , and established a printing press there also. Milne was also the first Principal of The Anglo Chinese College at Malacca. He collaborated more with Morrison to produce the second complete Chinese version of the Bible, translating the books of Deuteronomy through Job. Liang Fa , converted to Christianity in 1815 and baptized by Milne, became

7735-518: The local chiefs, the emperor did not think about their usefulness in the current campaign alone, as he told the prince that their dedication to the person of the prince "will be of use later", and that their service would be more valuable to that of the Han. Yinzhen's tactics during the struggle for crown prince's position were to do practically nothing and to stay out of the limelight. Instead, he focused on filial piety towards Kangxi and dutifully performed

7854-418: The local clique and therefore would naturally do his best to continue the purge. Furthermore, local people were forbidden to lend money to their magistrates, preventing them from temporarily transferring the borrowed money to the local treasure to mask the deficits. Yongzheng also created an independent Inquisition Association to examine all the spending and revenue documents to prevent local officers from bribing

7973-878: The local gentry as competition to the throne. Just like the legal privileges that passing the Civil Service Examination offered, soon after the end of the Yongzheng emperor's reign, the Qianlong Emperor quickly reinstated the privileged tax brackets. Growing distrust of Jesuit missionaries by the Kangxi emperor and later by Yongzheng in the early 1720s led to prohibition and action against the Christian presence in China. The Kangxi emperor had banned foreign missions (outside of Beijing and Guangzhou), and Yongzheng took this one step further by removing all foreign priests from China. All Christian churches were shut down and repurposed as local public offices. Chinese merchant houses belonging to Canton station were grouped together under

8092-429: The local population out of poverty and more to model how wealthy officials should act towards the impoverished populations. The Kangxi Emperor mandated that scholars that had passed the Civil Service Examination at any level were able to bypass punishments from the legal system depending on which level of the exams they had passed. Instead of legal repercussions for crimes, criminal officials were instead recommended to

8211-528: The magistrates. Acknowledging that fact, Yinzhen intentionally showed no ambition to be the heir in order to not attract any unnecessary attention and animosity; he watched as other contenders fought each other to the death, a policy more beneficial for him. Yinzhen even pleaded many times for Kangxi's mercy and pardon for other princes, including the deposed Yinreng, which gained him the praise and favour from Kangxi. As an experienced player in politics, Kangxi himself knew that Yinzhen's humbleness and filial piety

8330-461: The majority of middle-to-low government posts were subject to a mechanical appointment procedure managed by the Board of Personnel, which was a lottery rule. More specifically, candidates would first be classified into three categories, namely degree holders, office purchasers, and officials waiting for promotion, based on their sources of candidature. These candidates or so-called offices-in-waiting were then assigned to different posts by drawing lots on

8449-423: The mid-1720s Qing empire, complex levels of tax hierarchies put in place by the Kangxi emperor existed to separate the population into different tax brackets. Households with government officials were in privileged tax brackets that brought with it tax exemptions for not only the immediate family in the household but also for extended family members. The Yongzheng emperor removed these privileged tax brackets as he saw

8568-493: The most part, are direct and simple." The prose is relatively easy to understand for those with a beginning understanding of the literary language. The Amplified Instructions was also published in a Manchu translation and then in a combined Chinese , Manchu , and Mongol version. The village lecturer might point out that #7 the “strange beliefs” included shamanic , Buddhist , and Taoist beliefs which many villagers did not regard as at all strange, though they might agree with

8687-569: The most support from the Mandarins , but not from his father. Yinzhen had supported Yinreng as heir, and did not build a large political base for himself until the final years of the Kangxi Emperor's reign. Unlike Yinsi's high-profile cultivation of a partisan base of support, Yinzhen did so largely away from the limelight. When the Kangxi Emperor died in December 1722, the field of contenders shrank to three princes after Yinsi pledged his support to

8806-658: The need to expound the Edicts: "though the Yao are a different type of people, they possess a human nature. I ought to treat them with sincerity." Many Chinese and outsiders agreed that by the 19th century, the readings had become empty ritual. Yet others respected the power of the Sacred Edicts. Guo Moruo , the Marxist and New Culture iconoclast, wrote in his autobiography that in his youth he and other villagers loved to hear

8925-460: The nickname "Emperor of confiscation". Beside harsh punishment, Yongzheng also improved the state officer's income to remove their incentive for corruption. He created a "Fund for transparency nurturing" from government additional revenues, which was now regulated and controlled by the central government, to provide copious allowance for state magistrate, enabling their daily expenses to be covered without accepting bribes. Magistrates not eligible for

9044-711: The palace. He also exposed his sons (including Yinzhen) to the outside world and gave them a rigorous education. Yinzhen accompanied his father on several inspection trips around the Beijing area, as well as one further south. He became the honorary leader of the Plain Red Banner during the Battle of Jao Modo between the Qing Empire and the Mongol Dzungar Khanate led by Galdan Khan . Yinzhen

9163-403: The people would not perceive the court as a threat. Thus, there would be no reason to have seditionaries. In short, after several years of political chaos, Yongzheng earnestly strived to restore a functional court with "good government", immediately after he ascended the throne in 1723 CE, to stabilize Qing into a unified and harmonious empire. In 1733 CE, Yongzheng successfully institutionalized

9282-701: The phrase to "pass the throne on to the Fourth Prince" Chinese : 傳位于四皇子 ). Another version states the character " 十 " was changed to " 第 " ( dì ), which means "sequence number" (四 = four, 第四 = the fourth / number four), thus changing the phrase to "transfer the throne to the Fourth Prince" ( Chinese : 傳位第四皇子 ). After ascending the throne in December 1722, Yinzhen adopted the era name "Yongzheng" ( Chinese : 雍正 lit. "Harmonious Justice") in 1723 from his peerage title "yong" ( Chinese : 雍 lit. "harmonious") and "zheng" ( Chinese : 正 lit. "just, correct, upright"). It has been suggested that

9401-425: The places with crime-prone subjects and recurring violent engagement. Moreover, posts of jurisdictions containing all four elements would be ranked as very important positions and posts of places with three elements would be rated as important posts, whereas posts of places having less than two elements would be tagged as middle-level positions (two elements) or easy posts (one-zero element) respectively. In this way,

9520-513: The population to use for farming, it also led to officials lying about the amount of farmable land they were contributing in order to win the tax holidays. These tax holidays also pushed the burden of paying taxes elsewhere. Ethnicity in Qing China could vary depending on where one was from even locally in China . This ethnic separation along with the booming population led to reduced access to

9639-436: The position too, but failed to get it. Lin Qian writes that there are many signs that show Yongzheng did alter records to make the title "General-in-chief Prince" less impressive, and that the fourteenth prince's rank was actually Prince ( wang ). Kangxi even made the apparently longterm investment by sending several young members of the imperial family to the fourteenth prince so he could raise them as his apprentices. This intent

9758-440: The post designation (Chong, Fan, Pi, and Nan) was linked to the importance rating system hand in hand. The appointment power then was allocated based on the importance rating system; posts marked as very important and important were subject to the discretionary appointment by the emperor or provincial leaders, whereas other less important posts still were assigned by drawing lots. As a result, the high-quality officials were matched to

9877-475: The prince Yunli (who was cited by Yongzheng as one of the witnesses in his later version of the events; this prince did not participate in the fight for the throne but later became Yongzheng's ally during the latter's reign) was not present – when he was rushing to Kangxi's resident after being informed of his father's death, the prince met Longkodo who told him about Yongzheng's ascension and became so horrified that he returned to his house immediately, looking like

9996-639: The ritual ceremonies for the royal family's ancestors in Three Great Mausoleums in Shenyang . Shortly after that, Yinzhen was also tasked to organize the Sacrifice to the Heaven (南郊禮), the most sacred ceremony in Confucian tradition, on the day of winter solstice . Others note that the third prince Yinzhi also had presided over these ceremonies before, the fifth prince Yinqi was presiding over

10115-474: The rural parish of Kennethmont in Aberdeenshire , Scotland. His father died when he was only six years old (1791), and his mother taught him at home. While he was still very young, he worked on a farm for a period of time before being apprenticed to a carpenter under training of Adam Sievwright. While excelling at carpentry, he also was reported to have distinguished himself by his profanity learned when

10234-476: The same set of partisan interests. The Yongzheng Emperor publicly reprimanded Yinsi in 1724 for mishandling an assignment, eventually removing him from office and then sending him into house arrest. Yinsi was forced to rename himself "Acina", a derogatory slur in the Manchu language. The emperor also confiscated the assets of Yintang and Yin'e. In 1725, the Yongzheng Emperor bestowed a hereditary marquis title on Zhu Ming in line with his father Kang Xi emperor wish of

10353-483: The same year, the Kangxi Emperor promoted Yinzhen from junwang to qinwang (first-rank prince) under the title " Prince Yong of the First Rank " ( 和硕雍亲王 ; 和碩雍親王 ; Héshuò Yōng Qīnwáng ; Manchu : hošoi hūwaliyasun cin wang ). Yinzhen maintained a low profile during the initial stages of the succession struggle. To appoint a new heir, the Kangxi Emperor decreed that officials in his imperial court would nominate

10472-438: The scholars and officials. One western scholar traveling in China in the 1870s reported that the widespread dissemination of the Sacred Edict following the mid-century Taiping Rebellion "proved a serious blow to the immediate spread of Christianity." Since the language was relatively straightforward and the significance apparent, many western students of Chinese made translations. The first appeared in 1817, by William Milne ,

10591-439: The second character of his era name was an attempt to cover up his illegal claim to the throne by calling himself "justified". Immediately after succeeding to the throne, the Yongzheng Emperor chose his new governing council. It consisted of the eighth prince Yinsi , 13th prince Yinxiang , Zhang Tingyu , Ma Qi, and Longkodo . Yinsi was given the title "Prince Lian" while Yinxiang was given the title "Prince Yi", and these two held

10710-462: The sons of the second and the fourteenth princes. Official court records state that on 20 December 1722 the ailing Kangxi Emperor called seven of his sons and the general commandant of the Beijing gendarmerie , Longkodo , to his bedside. Longkodo read the will and declared that Yinzhen would be the Kangxi Emperor's successor. Some evidence has suggested that Yinzhen contacted Longkodo months before

10829-413: The tasks given to him should be tailored to suit his specific traits. For example, Li Wei had a very rude personality, but he was brave and clever, Yongzheng assigned him tasks related to law enforcement, criminal punishment and rebel liquidation. Zhu Shih, a scholar with upright and good personality, was appointed as teacher for the future Qianlong Emperor . Tian Wenjing had many personality defects and

10948-473: The time was volatile, and a strong general was needed in the area. After several military conquests, however, Nian's stature and power grew. Some said he began seeing himself as equal to the emperor. Seeing Nian as no longer within his control, the Yongzheng Emperor issued an imperial edict demoting Nian to the position of a general of the Hangzhou Command. As Nian continued to remain unrepentant, he

11067-528: The title "Prince Lian", nominally of the highest noble rank. Yinsi was also then appointed as the Minister of the Lifan Yuan (Feudatory Affairs Office) and the top-ranking member of the imperial council assisting the Yongzheng Emperor; some historians believe his position at the time was essentially that of a " Chancellor or Prime Minister". By ostensibly elevating Yinsi to a more prominent political role,

11186-448: The will was read in preparation for his succession through military means, although in their official capacities frequent encounters were expected. Historian Qin Hui writes that it is largely recognized that Yongzheng forged the succession edicts together with Nian Gengyao. Qin Hui criticizes Feng Erkang, who also recognizes the forgery, for failing to explain why Yongzheng would have needed

11305-414: Was a recruit among the Qing officials to possess the desired virtues, and was regarded highly by Yongzheng. A notable quote from Yinzhen captured during his reign as the Yongzheng Emperor in the 1720s expresses his imperial will: 小事小料理,不可因小而忽之·,大事大振作,不可因難處而隱諱。朕意若果能如此實心奉行,以忠正一一字感化,不數年,賊亦人也。見文武大臣實心忠勇為國,屬員清正愛民,營伍整齊,士卒曉勇,而百姓不懷如是德,不畏如是威,仍去成群為匪者,朕想必無此理也。 If it is a trivial matter, do not just simply neglect

11424-537: Was a shepherd boy. According to Milne, he had "a natural predilection for books." When he was young, Milne memorized the Westminster Shorter Catechism , and Thomas Wilson 's Mother's Catechism, but had no impact from them, rather as Milne later said, it was for the purpose of "to be equal with my neighbours, and to avoid the displeasure of the minister of the parish." About thirteen years of age, Milne experienced "a partial reformation," which

11543-467: Was a shock to many other princes (even Yinzhen also pretended to be shocked). Kangxi also did not make any mention about his choice for the crown prince position, his will was only known via the deceased emperor's testament provided by Longkodo , and there was no decisive evidence proved that the testament was not fabricated. For the contemporary public, there was also no evidence to directly infer, or to explain why, Kangxi thought of Yinzhen as his choice. As

11662-593: Was also deeply immersed in the state's affairs and heavily engaged in the political debates where he acquired diplomatic skills. As the Yongzheng Emperor ( 雍正 : r. 1723–1735 CE) of Qing China, Yinzhen was indubitably a very diplomatically inclined ruler who created an institution of a "moral government" based on the Confucian principles. Yinzhen sought four distinctive qualities: loyalty— 忠 , fairness— 公 , sincerity— 誠 , and capability— 能 , from his subjects in order to run an effective court and to achieve stability. Li Wei ( 李衛  : February 2, 1687 – December 3, 1738)

11781-502: Was also strictly prohibited. The properties of their families and relatives were also confisticated for the compensation payment if necessary. In the cases of magistrates committing suicide to avoid punishment, Yongzheng demanded that their family and descendants should shoulder the punishment and compensation for the deceased magistrate. The emperor himself admitted that he wanted to see the guilty magistrate's descendants " live in poverty and misery. " Yongzheng's drastic punishment earned him

11900-464: Was born when Rachel Cowie Milne was suffering from a serious illness, and was baptized at Rachel's dying bed. Rachel Cowie Milne died on 20 March 1819 at Klebang, Malacca, leaving her will that her Amelia might receive proper education. William Milne buried Rachel in Malacca. After William Milne's death in 1822, his four surviving children were sent back to England, to receive further education under

12019-631: Was conducive to curtailing patronage-network building and rent-seeking, although at the cost of flexibility. Considering the limitation of monthly selection, the Yongzheng Emperor, inspired by a memorial of Jin Hong, the provincial administrative commissioner of Guangxi province, decided to launch a structural reform to the appointment system in 1731. In the new appointment system, local jurisdictions first were classified into two groups according to governance difficulties. More specifically, to prioritize local jurisdictions and allocate appointment power accordingly,

12138-531: Was crowned emperor after he modified Kangxi Emperor's final will that detailed who will succeed him. There are two versions of the legend, both of which involves the Chinese character " 十 " ( pinyin : shí ; lit. 'ten'), and by extension, Yunti, Prince Xun . One version involves changing the " 十 " in the phrase "transfer the throne to the Fourteenth Prince" ( Chinese : 傳位十四皇子 ) to " 于 " ( pinyin : yú ), which changed

12257-470: Was effected through: 1) the reading of tracts and Christian books, 2) two pious Christian examples, 3) hope of salvation through prayer, 4) fear of evil and danger, and 5) the sufferings of Christ symbolized through the Lord's Table. From then, Milne started to attend Sunday schools and prayer meetings. In 1801, by the age of sixteen, Milne experienced conversion. Soon after his conversion, Milne decided to leave

12376-531: Was eventually given an ultimatum and forced to commit suicide by consuming poison in 1726. Longkodo was the commander of the militias stationed at the capital at the time of the Yongzheng Emperor's succession. He fell into disgrace in 1728 and died while under house arrest. After taking the throne, the Yongzheng Emperor suppressed writings he deemed unfavorable to his court, particularly those with an anti-Manchu bias. Foremost among these were those of Zeng Jing, an unsuccessful degree candidate heavily influenced by

12495-399: Was heavily criticized by contemporaries, but was favoured by Yongzheng due to his hard-work, devotion and loyalty. Chang Sanle, Wuqiao district chief, had upright and transparent moral conduct, but lacked fervor in work, hence he was re-assigned to an educational post and removed from administrative work. However, the most critical criterion for the government magistrate was "sincerity" towards

12614-526: Was in favour of re-instating Yinreng as heir apparent, thus he supported Yinreng and earned the trust of his father. Yinzhen ( 胤禛 : 13 December 1678 – 8 October 1735) had the highest honor to orchestrate the imperial ceremonies and rituals during the reign of the Kangxi emperor , which illustrated that Yinzhen was well acquainted with the Confucianism traditions and customs. In the imperial court, Yinzhen

12733-417: Was made a beile in 1689 along with several brothers and promoted to junwang (second-rank prince) in 1698. In 1709, the Kangxi Emperor stripped his second son Yinreng of his position as crown prince. Yinreng had been the crown prince for his whole life; his removal left the position of heir open to competition among the Emperor's remaining sons (the Kangxi Emperor had 24 sons who reached adulthood). In

12852-440: Was not really sincere and more of a cover to protect himself, nonetheless Kangxi still made lavish praise to Yinzhen and enjoyed the apparently good relationship with his son. In the situation when his offspring openly trampled on family relationships, Yinzhen's "false" filial piety and kindness was already a haven for Kangxi. Kangxi also hoped that Yinzhen, despite being pretentious, might not actually mistreat his deceased father and

12971-524: Was now strictly prohibited. To effectively grasp the situation of his subordinates, Yongzheng utilized the "secret report" system which originated from the Shunzhi Era , which also suited his own tastes of having personal connection separately with each subordinate. The emperor recruited secret informants from the trusted subordinates who had the privilege to privately report to the Emperor whatever they felt suspicious. The components of secret informants

13090-530: Was passed on to Zhu's descendants for 12 generations until the end of the Qing dynasty in the early 20th century. Nian Gengyao was a supporter of the Yongzheng Emperor long before the latter ascended the throne. In 1722, when he was recalling his brother Yinti from the northwest border in Xinjiang , the Yongzheng Emperor appointed Nian as the commander of the Qing army in Xinjiang. The situation in Xinjiang at

13209-443: Was quite varied, including even some low-ranked officers, and was widely distributed all over the empire. To encourage the sincerity and eagerness of informants, their identity and reports' content was kept strictly confidential; even informants did not know each other, and the procedures and writing style requirements were greatly simplified. Such "secret reporters" enabled the emperor to maintain an extensive information network without

13328-429: Was raised by Noble Consort Tong , the daughter of Tong Guowei, the Kangxi Emperor's maternal uncle and an eminent official in the early part of the Kangxi Emperor's reign. She died when Yinzhen was just 9 years old. After she gave birth to more children, Yinzhen's mother was promoted to a pin and then to a fei , and became known as defei or "Virtuous Consort". The Kangxi Emperor did not raise his children only inside

13447-418: Was raised in the palace. Professor Lin Qian on the other hand notes that the fourteenth prince was the only son Kangxi always kept with him, until his death, despite the fact he already married (the fourteenth prince's wife lived inside his father's palace too) and had a princely mansion outside. Second, according to Yi, at Kangxi's 60th regnal year (1721) memorial event, Yinzhen was given the task of holding

13566-499: Was remarkably prolific for one who came to literary work so late in life, and twenty-one Chinese works are attributed to him. Several were of substantial length; one was the Chinese Monthly Magazine (察世俗每月統記傳 Chashisu Meiyue Tongjizhuan), the first Chinese language magazine in the modern sense of the word; that ran from 1815 to 1822 and totaled several hundred pages. In addition, he produced two substantial books and

13685-469: Was shown, when the fourteenth prince requested them to be sent back to the capital, Kangxi refused and told him that they needed to be trained (obviously to serve the fourteenth later). Yin Qian notes that with sixteen people holding titles ranging from beizi to wang and other important officials sent to follow the fourteenth prince, Kangxi had already organized a mini imperial court for him. Yang Zhen opines that when Kangxi encouraged his son to engage with

13804-412: Was the fifth emperor of the Qing dynasty , and the third Qing emperor to rule over China proper . The fourth son of the Kangxi Emperor , Yongzheng ascended the throne following prolonged disputes over succession. A hard-working ruler, he aimed to create a more effective government, cracked down on corruption and reformed the personnel and financial administration. His reign also saw the formation of

13923-485: Was told to leave the capital to send off a departing Mongol prince, but since he refused to complete this trip as the emperor commanded, the Yongzheng Emperor stripped him of all his titles in May 1724 and sent him north to Shunyi to languish in solitude. The 14th prince, Yinti, born to the same mother as the Yongzheng Emperor, was recalled to Beijing from his military post. The emperor selected Nian Gengyao to replace Yinti as

14042-480: Was widespread, and magistrates and aristocrats frequently borrowed money from the national treasure without any sign of returning the money. Therefore, immediately after his enthronement, Yongzheng began a crackdown against corruption and financial issues. Utilizing his experience during the time as a prince, the emperor used an unconventional approach: first he anticipated the counter-measures that corrupt magistrates might employ to evade state punishment, and then devised

14161-430: Was written under the supervision of Yongzheng and Zhang Tingyu . Yi also says that Kangxi highly favoured Yinzhen's son Hongli (future Qianlong Emperor ) and that might also contribute to Kangxi's support for Yinzhen as his heir, similar to how Yongle Emperor chose his heir due to his favour to the crown prince's son. Historian Yang Zhen though notes that Kangxi was kind to his grandchildren in general but especially to

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