Letters of immigrants in Qing dynasty

At the beginning of Yong Zhengdi's accession to the throne, bureaucracy was lax and corruption was prevalent. He overcame all kinds of resistance and opened a large-scale white dragon robe altar to worship the moon in Yongzheng period all over the country.

Exhibition inventory deficit, the establishment of examination bureau, the implementation of envy of public consumption, the implementation of the system of yanglianyin, the abolition of bad rules and other work, because of his decisive and resolute attitude, the financial situation of the Qing Dynasty has been significantly improved in a short time, and the bad situation of official corruption has been greatly changed. Yang, a Japanese scholar living in China, said: "Kangxi was magnanimous and broad-minded. If it weren't for Yongzheng's rectification, the Qing Dynasty would have declined long ago. " There is a saying that "once Yongzheng, no official is unclear".

This is a major tax reform. China has been taxed since ancient times, and adult men, rich or poor, have to pay poll tax. Yongzheng carried out reforms, spread the per capita tax into mu, and determined the tax amount according to the number of mu. More land is paid, less land is collected, and no land is collected. It's Yongzheng

As the saying goes, the poll tax was abolished in one fell swoop. This measure is beneficial to the poor, not to the landlords, and it is a major reform in China's fiscal and taxation history.

In ancient China, silver and copper were used as money. When collecting taxes, silver and copper are lost in exchange, casting, preservation and transportation, so there is a certain surcharge when collecting taxes. This kind of surcharge, called "consumption envy" or "fire consumption", has been levied by local counties as extra income for local offices and officials. Consumption envy can't set the amount of levy, and counties will have to levy heavy taxes if they want to do whatever they want. Some will take one or two taxes and spend five or six dollars, which is a heavy burden for ordinary people. Yongzheng implemented the policy of "envy returning to the public" and changed this additional tax into statutory tax and fixed tax, which was managed by the governor. Tax revenue, in addition to office expenses, is used as a "pension fund", which greatly increases the salary of officials. In this way, it not only lightens the burden on the people, but also ensures the implementation of a clean government. Therefore, Yongzheng said, "Since the promulgation of this law, the administration of officials has been a little bit clear, so there is no need to reinvent the wheel." This is the so-called "high salary and honesty".

In the Ming dynasty, power was concentrated in the cabinet, so power came into being. Yongzheng of the Qing Dynasty further concentrated power in the hands of the emperor, and established the military department as the secretary team of the emperor, making suggestions, writing documents and managing government affairs for the emperor. "The military strategy is not in charge." It is characterized by its simplicity and quickness in handling political affairs. The minister of military affairs directly deals with all localities and ministries, understands the local situation and conveys the emperor's will. This institution existed for 200 years until the late Qing Dynasty. In the military department.

The establishment of the military department was accompanied by the implementation of the memorial system. Because the previous official documents were complicated, many people read them, and it was difficult to keep them secret because of the time delay, but the memorial was presented directly to the emperor, directly to the emperor himself. Yongzheng expanded the number of people who can play the emperor, so that officials with different identities can reflect the situation in time, report government affairs, and make the emperor examine the situation in order to make policies; It also enabled officials to supervise each other and let the emperor know their virtue, stupidity, laziness, achievements and honesty.

Some areas where ethnic minorities live in concentrated communities, such as southwest China, implement the chieftain system, and their positions are hereditary, nominally only accepting Qing books.

Sealed. Toastmasters are arrogant. This system has hindered national unity and the development of regional economy and culture. After Yongzheng ascended the throne, he abolished many chieftains in Yunnan, Guizhou, Guangxi, Sichuan and Hunan, and changed to a state-county system consistent with the whole country. "Returning home" is a serious struggle. Many chiefs resisted, and Yongzheng resolutely sent troops to suppress them. Although innocent people were also involved in the counter-insurgency war, it did harm ethnic minorities. But in the long run, "returning home" is a progressive measure, which attacks and limits the separatist regime and the privileges of chieftain, and is conducive to the economic and cultural development of ethnic areas.

In the early period of Yongzheng, the sea ban was strictly enforced, but later, considering the sufferings of the coastal people, Yongzheng opened the foreign ban for five years. Allow people to trade in Nanyang. Fujian and Guangdong provinces have imposed a sea ban. Yongzheng also paid more attention to the opium trade at that time. His opium policy was: selling drugs, paying in hell, strictly distinguishing medical opium from drug opium smoke, banning drugs, not interfering in medical use, and taking care of the legitimate interests of small businessmen. Yongzheng also treated the envoys from western Europe with courtesy. Although he strongly opposed the spread of Catholicism among the people in China (partly because of the conservative ideas of feudal emperors), at the same time, he didn't mean any harm to Catholicism. In five years, Ambassador Bordugar (now Portugal) came to Beijing. Yongzheng's preferential treatment made him deeply grateful. Even on Yongzheng's birthday, he prayed in the Catholic church to celebrate his birthday. Yongzheng also selected some talented missionaries to develop foreign musical instruments and burn materials in the palace. Macartney came to China that year, partly because the book Enlightened written by Yongzheng in Voltaire was known to Europeans, which made them full of beautiful illusions about the trade between Emperor China (then Qianlong) and China. As a feudal emperor, although he opened the foreign ban, restored the livelihood deprived by some people in the southern coastal areas in the last years of Kangxi, and promoted the economic and cultural exchanges between China and Nanyang, it inevitably had its limitations. In addition, the abolition of the base membership system and waist cutting is also one of his achievements. In fact, the reason for abolishing the waist chop is this: Yong Zhengdi once killed a person with the waist chop, because the waist chop was cut from the waist with a knife, and the person was still alive after the cut. After being cut, the man's fingers were stained with blood and wrote seven words "miserable" on the ground. Yong Zhengdi felt miserable when he heard that, and ordered the abolition of waist cutting. During his 13 short reign, he carried out more reforms than his father (Kangxi). It can be said that Yongzheng was a reform-oriented emperor. Sejong worked diligently in the Qing Dynasty, vigorously eliminated all kinds of disadvantages accumulated in the later period of Kangxi's rule, made certain achievements, and made contributions to the historical development of the Qing Dynasty. However, his strict rule, suspicion and unkindness are his weaknesses, which easily offend many bureaucrats. At the same time, it is precisely because of his strict rule and extraordinary efforts that the Qing empire gradually reached its peak, which also played a role in connecting the past with the future for the prosperous period of Kanggan. Coupled with the diligence of Yongzheng, he is not only an emperor of past dynasties, but also a modern leader, and few people can match him. During the eight months of 12, he worked late into the night almost every day. Only on his birthday will he take a year off. And sleep less than 4 hours a day. The comment on writing written only on tens of thousands of memorials amounts to more than ten thousand words 10. Yong Zhengdi's diligent spirit and achievements in governing the country are exemplary among the ancient emperors in China.

References:

Yongzheng Baidu encyclopedia