Speaking of Zhang Tingyu, the first word in most people's minds is that he deserves to enjoy the Ancestral Temple. This is enough to show the high status, strong ability and profound contribution of this Han official in the Qing Dynasty.
Zhang Tingyu, courtesy name Hengchen, was the son of Zhang Ying, a great scholar. He was born in the capital in the eleventh year of Kangxi's reign and died in his hometown on March 20, the twentieth year of Qianlong's reign, at the age of eighty-four.
Zhang Tingyu was a Jinshi in the 39th year of Kangxi's reign, changed to a commoner, was awarded a review, and joined Nan Shufang. After that, he was awarded bachelor's degree as a minister, promoted to cabinet bachelor, and served as a lecturer at banquets. He has successively served as the Right Minister of the Ministry of Justice, the Left Minister of the Ministry of Official Affairs, the Minister of Rites, the Minister of the Ministry of Households, the Grand Scholar of Baohe Hall and the Minister of the Ministry of Household Affairs, and he has also served as the president of the imperial edicts and classics for many times. Having experienced the three dynasties of Kangxi, Yongzheng and Qianlong, he could be called a veteran and won the trust of the three emperors Xuan Ye, Yinzhen and Hongli.
In the middle of the Kangxi period, which can also be said to be the early days of the Kangxi era, Zhang Tingyu began to enter his official career. In the forty-third year of Kangxi's reign, Xuanye summoned him to Changchun Garden to inquire about the current situation of his father, the great scholar Zhang Ying, and ordered him to compose poems. He won Xuanye's love for his two seven-character rhymed poems. On the same day, Xuan Ye ordered him to join the Nan Study Room. He was specially ordered to bring a few beads and wear the uniform of a fourth-grade official. As a result, Zhang Tingyu lived in the inner court and inherited his father's business. Zhang Tingyu himself said: "The border is so poor and deserted, and all the rest can be followed by Er's writing."
The era in which Zhang Tingyu lived can be said to be the entire "Kangxi and Qianlong" period: authoritarian centralized rule was further strengthened; various political systems in the late feudal society had matured and improved. Mainly manifested in the fact that the monarch is smart and capable, diligent in government affairs, hands-on in everything, and does not assume authority from others. Xuanye's clever capture of Obai, pacification of Sanfan, unification of Taiwan, fight against Tsarist Russia, pacification of Junggar, etc.; Yinzhen's secret reserve positions, implementation of secret discount system, establishment of military aircraft department, reform of the Eight Banners system, crackdown on "cronies", and implementation of " "Easy farmers into acres" and promote "returning land to locals"; Hongli's "administration with generosity", "stop reclamation, stop donations and pay more attention to agriculture and mulberry", build up troops in the frontier, "ten complete martial arts", manage and develop the frontier wait.
In the 61st year of Kangxi's reign, he died in Changchun Garden on the outskirts of Beijing, and the fourth son of the emperor, Yinzhen, succeeded to the throne. Zhang Tingyu was carefully chosen as his assistant. As for how much Yinzhen valued Zhang Tingyu, firstly, because of his excellent knowledge, "compassionate demeanor, and clear response"; secondly, because he was the son of his mentor Zhang Ying, and there was such a friendship. During the period of Kang and Yong's friendship, government affairs were extremely busy, and edicts were issued dozens of times a day, all of which were handled by Zhang Tingyu. If there is an urgent matter, Yinzhen orders him to enter the palace, dictate the general meaning, and orders him to draft an edict, and issue it after the imperial review is clear. From then on, Zhang Tingyu became one of the key ministers.
In the early days of Yinzhen's administration, he continued to make in-depth adjustments to the Eight Banners system and weakened the power of the Five Banners. Then he started to deal with those brothers who were like wolves and tigers. For the princes like Yinzhu, Yinzhen, and Yinzhen, he killed those who deserved to be killed, and changed the confinement and confinement. This was all the follow-up to the original "seizing of the legitimate son".
In the later years of Kangxi, political struggles continued, especially among the princes who fought openly and covertly for the throne. The political situation was turbulent. In view of this lesson, Yinzhen decided to reform the succession system of "establishing direct descendants and establishing elders" in previous dynasties, and implemented a secret establishment of the throne. method. In the first year of Yongzheng's reign, Yinhu, Yinxiang, Ma Qi and Longkodo, who were left as prime ministers, hid the secret box behind the "upright and bright" plaque in the Palace of Qianqing. To prevent any eventuality, they wrote another secret box and kept it in Inner government. In September of the eighth year of Yongzheng's reign, Yongzheng showed the contents of the secret edict to Zhang Tingyu, and in the first month of October, he showed it to Ertai.
On August 23, the 13th year of Yongzheng's reign, Emperor Yongzheng died in the Old Summer Palace. Zhang Tingyu and Ertai informed the kings and ministers that "Emperor Daxing personally wrote a secret decree because of the important matter of passing on the throne. He once told me that no one else knows except the two of us. This order is for emergency use in the palace. Please come out to rectify the rule." Yongzheng was able to let Zhang Tingyu know in advance about the extremely important crown prince matter, which shows that Zhang Tingyu was already regarded as a loyal minister by Yinzhen. Especially in the third and fifth years of Yongzheng's reign, Yinzhen successively dealt with Nian Gengyao and Longkodo, both internal and external confidants who helped him seize the throne. Zhang Tingyu became Yongzheng's chief think tank and "praised countless people for the great military and state affairs." count".
After Hongli succeeded to the throne, following the orders of Emperor Daxing, he was assisted by Prince Zhuang Yunlu, Prince Guo Yunli, academicians Ertai and Zhang Tingyu. Hongli also paid special attention to Zhang Tingyu. Whenever he went out on inspection tours, he always asked him to stay in Beijing to prime minister and stay overnight in the Forbidden City. He also participated in imperial examinations, selected talents, and inspected and reported officials.
In the thirteenth year of Yongzheng's reign, he cared deeply for Zhang Tingyu and honored his officials. This led to a seemingly impossible situation in the entire Manchu and Qing Dynasties (except for the late Qing Dynasty): party strife - party strife among Manchu and Han officials.
During his lifetime, Yinzhen loved his right-hand Han minister Zhang Tingyu and Manchu minister Ortai very much, and even gave him the honor of being "worthy of the Ancestral Temple" after his death. The formation of Zhang Tingyu and Ertai should be said to be directly related to the honor given to them by Emperor Yongzheng. In the tenth year of Yongzheng's reign, Zhang Tingyu returned to his hometown to pay homage to his father Zhang Ying. Yinzhen wrote in his note of gratitude: "In the eleven years since I came to the throne, all the ministers in the court who have been close to me have never been apart for a day, but you are the only one. The righteousness of the monarch and his ministers is strong, and the sympathy of the friends is the same." Even if there are officials involved in playing Zhang Tingyu and Ertai, Yinzhen will preserve them and do not need to participate in the discussion.
After Ertai entered the dynasty, because the Qing court "first worshiped Manchuria", under the old system, Ertai, a Manchu scholar, should be ranked before Zhang Tingyu. In the 10th year of Qianlong's reign, Ertai died of illness, and Naqin replaced him. Although Zhang Tingyu said in person that Naqin should come before him, there was unavoidable criticism in his heart. Hongli himself said: "If the order of appointment is used, Ertai should not be before Zhang Tingyu on that day."
If you trace back the Manchu-Han issue, it can even be traced back to the beginning of the establishment of the Qing Dynasty. The various practices of the Qing court actually deepened the ethnic conflicts between the Manchu and Han people, making it difficult for them to coordinate and fight overtly and covertly. Before the Yongzheng Dynasty, even in the Kangxi Dynasty, there was no situation where Han officials could compare with Manchu officials. When Han officials saw Manchu officials, they had to demote themselves by half a rank or even kneel down (later, because it was not appropriate in public, The etiquette of kneeling is also dispensed with.)
Zhang Tingyu and Ertai have worked together for more than ten years, but "often don't speak a word to each other for a day." As long as Ertai made a mistake, even if it was a small mistake or problem, he would ridicule him with words, making Ertai feel ashamed. For example, one day during the summer vacation, Ertai once took off his hat to enjoy the cool air and muttered to himself: "Where can I put this hat?" Zhang Tingyu smiled slightly and said, "It is better to put this hat on top of your head." Ertai was immediately displeased and helpless, and his expression remained solemn for several days.
In the early years of Qianlong's reign, Ertai and Zhang Tingyu were the prime ministers of the country, and their subordinates respected each other, gradually forming a clique. Of course Hongli was aware of this, but he couldn't tell the two elders clearly, so he had to use Sejong's "On Clique" to warn him, but he didn't get what he wanted.
The problems of bureaucratic dependence and cronyism are actually closely related to the imperial examination. The Niu and Li parties in the Tang Dynasty and the cronyism in the Song Dynasty were even more prosperous. The Donglin party struggle in the Ming Dynasty still vaguely emerges before our eyes. The chief examiners of the rural examinations, the examiners of the general examinations, and those who passed the exams became lifelong teachers and students. They often supported each other, favored each other, cut off dissidents, and eventually became cliques to control the government. Zhang Tingyu presided over the provincial examinations, joint examinations, and participated in the palace examinations many times, and he had many students under his disciples. As for Ertai, he did not choose whether his disciples were good or not, he did not train his children to be careful, and he knew the party members, "taking Zhang Dang as his enemy, and making many sarcastic remarks." The situation in the imperial court was also formally formed in which "the Manchus wanted to rely on Ortai, and the Han people wanted to rely on Zhang Tingyu." In the imperial court, it could be said that there were separate families, and the mantle was passed down from generation to generation.
In the first month of the thirteenth year of Qianlong's reign, Zhang Tingyu and Chen Shu begged for retirement due to old illness. Hongli issued a special edict for this purpose: "You have received great favor from the two dynasties, and you have been ordered by the emperor to test your legacy, and you will be worthy of enjoying the imperial temple in the future. How can you die in heaven as a sacrifice to a Yuan minister?" Reason?", conveying the message to comfort Liu. In the first month of the second year, Hongli even ordered Zhang Tingyu to follow the example of Wen Yanbo in the Song Dynasty. He went to the capital hall once every ten days to discuss matters and to the inner court once every four or five days to prepare advisers. As a result, in the winter of that year, Zhang Tingyu once again begged to return to old age, and Hongli approved his appointment as an official. As a result, Zhang Tingyu himself went to Shu and said that before the death of Emperor Yongzheng, he had said that he was worthy of enjoying the Ancestral Temple, and wanted Hongli to write a certificate. When Hongli heard this request, he was really unhappy, but he still issued the edict and wrote a poem to him as a favor. Zhang Tingyu sent his son to thank him, but Hongli was very unhappy. He blamed Zhang Tingyu for not thanking him in person, and sent an order to him to understand the response. As a result, the military ministers Fu Heng and Wang Youdun passed down the edict. Before the edict arrived, Zhang Tingyu came to the inner court to express his gratitude. Hongli was even more unhappy, thinking that the military aircraft department had leaked the news, and blamed Fu Heng and Wang Youdun. The courtiers held a meeting and requested that Zhang Tingyu be deprived of his official title and that he should be stripped of his title. Hongli ordered that Zhang Tingyu be deprived of his title.
It was not until the fiftieth year of Qianlong's reign that Hongli personally wrote Zhang Tingyu's "Three Lao and Five Generators" and re-evaluated him: "Looking at it now, Tingyu's discussion is the right one." "Since Fu Tingyu has such great knowledge, what is the meaning of seeing it? I will not stop talking and follow the emperor's imperial edict, so that he can enjoy the Imperial Ancestral Temple." So by the end of the Qing Dynasty, among the Han officials, only Zhang Tingyu was worthy of enjoying the Imperial Ancestral Temple. one person.
Under the rule of feudal autocracy, veteran officials like Zhang Tingyu were inevitably hit. From then on, the power of the Han Dynasty officials declined again. Until the end of the Qing Dynasty, the Queen Mother of the West was forced to give up power to the local governor Han Chen. , from this perspective, isn’t Zhang Tingyu a victim of the autocratic monarchy?
