This idea is to admit that one is a Yi Di, but to show that Yi Di is also a human being and should not be treated differently, which means that the derogatory connotation of Yi Di is stripped away. When asking others not to belittle Yi Di, of course he has to do the same. Therefore, Yongzheng also specifically said that from now on, everyone can use the word Yi Di casually without taboos.
The problem is that the Qing court has always been very taboo about these titles. They can't stand it if someone says a relevant word. In this way, it is tantamount to admitting that Yi Di is a curser.
Similarly, people at the time believed that the Qing Dynasty's process of conquering the world was very cruel and had nothing to do with virtue, but was instead the behavior of beasts. Yongzheng tried to defend himself, but he could not explain the various actions of the Qing Dynasty. Not only that, Yongzheng himself was particularly keen on debating scriptures with others. He would not give up even if he could not prove his innocence. He would loudly discuss with others every day whether his ancestors were beasts...
After all this trouble, it would be better not to talk about it.
Moreover, relatively speaking, these are no longer fundamental problems: although it is difficult to explain, they are essentially faults caused by specific behaviors. In addition to this, there is a fundamental loophole in this theory.
The Qing Dynasty was first of all a hereditary dynasty, and in the East, all dynasties had to face a problem: they had to prove at the same time that it was reasonable for them to start and establish a new dynasty; and it was unreasonable for others to start and establish a new dynasty now. This is actually a self-contradictory question that even the Han Dynasty could not explain well at the beginning.
The Ming Dynasty's explanation was based on "expelling the Tartars" as a reason. Zhu Yuanzhang had this righteous title at the time, but those who opposed the Ming Dynasty did not necessarily have it. Therefore, this difference is cleverly used to answer the paradoxical question of legitimacy.
This is why it is so important whether Zhu Yuanzhang accepted the Yuan Dynasty's imperial edict. Normally, this shouldn't be a big problem, but in this legal discussion, it is very important.
Not only did the Qing Dynasty not have such available conditions, but in turn, it was criticized as a barbarian. It must explain more seriously that it was not rebelling as a rebellious traitor, otherwise everyone will have to learn from it.
Therefore, dynasties throughout the ages have almost always belittled other rebels of the same era, which is also part of the argument for legitimacy. Although it seems that he has turned against others, but in order to cater to tradition and win the support of scholar-bureaucrats, it is not possible to do otherwise.
For example, in the Ming Dynasty, the Red Scarf Army was accused of being "thieves" in the official "History of the Yuan Dynasty". Moreover, because the compilation was too hasty and without careful review, sometimes Zhu Yuanzhang’s Red Scarf Army was also called thieves...
Some people also believe that this was due to the dissatisfaction of the literati at that time with Zhu Yuanzhang. No matter how much he expressed his stance, everyone still thought he was a thief. As to whether it was intentional or accidental, there is no way to verify.
The only exception is probably the Han Dynasty. According to Liu Bang's order, the Western Han Dynasty officials have always recognized and worshiped Chen Sheng. Because the Han Dynasty won the world, in the eyes of people at the time, it was actually a "war for hegemony", which was the same as Qin's destruction of the six kingdoms. Liu Bang's proclaimed emperor was theoretically recommended by the princes.
The war of unification did not end, and it did not come to an end until the period of Emperor Jing of the Han Dynasty. The long war and strong strength gave the Han Dynasty ample legitimacy. As a dynasty that truly unified the world, it did not need to care about these issues. Confucian scholars in the Han Dynasty even often discussed the issue of revolution and change of dynasties, so that it became a prominent scholar. Later dynasties generally did not have this kind of confidence.
How did the Qing Dynasty solve this problem? Judging from the results, there is no solution.
Since the Han Dynasty, the legitimacy of successive dynasties has been worse than the last. By the Song Dynasty, it was actually almost gone.
The Yuan Dynasty essentially started from scratch, abandoning the names of vassal states since the Western Zhou Dynasty and the corresponding legal system that originated from one place and unified all Xia, and regarded "I am the biggest, I am the most legitimate" as a legal statement. The Ming Dynasty used the reason of expelling the Mongols and successfully continued it again. By the time the Qing Dynasty took over, the excuses available had basically been exhausted.
As usual, the Qing Dynasty accused Li Zicheng and others of being "thieves", but unlike other dynasties, it could not use this to declare the difference between itself and other "thieves and bandits" and to emphasize its legitimacy.
If Yongzheng's idea can be implemented, it will indeed help bridge the contradiction between Manchu and Han. However, at the same time, it will not only not help establish the legitimacy of the dynasty, but will even dig out its own roots.
One of the most important foundations of the territory and governance concepts of the Central Plains dynasties is the view of the world, which cannot be abandoned. Acknowledging that the Manchus are a regional group of people and claiming that there is no difference between the Han and the Manchus is not a problem when viewed alone, but it is troublesome when combined with the view of the world.
Because according to this theory, the Manchus were obviously part of the "people of the world" back then and should have fallen under the legal jurisdiction of the emperor of the Ming Dynasty at that time. Therefore, the Manchus' rebellion against the Ming Dynasty was undoubtedly a more serious act of rebellion than the uprisings of lower-class people such as Li Zicheng and Zhang Xianzhong.
It is okay to say that Li Zicheng is a bandit, but then he becomes a giant bandit...
Therefore, "the Huayi family", "the world" and "the legitimacy of the hereditary dynasty" can only ever require two of these three points.
Almost all the Qing Dynasty's various attempts hit a wall here. For example, later on, Qianlong specially ordered the compilation of "The Biography of Erchen" and cut off the Ming Dynasty officials who surrendered to the Qing Dynasty, hoping to further distance themselves from the "thieves and bandits" and enhance the legitimacy of his dynasty.
But this traditional method is still difficult to be effective. Because of applying the "view of the world", it is not difficult to find that the biggest traitor in the late Ming Dynasty was General Longhu of Jianzhou Wei, and the rest of them were just his minions. The more publicity this gets, the more troublesome it becomes...
After a series of failed attempts, the Qing Dynasty's discussion of legitimacy has basically fallen flat.
Only two months after Yongzheng's death, and before he could change the Yuan Dynasty, Qianlong urgently banned his propaganda books, and his attempts to promote Mandarin and restrict the bannermen with strict laws were also abolished. From then on, everyone can only keep repeating the moral principles of monarch and minister, and can no longer make meaningful innovations.
Even so, the negative effects are difficult to eliminate.
People accused him of "the barbarians stole the throne and polluted China, just like robbers who robbed the family property, drove my master out and occupied my home." Yongzheng found that this accusation was very powerful and was the main point of argument, so he put it He copied it directly from the "forbidden book" and announced to the whole world: "Now some people accuse me of 'the Yi Di stole the throne, polluted China, etc.', I don't think that is the case..."
In short, Yongzheng was too honest when he wrote his book. He had to quote the original documents of others to refute others... In this way, the problems analyzed were known to everyone.
In this case, Qianlong could only try his best to patch it up. Regarding the most dangerous issue of "General Longhu's rebellion", he also started from the "world" and tried his best to prove that his family's ancestors were not within the scope of the Ming Dynasty's rule.
For this reason, Qianlong devoted himself to researching the origins of Manchuria and tried his best to push the origins away from the Central Plains. Finally, he finally came to the conclusion that the Aixinjueluo family came from Sanhan.
This result is also shocking in a sense. However, the more embarrassing problem of "taking the lead in rebellion" for the hereditary dynasty was finally avoided.
Although the price was a violent argument like "Nurhachi is Korean", it was finally resolved and it was worth it...
(End of chapter)
