In TV dramas based on the Qing Dynasty, whether it is a historical drama like "Kangxi Dynasty" or a time-travel plot like "Step by Step", a group of people are the Eight Banners disciples.

Among the TV series based on the Qing Dynasty , whether it is a historical drama like " Kangxi Dynasty " or a time-travel plot like " Step by Step Shocking ", a group of people are the Eight Banners disciples. Eight Banners are familiar to most people. The Qing Dynasty has only been destroyed for more than a hundred years. In real life, news media often report on some so-called Eight Banners descendants of the Qing royal family.

It seems that the Eight Flags are a status symbol. There was an aunt in Beijing who cursed loudly on the bus and said arrogantly that her ancestors were Banner people or Zhenghuang Banners. After the news was reported, the Eight Banners system of the Qing Dynasty attracted the attention and discussion of netizens. The Eight Banners system was the foundation of the Qing Dynasty, so what exactly were the Eight Banners? How much power does , the leader of the Eight Banners, have?

The foundation of the Qing Dynasty

Most people have learned about the Eight Banners through some film and television works, and most people have a negative impression of the children of the Eight Banners . These Eight Banners disciples either use their status to do all kinds of evil, bullying men and dominating women. Or you are just a caged bird, relying on how much money you have at home to spend your whole life without having to work.

Over time, the Eight Banners became the representative of lazy people. Many people even believe that it was the idleness of the Eight Banners children that led to the decline of the Qing Dynasty. In fact, when the Qing Dynasty was first established, the Eight Banners system allowed the Qing Dynasty to consolidate its power and strengthen the emperor's control over centralization.

The Eight Banners system can be said to be the foundation of the Qing Dynasty. The Manchu nobles who followed Nurhachi and Huang Taiji all the way from the northeast across Shanhaiguan to the capital also relied on the Eight Banners to demonstrate their identity and guarantee their status. The Qing army did not have Eight Banners at the beginning. As Nurhachi's strength gradually grew, the Eight Banners system gradually formed.

In the beginning, Nurhaci’s tribe was just a small tribe, named Black Flag. Later, as Nurhachi became stronger and continued to recruit surrounding small tribes, reorganized these tribes in order to better strengthen management, so there were white flags and yellow flags at the back. Flags of different colors represent different teams.

The evolution of the Eight Banners

In order to strengthen his centralized rule in the feudal era, the emperors controlled the military power by people they trusted very much, either brothers or sons, and Nurhaci was no exception. When Nurhachi incorporated other tribes, the original black flag expanded into the earliest three flags.

Nurhaci commanded the yellow flag, Shuerhaqi commanded the black flag, and Nurhachi's eldest son commanded the white flag. He was also the earliest owner of the Eight Banners. The yellow flag led by Nurhaci also became the bordered yellow flag that later represented the royal family. As Nurhachi expanded his strength and incorporated more and more tribes, the three flags were no longer enough. Later, red flags, and blue flags were added.

At this time, the banner leader also changed. The eldest son of Shuerhaqi and Nurhaci was executed by Nurhaci for making a big mistake. The black flag commanded by Shuerhaqi was later assigned to , the red flag, and the bordered red flag respectively. The white flag was later divided into pure white flag , with white flag and pure blue flag , some of which became with blue flag .

The Yellow Banner that Nurhaci commanded before was finally divided into Zhenghuang Banner and Xianghuang Banner, which were still led by Nurhaci. From here we can see that the Mosaic Flag and the Zhenghuang Flag have always been of Manchu and Qing Dynasty royal blood. It is worth noting that Huang Taiji was the flag owner of the Xiangbai Banner and the Zhengbai Banner at that time.

To summarize, the Eight Banners system is a system unique to the Manchus. The Eight Banners system also evolved gradually as the Manchus gradually grew stronger, and the flag owners are not fixed. Although the flag leaders of the Eight Banners are held by different people, these people all have the characteristic that they are either Nurhaci, Nurhaci's brothers or descendants of brothers, which is equivalent to the current family business.

It is precisely because of the rights and status of these flag owners that they have a transcendent status. A very important position in the Qing Dynasty was Minister of Military Aircraft Department . He often discussed military affairs with the emperor and was also a person whom the emperor trusted very much. However, the leader of the Eight Banners could directly compete with the minister of military aircraft. So what is the status of the leader of the Eight Banners? How about high?

The rights of the flag owner

As Emperor Chongzhen committed suicide and died for his country, Qing troops entered the customs The Ming Dynasty ended more than two hundred years of rule, and the Qing Dynasty was officially established. The Eight Banners system of the Qing Dynasty has also been continued and has been with the Qing Dynasty for more than two hundred years. In the Qing Dynasty, the Eight Banners disciples had many special rights, and their salaries were much richer than ordinary people.

The children of the Eight Banners already have a higher identity and status than ordinary people, and they must have higher rights as flag owners. The Eight Flags can be simply divided into the upper three flags and the lower five flags. The Three Banners are led by the emperor himself, so their status is naturally higher.

The lower five flags were also led by relatives of the emperor. Take a look at the flag owners of the eight banners in the early Qing Dynasty. The flag masters who command the five flags are either Daishan or the iron hat king. In general, , whether it is the upper three banners or the lower five banners, can be regarded as the direct line troops of the Qing emperor. Therefore, the leaders of the Eight Banners were all figures with real power in the early Qing Dynasty. Even the emperor had to consult with the Eight Banners leaders when making important decisions.

Because the leaders of the Eight Banners are not only direct descendants of the emperor, but also very important is that the leaders of the Eight Banners command a large number of people. Each of the Eight Banners is independent. Among them, the one with the lowest status and the smallest number of people is the Xiangbai Flag. There are only 15 subordinates under the Xiangbai Flag.

There are about 300 people in each zuoling. From here we can see that the minimum number of people with white flags is also four to five thousand. Based on this number of people, take Huang Taiji as an example. When Nurhachi was still alive, the combined number of the Xiangbai Banner and Zhengbai Banner commanded by Huang Taiji was tens of thousands.

Whether it is status, treatment or the number of people under their command, the Eight Banners leaders had a very high say in the early Qing Dynasty. In particular, the emperor had to discuss some major military affairs with these flag owners. From a certain perspective, the emperor was also on an equal footing with these flag-raisers. After all, the emperor is also the banner leader, but he only commands more people.

The Eight Banners system played a very important role in helping Nurhaci fight against the Ming Dynasty. However, with the passage of time, especially the Qing Dynasty's foundation became more and more stable. During the Kangxi period, the emperor gradually felt that the Eight Banners posed a great threat to his centralized rule, and the Eight Banners' owners had less and less say in the court.

Summary

In the middle and late Qing Dynasty, the Eight Banners masters had almost no substantive rights. At this time, the Eight Banners' combat effectiveness was gradually losing , and the Eight Banners chess masters had been raised by the emperor for many years and lost their fighting spirit. The real power to rule the Eight Banners soldiers and horses has been completely in the hands of the emperor himself.

In the late Qing Dynasty, as the contradiction between productivity and social system became more and more prominent, the Eight Banners disciples had become a group of idlers. The shadow of the Eight Banners system can be seen in the Qing dynasty from its initial establishment to its later prosperity and its demise. As Empress Dowager Longyu issued an abdication edict officially ending the rule of the Qing Dynasty, the Eight Banners system also collapsed and withdrew from the stage of history.