The primogeniture inheritance system, which has been popular for three thousand years, has been valued by successive dynasties. Why did not work in the Qing Dynasty?
The eldest son inheritance system originated in the Western Zhou Dynasty and has existed in our country for three thousand years. Even after dynasty changes, it was still valued by successive dynasties and became an important basis for establishing a prince.
Among them, was implemented most thoroughly in the Ming Dynasty . For example, Zhu Yuanzhang passed the throne to his eldest grandson Zhu Yunqi before his death. At that time, his eldest son had passed away. Although he had other sons, he still chose his eldest grandson.
This can be said to be a good start for the Ming Dynasty. Although Zhu Yunwen was eventually dethroned by Zhu Di, they generally followed this system afterwards. Therefore, in the history of Ming Dynasty, it is rare to see brothers killing each other and killing their fathers to seize the throne..
The Qing Dynasty was different. Although they attached great importance to Han culture and copied the Ming Dynasty's system under the banner of Qing Cheng Ming System , they did not learn from their inheritance system.
According to historical records, we can know that except for Emperor Daoguang and Emperor Tongzhi, all of the twelve emperors of the Qing Dynasty were not the eldest sons. So, what was the reason that the eldest son successor was not feasible in the Qing Dynasty? Let’s find out next.
The eldest son inheritance system has been followed for thousands of years.
The eldest son inheritance system means that the first child born into the main family inherits property and status. Due to the large number of costume dramas in recent years, in the eyes of many people, it seems that most emperors in history were not the eldest sons.
But in fact this is not the case. From the first emperor Qin Shihuang to the last emperor Puyi who abdicated, we have experienced more than 400 emperors in history, and most of these emperors are not very famous. Some of them are short-lived and some are mediocre.
The really famous ones are often those non-eldest sons who rely on their own abilities to win the throne, such as Emperor Taizong of the Tang Dynasty Li Shimin, Ming Chengzu Zhu Di, etc., so this will cause us such a misunderstanding. In fact, in history, most dynasties followed this system.
The eldest son successor is undoubtedly the embodiment of the wisdom of the ancients. He has many advantages. Ancient emperors generally had many sons. For example, Zhu Yuanzhang had 26 sons, and Kangxi had 35 sons. If there were too many sons, he would be inherited. It brings a lot of trouble. In order to get this only seat, it will inevitably lead to fratricide. This is something that every emperor does not want to see. Therefore, fortunately, booking the seat in advance can reduce a lot of conflicts.
Then why did you choose the eldest son? First of all, this is in line with Confucian ethics. Secondly, the main wife usually comes from a famous family. Her family background, character, and cultivation are much higher than those of other concubines, and the children will naturally not be too bad. In addition, the eldest son is the oldest, most stable and mature, and is very suitable for inheriting the family business, so the eldest son inheritance system is established.
However, he also has many shortcomings . For example, if the eldest son is established too early, his ability cannot be determined. It is okay if he is a talented person, but if he is an incompetent or mediocre person, it is not. Conducive to the consolidation and governance of the country.
Moreover, if the heir is determined too early, it may also cause conflicts between father and son. If you intervene too little, some people will think you are incompetent. If you interfere too much, some people will worry that you will usurp the throne.
However, although there are pros and cons, this is considered the most appropriate inheritance system that can be chosen, so it is valued by various dynasties. But why was the Qing Dynasty an exception?
The inheritance system of the Qing Dynasty
In fact, The Qing Dynasty also tried the eldest son inheritance system at the beginning, but it was not successful.During the reign of Emperor Taizu of the Qing Dynasty, Nurhachi had always regarded his eldest son, Chu Ying, as his heir. Unfortunately, he failed to live up to his expectations. Not only did he compete with his brothers for power, he even wanted to directly usurp the throne. In the end, Nurhachi was shut down. up .
The successor Huang Taiji also had the same idea, but his eldest son died young, and he had no idea of establishing a prince after that. Until he died suddenly without leaving any edict, finally turned out to be the year of Fulin, who was only nine years old, became the emperor .
The eldest son of Emperor Shunzhi also died young, so he did not establish a crown prince. Although he had two queens, he loved neither of them. He only cared about Concubine Dong E, and even wanted to establish the fourth son of Concubine Dong E as the crown prince, but It is a pity that the fourth son of the emperor was also short-lived, so the third son of the emperor, Xuan Ye, was the last to succeed, also known as Emperor Kangxi..
Because of the influence of previous emperors, Emperor Kangxi knew the importance of determining the crown prince, so he planned to learn the eldest son inheritance system of previous dynasties, and he established the crown prince very early. In order to ensure that the prince became a qualified heir, Kangxi could be said to have devoted a lot of effort. He not only brought the prince to his side to raise him personally, but also found the most knowledgeable people to be his teachers.
However, this prince did not live up to his expectations. Not only was he arrogant and extravagant, but he also had a particularly violent temper. Kangxi couldn't bear it, and eventually he was deposed.. However, from the fact that Kangxi was deposed and re-established, and then re-established and deposed again, we can see his reluctance and disappointment in this prince. Since then, he has changed his mind and changed the system of establishing a prince to "establishing the virtuous but not the senior" .
Therefore, Kangxi's attempt to establish a legitimate son also failed. Not only that, it also triggered the famous nine sons in history . Kangxi's attempt not only failed, but caused even greater chaos. However, although Kangxi abandoned the system of establishing legitimate sons, the following emperors still preferred their legitimate sons in choosing successors.
However, in order to avoid the situation of nine sons seizing the heir again, they also established a secret reserve system . That is to say, write two copies of the imperial edict in advance, put one in your hands, and put the other behind the plaque in the Qianqing Palace. Only if the contents of the two imperial edicts are the same can he succeed to the throne.
He was succeeded by Yongzheng. His eldest son died before he succeeded to the throne. By the time he was about to establish a crown prince, the eldest prince in the palace was already the fourth son, Hongli. In addition, Hongli was smart since he was a child and was deeply loved by Yongzheng, so he naturally became the prince.
Qianlong also wanted to establish his legitimate son as the crown prince, but unfortunately his two legitimate sons died successively, and finally he could only choose the fifteenth son of the emperor as the emperor. In order to make him his legitimate son, Qianlong also posthumously named him His biological mother is Empress Xiaoyi , which shows his insistence on his legitimate son.
Conclusion
From the above we can see that the Qing Dynasty did not want to adopt the eldest son inheritance system, but most of the legitimate sons died young, so they had to abandon this system. In fact, they were helpless.
