Was Wei Zhongxian, the chief eunuch of the Ming Dynasty, a loyal or treacherous minister? Why did he die in Ming Dynasty when he died?
Chongzhen, the last emperor of the Ming Dynasty, ended his life with a white silk, and also ended the 276-year rule of Ming Dynasty. Some people say that the demise of the dynasty was caused by Chongzhen’s dismantling the chief eunuch Wei Zhongxian. Others believed that Wei Zhongxian was a treacherous minister who did harm to the ruling and the opposition. So, is he a loyal or a traitor? Why did the Ming Dynasty seem to accelerate its decline after Wei Zhongxian's death and head toward subjugation?
was born in an ordinary, powerful and powerful
Wei Zhongxian was from a poor family when he was a child, and did not know big characters. He was a small gangster who wandered around on the streets to discuss life. However, it is clear that Wei's life is a low drive high. After he entered the palace, it may be because he was walking on the streets before, so he was very good at interpersonal relations. He was illiterate and could also be a supervisor of ceremonies, and he was also loved by the emperor’s nanny, Keshi. Because of the Hakka relationship, Wei Zhongxian's development in the palace is right and left. Of course, it also has a lot to do with his good communication. His name, Wei Zhongxian, was given by the emperor, which shows how much he was liked by the emperor at that time.
Mingxi Zong Zhu Youxiao is also a bit famous in history, but his reputation is not because of how well the emperor is, but because of his hobby of woodworking. How special is an emperor who doesn't like to engage in politics and likes to be a carpenter every day. So an ambitious eunuch met an emperor who was obsessed with carpentry every day, and the eunuch dictatorship appeared. At that time, the power of the court and government was held in the hands of Wei Zhongxian, known as "nine thousand nine hundred and nine hundred years old", which was only one year younger than the emperor's "long live", which shows Wei Zhongxian's overwhelming power at that time. Many officials did not even know the emperor, only Wei Zhongxian.
The eunuch and the Donglin Party dispute
When a person's power is already too large to be controlled, there will naturally be many irregularities. This is also vividly reflected in Wei Zhongxian. In particular, the fight against dissidents was dealt with all those who were not satisfied with the management. Among them was the Donglin Party, another interest group at that time. Wei Zhongxian has spared no effort in suppressing the Donglin party that is unwilling to rely on him. In the famous "Six Gentlemen of the East Lin" tragedy, six members of the East Lin party, including Yang Lian and Zuo Guangdou, were persecuted by Wei Dang and lost their lives. Not only the Donglin Party but also the civil opposition forces will be killed and mutilated. While excluding dissidents, they will promote their own cronies and run rampant inside and outside.
Then when the oppression is unbearable, there will naturally be resistance. In the end, the Donglin Party, which was the most miserable, joined forces with Emperor Chongzhen to pull Wei Zhongxian off the horse.
What is the dispute between loyalty and traitor?
Why does Wei Zhongxian, who has done so many bad things, argue about whether he is a loyal or a traitor? What he did is obviously a treacherous minister, what is there to argue about?
However, the development of history still needs to be viewed dialectically. From the perspective of the Wei party's exclusion of dissidents and the misfortune of the government, Wei Zhongxian is indeed a big villain. But in fact, he is not useless.
When Wei Zhongxian was in charge of the government, although the Donglin Party was crushed, the Donglin Party was not a fuel-efficient lamp. Before the eunuch took power, it was actually the world of the Donglin Party. The reason why Wei Zhongxian was able to rise quickly was because the emperor wanted to balance the eunuch and the Donglin Party because of the consideration of the Donglin Party. It was only unexpected that Wei Zhongxian's development lost control, which led to the situation of eunuch dictatorship. However, after Chongzhen came to power, the united Donglin Party pulled Wei Zhongxian off his horse and relied on the Donglin Party in everything. As a result, the Donglin Party had no checks and balances as a single party, which accelerated the decline of the Ming Dynasty. Compared with the hazards of eunuchs to the government of the DPRK, those Donglin Party members who hold important positions in the DPRK are the root cause of shaking the country. Without the restriction of eunuchs, the Donglin Party is also a wild horse. So there is a saying that Wei Zhongxian died and the Ming Dynasty died.
In addition, Wei Zhongxian sent generals Yuan Chonghuan and Sun Chengzong to guard Jinzhou to guard against the Jurchens. The decision was also very correct, and he also reused Wu Sangui to guard Shanhaiguan to prevent foreign enemies from invading. Under Wei Zhongxian's power, although the government was in chaos, the overall situation was relatively stable. At least there is not much internal and external troubles. From these aspects, it can be said that Wei Zhongxian’s unification of the Ming DynastyThe cure is still effective.
Therefore, from a comprehensive dialectical point of view, Wei Zhongxian was a traitor, but he also contributed to the Ming Dynasty. He was opposed to cracking down on the dissidents, but at the same time he hoped that the Ming Dynasty could be stable for a long time. Dear readers, what do you think of Wei Zhongxian? Feel free to leave comments below.
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