What kind of person is Zhang Zhidong? Why was his grave dug four times?

Zhang Zhidong, the word is Xiaoda, and the name is Xiangtao. At that time, he was the governor, and he was called "handsome." Therefore, people at that time called him "Zhang Xiangshuai". One of the representatives of the Westernization School in the Qing Dynasty. Nanpi). In the second year of Xianfeng (1852), he was sixteen years old in Zhongshun Tianfu Jieyuan, and in the second year of Tongzhi (1863), he was twenty-seven years old. Bachelor of Cabinet, Governor of Shanxi, Governor of Guangdong and Guangxi, Governor of Huguang, Governor of Liangjiang (acting many times, never actually conferred), Minister of Military and Aircraft, etc., from the official to the University of Tiren Pavilion.

Zhang Zhidong’s works include "The Complete Works of Zhang Wenxiang Gong", and he put forward the famous viewpoint of "learning from the middle school as the body, and using the western learning".

Zhang Zhidong was not only named one of the "Four Famous Officials in the Late Qing Dynasty", but also the leading official of the Han Dynasty in the late Qing Dynasty.

By virtue of his excellent knowledge and the way of being an official, he was awarded many high-ranking officials by the Qing court. Here, talking about the death of Zhang Zhidong, he died of illness. In 1909, he died at the age of 72. It can be said that Zhang Zhidong attached great importance to children's education during his lifetime. He founded my country's first kindergarten and other educational institutions.

Not only that, he also advocated vigorously building railways, developing steelmaking, textiles, metallurgy and other industries. Therefore, Zhang Zhidong played a positive role in the development of modern industry in my country. In the late Qing Dynasty, the revolutionary forces of the bourgeoisie became stronger and stronger. In 1905, the five ministers announced the "preparatory constitution" one year after they returned from visiting countries. However, in Zhang Zhidong's view, this is extremely unreliable behavior.

Because he hoped that the Qing court could achieve the goal of maintaining the imperial power through reforming the system, thereby weakening the enemy's power. Therefore, after Puyi succeeded to the throne in 1908, Prince Jin was named the regent, and the “Manchu centralization” system was started, which led to the rejection of Han officials in various places, and Yuan Shikai was one of the targets that were excluded, even the Qing court. Prepare to secretly execute Yuan Shikai.

However, the Qing court’s move was opposed by Zhang Zhidong.

In 1909, the Qing court asked Yuan Shikai to go to Henan to recuperate on the grounds that he was in poor health. In June of the same year, Zhang Zhidong fell ill, and before his death, he still cared about the people. Therefore, the regent and others were invited to discuss state affairs before the collapse. He repeatedly urged the regent and others: the foundation of the country is the people. When the regent told him: "There is no need to be afraid of the Qing Dynasty, there is the protection of the Eight Banners", Zhang Zhidong was completely disappointed.

From then on, he never mentioned anything related to people's livelihood, and Zhang Zhidong also passed away at the age of 72. In fact, before he died, Zhang Zhidong already knew the reality of the death of the Qing Dynasty. Although he was seriously ill, he still cared about the Qing Dynasty. However, Daqing still disappointed him so much that he sighed that "the country is about to die, but luck is over." Therefore, it is not so much Zhang Zhidong's death that he died of depression.

In the thirty-fifth year of Guangxu, Zhang Zhidong passed away, posthumous name Wenxiang. On December 15th in the second year of Xuantong (1910), after more than a year of preparation, Zhang Zhidong was buried in the Zhang family ancestral tomb in Shuangmiao Village, Nanpi County, Hebei. He was buried together with the three wives who had died many years earlier. In the lush green garden, "white flowers are like snow, and elegiac couplets are like forest." Many relatives, friends, students, princes and ministers came from the capital for funerals.

Maybe it has a high degree of recognition among the people, maybe Zhang Zhidong is a famous upright official. In the troubled times of the late Qing Dynasty and the beginning of the Republic of China, the tomb of Zhang Zhidong always Unharmed.

Even during the Northern Expedition, a unit of the National Army passed through Shuangmiao Village. Among them, a company commander of Hubei nationality, he even brought all the soldiers to Zhang Zhidong’s grave and bowed to the grave. According to local research data, soldiers, bandits and robbers have visited Zhang's cemetery many times and tied the Gao Yutang family who guarded the tomb to a tree and forced him to surrender his treasure. Some graves in Zhang's cemetery have been stolen many times, but none People disturbed Zhang Zhidong's burial place.

It is said that the Chinese people's consistent thinking is to "go into the soil for peace." After death, people should live in the underground for peace, but Zhang Zhidong was treated badly.During the turmoil, his cemetery was dug. Because his descendants became officials of the Japanese and puppet government, they were traitors, so the grave digging occurred. According to the person’s recall: Zhang Zhidong’s tomb had been dug out of shape when he was discovered, and his body had been insulted.

It can be said that since 1861, the Westernization Movement was the main theme of the Qing regime at that time.

However, not everyone holds high the banner of the Westernization Movement. Many officials who oppose the Westernization Movement spread rumors to suppress supporters. They believe: "In the final analysis, this is the behavior of the Qing court to betray the interests of the Chinese people with the help of the Han landlord and bureaucrats and foreign invaders. It seems to be replaced by a powerful military force, but it is actually a bloody suppression of the people's uprising at that time In order to protect the Qing Dynasty’s rule. There is no doubt that the original intention of the Westernization Movement was a reactionary, traitorous, and military-centric movement.”

As the overall evaluation of the Westernization Movement fell, the ministers who supported the movement were also criticized. , Even Zhang Zhidong was not spared. The minister who supported the Westernization Movement in the late Qing Dynasty was eventually crowned with ugly words such as "traitor" and "running dog". From 1950 to the end of 1970, there were dozens of papers involving criticism of Zhang Zhidong in the decades, and most of them were from the gloomy decade of that decade, from the theoretical group of factory workers, and the workers, peasants and soldiers of colleges and universities. Students' writing.

Because the image of Zhang Zhidong is getting worse and worse, it is not the people who appear in his cemetery to pay tribute to him. On the contrary, it is some people who plot the treasures of his cemetery.

Over time, Zhang Zhidong’s cemetery was destroyed little by little, until later, his cemetery was completely opened.

According to legend, after Zhang Zhidong’s tomb was dug up, he was visited by tomb robbers many times. The tomb robber was surprised to find that he was like a living person. There were even a few beards floating on his chest. Seeing him wearing a cap, shouting a big bead, and covering his body with several layers of quilts. There are also more than forty burial objects, which are basically literati's "things", such as snuff bottles, calligraphy and painting, gold and silver.

Someone said that Zhang Zhidong’s corpse was pulled to the ground because of the crazy actions of the tomb thief, and no one dared to collect it. Therefore, Zhang Zhidong’s corpse suffered a dog bite. There is also a saying: After the bodies of Zhang Zhidong and his wife were carried out by the guards, they were all left after being exposed to the east of the grave for dozens of days. It turned out that it was because of meeting kind people who secretly buried their bodies.

Nanpi Zhangzhidong Research Association Vice President Wang Yuliang recalled: “When he was picking up the grave, he was not there. He was a farmer at the time and he ran to see the news after he got the news. “I only saw the bones of Zhang Zhidong. Half-lying and half standing on the north wall of the tomb, there are still patches of yellow rags around the tomb."" At that time, the return of traditional culture once again became a social boom when the light entered the new century. It was not until 2007 that the bones were destroyed. Arrange to be buried again.

Although their bodies have been found, but that period of humiliation still exists.

In less than a hundred years, Zhang Zhidong’s corpse was affected by the Great Times, and it was excavated and buried four times. Until the fourth burial ceremony, Zhang Zhidong’s granddaughter said: "Although the tomb can be built again and again, we must not forget the past history, and the history that is called humiliation."

Reference materials:

["Drafts of Qing History·Zhang Zhidong Biography", "Zhang Zhidong Tomb", "Nanpi County Chronicles" Chapter 8 "Culture"]