Yongzheng Emperor

Yongzheng Emperor – Qing Dynasty

Yinzhen, known and respected as the Yongzheng Emperor was the fourth Qing Dynasty emperor. Among the emperors of Qing, he was the third to rule over China proper. His reign lasted from 1722 until 1735.

He was a remarkable ruler who brought his people wealth and stability during his reign. However, the Yongzheng Emperor’s reign didn’t last as long as that of the Kangxi and Qianlong emperors.

The Yongzheng Emperor’s era was a time of peace and prosperity. During his reign, corruption was reduced; plus, he reformed the financial administration too. It was also during this period when the Grand Council was formed.

Yinzhen’s Childhood before Ruling the Empire

Yinzhen was the 11th known son of the Kangxi Emperor, and the 4th prince to reach into adulthood. His mother, known as Empress Xiaogongren, was primarily a court attendant from the Manchu-Uya clan.

Around the time when Yinzhen was born, his mother was considered having low status. Thus, she didn’t have the right to raise her own children.

Almost throughout his childhood, Yinzhen was raised by the Noble Consort Tong, daughter of Tong Guowei. The latter was Emperor Kangxi’s maternal uncle, as well as an important official during Kangxi’s rule.

When Yinzhen was only 9-years-old, the noble consort died after giving birth to more children. She was then promoted to Virtuous Consort.

Promotions as a Crown Prince

The Kangxi Emperor raised his children not only inside the palace, but he exposed them to the outside. This way, he was able to train them rigorously.

As for Yinzhen, he joined his father on numerous inspection trips around Beijing and in the south. During the Battle of Jao Modo, he was the honorary leader of the Plain Red Banner. This battle was a conflict between the Qing and the Mongol Dzungar Khanate.

In 1689, Yinzhen became a beile with some of his brothers. After nine years, he was promoted to Junwang or second-rank prince.

In 1709, the Kangxi Emperor removed his second son, Yinreng, from his position as the crown prince. Yinreng had been the crown prince for his entire life. When this title was taken away from him, the position was open for Kangxi’s sons to compete over.

In the same year, the Kangxi Emperor also promoted Yinzhen from Junwang to Qingwang or first-rank prince. From here, Yinzhen acquired the title “Prince Yong of the First Rank”.

Appointing Yinzhen as the Heir

To name a new heir as the Qing emperor, Kangxi declared that court officials can nominate a crown prince. His 8th son, Yinsi, was a candidate preferred by a lot in the court, as well as many of Kangxi’s sons.

However, the emperor opted to not appoint him as the heir. It was due to apprehension because of Yinsi’s political clout at the court, which was starting to overshadow him.

After, Yinzhen sensed and noticed that his father wanted to reinstate Yinreng as heir to the throne. So, he supported Yinreng and began earning his father’s trust.

The Reign of the Yongzheng Emperor

During the first years of his rule, the Yongzheng Emperor consolidated his power. He executed or imprisoned some of his brothers and their supporters. Aside from that, he demoted the others from their powers and positions.

The Yongzheng Emperor had an efficient espionage system and he was able to receive reports on his ministers’ actions. He also tampered the imperial records from the late years of the rule of his father, the Qianlong Emperor. With that, accounts that were against the Yongzheng Emperor and those favorable to his enemies were suppressed.

Continued Warfare against the Princes

The nature of his progression remained as a controversy which overshadowed the Yongzheng Emperor’s rule. Since a lot of his brothers didn’t consider his succession as genuine, the Qing emperor became paranoid. He worried that they would plot against him and overthrow him.

The earlier individuals connected to the battle succession include Yinzhi and Yinreng, and they both lived under house arrest. Eventually, Yinreng died after the Yongzheng Emperor’s rule started. So, his battle against his other brothers, Yinti and Yinsi, commenced.

Yinsi

Even after succeeding the throne, Yongzheng kept perceiving Yinsi and his supporters as one of his greatest political challenges. Yinsi’s party included Yin’e, Yintang, and their associates.

To reduce their political power, the Yongzheng Emperor utilized a divide and conquer tactic. Upon ascending the throne, he granted Yinsi the title Prince Lian, which was the nominally highest noble rank.

He also appointed Yinsi as the Minister of Lifan Yuan or the Feudatory Affairs Office. As a top-ranking member of the imperial council, his task was to assist the emperor.

By assigning Yinsi a prominent political role, the Qing emperor was able to have a close watch on him. Keeping his brother busy with state affairs was one way to reduce his chances of plotting political maneuvers unnecessarily.

The emperor also made it inconvenient for Yinsi to go against him by separating his party geographically.

Yinti

The 14th prince, Yinti, the Yongzheng Emperor’s brother to the same mother, was recalled to Beijing from his military post. Yinti expected to be the successor of the throne and was reluctant to acknowledge Yongzheng’s succession.

He was accused of not following imperial decorum at the late Qing emperor’s funeral. Yongzheng placed him under house arrest at the imperial tombs in the west of Beijing.

Stabilizing the Loyalty of the Eight Banners

His removal of the imperial princes from controlling the Eight Banners was highly significant. When the Yongzheng Emperor took the throne, three of these banners were managed directly by the ruler. However, the rest were handled by the Qing princes.

The emperor worried that they could utilize this control for any personal advantage. With that, the Yongzheng Emperor compelled these princes to join a special palace school. Here, they were somewhat programmed with the idea of conformity to the throne.

This resulted in the Eight Banners becoming extremely loyal throughout the entire existence of the Qing Dynasty.

Increase of Administrative Centralization

The Yongzheng Emperor increased the Qing government’s administrative centralization. The Grand Secretariat was replaced as the top body of the previously informal Grand Council.

Five or six of the Grand Council members worked directly with the Qing emperor, who bestowed them with various rewards. Their business was dealt with immediately and in secret.

The emperor personally inspected and directed all the government’s important affairs.

The Grand Council of State

With the creation of his Grand Council, Yongzhen wasn’t only able to discourage any forms of corruption. He had a position to start a couple of domestic reforms that were beneficial to the empire.

Irrigation systems and canals were reconstructed to assist agriculture while maintaining farmlands. During times of famine, he offered relief to the affected areas by giving them resources.

To compensate the people who were the country’s backbone, he issued an imperial decree to remove slavery under his reign. One of the numerous tax reforms that Yongzheng introduced was to change the head taxation to property taxation on landowners. This decreased the tax burden on the people of that time.

Additionally, the Yongzheng Emperor had full support with the establishment of orphanages, elementary schools, and poorhouses.

The Yongzheng Emperor’s period may likely have been overshadowed by earlier rulers. And his achievements may not be as glorious or notable as theirs. However, his rule served as a remedy for the people, so resentments and issues started dropping.

That’s why his reign was a prosperous and peaceful one where the people of his empire were able to enjoy.

Cultural and Economic Achievements

Aside from administrative achievements, the Yongzheng emperor also acquired various cultural and economic achievements.

Land Tax and Farming

The increased population in the Qing Dynasty caused higher demands for grain among peasants and military population. Thus, the Yongzheng Emperor commenced a grain campaign. Here, he granted incentives for officials in local and provincial governments who competed in buying farmlands.

In the campaign, the officials were given five to ten years of tax holidays. This meant they were free from paying taxes during these periods.

As a result, the Qing Dynasty acquired over a million new acres of land for farming. However, it led to officials lying about the farmable land that they contributed, so they could win more tax holidays.

Local charity

Ethnicity in China’s Qing Dynasty varied depending on where someone came from. The ethnic separation and the growing population resulted in less access to the Civil Service Examinations based on locality.

The Yongzheng Emperor set special exams for those in rural China. These special tests were called the Miao exams, and could be completed in Yunnan.

During the 1730s, landholding shed individuals like the Hakka, were still prevented from taking these tests. However, the Yongzheng Emperor made it possible for them to take the tests. It was an attempt to appease their anger for being excluded from taking the test.

A number of orphans or poor families appeared with the huge growth in the Qing population. To fix this, the Yongzheng Emperor mandated that poorhouses/orphanages should be built in each county.

These weren’t funded by the government, but were privately maintained and paid for. The orphanages existed to help the people get out of poverty, while also acting as role models for wealthy officials. Specifically, it’s for them to see how they should act towards the more impoverished group.

Privileges of the Gentry

During the reign of the Kangxi Emperor, scholars who passed the Civil Service Examination were authorized to bypass punishments. This depended on the level of exams they had passed.

Instead of undergoing penalty, criminal officials were taken to the county education commissioner for counseling. This resulted in corruption among officials who were no longer restrained by the law.

The Yongzheng Emperor changed this system by prohibiting privileges for officials going through the legal system. However, this didn’t last long since the Qianlong Emperor reinstated the officials’ privileges when he succeeded the throne.

Tax privileges

During the mid-1720’s, the empire had different privileged tax brackets set by the Kangxi Emperor. However, the Yongzheng Emperor removed such privileges since he considered the local gentry as a competition to the throne.

However, these were immediately reinstated right after the Yongzheng Emperor’s reign.

Religious policy

Like the Kangxi Emperor, the Yongzheng Emperor had a growing distrust in Jesuit missionaries. Because of that, the Christians’ presence in China was prohibited.

Foreign missions outside Beijing and Guangzhou were banned by the Kangxi Emperor. The Yongzheng Emperor strengthened this by expelling all foreign priests in China. He also shut down Christian churches, which were repurposed as local public offices.

Cohong

In 1725, Huge merchant houses of the Canton station were put together under a bigger group called the Cohong. It was an organization that was responsible for managing, controlling, and overseeing all trade inside the Canton system.

Meltage Fees and Silver

During the Qing Dynasty, silver became widely used as currency. Because of this, the validity and purity of the exchanged currency needed verification. Silver taels were sent to official appraisers to ensure the validity of these.

During the appraisal process, some silver was lost, and the pater had to cover the cost of the lost silver. This additional charge was referred to as the meltage fee.

For local governments, the meltage fee was an essential source of income. However, it became a practice among the Chinese to bribe appraisers to avoid such fees. With that, Yongzheng planned to ban all bribing to avoid fees and legalized meltage fees as an income source.

The mandates allowed silver to become a major part of the economy of the Qing Dynasty.

The Death of the Yongzheng Emperor – A Mystery

The Yongzheng Emperor’s death was a sudden one, and the official documents about it were made simple. With that, a lot of gossip about his death emerged, which included stroke, assassination, poison, and more.

Even if official records note that Yinzhen died peacefully, it’s likely that he had enemies when he was alive. According to legends, he was killed by the daughter of a person he had executed.

Basically, his frequent travels and great fights against a huge ruling class after he became ruler, brought him possible assassins. And to this day and age, the death of the Yongzheng Emperor is still left a mystery.