Why were the tablets of three previous emperors, including Wanli, removed from the Imperial Temple in the 49th year of Qianlong's reign?

In the 49th year of Qianlong's reign, that is, in 1784 AD, the Qianlong Emperor, after much deliberation, removed the tablets of the three emperors of the Ming Dynasty, Wanli, Taichang, and Tianqi, from the Imperial Temple, and then ordered the tablets of the Chongzhen Emperor to be added to the temple, so why did the Qianlong Emperor have such a maneuver?

Image: Emperor Qianlong ordered the stills

Ancient Chinese imperial tradition, there are two main features, namely: on the one hand, the ancient Chinese dynasty practiced "commanded by heaven", but on the other hand there is a "Tangwu Revolution" tradition.

1. Ordained by Heaven

Those who are familiar with the history of China will surely find this feature, that is, the change of dynasties in Chinese history is very rare in the history of the world. In other countries, a dynasty often ends because the royal family of that dynasty becomes extinct, and thus the dynasty ends, and in China, a similar idea actually exists.

For example, ancient emperors believed that the power of the emperor came from the heavens, and that this was the so-called "commanded by the heavens", and that ancient emperors claimed to be the Son of Heaven, and that was the basis for their claim.

Image: Ancient Emperor Stills

2, Tangwu Revolution

However, unlike other countries, there is also a tradition of the Tangwu Revolution in ancient China, the so-called "Tangwu Revolution".

Of course, the later emperors, in order to explain the rationality of the "Tangwu Revolution", and not wanting to overthrow the "Mandate of Heaven", concocted this theory: If the emperor is very muddleheaded and incompetent, leading to chaos in the world, then the great heroes can help to solve the problems of the people, and the great heroes can help to solve the problems of the people. The idea was that if the emperor was very stupid and incompetent, and the world was in chaos, then the great and the good could rise up and overthrow the tyranny and establish a new dynasty to solve the people's problems.

Therefore, the history of ancient China can basically be seen as an alternation of "commanded by heaven" and "Tangwu revolution", where a new dynasty would express its behavior as "Tangwu revolution" before overthrowing the old one. Before the new dynasty overthrew the old one, it would use the "Tangwu Revolution" to justify its behavior, and after it gained power, it would propagate the "Mandate from Heaven" to break down the opponents' will to fight.

Photo: Stills from the overthrow of the old dynasty

By the influence of some trivial net articles, many people mention the Ming Dynasty and the Qing Dynasty will be taken for granted that the Qing Dynasty took over the Ming Dynasty's thousands of miles of mountains and rivers, so the Qing Dynasty must be very hateful to the Ming Dynasty, and the Ming Dynasty is full of slanders, but in fact, it is not the case, and the Qing Dynasty in the process of replacing the Ming Dynasty fully staged the "Tangwu Revolution" and the "Tangwu Revolution" and the "Tangwu Revolution". But this is not the case. In the process of replacing the Ming Dynasty, the Qing Dynasty fully staged the "Tangwu Revolution" and the "Ordered by Heaven" drama.

1, Nurhachu rebellion background

The relationship between the Ming Dynasty and the Qing Dynasty is similar to the relationship between the Shang Dynasty and the Zhou Dynasty, because the ancient Chinese dynasties, often regarded the Central Plains as the mainland, and the surrounding areas as peripheral areas. After all, ancient China was a country founded on agriculture, so even during the Eastern Han Dynasty, the Eastern Han Dynasty drove the Northern Xiongnu to Central Asia, which resulted in nothing more than the occupation of the Xiongnu's homeland by the Xianbei people, and the Eastern Han Dynasty was unable to come up with any solution for the Xiongnu's homeland.

Ancient Northeast is also the same, because there is no modern cold-resistant crops in ancient times, resulting in the Northeast are not much of a population base all year round, and even until the end of the Ming Dynasty, today's Heilongjiang and Jilin and other regions, is still in a primitive state of society, and the Northeast's major indigenous tribes, taking into account the power of the Ming Dynasty, and so to the Ming Dynasty, and the Ming Dynasty is happy to enthrone the chiefs of these tribes.

Nurhachu, the founder of the Qing dynasty, was himself a second-ranking bureaucrat in the Ming dynasty, whose situation was equivalent to the relationship between King Zhou of Zhou and King Zhou of Zhou, but Nurhachu was alive when the Ming dynasty was caught up in the internal and external problems of the situation.

Nurhachu era, the emperor of the Ming dynasty is the emperor Wanli, Wanli emperor took over the Ming dynasty, in fact, there has been a serious crisis of domination, armament slack, corruption, and finance is also a serious lack of good in Zhang Juzheng change of law, temporarily reversed the unfavorable situation of the Ming dynasty.

However, with the passing of Zhang Juzheng, the Wanli emperor almost abolished Zhang Juzheng's reform measures, all of which allowed the Ming dynasty to continue the original path of destruction.

Image: Stills from the Ming Dynasty's armament slack

2. Internal and external troubles

Before Nurhachu rebelled against the Ming, Wanli's court suffered a succession of injuries to its vitality, and the rebellions of the Tusi in Ningxia and Guizhou consumed a great deal of the Ming Dynasty's financial resources, and then Wanli's court fought a war against Japan in the Li Dynasty. The war almost consumed the family fund of the Wanli court.

Nurhachu then announced at this time to rise against the Ming Dynasty, the reason is the famous "seven hate", which includes the Ming Dynasty killed Nurhachu's father for no reason, in addition, there is the Ming Dynasty all year round on the northeast of the tribes of the oppression and slavery.

In fact, in all dynasties, feudal oppression exists objectively, for minorities, feudal dynasties also often oppressed minorities, which is a norm in ancient society, therefore, when Nurhachu's seven hate spread throughout the Northeast, the people of the Northeast of the hatred of the Ming Dynasty spread, Nurhachu on the basis of which the establishment of the Jin Dynasty, and began to fight with the Ming Dynasty, the Northeast, the Nurhachu, the Nurhachu, the Ming Dynasty, and the Nurhachu, the Nurhachu, the Nurhachu, the Nurhachu, and the Ming Dynasty.

After the death of Nurhachu, Huang taiji ascended to the throne, Huang taiji in the late reign, from time to time to send people and the Ming dynasty Chongzhen emperor secret contact, hoping that the Chongzhen emperor can recognize the legitimacy of the Qing dynasty, Huang taiji in the reign of the middle of the post-Jin dynasty state name change for the Qing dynasty, at this time Huang taiji confined to the strength of the Qing dynasty, and only hope that the relationship between Ming and Qing, and the past, as the North and South dynasties.

However, the facetious Chongzhen Emperor did not agree to Huang taiji's proposal, Chongzhen Emperor's court was overthrown by the peasants insurrectionary army, the Qing army took advantage of the civil unrest in the Central Plains to enter the customs, and in the following two decades, the eradication of the remnants of the Ming dynasty.

Image: Stills of the Qing army entering the pass

3, Brotherly State

At the beginning of the Qing dynasty's entry into the pass, the Shunzhi emperor was no longer obsessed with the seven hates of the era of the Nurhachu, but claimed that the Ming dynasty and the Qing dynasty was originally a good brotherhood, and also thought that the Chongzhen emperor inspiring, is a good emperor, but the Li Zicheng this group of bandits is too ferocious, and the emperor was not a good emperor, he was a good emperor. Forced the death of Chongzhen, and the Qing Dynasty to enter the customs is of course to Chongzhen revenge to come, and the Qing Dynasty claimed that the management of the Ming Dynasty's former lands, is the Qing Dynasty to the Ming Dynasty to avenge the payoffs.

In order to glorify the rule of the Qing dynasty, the Qing dynasty began to actively glorify the Ming emperors, so, in the Imperial Temple, such as Wanli, Taichang and Tianqi, such ridiculous emperors, but also invited into the Imperial Temple to accept offerings as well as the Qing emperor's sacrifices, and Chongzhen emperor due to the downfall of the Ming dynasty, so can not be entered into the Imperial Temple.

However, when the forty-ninth year of Qianlong, the Qing dynasty replaced the Ming dynasty has been a full 140 years, at this time the Qing dynasty world, whether it is the common people or readers, on the Ming dynasty has long been no identification.

Although the people still have the so-called "anti-Qing to restore the Ming Dynasty", but it is just a slogan, so the Qianlong Emperor began to adjust the Ming Dynasty emperor's sacrifice. Like the Wanli such a muddleheaded emperor, naturally be retired, and Chongzhen emperor, although incompetent, but after all, the rule of the country diligently, the spirit of commendable, and therefore get to continue to worship.

Article by Dahui

The entire graphic was produced by the team at Dahui Speaks History Studio!