Calling slaves was originally an old custom of Manchu personal system (that is, people mainly called slaves to their own flags, but they could be vassals to the princess emperor). At first, this system did not extend to Han officials who were not in the flag (the flag of the Han army was not a Han official).
The two self-proclaimed "slaves" and "ministers" became a custom at first, and were later stipulated by the emperor.
The Qing dynasty liegeman claimed to be the basic situation is:
Early Qing Dynasty: The appellation was more casual, especially for Han ministers, and some even called themselves "I". In the banner, the owner is mainly called "Aha (slave)". "Slave", Manchu is Aha (Aha).
During the reign of Shunzhi and Kangxi, the custom of Han officials calling themselves ministers and flag officials (including Manchu flag, Mongolian flag and Han flag) calling themselves slaves was gradually formed.
Yongzheng period: breaking the convention, Manchu ministers were vassals, and some Manchu ministers still called slaves, mostly for peace and internal affairs.
Qianlong period: the system was formally determined and formed-the civil servants in Manchu Dynasty were called vassals in official affairs and domestic slaves in private affairs, while the civil servants in China were vassals in public and private affairs. Chen Wu, whether Manchu or private, called himself a slave.
In the last few years in Xuan Tong, everyone was obedient.
The nobles who entered the customs in the Qing Dynasty belonged to slave owners and kept slaves at home, which was called "coated Aha", that is, "domestic slaves". After the Qing dynasty entered the customs, many domestic slaves became dignitaries with their masters in the war, but in any case, they should call themselves "slaves" in front of their masters.
During the Shunzhi and Kangxi years after entering the customs, various rules and regulations were gradually established. Although there is no explicit provision, Han officials are basically vassals, and flag officials (including Manchu flag, Mongolian flag and Han army flag) are all called domestic slaves.
But some Chinese military commanders also call themselves "slaves". Some Manchu people are called "ministers" in the imperial court and "slaves" in informal occasions. They also follow the same rules in documents. Formal documents are called "ministers" and informal passbook, such as paying homage, is called "slaves".
After Yong Zhengdi acceded to the throne, Yong Zhengdi, who was good at reform, issued a letter on August 16th of the first year of Yongzheng, flaunting the unification of Manchu and Han, and creating a new relationship between monarch and minister. It is expressly stipulated that all courtiers are uniformly called "ministers": "All courtiers and minions are the words of courtiers, and it is not appropriate to write two words. Then one? [6] Did you break into a frame book? /p & gt；
However, there are still a few Manchu ministers who call themselves "slaves" in informal texts. To emphasize, he even personally modified the passbook of Gao Qi, the minister of the Yellow Flag of the Han army who claimed to be a slave (see the first picture).
The appellations of "slave" and "minister" did not formally form a system until the Qianlong period.
During the Qianlong period, Emperor Qianlong resumed the practice of addressing ministers of Manchu and Han Dynasties during Shunzhi and Kangxi years, and issued imperial edicts to make this practice a system.
In the twenty-third year of Qianlong's reign, the imperial edict said, "Manchu ministers call themselves princes and slaves, and they use different words. Later, officials and businessmen were beaten into princes, and Shane was called a slave in order to preserve the old Manchu style. On this basis, only public and private, regardless of military and civilian.
That is, "a full minister is a minister in business and a slave in private, and a Han minister should be a minister in business and private." However, military commanders, whether Manchu or private, should call themselves slaves.
If he calls himself a "slave", the emperor will reprimand him for naming, while Manchu Chen will forget his roots and be reprimanded if he doesn't call himself a "slave" in private affairs.
In the thirty-eighth year of Qianlong, Minister Tianbao and Ma * * ascended the throne together. Tianbao is Manchu and Ma is Han. They signed their names together. Because Tianbao is in front, they wrote "Nu Tianbao and Ma".
Seeing this, Qianlong issued a decree: "Today, Bao and Ma are folded in half, so I won't take it. If you don't give instructions, you may turn around and follow suit, but ignorant people, or because of flattery, can't help but guard against it. In the future, the officials of the Manchu and Han dynasties at home and abroad will all perform official duties and respect them as one to show their paintings. "
The implication of Qianlong is that in order not to let the Han people call themselves slaves because of inviting pets, they would rather be signed as "ministers" in the future This is the so-called: I don't want Han people to be called slaves, but I will tolerate Han people with Manchu. Therefore, Manchu is called a slave, and sometimes it can be a vassal; Han people can call themselves slaves at any time.
So, sometimes a slave must be qualified.
The so-called "Manchu-Chinese integration" is the same as most slogans, and all "slogans" are generally not true.
In the second year of Xuantong, the Qing government announced the implementation of the so-called New Deal, mandating "Manchu-Chinese subject", but soon the Qing government perished, and the monarch was not a monarch, so I naturally did not become a minister.
"Slave" refers to a servant waiting for his master. The word "slave" appeared in the Spring and Autumn Period, and it was just a title for servants. .
During the Ming dynasty, eunuchs were called "factory ministers" and "internal ministers", and all ministers called themselves "ministers" and had no slave titles.
The appellation of Ming Dynasty was still used in the early Qing Dynasty. However, in order to facilitate control, the Qing emperor also imprisoned the people's minds and forced the Han nationality and other ethnic groups to change their customs and costumes. At first, only eunuchs and maids in the palace called themselves slaves. However, in Yongzheng period, these customs began to spread, and some domestic ministers began to call themselves "domestic slaves". First, they belittle themselves to please their master. Second, outsiders and hosts feel that they are more loyal to their hosts than others, and the relationship is closer than the average person! In the face of the emperor and his concubines, North Korean princes and ministers began to call themselves slaves to show their infinite loyalty to the emperor and his concubines. At this time, slaves have become special terms for invitations to princes, ministers and servants.
The word "slave" in the Qing Dynasty is actually a relic of the Nuzhen slavery society in Jianzhou. The slave minister has a personal attachment to his master, which can be said to be his personal property. This identity is hereditary. Laozi is a slave of others, and his son is a slave of others from birth, which is passed down from generation to generation, which is the so-called coated slave. In the late Qing dynasty, it often happened that the same family was a minister, and the second-grade official was a slave of the third-grade official. Although the big officer was crushed to death by his superiors, the big officer still bowed when he saw the little officer here. Of course, in the final analysis, all Manchu people are slaves of the emperor.
At this time, the Han ministers are very entangled. According to the system, Han ministers who did not enter the Eight Banners could not call themselves slaves, but called themselves ministers. But I envy Manchu people for calling themselves slaves and befriending the emperor. In this way, China entered the era of his slavery.
By the Qing Dynasty, most people, including the chroniclers at that time, attributed it to "Manchu old customs". For example, at the beginning of Yong Zhengdi's accession to the throne, he ordered the ministers of the Eight Banners to call them slaves. The recorder thinks that according to the past example, it is a long-standing habit for the Eight Banners ministers to call themselves slaves every time they go on stage. In the twenty-third year of Qianlong, he ordered the minister of military affairs and so on. The Manchu minister played a role, calling himself a vassal and a slave with different words. Later, it was promulgated that officials and businessmen were folded into princes and still called slaves to preserve the old appearance of Manchu.
Professor Qi Meiqin, a historian of the Qing Dynasty, believes that the title of "minister" was customized only in the period of Huang Taiji, and the word "slave" was extended to the level of expressing the relationship between monarch and minister, which was first in the period of Kangxi. And began to use it from Manchu servants and love ministers who were closely related to Kangxi. Because the expression of the slave is too low compared with that of the minister, the upright Yongzheng once banned it because it was "very inappropriate."
During the Qianlong period, even if the standard bearer was born, he should be regarded as a vassal and a slave according to the specific situation, and should not be confused. For example, in "Six Years of Qianlong", Zhang Guangsi asked his son Zhang Ji to stay in his post temporarily, and the compromise was expressed as "Zhang Guangsi condescended the eldest son and slave Zhang Ji to stay in his post temporarily". Gan Long thought, "Zhang Guangsi is a Han army, please take Dai Yi with you. It was for your own self-interest. You should write about slaves, but you should write about slaves yourself. It is not appropriate for Ziyi to write a slave, and she can send a letter to instruct. " In this private situation, you should use the title of slave. When playing official business, it should be a vassal.
In one case, the ministers of Manchu and Han played together, and the titles of ministers and slaves appeared in the same memorial. In this case, Gan Long requested that the titles of minister and slave should be unified in the whole text, so as to make them easy to understand and not too rigid, and said that the two titles did not represent a special relationship. Even so, Gan Long objected to Chen Han calling him a slave when he was playing alone, from which we can still see Gan Long's subtle mind to distinguish between Manchu and Han.
As China gradually moved towards modern times, the emperor's ruling authority declined, and some courtiers in the Manchu Dynasty gradually lost their elements in the memorial. For example, in the 28th year of Guangxu, the Governor of Jiangsu, Enshou, claimed the position many times. The Imperial Palace thought this behavior was "inappropriate" and sent a telegram to Shen Xun.
The rule of the Qing dynasty gradually fell into crisis. In order to integrate the Manchu-Han dynasty, the ruler declared reunification for two years. At that time, members of the imperial clan, such as Zaixun and others, were then ministers of the Navy Department, calling for "eternal slave titles". Finally, the Qing court officially said to the courtiers of the Manchu and Han Dynasties that "all courtiers in the world, civil and military officials at home and abroad, played great events and became courtiers to show great harmony." The title of slave was finally abolished at the institutional level. Although the system was abolished, until the Qing Dynasty, there were still people who once called themselves "slaves", but they really wanted to be slaves.
Literally, it seems that "minister" should be more elegant and "slave" should be lower. Han people call themselves "ministers" and ordinary workers, while Manchu people call themselves "slaves" similar to slaves in slave society. If you think so, you have a correct outlook on life. That's true.
The Manchu rulers deliberately distinguished between "ministers" and slaves, that is, they deliberately disgusted people. Originally, being a "minister" is much more elegant and noble than being a "slave" I am a "minister" who works for people all over the world, not just your slave. And the emperor just wants to take advantage of the weakness of China officials' greed for money, so that you can give up your personality obediently, and make you want to be a slave who is not qualified to be a third-class slave, and lose your dignity in this complicated mentality. Suppose Harry was born in the Qing Dynasty and became an official, he would proudly call himself a "minister" and disdain to be a "slave". Only those who are greedy for money and pursue wealth wholeheartedly will feel sad that they want to be "slaves" and can't get them.
The reason why being a "slave" is more valued than being a "minister" is because "slave" is the exclusive use of Manchu. Before Manchu entered the customs, many Manchu were domestic slaves of the late Jin nobles. Everyone is proud to be a slave, and everyone is proud to be a slave. Although it doesn't look so "elegant", in a feudal dictatorship with distorted personality, what is personal dignity? A gentleman's personal dignity is not comparable to the popularity of a villain. Being a slave to the nobility means being closer to the "minister" in relationship. Even slaves can't do it How can this not make people who are bent on attaching themselves to the powerful feel sad?