The emperors of the Qing dynasty learned the historical experience and lessons of the previous dynasties and attached great importance to the education of the prince. Therefore, most of the governors in the Qing Dynasty were proficient in classics, strategies, poems, songs, calligraphy and painting, and were good at riding and shooting. The overall quality of the Qing emperors was also the highest among the emperors in China.
After the Qing Dynasty unified China, the education of the royal family was more perfect and formal in system. During the reign of Emperor Kangxi, the governors studied separately. In the early years of Yongzheng, in order to facilitate the study of princes, the palace set up a study room for ministers, which was later collectively called the upper study room. The upper study is located on the left of the Gan Qing Gate of the Forbidden City today. The reason why the upper study room is located here is to "be close to the palace for inspection". Yong Zhengdi also personally inscribed the couplet "sincerity-based, name-based"; Emperor Qianlong also attached great importance to the study. His couplet to the study was: "If you read the book, Xi Zhi and Xi Zhi will lose their hearts."
Compared with the previous dynasties, the emperors in Qing Dynasty were older, had longer study time, stricter rules and more courses. Usually the emperor will choose the minister with the best knowledge and morality-the Pope.
According to the regulations of the Qing dynasty, the prince began to study at the age of 6 (nominal age), and the time for the prince to study was "from 5 am to 3 pm, totaling 10 hour. The emperor chose an auspicious day as the prince's school day. Because of the prince's noble position, when the prince and his master salute each other, they use long bows instead of bows. The rules of the study are very strict, and the prince should sit tight when reading; Don't shake the fan in summer; At lunch, the guards brought the rice, the teacher ate first, and the princes ate on the other side. After eating, they continued to do their homework without rest. The study room only has holidays on New Year's Day, Duanyang, Mid-Autumn Festival, Wanshou (the emperor's birthday) and Zishou (his own birthday), a total of five days, and there is no holiday on New Year's Eve.
What the princes studied included Manchu, Mongolian, Chinese and other Confucian classics such as the Four Books and Five Classics. In order to achieve a good educational effect, each prince is equipped with a Han master. The number of Han masters is uncertain, and the person in charge of teaching affairs is called "Han master". The way to learn Confucian classics is: the master reads one sentence and the prince reads one sentence. After repeating it a hundred times, read it a hundred times in combination with what he learned a few days ago without interruption. Emperor Kangxi himself recalled that he had never stopped studying since he was five years old, and he was so tired that he coughed up blood that he persisted. The teacher assigns this paragraph to read 120 times every day, and then recites a new paragraph until the university, The Doctrine of the Mean, The Analects of Confucius and Mencius are all recited.
Because the Qing dynasty was "winning the world in one fell swoop", it also attached great importance to the training of Wang Sun's riding and shooting martial arts. Every afternoon at about 3: 30, after school and dinner, the princes will have a "military physical education class"-riding horses and shooting arrows. This part of the teachers were selected from the Manchu and Mongolian nobles and named "Anda". "Mastery" is divided into "external mastery" and "internal mastery": those who teach bow and arrow, riding and shooting are called "external mastery", and each prince is equipped with five people to manage pommel horse, bow and arrow; Everyone who teaches Mongolian is "knowledgeable", and generally there are three people on duty in turn. Moreover, each prince is equipped with several extremely bookworms who are responsible for tea and food. These nerds are selected from the children of the Eight Banners, and they are also on duty in turn, two people a day.
Besides Manchu, Chinese, Mongolian, riding and shooting, the content of prince education will be adjusted according to the situation. For example, Emperor Kangxi likes to take the prince out on patrol to broaden his knowledge and experience, and also gives him various internship opportunities to handle government affairs. Zai Tian, who was in Dezong, studied western learning under Weng Tonghe's arrangement. The Queen Mother also asked Yu Deling, a female official around her, to teach Zai Tian English.
The emperor and the prince have great respect for the master in the study. I ordered the ministers to meet the chefs Zhang and E Ertai, and Zhang and E Ertai "received it". Emperor Qianlong also respected the master of the study. Cai Xin, a native of Zhangpu, Fujian, worked as imperial academy for more than 30 years after entering imperial academy. "All the princes are afraid of him." . After his retirement, Emperor Qianlong took great care of him and gave him his poems many times. Emperor Jiaqing also respected him very much. On his 90th birthday, someone gave him a plaque with the words "Forever in the Green Field" written by himself.
It can be seen that the strict education of the prince in the Qing Dynasty was different from that of the previous generation. The prince left the cabinet to give lectures for a while, thinking that the appreciation was really no different.