With the expansion of power and population, Nurhachi founded the "Eight Banners" system one after another on the basis of collective hunting by Jurchen, and all those who surrendered or conquered were included in the Eight Banners.
The compilation of the Eight Banners is: Lu Niu, Jiala and Gushan, with Lu Niu being the lowest and Gushan the highest. Gushan means the flag, and the assistant leader, the participating leader and the commander-in-chief are respectively responsible for the management.
The Eight Banners are named after their colors, namely, true yellow flag, true white flag, true red flag, true blue flag, yellow flag, white flag, red flag and blue flag.
After Emperor Taizong ascended the throne, the Eight Banners of Mongolia and the Eight Banners of Han Army were established one after another, and the name of the Jurchen nationality was changed to Manchuria. Thus, the Eight Banners established by Huang Taiji's father Nurhachi became the "Eight Banners of Manchuria".
So what people usually call the Eight Banners actually includes the Manchu Eight Banners, the Mongolian Eight Banners and the Han Army Eight Banners, with a total of 24 banners. The design of the imperial palace in the early Qing Dynasty vividly reflected the rich connotation of the Eight Banners system.
Therefore, the children of the Eight Banners, a special social group, are composed of brothers of different nationalities. Among the Eight Banners of Manchu and Mongolian Han Army, there are people of other nationalities besides Manchu, Mongolian and Han.
Members of different nationalities have lived under the Eight Banners system for a long time and are all called "Banners". However, according to the archives of Qing Dynasty, Manchu, Mongolian and Han Eight Banners were treated differently because of different nationalities.
Three hundred years ago, the children of the Eight Banners rushed out of the narrow valley plain and came to the outside world, making indelible contributions to the formation and development of a unified multi-ethnic country in China. At the peak of the Qing Dynasty, the territory at that time started from Taiwan Province Province and its Diaoyu Islands in the east, reached Balkhash Lake and Lvling in the west, reached the South China Sea Islands in the south, reached Chatu in the north, and reached Xing 'an Mountains and Sakhalin Island in the northeast.
In this vast land, there are brothers and sisters of more than 50 nationalities, including Han nationality, besides the "Banners" who belong to Manchuria, Mongolia and the Eight Banners of the Han Army. This is unique in the social development history of China for thousands of years.
Portrait of Huang taiji
In order to achieve this unprecedented "unified" prosperity, the children of the Eight Banners have waged a long and arduous struggle. After the Opium War, in the struggle of China people against imperialist aggression, many children of the Eight Banners also shared the same enemy and died for their country.
Children of the Eight Banners have always been good at "riding and shooting". After the rulers of Qing dynasty ruled the world with martial arts, they still paid attention to the riding and shooting skills of the children of the Eight Banners, and set up "teaching fields" for training in all places where the Eight Banners were stationed. Even in the Forbidden City of the Palace, a clearing was opened and an "arrow pavilion" was built. The emperor often watched the princes and ministers and the officers and men of the Eight Banners bow and shoot arrows here, rewarding the superior and punishing the inferior.
Weichang county, Hebei province, has rolling mountains and vast forests. This scenic spot, hundreds of kilometers away from Beijing, was once the famous "Mulan paddock" in the Qing Dynasty.
During the years of Kangxi, Qianlong and Jiaqing, the officers and men of the Eight Banners came to the "Mulan paddock" to hunt and practice martial arts almost every year except for daily training and marching in Nanyuan and Lugouqiao in the suburbs of Beijing. Sometimes, it is held twice a year.
Children of the Eight Banners not only practice martial arts, but also attach importance to culture. Before entering the customs, although wars were frequent and military affairs were hectic, the Qing Taizu Nurhachi insisted on hiring teachers to educate his son. Qing Taizong also ordered the children of Baylor, ministers and other officials to study.
At the beginning of entry, the children of the Eight Banners not only practiced riding and shooting skills, but also were keen on cultural learning and artistic accomplishment. Yongzheng had high hopes for the children of the Eight Banners. He hoped that the children of the Eight Banners would read poems and learn useful knowledge, and those who studied martial arts should be familiar with their own bows and horses, study strategies and become talents to protect the country and defend the country.
Official records of the Eight Banners
Therefore, the cultural and educational undertakings of the Eight Banners have flourished, especially in Beijing, where the children of the Eight Banners are most concentrated. In the Qing Dynasty, imperial academy, the highest institution of higher learning in China, Shangshu in the Forbidden City, Xian 'an Palace official school and Jingshan official school all accepted groups of children of the Eight Banners, and trained and brought up a large number of talents in Chinese studies. E Ertai and Zhang Zeng, great scholars in Qing Dynasty, praised the children of the Eight Banners, who were handsome in form and spirit, read a lot of poems and books, and grew up to be national talents under the influence of Chinese culture.
Over the past 300 years, many literary works of the children of the Eight Banners have won worldwide fame and become valuable spiritual wealth of all mankind. Cao Xueqin, the author of the world-famous novel A Dream of Red Mansions, is one of the outstanding representatives. Nalan Xingde, a poet, is also a leader among the children of the Eight Banners. After the publication of his collection of Ci-Poems "Side Hat Collection" and "Drinking Ci-Poems", the situation of "every family competing to sing drinking Ci-Poems" was formed for a time.
Of course, Cao Xueqin and Nalan Xingde have become famous all over the world. In addition to them, there are a large number of accomplished talents in music, painting, calligraphy, science and technology among the children of the Eight Banners.
For example, Yun Zhi, the third son of Emperor Kangxi, was good at calendars and mathematics, and was ordered to edit books such as The Origin of Law and Calendar and The Integration of Ancient and Modern Books. Zhuang Wang Qin, sixteen sons of Kangxi, is good at mathematics and music rhythm. When he was managing the music department during the Qianlong period, he experimented with ancient music. According to the ancient book Zhou Li, he cast 12 Zhong Bo and Teqing, and played them at court ceremonies.
Rong Yongqi, the fifth son of Qianlong, is proficient in Manchu, Mongolian, Chinese, astronomy and mathematics, and is good at calligraphy and painting. He once wrote Traffic Manuscript. His son Mianyi is good at painting and calligraphy.
Sun Ziyi, the grandson of Rong Yongqi, is good at seal script, mathematics and astronomy. He used to be the supervisor of Qin Tian, participated in the compilation of ancient books, such as Hou Yu Li Kao, Yu Yi Kao and so on, and wrote the book "The Method of Cutting Circle and Close Effect" in 30 years.
Manchu daily newspaper
There is also Tang Dai, a native of Zhengbaiqi, Manchuria, and a royal painter of the Qing Dynasty. He experienced three dynasties: Kangxi, Yongzheng and Qianlong. Kangxi called him "the first hand" and "the best in painting". His exquisite works have been compiled into Shiqu Treasure Land and Pearl Forest Secret Hall.
Apart from their personal achievements, the children of the Eight Banners have also made outstanding contributions in organizing and participating in the arrangement of China's traditional culture.
Emperor Kangxi is one of the most gifted and farsighted monarchs in the history of China and even the world. Kangxi was not only a great politician, but also made great achievements in culture. His own works mainly include The Collection of Imperial Poems and The Collection of Imperial Poems.
Selected Works of Qing Dynasty, Kangxi Dictionary, Integration of Ancient and Modern Books, Ancient Poems, Tang Poems, Panorama of the Forbidden City and so on have great influence on later generations.
Gan Long is a monarch with great achievements. He reigned for 60 years and was the longest-lived emperor in the history of China. In the middle and early period of Qianlong period, he was diligent and loved the people, and his literary and political skills increased day by day, which made the feudal society in China develop to a peak.
Gan Long was also a poet. He wrote the most poems, including Collection of Imperial Poems and Collection of Imperial Poems. However, what is most commendable is his Sikuquanshu and a series of short dictionaries represented by Imperial Five-style Bamboo Slips.
Qing emperor Mulan autumn emperor map
The brilliant achievements of the children of the Eight Banners will always shine in history, but some of them are not enterprising after entering the customs, only looking for pleasure, and finally step by step towards the end of corruption and decline, which makes people sigh.
The Eight Banners soldiers, before entering the customs, "went out as soldiers, entered for the people, and plowed without dispute". They were soldiers in wartime and farmed at ordinary times. Although their life is not rich, they can still make a living. However, with the end of the unified war, the recovery and development of social economy, the extravagant style of the ruling class quietly prevailed, which had a serious corrosive effect on the children of the Eight Banners.
Once upon a time, the invincible and invincible Eight Banners gradually became corrupt and their combat effectiveness was greatly weakened. When the "San Francisco Rebellion" was put down during the reign of Kangxi, the military discipline of the Eight Banners was lax and the morale of the soldiers was low. The imperial court had to rely on green camp soldiers composed of Han Chinese. After a long battle, the San Francisco was pacified.
After that, the officers and men of the Eight Banners became increasingly corrupt. According to historical records, they played musical instruments, dressed in brocade, rode fat horses, entered classes to sing operas, invited guests to drink, and even officials did not attend meetings or classes. They come to work and do nothing serious, either laughing or singing opera.
By the middle of the Qing Dynasty, many children of the Eight Banners were down and out, making a living by paying rice in advance, selling land issued by the imperial court and receiving relief money. The Eight Banners have become a good soldier who can't fight in name only.
Nalanxingde lane
After the Opium War, the financial resources of the Qing government were exhausted, and salaries could not be paid on time. In addition, corrupt officials deduct money at different levels, which makes ordinary flag-bearers worse and makes life difficult.
With the collapse of the Qing Dynasty and the collapse of the Eight Banners system, the children of the Eight Banners waved goodbye to their "flag bearer" status. No matter what glory and honor the standard-bearer once had, or what frustration and shame he had, all this has become history.