The mystery of Qianlong's birthday
In the process of Kang Yong san huang's succession, the fog of Qianlong's birth date had an inestimable and important influence on the final formation of Emperor Kangxi's succession plan.
Gan Long was born on August 13th in the 50th year of Kangxi (17 1 1), and his date of birth was "Xin Mao, Ding You, Geng Wu and Bing Zi". The word "Qianlong Eight Characters" is hidden in the palace. After the Qing dynasty, the archives of the cabinet treasury began to be sorted out. One of the first precious files made public was the Eight Characters of Qianlong. There is a comment on writing cloud in Ganlong Eight Characters:
"It goes without saying that this kind of life is rich and natural. Occupy a perverted temperament, smart and delicate, kind and filial, and learn both civil and military skills. When you are young, you always see floating disasters, which does not hinder you. 16 years old If you want to be lucky, you must be in good health, do whatever you want, and have better aspirations. It is the hardest thing to see a wife and a star in life. There are many children, and Shou Yuan is tall and thick. The four sides of the column are lattice-shaped, and nothing else is needed. quot。
"Four directions in the column form a grid", that is, all columns see "meridian and unitary". In numerology, it is called "four clear grids", which is a powerful fate with great talent. Some people say that Qianlong is the emperor. Which astrologer criticized him for being bad? Actually, it is not. The above-mentioned "Ganlong Eight Characters" was formed in the sixty-first year of Kangxi, and it has the following words: "Today's old benevolence (Kangxi is sixty-one), the lucky stars sit in the sky in the fleeting time, and the lucky stars stay in the sky, and the four seasons are auspicious, happy and peaceful." This year, Qianlong was twelve years old in vain. He is the fourth son of Prince Yong and one of hundreds of emperors and grandsons of Kangxi. Astrologers who have been ordered to approve horoscopes are only numerically speaking. Where did they know that this child was the third generation emperor? In the comment on writing, "Tianfu? Quot "Tian Xi Xing" Yun Yun is an astrologer's term, saying that it is a good year and the four seasons are auspicious.
Ganlong received Kangxi with his grandson for the first time in the spring of this year, and the birth date of Ganlong should be brought back by Kangxi this time. The existing comment on "Ganlong Eight Characters" should be from March 12 to 25. It is said that someone once saw Kangxi's comments on "this life is rich and natural" in the comments on "Ganlong Eight Characters" in the archives of the Forbidden City. However, the "Ganlong Eight Characters" in Tales does not indicate that Kangxi personally commented on it in the form of annotations or notes, so it is very likely that the comments on "Ganlong Eight Characters" were recognized by Kangxi fortune tellers. In the comment on writing, it is said that "this life is rich and natural", "filial piety" and "Shou Yuan is generous" have covered the so-called "Five Blessingg" in ancient times: longevity, wealth, corning, friendship, virtue, and final exam. From the point of view of life, the life of this emperor's grandson can't be better, and there is such an expression as "multiple children's interest", so it is appropriate for Kangxi to treat him differently. However, the ancestors of the emperor were inevitably uneasy when they were young, so it was lucky to visit Yuanmingyuan on March 25th. Ganlong was raised in the palace, at the beginning. After Gan Long entered the palace, he spent less than eight months beside the emperor's ancestors. During this period, Kangxi repeatedly said that Gan Long was "blessed with great fortune", "blessed with great fortune" and "cherishing his life", which could only be based on the character of "Ganlong".
In the spring of 61, Kangxi wanted to keep Li Hong, the eldest brother of Emperor Yong's concubine (later Emperor Qianlong) around for a long-term experiment, but time was short, and in November of that year. When Kangxi hastily weighed (the fourth son of the emperor, later Yong Zhengdi) and Yun □, or other elder brothers, including the third brother, he was blessed with a unique life, excellent in character and learning, and both civil and military. After comprehensively considering the conditions of father and son, Kangxi made an earth-shattering will that "Prince Yin Zhen, the fourth son of the Prince, is the wisest, and I will be the heir after death".
Kangxi is dead. Before he died, he entrusted the four emperors Yongzheng to "seal" Li Hong as the Crown Prince. Yongzheng obeyed the will of Kangxi. On the anniversary of his accession to the throne, that is, in August of the first year of Yongzheng, he personally held a ceremony to establish the Crown Prince. He personally wrote the secret book of Li Hong as the Crown Prince, sealed it in an iron box, and worshipped the plaque of "Fair and Bright" (according to regulations, Qianlong was the concubine of Yongzheng)
Reasonably, when Yongzheng's "Ganlong Eight Characters" was mentioned by Kangxi, it was already considered as "this life is rich and natural". Emperor Yong has a astrologer, and Kangxi and Yongzheng's father and son must have talked about his fate before and after Qianlong's "Health Hall". It is precisely because of Kangxi's in-depth understanding of Yongzheng that Qianlong was predicted to be a prince, which can be further inferred. It was because of Qianlong's trust that Yongzheng succeeded to the throne at the last minute.
However, although the Qing emperor believed in geomantic omen and so on, and used it as a political reference, he never made a big fuss about it, nor could he publicly record such things in official books. Only in a very small scope, in a very confidential way, outsiders could not hear it, because it related to the national image and the emperor's face. In the "eight characters of Qianlong" hidden in the palace, Qianlong himself knew that his birthday predicted his life's fate, and tried to overcome or avoid his life's bad luck with manpower. But he never boasted that his life was healthy and vigorous. When he decided to inherit the throne, he always paid close attention to the reference of Emperor Kangxi to his date of birth. When he thought that he should explain to future generations, he just said something like "My life is precious".
In a word, Qianlong, the illegitimate child of Emperor Yong, was designated as the third generation emperor by Kangding, which had a lot to do with the goodness of Qianlong's birthday. This is one of the deepest secrets of the Qing Dynasty.
The eight characters of "Qianlong" were found in the dusty archives and made public, which undoubtedly opened up new ideas for uncovering the historical case of Yongzheng's succession.