Yongzheng means: "The right way for Prince Yong to ascend the throne."
People in ancient times were very particular about naming, and they attached great importance to their names. Each name had its own different meaning. Even some people who pay more attention to this kind of life have to deduce the horoscopes of birth and death, study the five elements, and ask gods and temples to ask for divination and names, just to ensure that they and their descendants can have continuous blessings and peace and success. For example, Emperor Yongzheng's full name was Aixinjueluo. Yinzhen. The first character of the names of the Kangxi princes all starts from the character "Yin", which means descendants of the emperor. The second word is a word that means continuous blessings and endless auspiciousness. The word "Zhen" in Yinzhen means auspiciousness and blessing.
As an emperor, his name cannot be taken lightly. Not only is the Ministry of Rites asked to list a series of names with profound meanings, but also the divination such as Qin Tian Jian is asked to calculate the most suitable one. Most of their names imply good fortune, prosperity, long-term peace and prosperity, and prosperity for the country. For example, the reign name of Emperor Shunzhi, Shunzhi, means smooth governance. The reign name of Emperor Kangxi, Kangxi, means prosperity for all people and prosperity for the world. However, compared to his father and grandfather, Emperor Yongzheng's reign was a little special.
When Emperor Yongzheng succeeded to the throne, Kangxi's eight sons were not willing to fail in their fight for the throne, so they were very dissatisfied with Yongzheng's accession to the throne. What's more, they sent people to spread rumors privately, spreading that the position of Yongzheng was not appointed by Kangxi himself, but that Yongzheng took it from other brothers through despicable means. These public opinions are spreading among the people, as if they are really a thing. Everyone knows that it is better to guard against the mouths of the people than to guard against the river. Emperor Yongzheng didn't have any good way to deal with himself becoming the focus of after-dinner talk among the people. He can neither suppress it with force, nor can he arrest and imprison the culprits who spread rumors without evidence. Therefore, when he ascended the throne and determined the reign name, in order to criticize the secular public opinion that the throne was incorrect, the reign name was "Yongzheng". Yongzheng means: "Prince Yong's right to ascend the throne".
It is precisely because Yongzheng chose the reign name in order to correct public opinion, so many scholars today say that the meaning of the reign name "Yongzheng" is not that good. The bad thing is that the word "zheng", Jin Hailing King's Zhenglong, Jin Aizong's Zhengda, Yuan Shun Emperor's Zhizheng, Ming Wuzong's Zhengde, Ming Yingzong's orthodoxy, these have contained the word "zheng" throughout the ages. Even era names are not a good omen. That's why Yongzheng only served as emperor for 13 years compared to his father and son, who had been in power for more than 60 years.
Because Yongzheng ascended the throne when the competition for the throne was so fierce and he treated some of his brothers mercilessly, the popular saying about Yongzheng is: "Yongzheng was a man who sought his father. A greedy and lustful person who kills his brothers and slaughters his brothers.” However, the editor does not quite agree with such an extreme view.
From the perspective of being an emperor, objectively speaking, Yongzheng was a good emperor. He succeeded Kangxi at the top and Qianlong at the bottom, and his contribution to the creation of the prosperous age of Kangxi and Qianlong cannot be ignored. After he ascended the throne, he rectified the official administration, checked the deficits, established the Imperial College Examination Office, implemented the return of waste to the public, implemented the system of raising honest silver and banned bad regulations, etc., which in one fell swoop reversed the corrupt style of officials in the later years of Kangxi. Yongzheng used his iron-blooded methods to clean up the officialdom and left a good Qing Dynasty to Qianlong. At the same time, he established the Military Aircraft Department to strengthen the imperial power. During his reign, he worked conscientiously and diligently in political affairs. He once said clearly: Rule the world with a pragmatic spirit. As soon as he succeeded to the throne, he resolutely punished and purged corruption and decadence. He bluntly told the civil and military officials: "In my life, I hate the words "falsehood and fraud" and "the most detestable reputation." One "hate" and the other "evil" clearly express his critical attitude towards corruption such as hypocrisy and fraud.
"On the other hand, Yongzheng was actually a bit too serious and too extreme. He had a clear distinction between love and hate. When Nian Gengyao served the country, he trusted him very much, but Nian Gengyao After Gengyao appeared to be self-willed and arrogant, he did not hesitate to deal with this minister whom he had always trusted. Of course, some people said that Yongzheng was too unsympathetic to Long Keduo, who had greatly helped him ascend the throne. After Yongzheng came to power, he dealt with Longkoduo, who was always proud of his merits as a dragon, without mercy.
Several of his brothers were also demoted to civilians and executed. Therefore, it is said that he is a greedy and lustful person who seeks his father, kills his brothers, and kills his brothers.
At the same time, judging from the historical data circulating today, Yongzheng was actually a person who knew how to live well. It was he who built the Old Summer Palace, and judging from his favorite cultural relics and utensils and his calligraphy, his things are light in color but extremely heavy and delicate, which shows that he is a person with extremely high taste. The cute portrait of Yongzheng circulated not long ago also shows Yongzheng's pursuit of life. In the portraits, Yongzheng is either bending a bow and shooting arrows, or imitating a fisherman sitting alone fishing, or even pretending to be a foreigner. This shows that cosplay was not invented by modern people. This emperor hundreds of years ago was already playing it.
Everyone has a different opinion about what kind of person Yongzheng was, but when understanding this emperor who made many contributions to the Qing Dynasty, we should not be confused because of certain historical records. There is bias.