Many people have always had a question about Qing history and flag customs, that is, the Qing Dynasty flag man Weishenme would call himself a "slave". As I said in the course of Xuanxuan Pavilion, the Eight Banners system where the banner people belong is a very complicated class composition, and according to the habits before entering the customs, the subordinate people who have a direct subordinate relationship within the class composition must call themselves "slaves" in front of the superiors. However, it does not mean that you have to be called a "minion" all the time, so let's discuss it in detail.

Generally speaking, there are two self-proclaimed bannermen in the Qing Dynasty, one is "minister", and the Manchu text is "amban"; One is "slave", and the Manchu text is "aha". These two strictly correspond, when Han Ben is a "slave", Manben must be "aha". However, when to use ministers and when to use slaves, the conditions for their use vary depending on the period, and are simply divided into two periods, namely the "unshaped period" from the early Qing Dynasty to the Gaozong period, and the "customized period" after Gaozong. [[[CP|W:250|H:190|A:L|U:http://file2.biquge.info/chapters/201310/23/2974488635181313959203563511824.jpg

]]] [The "undefined period" from the early Qing Dynasty to Gaozong]

Due to the identity gap brought about by the Eight Banners system, the term "minion" often appears within the Eight Banners. From the early Qing Dynasty to the Gaozong period, there are several main types of servants:

1. The self-proclaimed title of the Emperor by the Shangsanqi Banner People. The Eight Banners system takes the flag owner as its top layer, the so-called Shangsanqi, that is, the flag of the emperor's personal unity, in short, the flag owner of the Shangsanqi is the emperor himself. Therefore, as the emperor's direct bannerman, the Shangsanqi bannerman is in the status of a subordinate (Manchu harangga), and when performing for his own subordinate master, he naturally has to be called a "minion".

2. The self-proclaimed title of the emperor on the three banners. Shangsanqi Baoyi is subordinate to the Ministry of Internal Affairs, serves the inner court, and also calls itself a "slave".

3. The self-proclaimed prince of the banner of the five banners of the people of the five banners. Unlike the upper three banners, the lower five banners adopt the feudal system of the kings, and the people who are in the lower five banners also become their subjects (harangga). In the "Literature Series", there is "Prince Yong's Letter to Nian Qianyao" (the first series), the content of which is that because Nian Qianyao did not call him a slave, he was reprimanded by Emperor Yongzheng, who did not succeed to the throne. (Nian Qianyao was a member of Emperor Yongzheng in the Kangxi year)

4. The self-proclaimed kings of the five banners. Ditto for the three banners of the coat against the emperor.

5. Hanchen's epithet. Since the beginning of the Qing Dynasty, there have been many Hanchen who flattered the emperor and called themselves slaves in the folds. This situation was not strictly suppressed before the Gaozong Dynasty.

Although we have summarized the above five points, the situation of banner people being called slaves during this period is still relatively chaotic. Official and private affairs are called "slaves", and sometimes the emperor will adopt different standards for different people, such as Emperor Shizong Yongzheng once corrected the title of the slave of the Han army with the yellow flag, and changed his self-proclaimed "slave" to "minister", which is also a common situation. That's why we call it the "unshaped period", which is a chaotic period.

【The "Customization Period" after Gojong】

During the reign of Emperor Qianlong of Gaozong, the various systems of the Qing Dynasty were gradually determined. As a result, the Qing Dynasty bannerman's use of "slave" was also formalized. There are two trends in the big topic, the first is the prominence of the emperor as the "co-master of the Eight Banners", and the second is the distinction between public and private.

1. The emperor is the co-owner of the Eight Banners. As we all know, the Eight Banners of the Qing Dynasty did not have a strict unified nature, and there were many cases of private subordination. From the three generations of emperors of Taizong, Shizu and Shengzu successively removed the banner power of the princes of the Five Banners, and finally in the period of Emperor Yongzheng of Sejong, the emperor established the status of "the co-lord of the eight banners". At the same time, in the past, the people of the Five Banners only called themselves slaves as the subjects of the prince of the banner, but now in the face of the "Eight Banners Lord", they naturally have to be called slaves, which strengthens the emperor's constraints on the Eight Banners.

2. Establish a distinction between public and private. See "Gaozong Shilu" Qianlong 23rd February Ren Shen Article: "Instructions to the Minister of Military Aircraft, etc.: Manchurian ministers are called ministers and slaves, and the words are different. After the proclamation, he issued a fold of official affairs and was called a minister. Please, thanksgiving, ordinary folding, still called a minion. to preserve the old Manchurian body. So it was officially determined that the banner minister was called a minister in the fold of official affairs, and a slave in the fold of private affairs.

3. The Han army is the same as Manchuria, and it is called "minister" in official affairs and "slave" in private affairs. See "Gaozong's Record" in December of the sixth year of Qianlong: "Tell the Minister of Military Aircraft and ...... Zhang Guangsi was a member of the Han Army...... It was a private matter. Slaves should be written in the fold. This is to unify the group of "flag people" so that there will be exceptions.

4. It is forbidden for Hanchen to be called a "slave".

Along with Gaozong's customization of being called a minister and a slave, he also gave an explanation of the special title of a slave, see "Gaozong's Record" in the 35th year of Qianlong's leap month Ding Mao article: "The ministers and servants belong to one body, and they are all the titles of the enshrinement, although the meaning of the words is different, and their transmission is one." The Manchu and Han ministers claimed to be inherently different. However, when encountering the ministry and the court, although the Manchurian officials are also called ministers, and the Manchurian governors play local official affairs, not to be called humble and close to the ministers, but to call the ministers respectful and far away...... There is no discrimination against the court, and the imperial court is self-respecting. And because his subordinates are called slaves, they are exalted? Is there a reduction in the system? He used this to appease Han Chen, and made it very clear that ministers and servants are just called differently, and they have nothing to do with respect and humility.