Jia Qing Huang Di 嘉庆皇帝
Chinese title (trad.):
嘉慶皇帝
Chinese title (simpl.):
嘉庆皇帝
Russian title:
Император Цзяцин
Other titles:
嘉慶傳奇 (嘉庆传奇)
Release year:
2005
Country:
China
Number of episodes:
42
Episode running time:
46 minutes
Genre:
historical, drama
Language:
mandarin
Type:
TV series
Description:
With the toll of Emperor Qianlong's "abdication," the curtain fell on the "Prosperity of Kangxi and Qianlong." The Jiaqing Emperor was a tragic emperor in the history of the Great Qing: he took from his father's hands an empire "riddled with a thousand wounds" and spent his imperial career amid storms and turmoil. Of the 267 years of Qing history, Jiaqing's 25-year reign was but a brief link in that long chain of years, yet he lived in a breathtaking era of upheaval. The heyday of Kangxi and Qianlong had reached its zenith, and the Great Qing was in decline, beginning to decay and fall; meanwhile, the Western world, casting off the shackles of feudalism, strode forward onto the path of capitalist colonial plunder, bringing crisis and challenge to the ancient Eastern nation still shrouded in… Show more darkness.
"Only in hardship does a hero's true colors show." Yongyan ascended the imperial throne, but the Retired Emperor still held everything firmly in his grasp. Under the Retired Emperor's piercing gaze, Yongyan ruled with great difficulty: he swallowed his anger before the greedy minister He Shen; even when his beloved empress fell gravely ill, he could not keep watch at her side, and when she died, he dared not reveal his grief, fearing He Shen would secretly report to the Retired Emperor that he valued sentiment over filial piety. It was precisely amid such hardship that Jiaqing saw clearly the various abuses that had bred corruption in the bureaucracy, and in concealing his talents and biding his time, he pondered how to correct the crooked ways caused by his father's blind trust in He Shen in his later years. As soon as the Retired Emperor passed away, Jiaqing smashed the He Shen clique that brought calamity to the nation and the people, and uncovered the greatest embezzlement case since the founding of the Great Qing. With the assistance of wise and upright ministers such as Wang Jie, Dong Gao, Zhu Gui, and Dai Qu-Heng, he set about with high resolve to rectify the bureaucracy, quell social unrest, advocate frugality and economy, scorn jade and antiques, break with his father's extravagant habits, and inaugurate a tradition of diligence and simplicity among Qing emperors. Jiaqing regarded corruption in the bureaucracy as his greatest concern; he executed, dismissed, and demoted a number of officials, achieving notable results. But as one major corruption case after another was exposed, and memorials of impeachment piled up before the Jiaqing Emperor, he went from shock to deep anxiety, and from deep anxiety to fear. Although he understood that his father's blind trust in He Shen in his later years had bred corruption in the bureaucracy and a culture of embezzlement, and he was determined to root out corruption, once the lid was lifted, the Jiaqing Emperor saw not merely a few vermin and corrupt officials in the Great Qing, but that the very foundation of the entire edifice was rotting. "The Great Qing must not perish in my hands; the ancestral legacy must not decline like this" — such was the lament the Jiaqing Emperor uttered when he paid homage to his deceased wife, Empress Xitala. From then on, Jiaqing dared not rectify the bureaucracy with the boldness he had shown in the early days of his personal rule; especially since many cases touched upon his father's reputation, Yongyan, who had always lived in his father's shadow, naturally dared not touch matters that would damage his father's reputation. After the abuses were corrected, the brief resurgence proved fleeting: the more anti-corruption efforts were made, the more corrupt things became; the more anti-decay efforts were made, the more decayed things became. The upright ministers and loyal officials, seeing the emperor grow soft-handed, were consumed with anxiety. Hong Liangji was the first to step forward and speak bluntly of the ills of the times, submitting his "Thousand-Word Memorial" urging bold and decisive rectification of the bureaucracy, which struck the Jiaqing Emperor's sore spot — that is, the sore spot of the Great Qing. The Jiaqing Emperor, burdened with inner turmoil, could not help but fly into a rage and had Hong Liangji arrested. But when sycophantic officials who flattered the emperor requested that Hong Liangji be executed, the emperor, understanding all without words, did not give his tacit consent; he only had Hong Liangji exiled to Xinjiang. Later he did not even want the exile, and let Hong Liangji return to his hometown, but hung Hong Liangji's "Thousand-Word Memorial" at his desk as a motto. In truth, the Jiaqing Emperor had long felt this "sore spot"; he simply dared not admit it. As emperor of the Great Qing, Jiaqing was deeply conflicted, shrouded in melancholy and irritation. Those trusted confidants he had once relied upon either passed away or fell into corruption and were executed by his own order. He became increasingly a "lone sovereign," increasingly isolated, while floods, rebellions driven by officials pushing the people to revolt, and even rebel peasants managing to seize the Forbidden City — an unprecedented humiliation since the founding of the Great Qing — assailed him one after another. The coast was not quiet either: pirates harassed the Celestial Empire from time to time, and the British Empire sought to "put down roots" on the shores of his empire and trade with his Celestial subjects. Jiaqing took inheriting the ancestral legacy as his highest principle — how could he rest easy about such things? What was more, foreigners brazenly shipped opium into the ports of the Celestial Empire, and unscrupulous local officials took bribes and let opium run unchecked. Opium flourished, leaving the Jiaqing Emperor deeply anxious; even the scions of the princely and Eight Banners families took up opium and neglected their duties, and even the palace eunuchs got a taste of it. Yongyan watched his empire begin to decline. He too had once been full of vigor and confidence, wanting to preserve the ancestral legacy, hoping for a resurgence, reforming abuses, and rectifying the bureaucracy. In the end, the accumulated ills were too deep to reverse; he had no strength to stop the collapse of the great mountain or turn back the raging tide.
Twenty-five years, twenty-five winters and springs, bearing the rise and fall of the empire on his shoulders, he exhausted all his energy through wind and rain. Jiaqing did not understand why he could not turn back the raging tide and restore the ancestral legacy: the more cases he handled, the more there were; the more he plugged the holes of flooding, the bigger they grew. Man-made disasters, natural calamities — Jiaqing got a headache with every report he received. In the end, he could not reverse the decline of the Great Qing as he had wished. With a melancholy heart, full of regrets, he let go and departed, leaving his heir three charges: corruption, opium, and floods — they must be rooted out, they absolutely must be rooted out! This too was his own wish, which he had tried to fulfill but had not.
"Only in hardship does a hero's true colors show." Yongyan ascended the imperial throne, but the Retired Emperor still held everything firmly in his grasp. Under the Retired Emperor's piercing gaze, Yongyan ruled with great difficulty: he swallowed his anger before the greedy minister He Shen; even when his beloved empress fell gravely ill, he could not keep watch at her side, and when she died, he dared not reveal his grief, fearing He Shen would secretly report to the Retired Emperor that he valued sentiment over filial piety. It was precisely amid such hardship that Jiaqing saw clearly the various abuses that had bred corruption in the bureaucracy, and in concealing his talents and biding his time, he pondered how to correct the crooked ways caused by his father's blind trust in He Shen in his later years. As soon as the Retired Emperor passed away, Jiaqing smashed the He Shen clique that brought calamity to the nation and the people, and uncovered the greatest embezzlement case since the founding of the Great Qing. With the assistance of wise and upright ministers such as Wang Jie, Dong Gao, Zhu Gui, and Dai Qu-Heng, he set about with high resolve to rectify the bureaucracy, quell social unrest, advocate frugality and economy, scorn jade and antiques, break with his father's extravagant habits, and inaugurate a tradition of diligence and simplicity among Qing emperors. Jiaqing regarded corruption in the bureaucracy as his greatest concern; he executed, dismissed, and demoted a number of officials, achieving notable results. But as one major corruption case after another was exposed, and memorials of impeachment piled up before the Jiaqing Emperor, he went from shock to deep anxiety, and from deep anxiety to fear. Although he understood that his father's blind trust in He Shen in his later years had bred corruption in the bureaucracy and a culture of embezzlement, and he was determined to root out corruption, once the lid was lifted, the Jiaqing Emperor saw not merely a few vermin and corrupt officials in the Great Qing, but that the very foundation of the entire edifice was rotting. "The Great Qing must not perish in my hands; the ancestral legacy must not decline like this" — such was the lament the Jiaqing Emperor uttered when he paid homage to his deceased wife, Empress Xitala. From then on, Jiaqing dared not rectify the bureaucracy with the boldness he had shown in the early days of his personal rule; especially since many cases touched upon his father's reputation, Yongyan, who had always lived in his father's shadow, naturally dared not touch matters that would damage his father's reputation. After the abuses were corrected, the brief resurgence proved fleeting: the more anti-corruption efforts were made, the more corrupt things became; the more anti-decay efforts were made, the more decayed things became. The upright ministers and loyal officials, seeing the emperor grow soft-handed, were consumed with anxiety. Hong Liangji was the first to step forward and speak bluntly of the ills of the times, submitting his "Thousand-Word Memorial" urging bold and decisive rectification of the bureaucracy, which struck the Jiaqing Emperor's sore spot — that is, the sore spot of the Great Qing. The Jiaqing Emperor, burdened with inner turmoil, could not help but fly into a rage and had Hong Liangji arrested. But when sycophantic officials who flattered the emperor requested that Hong Liangji be executed, the emperor, understanding all without words, did not give his tacit consent; he only had Hong Liangji exiled to Xinjiang. Later he did not even want the exile, and let Hong Liangji return to his hometown, but hung Hong Liangji's "Thousand-Word Memorial" at his desk as a motto. In truth, the Jiaqing Emperor had long felt this "sore spot"; he simply dared not admit it. As emperor of the Great Qing, Jiaqing was deeply conflicted, shrouded in melancholy and irritation. Those trusted confidants he had once relied upon either passed away or fell into corruption and were executed by his own order. He became increasingly a "lone sovereign," increasingly isolated, while floods, rebellions driven by officials pushing the people to revolt, and even rebel peasants managing to seize the Forbidden City — an unprecedented humiliation since the founding of the Great Qing — assailed him one after another. The coast was not quiet either: pirates harassed the Celestial Empire from time to time, and the British Empire sought to "put down roots" on the shores of his empire and trade with his Celestial subjects. Jiaqing took inheriting the ancestral legacy as his highest principle — how could he rest easy about such things? What was more, foreigners brazenly shipped opium into the ports of the Celestial Empire, and unscrupulous local officials took bribes and let opium run unchecked. Opium flourished, leaving the Jiaqing Emperor deeply anxious; even the scions of the princely and Eight Banners families took up opium and neglected their duties, and even the palace eunuchs got a taste of it. Yongyan watched his empire begin to decline. He too had once been full of vigor and confidence, wanting to preserve the ancestral legacy, hoping for a resurgence, reforming abuses, and rectifying the bureaucracy. In the end, the accumulated ills were too deep to reverse; he had no strength to stop the collapse of the great mountain or turn back the raging tide.
Twenty-five years, twenty-five winters and springs, bearing the rise and fall of the empire on his shoulders, he exhausted all his energy through wind and rain. Jiaqing did not understand why he could not turn back the raging tide and restore the ancestral legacy: the more cases he handled, the more there were; the more he plugged the holes of flooding, the bigger they grew. Man-made disasters, natural calamities — Jiaqing got a headache with every report he received. In the end, he could not reverse the decline of the Great Qing as he had wished. With a melancholy heart, full of regrets, he let go and departed, leaving his heir three charges: corruption, opium, and floods — they must be rooted out, they absolutely must be rooted out! This too was his own wish, which he had tried to fulfill but had not.
Movie crew
director:
presenter:
Wang Zhong-Jun, Wang Mao-Liang, Han Xiao-Jing
209 m.
Wang Zhong-Jun
Aged 45 years
209 m.
Aged 45 years
69 m.
Wang Mao-Liang
4 m.
Han Xiao-Jing
producer:
Chen Jun-Cong, Ge Jian-Quan, Wang Zhong-Lei
67 m.
Chen Jun-Cong
217 m.
Wang Zhong-Lei
Aged 34 years
67 m.
5 m.
Ge Jian-Quan
217 m.
Aged 34 years
script:
costume designer:
Actors
Actors
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