Chapter 74 President of Siku Quanshu

He Shen was appointed to take over the post of president of "Siku Quanshu", and devoted himself to compiling this masterpiece, making a great contribution to this huge cultural project.Although He Shen arbitrarily tampered with documents in order to understand the holy will, banned and destroyed valuable historical books that belonged to the ranks of prohibited history, which reduced the historical value of this book to a certain extent, but this cannot conceal that "Siku Quanshu" is a Chinese The fact that it is the largest series of books in history, the contribution made by He Shen cannot be denied.

We often talk about the revision of the Dian in the prosperous age, which is also the cultural tradition of the past dynasties in China. The "Zizhi Tongjian" in the Song Dynasty and the "Yongle Dadian" in the Ming Dynasty not only reflect the prosperity of culture, but also the embodiment of comprehensive national strength.Since Kangxi and Yongzheng in the Qing Dynasty, the society tended to be stable, the national power became stronger and stronger, and the people became more prosperous.This provides an excellent environment for the prosperity of literature.Qianlong has always regarded himself as a wise emperor, how could he be willing to be a queen?He decided to compile an unprecedented encyclopedia "Siku Quanshu".

In fact, as early as the Kangxi period, the emperor ordered the compilation of a set of "The Collection of Ancient and Modern Books".Since Qianlong compared himself to Emperor Qin and Han Wu, of course he wanted to make "Siku Quanshu" an authoritative classic, surpassing all previous books.In February of the thirty-eighth year of Qianlong (1773), Qianlong set up the Siku Quanshu library in order to solemnize the matter, and the compilation of the whole book officially began. The compilation of "Siku Quanshu" is a protracted cultural project, which cannot be neglected, and a reliable and prestigious person must be selected for the task.At the beginning of Qianlong, his sixth son, Yong Rong, was in charge of the entire project, and Yu Minzhong, a cabinet scholar, was the president; Ji Xiaolan was actually in charge of compiling the specific content, and was the chief editor. Other participants included Lu Erxiong, Sun Shiyi, Dai Zhen, and Zhou Yongnian. , Shao Jinhan, etc. are all famous scholars.There are more than 3,600 literati who participated in the compilation of the book, and another 3,800 scribes.At this time, He Shen is just a small imperial guard, and he has no hope of becoming famous.Although he was considered a half-literate man, he never dared to think about participating in the compilation of "Siku Quanshu". The huge cultural project of "Siku Quanshu" is all participated by well-known literati and scholars, and it seems that he is destined to miss it.Who would have thought that a little bodyguard next to the emperor would become the executive director of this cultural project in a few years, co-editing a book with the famous Ji Xiaolan?

"Siku Quanshu" has collected a lot of materials, some of which are inevitably unfavorable to the imperial court.Serving the emperor requires not only knowledge, but also absolute loyalty.During the compilation process, those participants always dared not make major deletions and major changes, and it was inevitable that unfavorable remarks would be spread to the world, and Qianlong was quite dissatisfied.In the forty-fifth year of Qianlong (1780), He Shen investigated Li Shiyao's case cleanly.Just at this time, the compilation of "Siku Quanshu" also encountered some problems.So Qianlong simply ordered that He Shen, who was capable and loyal to himself, be appointed as the president of the "Siku Quanshu" library, responsible for coordinating the compilation of the entire "Siku Quanshu".

Although He Shen has never passed the exam and gained fame, after all, he has studied in government schools for many years, and he often regards himself as a cultural person.Now the emperor asked him to preside over the editing of "Siku Quanshu", which he thought was an excellent opportunity to achieve his cultural reputation.He knew that Qianlong took "Siku Quanshu" as a great cause for thousands of years, and as long as he could contribute to "Siku Quanshu", Qianlong would definitely favor him even more.In addition, He Shen became the regular president, and outstanding talents such as Ji Xiaolan and Liu Yong became his subordinates.He Shen can also take the opportunity to cultivate power among the Hanlin, thereby consolidating his position, so He Shen is extraordinarily dedicated.

Sun Shiyi, the governor of Yunnan, has been dismissed because of his involvement in the case of Li Shiyao and has been escorted to the capital.According to Sun Shiyi's charges, he should have been exiled in Ili.If he is really assigned to Yili, it is hard to predict whether he will be able to return to the mainland.Fortunately, He Shen knew Sun Shiyi better and knew that he was quite talented. In addition, Sun Shiyi had helped He Shen during the case handling. He Shen decided that this person could be won, and decided to help him. The whole book".Therefore, He Shen said to Qianlong: Sun Shiyi was just an accomplice in Li Shiyao's case. He had to bow his head under the eaves. What he did was really a last resort.Besides, I heard that Sun Shiyi was talented and knowledgeable, and now that compiling the "Siku Quanshu" is the time for employing people, wouldn't it be a waste of money to send such a well-learned man who is familiar with the scriptures to Ili?It's better to transfer him to edit "Siku Quanshu" to atone for his crime.In this way, Sun Shiyi must be grateful for the emperor's kindness and do his best.If he made any mistakes again, and the emperor condemned him again, forgive him and have nothing to say.Seeing that it was beneficial to compiling the book, Qianlong readily agreed. Qianlong pardoned an exiled person in order to compile "Siku Quanshu", which shows that he attaches great importance to this book.

He Shen knew in his heart that his little knowledge could only make Emperor Qianlong happy, and he had to rely on the powerful Ji Xiaolan and others to compile the "Siku Quanshu", so he attached great importance to their opinions. Most of the compilation of the main content of "Siku Quanshu" was completed by Ji Xiaolan. Except for strictly checking the content of the text that is not conducive to the court, He Shen usually does not lead the laymen and the experts, and does not interfere with the work of these scholars. You can see He Shen's leadership skills. In addition to the lack of editorial talents, He Shen also faced the problem of document collection.Reference documents are needed to compile a book. Although the imperial court has issued several edicts to search for documents that have been lost in history, the people have gone through wars and have difficulty filling their stomachs. They have no energy to protect books, so many folk documents have been lost.The "Yongle Dadian", written during the Yongle period of the Ming Dynasty, is an important official reference document. It contains as many as seven or eight thousand important ancient books.The whole book is divided into categories, and it compiles ancient books and materials from the pre-Qin period to the early Ming Dynasty. It is very detailed and complete.What is even more commendable is that the ancient documents included in the "Yongle Dadian" have been carefully verified and have not been deleted, which is of great reference value for the compilation of "Siku Quanshu".But it is a pity that after the war in the late Ming and early Qing Dynasties, the complete version of "Yongle Dadian" has long since disappeared.Ji Xiaolan and others went to the Imperial Academy many times to search but to no avail.

After He Shen took office, he also carefully investigated the whereabouts of "Yongle Dadian".After consulting historical materials, he learned that the "Yongle Dadian" has been kept in Nanjing since it was compiled.In the nineteenth year of Yongle in Ming Dynasty (1421), Ming Chengzu Zhu Di moved his capital to Beijing, brought "Yongle Dadian" to Beijing, and kept it in the Forbidden City.In August of the forty-first year of Jiajing (1562), a copy was transcribed, and since then there have been two copies of "Yongle Dadian".Later, the original copy of "Yongle Dadian" was lost, and the copy has been kept in the archives of the Ming Dynasty.During the Qianlong period, the collection of books in the archives, whether public or private, had reached its peak, especially the collection of books in the Hanlin Academy was even more vast. In addition, the management has been neglected, so it is reasonable that they cannot be found for a while.But He Shen insisted that "Yongle Dadian" must be in it, as long as you look it up carefully, you will be able to find it.

He Shen then asked Qianlong to issue an order to the Imperial Academy to find out the whereabouts of "Yongle Dadian" again.Although the officials of the Imperial Academy were not happy, they had no choice but to search again according to the order. He Shen was afraid that the officials of the Imperial Academy would be perfunctory and refused to read it carefully, so he personally took people to the library of the Imperial Academy to search, but there was still no trace.Officials of the Imperial Academy said that this grand ceremony must have been lost during the war in the late Ming Dynasty.He Shen checked the information carefully again, and decided that such an important classic as the "Yongle Dadian", even if it was lost, there must be a record.Now there is no record, so the copy should still be kept somewhere in the Imperial Academy.

After careful consideration, He Shen felt that he could definitely find it.So it was ordered: In addition to the library, the top shelves, corners, idle pavilions, attics, etc. of the houses in all places should be carefully searched again.Seeing that He Shen was so persistent, everyone had no choice but to search the Imperial Academy in all directions, leaving no dead ends.Hard work paid off, and finally found the dusty "Yongle Dadian" in a corner of a remote attic named Jing Yiting.He Shen found this book and made great contributions to the compilation of "Siku Quanshu".

Qianlong strived to make the "Siku Quanshu" cover as many books as possible, so the sources of materials are very extensive. In addition to private donations and materials obtained from the Imperial Academy, the Imperial College and the House of Internal Affairs also have a large number of ancient books and classics. There are rare books of Jin, Liao, Yuan, and Ming, as well as records of various dynasties, jade discs, and "Great Qing Huidian", which have strong historical data.These are extremely beneficial to the compilation of "Siku Quanshu".In addition, Emperor Qianlong liked to appreciate calligraphy and painting. He had a special library in Zhaoren Hall, where he gathered rare ancient books in the palace and named them Tianlu Linlang. Rare and rare books.These books are covered with five-color brocade, wrapped in silk and corners, and the front and back pages of each book are engraved with the ancient and rare treasures of the five blessings and five halls, the treasures of the Eight Signs and Mao Nian, the treasures of the Supreme Emperor, and Qianlong Yulan. The most important treasure, Tianlu Jijian and other five jade seals, are called Qianlong Five Seals. The books of the Ministry of Internal Affairs and Tianlu Linlang have always been only for the royal family to read, and they are not loaned out.In order to ensure the quality of the "Siku Quanshu", Heshen implored Qianlong to allow Hanlin to go to the palace to make a copy of these precious books for the purpose of editing the "Siku Quanshu", and Qianlong granted it. In this way, through He Shen's efforts, the references of "Siku Quanshu" have been enriched, and the editing progress has been significantly accelerated.And the literati in the Sikuquanshu library who are knowledgeable and self-respecting are also beginning to look at He Shen, the executive president, differently. We often say that there are a thousand "Romance of the Three Kingdoms" in the hearts of a thousand people.Scholars with deep thoughts of the school, all those who participated in the compilation of the book are celebrities and Confucians in the country.These people inevitably have different academic views, coupled with the unique stubbornness of scholars, it is indeed a big problem to coordinate them to work together. There were two main schools of Confucianism in the Qing Dynasty, one was the Han School and the other was the Song School, each with its own unique views.The biggest difference between the two factions is whether to respect Song-Ming Neo-Confucianism. There are many editors and editors in the "Siku Quanshu" library, and these two schools also exist.The representative of the Han School is the scholar Dai Zhen. The Han School has a rigorous academic attitude, more meticulous methods, and is good at textual research, but sometimes compiling books is too cumbersome, and even deviates from reality in pursuit of evidence; the representatives of the Song School are Weng Fanggang and Yao Nai, who are good at theory .The two schools of academic views are tit-for-tat, and it is inevitable that there will be fierce debates.Fortunately, He Shen is good at interspersing and coordinating. Even if he criticizes a certain point of view, he proceeds from reality and does not favor a certain school of thought.His highest principle is that the debate should be conducive to the compilation of the book. Under this principle, the two factions abandoned factional struggles, sought common ground while reserving differences, and completed the compilation work well. Although Heshen is proficient in literature, he is a politician first and foremost, and Qianlong’s most concerned thing is not only cultural undertakings, but also the control of culture and speech. Of course Heshen understands this and this is also the reason why Qianlong made Heshen the president.The transcription of the first "Siku Quanshu" was nearing completion, and his first thought was how to avoid unlawful remarks to satisfy the emperor, rather than the historical and cultural value of the book.He marked out the words Hu, Lu, Thief, Luting, Rukou, Nankou, etc., and then found Lu Feichi who was in charge of proofreading and Ji Xiaolan who was in charge of compiling the content.He Shen told them: In the Qing Dynasty, foreigners entered the customs, and the royal family is very sensitive to these words, so they should be replaced with other words. Ji Xiaolan is a celebrity and needs no introduction; Lu Feichi is a native of Tongxiang, Zhejiang Province, a Jinshi in the 31st year of Qianlong (1766), and once served as a minister of the Ministry of Rites.In the thirty-eighth year of Qianlong (1773), the "Siku Quanshu" was opened, and Lu Feichi was appointed as the general manager and vice president of Siku Quanshu, responsible for proofreading work full-time. After hearing He Shen's words, the two thought he was overthinking.He Shen further affirmed his point of view, and the two also argued hard, believing that this is only a historical document, and easy replacement will cause inconvenience to future generations, and reduce the value of "Siku Quanshu" as a document, which is contrary to the emperor's original intention.He Shen served Qianlong day and night, and of course he was very confident in his own judgment, while Lu Feichi and Ji Xiaolan also insisted on their own views, and the two sides fell into a stalemate for a while.Finally, He Shen submitted this issue to the emperor, asking the emperor to make a decision. Emperor Qianlong really appreciated Heshen's proposal, and ordered that the words Hu, Lu, Thief, and Luting appearing in the book be replaced with Quan, Enemy, Ren, and Beiting.Qianlong also reprimanded Ji Xiaolan, Lu Xixiong, Lu Feichi and others for not paying attention to the holy will and compiling without care, and greatly appreciated Heshen.Emperor Qianlong felt that this was not the end, and he urged all localities to step up the seizure of prohibited books.Once found, it will be confiscated immediately. Although Ji Xiaolan, Lu Feichi and the others were not happy about it, but they had no choice but to violate the sacred order, they had to swallow their breath and revised all the words involved one by one.This kind of work is not only meaningless, but also time-consuming and labor-intensive, taking more than a month to complete.Unexpectedly, when Emperor Qianlong saw that they were unable to finish, he thought that Ji Xiaolan was not doing his job well, so he deliberately delayed the time, and reprimanded them again.Ji Xiaolan, Lu Feichi and others were thankless and did not dare to attack, so they could only swallow their anger. However, He Shen tasted the sweetness from it, and since then it has become more and more severe, even in a formality. As long as there are contradictory words, the "Siku Quanshu" will be deleted and revised.He had already guessed Qianlong's intention to control public opinion, so he took the opportunity of collecting documents and ordered the confiscation of prohibited books many times, and all books that slandered the Qing Dynasty or even had a slight suspicion of insinuation should be destroyed.In this way, most of the materials compiled into the "Siku Quanshu" have been modified accordingly, and some even lost their original meaning, objectively reducing the authenticity of the materials. In the forty-ninth year of Qianlong (1784), the "Siku Quanshu" was finally completed.The whole set of books is distinguished by different colors. The colors of the four books are determined according to the four seasons of spring, summer, autumn and winter. It is gray and black, while the "Siku Quanshu Zongmu" uses yellow, which represents imperial power. In view of the lessons learned from the loss of "Yongle Dadian", Qianlong ordered people to copy seven "Siku Quanshu" to prevent loss.They are respectively stored in Wenyuan Pavilion of the Imperial Palace in the Forbidden City in Beijing, Wenyuan Pavilion in Yuanmingyuan in the suburbs of Beijing, Wensu Pavilion in Fengtian Palace Museum (now Shenyang), and Wenjin Pavilion in Chengde Mountain Resort.Wenzong Pavilion was built at Jinshan Temple in Zhenjiang, Wenhui Pavilion was built at Daguantang in Yangzhou, and Wenlan Pavilion was built at Shengyin Temple, Gushan, West Lake Palace, Hangzhou.A copy is kept in the Imperial Academy of the Imperial Academy.Among them, the Wenyuange version was completed the earliest, with more refined collation and neater fonts. The "Siku Quanshu" was finally completed under the full auspices of Heshen, and the words that were unfavorable to the Qing court were deleted according to Emperor Qianlong's will, which added a lot of color to him to win Qianlong's trust and favor.From then on, Heshen not only skyrocketed in the officialdom, but also frequently intervened in cultural activities, and successively presided over the compilation of many important books. Whether it is in charge of official revision of books such as "Siku Quanshu", or intervening in other cultural affairs, He Shen has made considerable contributions. Heshen has always been the perfect executor of Qianlong's personal will. Qianlong was lucky to have Heshen as the person in charge of cultural projects.However, Heshen's wanton tampering of historical materials in order to please Qianlong is a great misfortune in the history and culture of our country.