Research On The Issue Of Captive In The Period From Daoguang To Xianfeng Of Qing Dynasty

As a product of war,captives played an important role in the development of human society.Over thousands of years,the relevant policies for this group have been generated and constantly evolving.During the period from Daoguang to Xianfeng of Oing Daynasty,frequent internal and external wars occurred.The Qing army captured a large number of captives of different identities in wars.In dealing with the issue of captives,the Qing Dynasty treated them differently according to their identities,status and war situations then,which reflected its flexibility.In the military law,the Qing Dynasty made certain restrictions on the captives,standardizing their behaviors and procedures.The Qing Dynasty also formulated the reward criteria for captives,which played a role in maintaining local stability and arousing the enthusiasm of soldiers.In the process of interrogating captives,the Qing army not only paid attention to skills and methods,but also used torture,in order to maximize the value of captives.For some important captives,the Qing Dynasty made them transshipment and held a grand ceremony to show the superiority of the nation in Beijing,the capital of Qing Appropriate captive policies alleviated the pressure of the Qing arny and reduced the casualties of the soldiers.This played a multiplier role in easing the contradictions between the Qing army and the enemy and accelerating local reconstruction.These policies were even helpful in unearthing some talents in captives,so as to strengthen the Qing army.However,inappropriate captive policies increased the difficulty of military struggles and intensified class contradictions and ethnic contradictions.In particular,the Qing army killed captives in combat,violating basic humanitarian principles and arousing strong opposition from the enemy.The captive policies in the period from Daoguang to Xianfeng reflected the humanistic concepts and values of old empire,which was far from the spirit of admiring preferential treatment of captives in the West.Under the influence of the West,the concept toward captives of the Qing also slowly changed.