The Succession To The Throne And The Great Ritual Controversy Of Late Qing Dynasty

In the thirteenth year of TongZhi Emperor,Aisin Gioro,the tenth emperor of Qing dynasty passed away,while no son succeeded to the throne.Violating the traditional proprieties,Empress Dowager Cixi supported Zai Tian,the first son of Prince Chun,to succeed to the throne and to become the son of XianFeng Emperor.From then on,Qing Dynasty got into a series of disputes about the succession.For example,no successor to TongZhi Emperor,a fame and position dilemma of empress of TongZhi Emperor,an order of TongZhi Emperor and Guang Xu Emperor ‘s memorial tablets in imperial ancestral temple,a fame and treatment of Guang Xu Emperor ‘s father and prince regent,a fame of the Grand Prince triggered by “Ji Hai Jian Chu”,which all aroused the Great Ritual Controversy in late Qing dynasty.The Qing court always temporarily coped with the ritual issue through ministers' discussion.However,the discussion existed all the time,the succession to the TongZhi Emperor throughout it,from Guang Xu Emperor to Xuan Tong Emperor.What's more,the ritual issue became more and more complex because of Po Jue's succession,which continuously aroused debate of court.Ritual is the standard to maintain the ruling order of country.When ritual,the intangible restriction was ruined or changeable,all strata of Qing dynasty responded to it with heated debate and controversy,even including the opinion form foreign countries.In the influence of power at home and abroad,ritual issue was resolved ultimately,there also emerged the junction of all kinds of political cultural behind ritual.