The disappeared Rehe Province was classified as one of the four northeastern provinces. Where is the Qing Dynasty Royal Rehe Palace now?
In the hot summer, the scorching sun scorches the earth. People living in a city surrounded by reinforced concrete may want to go to a summer resort with a beautiful environment and cool air.
There are many summer resorts in China, but Chengde Mountain Resort, not far from Beijing, is undoubtedly the most famous.
This summer resort was once a summer resort for the royal family of the Qing Dynasty. Emperors of the Qing Dynasty often visited this place. Some emperors even spent entire summers at the Chengde Mountain Resort. To this day, this place is still a famous summer resort in the country.
But as everyone knows, naming that summer resort after "Chengde Summer Resort" was also done by later generations. In some historical materials related to the Qing Dynasty, the title of "Rehe Palace" is more commonly used when recording this summer resort.
And some attentive viewers can also find that some Qing Dynasty-themed TV dramas often use the term "Rehe Palace" when referring to summer resorts near Beijing. Moreover, "Rehe" is often mentioned in some historical materials of the Republic of China and TV series.
Then why have the "Rehe Palace" or other titles about Rehe disappeared now? In fact, this is mainly related to a period of regional change history.
1. Long history, the royal holy land of the Qing Dynasty
As we all know, the Manchu Eight Banners, rulers of the Qing government, originated from the White Mountains and Black Waters in the Northeast, and were first called the Jurchen tribe. Later, under the leadership of Nurhaci, this nation unified the Northeast region. As it continued to grow and develop, this nation was renamed from the Jurchen to the Manchu, and relied on the Eight Banners system to establish a powerful Manchu regime.
The brave and capable Manchu Eight Banners soldiers, led by Huang Taiji, Dorgon and others, walked out of the Northeast and entered Guanzhong. They defeated the Ming Dynasty in one fell swoop, established the Qing Dynasty, and made Beijing their capital. .
After the rulers of the Qing Dynasty entered the customs, they found that the palaces in Beijing were majestic and the city was prosperous and wealthy. But the climate is far hotter than their hometown in the Northeast. Every summer, the royal family members living in the Forbidden City suffer from the unbearable hot weather. So the emperor issued an edict, asking the ministers to find a place where they could escape the heat in summer and hunt in autumn to build a palace.
The minister in charge of this matter at that time took a fancy to the Rehe area, which was not far from Beijing, had a wide area and a suitable climate. Later, the famous Rehe Palace was built near Chengde, Rehe.
This Qing emperor's palace at that time covered a large area. Not only the current Chengde Summer Resort, but also the current Zhangbei Grassland, Saihanba and other places fall within the scope of the Rehe Palace.
After the palace was built, it became very popular with the Qing royal family. Many Qing emperors went to the Rehe Palace to stay for a while every summer. The royal family of the Qing Dynasty belonged to a people on horseback, and they had always had the habit of hunting. In addition to its function as a summer escape, the Rehe Palace also had another major function, which was to provide the royal family with hunting needs.
Starting from Emperor Kangxi, the Qing royal family held large-scale hunting activities in the Rehe Palace. Almost every autumn, the emperor would set out from Beijing with his princes, ministers, Prince Baylor's grandson, and a large honor guard, to the Rehe Palace outside the Great Wall. For more than a month, they will hold a large-scale hunting activity in the hunting grounds around the Jehol Palace. This activity is also called "Mulan Autumn Hunting".
This is a national activity that was widely spread in the history of the Qing Dynasty. Because in that era, the emperor personally hunted, which not only conveyed to the outside world the tradition of the Manchu cavalry's bravery and prowess, but also exercised the military skills of the troops through hunting, which was equivalent to an ancient military exercise.
Therefore, during the Qing Dynasty, the Rehe Palace played a decisive role. Its hunting ground and the area with a radius of 100 miles around Chengde Summer Resort are royal forbidden areas and civilians are not allowed to enter.
Second, the Republic of China divided it into northeastern provinces
As time goes by, time changes. In the late Qing Dynasty, due to the decay of the Qing court and the unrest in the country, the Rehe Palace became less important than before, and large-scale "Mulan Autumn Festival" was rarely held.
After the fall of the Qing Empire, the government of the Republic of China nationalized the Jehol Palace. Judging from the location of the Jehol Palace at that time, its military strategic position was very important. This area is an important barrier behind Beijing. Therefore, as early as 1914, the Republic of China government designated this area as the Jehol Special Administrative Region, which was under the jurisdiction of the central government of the Republic of China. As time went by, the turbulent situation in the Republic of China lasted for a long time. The warlords are fighting each other, and the jurisdiction of many areas is constantly changing.
In 1928, the Republic of China government made a decision. The previous Rehe Special Administrative Region was restructured and its area was further expanded to include Zhangjiakou, Chifeng, Tongliao, Chengde, Chaoyang, Ningcheng and other large areas. And on this basis it became Jehol Province.
At that time, Rehe Province was one of the four northeastern provinces, which included today's Hebei, Shanxi, Liaoning, and parts of Inner Mongolia.
Geographically, it also borders Beijing, Shanxi, Hebei, Inner Mongolia, and the three northeastern provinces, and is an important defense area for the capital. Shirehe Province is an important military strategic barrier connecting Northeast Guangdong and Guangdong.
Therefore, since the establishment of Jehol Province, it has been firmly controlled by the Northeast Feng clique warlords. The first provincial chairman of Rehe Province was Tang Yulin, a veteran general among the Feng clique warlords.
In 1931, the ambitious Japanese launched the infamous "September 18th" incident in Northeast China. After successively occupying the three eastern provinces, the Japanese quickly extended their claws to Jehol Province. Little Japan also knows that Rehe Province is an important barrier for Beijing. As long as Rehe Province is captured, the Great Wall defense line will be exposed to the Japanese guns, which will provide convenient conditions for Japan to continue to invade the pass.
So the Japanese assembled their elite troops in 1933 and began to attack Jehol. At that time, the regular army was mainly composed of Feng clique warlord troops. The combat effectiveness is extremely weak and has no advantage against the Japanese army. Although the soldiers and people of Rehe rose up to resist and defended their hometown with their own flesh and blood. However, Jehol Province inevitably fell and became an area controlled by the Japanese.
Third, due to the development needs of the times, it was carved up by brother provinces
The indomitable Chinese people, after years of arduous resistance, finally defeated the Japanese in 1945 and recovered a large area of territory. Rehe Province was also recovered in this year.
After the founding of New China in 1949, the people lived a good life of peace and stability.
In the early days of the founding of the People's Republic of China, because the US Empire and other Western powers were still eyeing our New China, there were still many troops stationed in Jehol Province, shouldering the important task of guarding the strategic barrier of Beijing City.
In 1954, the international situation gradually stabilized, and the national strategic focus shifted to economic construction. The Party Central Committee and the State Council began to adjust the national regions.
After research and agreement, Jehol Province was abolished, and the eight counties that were once under its jurisdiction, including Chengde, Pingquan, Qinglong, Xinglong, Luanping, Fengning, Longhua, and Weichang, were placed under the jurisdiction of Hebei Province, while Jianchang was Five counties including Lingyuan, Jianping, Chaoyang and Beipiao, as well as the Karaqin Zuo Banner were all assigned to Liaoning Province. The remaining three counties of Chifeng, Wudan, and Ningcheng and the three banners of Aohan Banner, Haraqin Banner, and Wengniute Banner were placed under the Inner Mongolia Autonomous Region.
Since then, Jehol Province, which once undertook important military strategic tasks, has officially withdrawn from the stage of history.