| Abstract |
During the last three months of the reign of Young-cheng emperor (1735), all the officials of the Eight Banners were required to submit memorials in turns under the demand of the new emperor, Ch’ien-lung. They could express their ideas, advice, and expectations about the banner affairs; meanwhile, they were invited to discuss the problems of banner affairs since the reign of the ex-emperor Yung-cheng, including the issues of personnel promotion, education and training, living, norms and customs, for the purpose to offer valuable suggestions and alternatives as the references for the governance of Ch’ien-lung. Although Young-cheng emperor endeavored to solve the problems in banner affairs, the aforementioned conditions were consequent results and hard to be changed. However, there are few critical statements in the official records. Through the study of the “Itemized Memorials”, it will be helpful to investigate these problems. In addition, at the beginning of the reign of Ch’ien-lung, the emperor offered various expedients to these related problems. Hence, the discussion of the “Itemized Memorials” will be a feasible way to clarify the origins of these ideas. |
