Was Emperor Jiaqing, the son of Emperor Qianlong, killed by lightning in history?

The story of being struck by lightning is widely circulated, but there is no reliable evidence to prove it. Say so, because the official statement about the death of Jiaqing has never been authoritative:

July 25th, 25th year of Jiaqing, September 2nd, Gregorian calendar 1820, the last day of Emperor Jiaqing's life. At five o'clock in the morning, Emperor Jiaqing, who stayed up all night, got up and finished washing, and began to read the hadith of his ancestors. I read the hadith, ate snacks, and then began to deal with daily affairs. Towards noon, the military minister came to see me. I glanced at the throne that the emperor had read, and immediately said that the emperor could no longer work and had to rest. Because at this time, the handwriting written by Emperor Jiaqing was hard to recognize. It can be seen that the emperor's thinking is chaotic. This suggestion, Emperor Jiaqing himself felt unable to support it, so he went to bed with the help of the eunuch. As a result, I fell into a coma as soon as I lay down. Cure too much, the prince around the coma Jiaqing emperor, there is nothing to do. It is said that Emperor Jiaqing lying in bed sometimes moved his nose and mouth and tried to raise his arm several times. Obviously, the emperor had something to say, but he didn't make any statement in the end. The ministers stamped their feet in a hurry and went to the Buddhist temple to burn incense and worship the Buddha, praying for the Buddha to bless the emperor. At the same time, the military minister ordered the summer resort to be under martial law. The atmosphere is very tense. At seven o'clock in the evening, the summer resort was filled with smoke and waves, and I remembered a cry. Emperor Jiaqing, who was in charge of the Qing regime for more than 20 years, died at the age of 6 1. After the death of Emperor Jiaqing, the Jehol Palace immediately blocked the news, and the gate of the summer resort was closed, restricting people from entering and leaving. Two days later, the princes and ministers who stayed in Beijing learned the bad news.

What is intriguing is that the Jiaqing suicide note issued to the world at that time, as well as the later compiled Records of Renzong in Qing Dynasty and Records of Xuanzong in Qing Dynasty, did not mention the cause of death of Emperor Jiaqing. Emperor Jiaqing was 61 years old, not too old, not to mention his sudden death. If the cause of death is not clearly explained, people will inevitably talk about it. However, the "Jiaqing suicide note" only said in general terms: "When I get to the villa, I feel stuffy and it is very beneficial at night." The record of Xuanzong in Qing Dynasty is even simpler: "After three days of illness, it gradually became a big step." It's vague and ambiguous. The Draft of Qing History is so vague. There is no doubt that Emperor Jiaqing died suddenly. What is the reason? Emperor Jiaqing was in Sizhou at that time. The first state: The Record of Emperor Xuanzong of Qing Dynasty records that Emperor Jiaqing was "astronomically plump", which means he was relatively fat. Emperor Jiaqing was a good drinker. Although he doesn't drink much, he often drinks. In addition, the emperor's diet is mainly chicken, duck, pig and mutton, especially pork. Eating high cholesterol and high protein food for a long time and seldom exercising, so Jiaqing Emperor probably has a history of hypertension. The second state: In the past 20 years, Emperor Jiaqing spent his whole life governing the huge Qing Empire, suffering from long-term depression, irritability, sadness and fatigue. This state has led to many diseases, especially for patients with hypertension. The third state: three days before death, dizziness, headache and "phlegm" began to get worse and worse. The fourth state: At this time, Emperor Jiaqing was sixty-one, and his body was in a state of fatigue and excitement for a long time. In this case, the most likely cause of sudden death is heart disease or cerebral hemorrhage. Judging from the symptoms of onset in the afternoon, death at night, "occasional summer fever" and dizziness and headache three days before death, there is a great possibility of cerebral hemorrhage. From the perspective of phlegm and blood stasis, chest tightness, chest pain and heart disease are highly likely. But the possibility of heart disease will be greater. Because if it is cerebral hemorrhage, it may be dizziness and headache, and it is unlikely to be chest tightness and chest pain. On the contrary, if you have a heart disease, you will not only feel chest tightness and chest pain, but also feel dizzy and headache. Jiaqing Emperor probably died of coronary heart disease and acute heart failure.

Forward another ready-made answer:

Jiaqing Emperor (1760 ~ 1820), fifteen sons of Qianlong, was crowned Crown Prince in 1795. Father belongs to the government and is honored as the father of the emperor. After Jiaqing's father died four years ago, he came to power. First, he executed the corrupt official Xiao Shenyang, and then put down the rebellion of Anbalism. He is diligent and lazy, pragmatic and respectful, and everything is based on observing people's feelings and public opinions. Pretend that China is rich. Twenty-five years, died in the summer resort, spread in Suining. To emperor litmus, buried in Changling.

In the midsummer of the 25th year of Jiaqing, Emperor Jiaqing led a large number of attendants, famous prostitutes and cavalry to Mulan, and soon arrived in Jehol, settled down in the summer resort and started the autumn hunting of Mulan. Emperor Jiaqing never imagined that this was his last visit to the summer resort. On July 25th, at the age of 60, he died suddenly without any warning. After the death of Emperor Jiaqing, the Jehol Palace immediately blocked the news, and the gate of the summer resort was closed, restricting people from entering and leaving. On the 27th, the princes and ministers who stayed in Beijing learned the bad news. It was not until the second day of August that Daoguang issued an imperial edict to the cabinet and informed the court. At that time, North Korean officials met honest officials in Zhongjiang, Shengjing. They were all dressed in plain clothes and their hats were pulled off. They were surprised to ask why, only to know that the emperor had passed away. Why did a good emperor suddenly die? Gong Wei's affairs have always been kept secret. Of course, the Qing court will not publicly explain the cause of death to the people, so there are all kinds of speculations and rumors among the people.

One theory is that he was killed by lightning. After arriving at the summer resort, Emperor Jiaqing took a short rest, that is, armed to the teeth, and led the Manchu minister and the Eight Banners to the Mulan paddock. They tracked and hunted for many days, but there were no tigers and bears, only some rabbits, and even the elk that usually foraged everywhere were rare. Emperor Jiaqing was very disappointed and decided to end the autumn inauguration ceremony ahead of schedule. On the way back, it happened that the weather changed, thunder and lightning, the earth shook and suddenly it thundered. Of all the people, only the emperor was knocked down. Returning to camp in triumph turned into mourning for Beijing, and the Qing Dynasty was horrified. Similarly, Emperor Jiaqing fell ill in the villa and was nursed back to health in bed. He is in good spirits and handles his political affairs as usual. One day, the weather suddenly changed over the Jehol, with lightning and thunder, the bedroom was suddenly struck by lightning, and only he was electrocuted.

There is also a more absurd version of the theory of lightning strike: it is said that he has long spoiled a little eunuch and often entertained himself, causing criticism from ministers who served him, especially after he moved into the villa. The emperor's living room is located in the "Smoke Hall", and there is a small building named "Yunshan Resort" behind the house. It is said that this building is the place where the emperor meets the little eunuch. One day, they were having a good time here. Suddenly, lightning passed through the clouds, and a fireball flew into the small building and exploded on Jiaqing, killing them immediately.

Jiaqing was burned beyond recognition by lightning and could not be buried in a coffin. If the facts are exposed, it will be the biggest scandal in the court. Ministers agreed on a way to secretly hang a eunuch who was similar in appearance and material to Jiaqing, and then put on makeup. The bones of the real emperor were placed at the bottom of the coffin, and the body of the fake emperor was lying flat on it to hide people's eyes and ears and transported back to Beijing for sacrifice. Although this statement is widely circulated, it has no historical basis.

According to the actual situation at that time, it was speculated that the cause of death of Emperor Jiaqing was probably heart failure caused by long-term fatigue. Since he ascended the throne, the emperor's errand has put him in trouble. No matter how much effort he has made, there is still a steady stream of trouble coming to him, which makes him upset and never leads an easy life.

At the beginning of pro-government, Jiaqing exposed the biggest corruption case in history. The struggle with small Shenyang tempered Emperor Jiaqing, but it also paid a price. Since then, official corruption has become the biggest hidden danger in Jiaqing.

On February 20th, the eighth year of Jiaqing, accompanied by his entourage and guards, Emperor Jiaqing got on his horse from Yuanmingyuan and entered Shenwumen to take a royal sedan chair. Suddenly, a big man rushed out from the south wall of the west wing of Shenwumen and went straight to the royal sedan chair where Emperor Jiaqing was riding. Things were in such a hurry that neither the guards nor the people driving nearby noticed that someone was coming. At that time, the man ran to the front, and the emperor's entourage and guards saw that the big man was armed with a short knife and his face was murderous. Wang Mian, who was betrothed next to the sedan chair of Emperor Jiaqing, first felt that things were not good and stepped forward to stop it. The man was so fierce that he raised his knife and stabbed him. Mian En's sleeve was punctured and could not be stopped. At this time, Prince Ravan Dolzi of the Gulen and Imperial bodyguard Danbadorozzi blocked the couple's way and fought side by side. In the fight, Dan Baduoqi was stabbed by a martial arts assassin. Because the guards are all ouchi masters, well-trained, with five to one, the other side has gradually failed, and after several rounds, they were captured alive. The murderer confessed that he lived in poverty and had nowhere to make a living, so he wanted to commit suicide, but he wanted to end it by doing something earth-shattering, so he came to assassinate the emperor. Although there was a false alarm and the assassin was subdued, this strange thing never happened since the Qing Dynasty when the ancestors were in power. Similar to this situation, only the "Chen case", one of the three major cases in the late Ming Dynasty, reflected the political corruption in the Ming Dynasty and the intrigue scandal of the court for power and profit. Emperor Jiaqing did not believe the assassin's reason and ordered his ministers to continue reconnaissance, but there was no result. How can Emperor Jiaqing accept such a fact? His self-esteem was badly hurt and he felt great humiliation.

There are two kinds of opinions about Jiaqing's assassination. It was the henchmen of Xiao Shenyang. Xiao Shenyang was a hot minister during the Qianlong period. In the early years of Jiaqing, Emperor Qianlong abdicated as the emperor's father, and Emperor Jiaqing ascended the throne. However, Xiao Shenyang was in charge of the state affairs, and his henchmen were everywhere, so he ignored Jiaqing Emperor and had many conflicts with Jiaqing Emperor. After the death of Emperor Qianlong, Emperor Jiaqing immediately executed Xiao Shenyang and confiscated his property. However, little Shenyang's henchmen spread all over the ruling and opposition parties, inside and outside the court. Emperor Jiaqing executed small Shenyang and set up a large number of enemies for himself.

No matter who the murderer is, the above rumors reflect the unstable political situation that Jiaqing faces. In the assassination, although Jiaqing was not hurt by any flesh and blood, he suffered a considerable psychological blow and added a great burden to his already anxious heart.

In the eighteenth year of Jiaqing, the peasant rebel army openly rushed into the Forbidden City, the heart of his rule, planted anti-flags on the towers and went straight to the queen's residence, intending to destroy the Golden Hall. Palace is a symbol of imperial power, and losing it means the collapse of the cornerstone of rule. This is an extreme contempt and denial of his ruling ability. Although the uprising was suppressed, he once again felt his incompetence.

Emperor Jiaqing spared no effort to rectify corruption, but it was always difficult to change. Corrupt officials are intertwined, harming the public and enriching the private interests, monopolizing power and losing the government. To a considerable extent, there has even been a ridiculous thing in which corrupt officials kill honest officials! What is even more strange is that the official seal of the Ministry of War (the highest administrative organ of the central military and national defense) is missing. Was it lost or stolen? Is it unintentional negligence or another conspiracy? Jiaqing has been searching hard, but he can't find it. Jiaqing can see how corrupt his dynasty bureaucrats are from this incident, but he doesn't know what he can do to reverse the increasingly corrupt official style.

What bothers Jiaqing more is social unrest, and the signs of instability are becoming more and more obvious. Zhili, Shandong, Henan, Sichuan, Jiangnan, Anhui, Hubei, Shanxi, Heilongjiang and other places have folk religious activities, and there are dozens of sects, and many of them are farmers. Some people in Ningbo, Zhejiang Province organized a broken boot party, took all the lawsuits and took the officials hostage. "There were even cases of looting and wounding with sticks and weapons." Due to natural and man-made disasters, people have no livelihood, and small-scale rebellion often breaks out. For example, in the twenty-third year of Jiaqing, in Jiaocheng, Pingyang and Huozhou, Shanxi, refugees gathered and mountains were connected, and mountains were king. Heshun, Yuci, Pingding and Liaozhou became the main points occupied by rebel farmers. They either plundered down the mountain or went to the city to rob the rich and help the poor. In Inner Mongolia, Gyeonggi and Zhili, people were forced to steal in dozens of batches.

Jiaqing didn't understand why when his father (Qianlong) was alive, the world was peaceful and it was his turn to sit on the mountain. How can it be so difficult? He has been working hard for 25 years on the problems that have hindered the rejuvenation of the country for a long time, but he has been doing this all the time. Why not let him feel disappointed, bored and sad? Facing the declining country, he felt powerless, but he could not extricate himself from numerous official duties. Under great pressure, his health will inevitably deteriorate.

Emperor Jiaqing fell ill and died less than a day ago. Although there are no signs before death, the biggest culprits leading to sudden death are long-term fatigue, injury, depression, distress, depression and irritability. It is no exaggeration to say that he devoted all his efforts to governing this feudal country for decades. He once had the lofty sentiments of reversing the decline of the dynasty, and he also publicly expressed his ambition to rejuvenate the country. However, his talent was not enough to lead the revival of the Qing Empire, and he was unable to control this turbulent feudal society at all.