The loss of political power also deprived princes and nobles of the opportunity to take a large number of bribes. In the past, when there was power, hundreds of North Korean officials rushed to flatter and give away gold and silver treasures. Today, the prince lost his power and became a civilian. Not only did no one come to give gifts, but he often bribed the upstarts of the Republic of China in turn to get the protection of warlords.
Princes and nobles in the Qing Dynasty owned a lot of land, and they could collect huge land rent and various agricultural and sideline products from tenants who cultivated these land every year. These lands, called Zhuang land, were seized by the Eight Banners from farmers in the early Qing Dynasty. After the Revolution of 1911, princes and nobles lost their political power, and tenants took this opportunity to refuse to pay rent and launched a struggle against rent and land grab. As a result, princes and nobles lost huge land rent income. Although Yuan Shikai issued a presidential decree, forcing tenants to pay grain rent, but the majority of tenants still resist rent and seize land. Because the princes and nobles could not receive the rent and the expenses in the palace were very high, they had to sell their land. Most of these properties are sold to landlords, bureaucrats and warlords at low prices.
In the Qing Dynasty, there were dozens of palaces in Beijing alone, and there were also many Baylor and Beizifu. The prince only has the right to use these palaces, but has no ownership. By the end of the Republic of China and the Qing Dynasty, these mansions became the private property of princes and nobles, and together with a large number of gold, silver and jewels, they could have made the children of nobles live a relatively rich life. However, due to the aristocratic descendants' accustomed luxury and waste, they still don't know how to save after losing their salary, and they still talk about ostentation and extravagance, which leads to the situation that they can't make ends meet. In the end, they can only live by selling their property. In addition, some housekeepers and manor owners in Wang Fu took the opportunity to steal their owners' property, or embezzle the rent of silver, or steal the land of the manor. These aristocratic children are very weak, which makes Wang Fu's property lose a lot. In just two or three decades, Beijing's major palaces have rapidly declined.
During the Republic of China, the famous Ruiwangfu reduced silver by 7,900 taels per year, 1500 stone meters, and the land rent income also dropped sharply. Later, Wang Fu sold all the farmland in Northeast China and Hebei at a price of 35 cents per mu. Although the fixed income was almost cut off, Wang Fu spent even more than the Qing Dynasty. Because there were various restrictions on the Eight Banners nobles in the past, they were not allowed to go out casually to make friends with ministers and government officials, to visit relatives without reason, and to leave Beijing without reason. By the time of the Republic of China, these restrictions were gone, and the life of aristocratic children was better. Wei Xiao, Prince of Switzerland, died in 19 15. His two sons, Zhong Quan and Zhong Ming, are in their twenties. They are used to living a luxurious life, and no one cares about them after Lao Zi's death. In order to be richer, the two brothers spent a lot of money to build a new house and garden, and each room was equipped with a telephone and a western-style kitchen. They can't go out in a sedan chair, but must take a carriage and a car. Two cars and eight carriages were prepared in the palace, and a large number of foreign goods were bought at home, which was very expensive. These two young masters often gamble with a group of rich children outside the front door. 19 19, the two brothers sold their villa in the western suburbs and took 20 thousand yuan to Tianjin to play. In two days, all the money was gone, even the flowers and gambling were gone.
So I spend a lot of money and sell real estate. Less than 10 years later, the valuable things at home were almost sold, so we borrowed money by pawning the house. More than 500 houses in Wang Fu borrowed 654.38+million after going out, but it didn't take long to run out, so we had to sell more than 20 small houses where our family lived near Wang Fu, and later sold all the buildings and wood in the ancestral graves.
1924, due to the inability to pay the interest on the loan, the creditor sued the court in Shi Jing, and the court sealed up Wang Fu's house the following year. Originally, these houses could be sold for hundreds of thousands, which was enough to pay off debts. Zhong You, who was weak and incompetent, was scared to hide when he heard that the court had seized the house and property. The family also thought that with the seal, the house and things would belong to others, so they moved in a hurry and gave their cars, carriages and other items to the driver and coachman as wages. Only sixty or seventy vehicles were taken out of the palace, and they were temporarily put in pawn shops because there was nowhere to store them. Only more than 40 boxes of clothes were pawned for more than 200 yuan. Ironically, more than 40 boxes of clothes were neglected, so that two years later, these clothes became dead goods and returned to pawn shops. It is surprising that the descendants of princes and nobles are incompetent and lazy. The descendants of Prince Rui sold the 1000 mu cemetery to cemetery watchers for only 8 yuan per mu. In the future, I will live by making clothes and jewelry. I can't afford to hire a dozen people I used to hire. 193 1 year, because of poverty, Zhong Quan wanted to sell the jewels buried in his ancestors' coffins by taking the opportunity of moving spirits. Because the county government was accused of uneven distribution of stolen goods, the court sentenced Zhong Quan to seven years in prison. He spent five years in prison and died in 1939. His three nephews had to make a living by setting up stalls. In less than 30 years, the once luxurious and popular Rui Wang Fu completely failed.
During the Republic of China, Wang Yi retired from politics and settled in Tianjin Concession for a long time. Yi and his eldest son, Zaizhen, deposited a large amount of cash in various foreign banks in Dongjiaominxiang so as to collect interest without being robbed by warlords. The father and son also invested in business and presented antiques and jewels to some nouveau riche during the Republic of China to ensure their lives and property safety.
19 17 died of illness, and the three brothers separated two years later. 1924, Zaizhen moved to Tianjin, invested in business and hotel industry, and founded a new company. He also used huge sums of money to speculate on gold and dollars and bought some stocks. After the three brothers moved to Tianjin, they left some servants to look after the Qing Palace in Beijing. 1927, Fang Zhenwu, the national army, set its headquarters in the Qing Palace, and when he left one year later, he took all the furniture and articles with him. During the Japanese occupation of Beijing, the Zaizhen brothers sold the Qing Palace to the Japanese puppet North China Management Committee.
The usual life of Zaizhen's family is extremely luxurious, coupled with many wives and concubines, opium addiction is great, and the daily expenses of the Qing palace are huge. During the Japanese occupation of Tianjin, Xinye Company was badly managed and its performance plummeted, so Zaizhen had to make a living by selling antiques, jewelry and jade articles. 1948, Zaizhen died in Tianjin.
Zaizhen's third brother is also an expert in eating, drinking, whoring and gambling. He often loses one or two houses in one night at the casino. His wife, son and daughter-in-law also eat, drink and smoke like him. After a few years, they squandered hundreds of thousands of property when they sold the palace, and then sold jewelry, jade, antiques, jewelry and clothes. Finally, he fell into poverty and illness and died in 1925. His two sons later made a living by collecting rags or begging from relatives and friends.
At the end of Qing Dynasty, King Mi of Qin Chun produced two emperors, Guangxu and Xuan Tong, and received a double salary from the prince for a long time. During the Republic of China, all the salaries, silver and rice in other palaces were stopped, but Zai Feng, the prince of alcohol, received 40,000 two-year-old fees from the Qing government office every year. It was not until 1924 that Puyi was driven out of the Forbidden City that the annual fee was stopped. Zai Feng and his son can't manage their money, so they leave all their property to the housekeeper. Living in an open space, this family is declining year by year. Later, I had to sell my family property and pawn, and all the gold, silver, jewelry, antique calligraphy and painting at home. 1939, Zai Feng sold the Taipinghu Mansion in Xuanwu Gate to the Japanese Puppet, and received more than 200,000 yuan, which was deposited in the bank for interest. After War of Resistance against Japanese Aggression's victory, Chunwangfu, located on the northern edge of Houhai, was better than other Wang Fu, and it was not sold out.
During the Republic of China, some children of the Eight Banners nobles died of hunger and cold, and some gradually embarked on the road of self-reliance. Sue's eldest daughter took refuge in Japanese warlords and became a Japanese spy, Kawashima Yoshiko. She once proclaimed herself emperor in Beijing and was executed in Beijing after the victory of the Anti-Japanese War.