世家沦沉 - mauriceling/mauriceling.github.io GitHub Wiki

常言道
福无过三
运可跨越
沉沦始于三
康熙定江平藩
雍正整吏财康
弘历好喜成伤
可怜嘉庆啊
称帝便吃不保暖
朱家中期王爷累
清朝后百八旗废
沉沦祸根何处寻
世族二字就是云
宝剑火锤炼
宝玉雕磨件
家族子孙生在堂
武火不提文火荡
清爽温风草莓族
各不成才只成猪
但为宗亲赐爵位
何有道理不成亏
— 20/11/19

Commentary: A couple of sightings and events recently made me think of a Chinese saying, “Wealth does not go beyond three generations” (富不过三代). I wonder why this is the case and is there anyway to avoid it?

In Qing dynasty, Emperor Kang Xi consolidated power and firm up the borders. Emperor Yong Zheng reformed officialdom and got finances in order. But Qing Dynasty started decline during the reign of Emperor Qian Long. By the time, Emperor Jia Qing came to throne; poor guy, he is faced with the start of a declining empire leading up to the First Opium War. Tax revenue can barely support the privileges of the royal descendants by the second half of Ming Dynasty while the core military of Qing dynasty was pretty much rotten during its last century.

Re-examining history, the conclusion I drew is that family fortunes fail because of family. Descendants of those rich families are given managerial roles and directorships without proving their capabilities in the external world. They had never been tried by fire; the kind that empire builders, their own forefathers, had gone through. Most of them cannot even withstand flickering flames. And yet, they enjoy the luxuries without being able to pay for those luxuries. How not to decline?