In my opinion, the evaluation of historical figures must be based on historical facts, seeking truth from facts and objective evaluation in order to stand up. Below, I will analyze it from two aspects:
1. According to historical materialism, Hong Chengchou is beneficial to the people and has contributed to the society and the country in terms of its attitude towards the people and whether it has contributed to the Chinese nation in history.
When Hong Chengchou went to Beijing with Dourgen, in view of the barbaric acts of burning, killing and looting by Qing soldiers in the past, he put forward three chapters of "no killing people, no burning houses, no looting of finances" and exempted three salaries at the same time. March into Jiangnan and Yunnan-Guizhou, and reduce taxes in Suzhou and Hangzhou, stop collecting grain, and ask the court to help the border people. This is the achievement of Hong Chengchou's "people-oriented, caring for people's livelihood". In addition, he also participated in the national plan and formulated a series of important measures, such as cracking down on the Ming system, recommending talents and learning Chinese, which brought peace and stability to the country. When appealing to Jiangnan, the principle of "caressing first" was adopted, and thirteen states in Anhui and Jiangxi, as well as more than forty villages in Henan, Hubei and Hunan were appealed. Surrender to Fujian Zheng Zhilong to reduce war losses and human suffering. After a short visit to the southwestern province of Wang, he implemented the policies of "defending with war", "publicizing and soliciting" and "cultivating fields", which quickly calmed down southern Xinjiang and unified the whole country. To sum up, Hong Chengchou benefits the people, the society and the country, which should be fully affirmed.
Second, we should evaluate Hong Chengchou from the viewpoint that the Chinese nation is a multi-ethnic country.
The Chinese nation is a big family of 56 nationalities. In this big family, people of all ethnic groups are brothers. All ethnic groups, big or small, should be equal. The Qing Dynasty established by Manchu nobles ruled China for 267 years. This is an important dynasty in the history of China. The development of Qing Dynasty and Ming Dynasty is inevitable in history. Hong Chengchou followed the historical trend and made great contributions to the unity of the Chinese nation and social development under specific historical conditions. He is a historical figure who should be basically affirmed. However, due to the influence of Confucian traditional ideas and narrow nationalism, people have always been biased in their evaluation of Hong Chengchou, saying that he is a "traitor" and even labeling him a "traitor", which has made Hong Chengchou unjustly wronged. The evaluation of Hong Chengchou is related to the national feelings and national unity of Manchu and Han nationalities. The evaluation of Hong Chengchou must not proceed from the narrow national psychology, but should be evaluated in the long history of the development of the Chinese nation.
Hong Chengchou followed the history and studied the Ming Dynasty, and made great contributions to the Qing Dynasty, becoming an important official in opening up the Qing Dynasty. We should celebrate national integrity, but we should distinguish it from "foolish loyalty" to feudal dynasties. Only in this way can we evaluate Hong Chengchou fairly and restore its true historical features.