The Kangxi Emperor, known by his temple name Emperor Shengzu of Qing, born Aisin-Gioro Xuanye, was the third emperor of the Qing dynasty, and the second Qing emperor to rule over China proper, reigning from 1661 to 1722.
44 Facts About Kangxi Emperor
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The Kangxi Emperor is considered one of China's greatest emperors.
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Kangxi Emperor suppressed the Revolt of the Three Feudatories, forced the Kingdom of Tungning in Taiwan and assorted Mongol rebels in the North and Northwest to submit to Qing rule, and blocked Tsarist Russia on the Amur River, retaining Outer Manchuria.
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The Kangxi Emperor's reign brought about long-term stability and relative wealth after years of war and chaos.
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Kangxi Emperor initiated the period known as the "Prosperous Era of Kangxi and Qianlong" or "High Qing", which lasted for several generations after his death.
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Kangxi Emperor's court accomplished such literary feats as the compilation of the Kangxi Dictionary and Quan Tangshi poetry anthology.
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In 1669, the Kangxi Emperor had Oboi arrested with the help of his grandmother Grand Empress Dowager Zhaosheng, who had raised him.
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Kangxi Emperor listed three issues of concern: flood control of the Yellow River; repair of the Grand Canal; the Revolt of the Three Feudatories in south China.
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The Kangxi Emperor continued using the traditional military system implemented by his predecessors, which was more efficient and stricter.
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For years afterwards Kangxi Emperor ruminated on his mistakes and blamed himself in part for the loss of life during the revolt.
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The Kangxi Emperor employed generals including Zhou Peigong and Tuhai to suppress the rebellion, and granted clemency to common people caught up in the war.
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Kangxi Emperor intended to personally lead the armies to crush the rebels but his subjects advised him against it.
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The Kangxi Emperor used mainly Han Chinese Green Standard Army soldiers to crush the rebels while the Manchu Banners took a backseat.
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The end of the rebel stronghold and capture of the Ming princes allowed the Kangxi Emperor to relax the Sea Ban and permit resettlement of the Fujian and Guangdong coasts.
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In 1701, the Kangxi Emperor ordered the reconquest of Kangding and other border towns in western Sichuan that had been taken by the Tibetans.
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Kangxi Emperor moreover kept relations with Dzungar enemies of the Qing.
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The Qing did not take control of Lhasa until 1720, when the Kangxi Emperor sent a larger expedition force there to defeat the Dzungars.
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Manchu emperor Kangxi incited anti-Muslim sentiment among the Mongols of Qinghai in order to gain support against the Dzungar Oirat Mongol leader Galdan.
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Kangxi Emperor claimed that Chinese Muslims inside China such as Turkic Muslims in Qinghai were plotting with Galdan, who he falsely claimed converted to Islam.
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Kangxi Emperor falsely claimed that Galdan had spurned and turned his back on Buddhism and the Dalai Lama and that he was plotting to install a Muslim as ruler of China after invading it in a conspiracy with Chinese Muslims.
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The Kangxi Emperor granted the title of Wujing Boshi to the descendants of Shao Yong, Zhu Xi, Zhuansun Shi, Ran family, Bu Shang, Yan Yan, and the Duke of Zhou's offspring.
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The reasons for the declining trend in the later years of the Kangxi Emperor's reign were a huge expenditure on military campaigns and an increase in corruption.
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However, by persuading the scholars to work on the dictionary without asking them to formally serve the Qing imperial court, the Kangxi Emperor led them to gradually taking on greater responsibilities until they were assuming the duties of state officials.
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The Kangxi Emperor was interested in Western technology and wanted to import them to China.
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The Kangxi Emperor was the first Chinese emperor to play a western musical instrument.
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The Kangxi Emperor was grateful to the Jesuits for their contributions, the many languages they could interpret, and the innovations they offered his military in gun manufacturing and artillery, the latter of which enabled the Qing Empire to conquer the Kingdom of Tungning.
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The Kangxi Emperor was fond of the Jesuits' respectful and unobtrusive manner; they spoke the Chinese language well, and wore the silk robes of the elite.
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In 1692, when Pereira requested tolerance for Christianity, the Kangxi Emperor was willing to oblige, and issued the Edict of Toleration, which recognized Catholicism, barred attacks on their churches, and legalized their missions and the practice of Christianity by the Chinese people.
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Kangxi Emperor refused, wanting to keep missionary activities in China under his final oversight, managed by one of the Jesuits who had been living in Beijing for years.
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Yinreng was tutored by the mandarin Wang Shan, who remained devoted to him, and spent the later years of his life trying to persuade the Kangxi Emperor to restore Yinreng as the crown prince.
31.
The Kangxi Emperor placed his oldest surviving son, Yinzhi, in charge of overseeing Yinreng's house arrest.
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The Kangxi Emperor was enraged and stripped Yinzhi of his titles.
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Kangxi Emperor allowed an attempt at forcing the Kangxi Emperor to abdicate when his father returned to Beijing.
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Kangxi Emperor stated that he would place his Imperial Valedictory Will inside a box in the Palace of Heavenly Purity, which would only be opened after his death.
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The 14th prince Yinti, whom many considered to be the most likely candidate to succeed the Kangxi Emperor, was sent on a military campaign during the political conflict.
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The Kangxi Emperor was entombed at the Eastern Tombs in Zunhua, Hebei.
37.
Yinzhen, later the Yongzheng Kangxi Emperor, has attracted many rumours, and some novel-like private books claim he did not die of illness but was assassinated by a swordswoman, Lu Siniang, the granddaughter of Lu Liuliang, though this is never treated seriously by scholars.
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The Kangxi Emperor was a great consolidator of the Qing dynasty.
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The Kangxi Emperor completed the conquest, suppressed all significant military threats and revived the central government system inherited from the Ming with important modifications.
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The Kangxi Emperor devised a system of communication that circumvented the scholar-bureaucrats, who had a tendency to usurp the power of the emperor.
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The Kangxi Emperor managed to woo the Confucian intelligentsia into co-operating with the Qing government, despite their deep reservations about Manchu rule and loyalty to the Ming.
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Kangxi Emperor appealed to this very sense of Confucian values, for instance, by issuing the Sacred Edict in 1670.
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Kangxi Emperor encouraged Confucian learning and made sure that the civil service examinations were held every three years even during times of stress.
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Kangxi Emperor personally sponsored the writing of the Ming Official History, the Kangxi Dictionary, a phrase-dictionary, a vast encyclopedia and an even vaster compilation of Chinese literature.