Kangxi Emperor

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Kangxi Emperor
Clan name: Aixin-Jueluo (愛新覺羅)
Aisin-Gioro
Given name: Xuanye (玄燁)
Hiowan Yei
Dates of reign: 7 February 1661–Dec. 20, 1722
Era name: Kangxi (康熙; K'ang-hsi)
Elhe Taifin
Era dates: 18 February 1662–4 February 1723
Temple name: Shengzu (聖祖)
Šengdzu
Posthumous name:
(short)
 Emperor Ren (仁皇帝)
Gosin Hūwangdi
Posthumous name:
(full)
 Emperor Hetian Hongyun Wenwu Ruizhe Gongjian Kuanyu Xiaojing Chengxin Zhonghe Gongde Dacheng Ren
合天弘運文武睿哲恭儉寬裕孝敬誠信中和功德大成仁皇帝
General note: Names given in Chinese, then in Manchu (full posthumous name is in Chinese only).

General note: Dates given here are in the Gregorian calendar.

The Kangxi Emperor (born Xuanye (玄燁) May 4, 1654 – December 20, 1722) was the third Emperor of the Manchu Qing dynasty, and the second Qing emperor to rule over all of China, from 1661 to 1722. He is known as one of the greatest Chinese emperors in history. His reign of 61 years makes him the longest-reigning Emperor of China in history.

Contents

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The Beginning of the Reign

Technically, the Kangxi Emperor inherited his father Shunzhi's throne at the age of seven. His father died in his early twenties, and as Kangxi was not able to rule in his minority, the Shunzhi Emperor appointed Sonin, Suksaha, Ebilun, and Oboi as the Four Regents. Sonin died soon after his granddaughter was made the Empress, leaving Suksaha at odds with Oboi politically. In a fierce power struggle, Oboi seized absolute power as sole Regent. For a while Kangxi and the Court accepted this arrangement. In 1669 the Emperor arrested Oboi with help from the Grand Empress Dowager Xiaozhuang and began to take control of the country himself.

In the spring of 1662, Kangxi ordered the Great Clearance in southern China, in order to fight the anti-Qing movement, begun by Ming Dynasty loyalists under the leadership of Zheng Chenggong (also known as Koxinga), to regain Beijing. This involved moving the entire population of the coastal regions of southern China inland.

He listed three major issues of concern, being the flood control of the Yellow River, the repairing of the Grand Canal and the Revolt of the Three Feudatories in South China. The Revolt of the Three Feudatories broke out in 1673 and Burni of the Chakhar Mongols also started a rebellion in 1675.

The Revolt of the Three Feudatories proved to be hard to defeat. Wu Sangui's forces had overrun most of southern China and he tried to ally himself with local generals. A prominent general of this kind was Wang Fuchen.

Kangxi crushed the rebellious Mongols within two months and incorporated the Chakhar into the Eight Banners. After the surrender of the Zheng family, the Qing Dynasty annexed Taiwan in 1684. Soon afterwards, the coastal regions were ordered to be repopulated, and to encourage settlers, the Qing government gave a pecuniary incentive to each settling family.

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Russia and the Mongols

At the same time, the Emperor was faced with the Russian advance from the north. The Qing Dynasty and the Russian Empire fought along the Sahaliyan ula (Amur) Valley region in 1650s, which ended with a Manchu victory. The Russians invaded the northern frontier again in 1680s. After series of battles and negotiations, the two empires signed the Treaty of Nerchinsk in 1689 giving China the Amur valley and fixing a border.

At this time the Khalkha Mongols preserved their independence and only paid tribute to the Manchu Empire. A conflict between the Houses of Jasaghtu Khan and Tösheetü Khan led another dispute between the Khalkha and the Zungar Mongols (Jüün Ghar) over influence over Tibetan Buddhism. In 1688 Galdan, the Dsungar chief, invaded and occupied the Khalkha homeland. The Khalkha royal families and the first Jebtsundamba Khutughtu crossed the Gobi Desert, sought help from the Qing Dynasty and, as a result, submitted to the Qing. In 1690, the Zungar and the Manchu Empire clashed at the battle of Ulaan Butun in Inner Mongolia, during which the Qing army was severely mauled by Galdan. In 1696, the Kangxi Emperor himself led the campaign against the Zungars. The Western section of the Qing army crushed Galdan's army at the Battle of Dsuunmod and Galdan died in the next year. The Zungars continued to threaten China and invaded Tibet in 1717. They took Lhasa with an army 6,000 strong in response to the deposition of the Dalai Lama and his replacement with Lha-bzan Khan in 1706. They removed Lha-bzan from power and held the city for two years, destroying a Chinese army in 1718. Lhasa was not retaken until 1720.

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Cultural achievements

The Kangxi Emperor ordered the compiling of the most complete dictionary of Chinese characters ever put together, The Kangxi Dictionary. He also invented a very useful and effective Chinese calendar.

In many ways this was an attempt to win over the Chinese gentry. Many scholars still refused to serve a foreign conquestion dynasty and remained loyal to the Ming Dynasty. Kangxi persuaded many scholars to work on the dictionary without asking them to formally serve the Qing. In effect they found themselves gradually taking on more and more responsibilities until they were normal officials.

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Twice Removing the Crown Prince

One of the greatest mysteries of the Qing Dynasty was the event of Kangxi's will, which along with three other events, are known as the "Four greatest mysteries of the Qing Dynasty". To this day, whom Kangxi chose as his successor is still a topic of debate amongst historians. Most suggest the will had chosen Yinti, the 14th Prince, as successor.

Kangxi's first Empress gave birth to his second surviving son Yinreng, who was at age 2 named Crown Prince of the Great Qing Empire, which at the time, although a Han Chinese custom, ensured stability during a time of chaos in the south. Although Kangxi let several of his sons to be educated by others, he personally brought up Yinreng, intending to make him the perfect heir. Through the long years of Kangxi's reign, however, factions and rivalries formed. Those who favored Yinreng, the 4th Imperial Prince Yinzhen, and the 13th Imperial Prince Yinxiang had managed to keep them in contention for the throne. Even though Kangxi favoured Yinreng and had always wanted the best out of him, Yinreng did not prove co-operative. He was said to have very cruel habits, beaten and killed his subordinates, alleged to have had sexual relations with one of Kangxi's concubines, which was defined as incest and a capital offense, and purchased young children from the Jiangsu region for his pleasure. Furthermore, Yinreng's supporters, led by Songgotu, had gradually developed a "Crown Prince Party". The faction, among other objectives, wished to elevate Yinreng to the Throne as soon as possible, even if it meant using unlawful methods.

Over the years the aging Emperor had kept constant watch over Yinreng, and he was made aware of many of his flaws. The relationship between father and son gradually worsened. Many thought that Yinreng would permanently damage the Qing Empire if he were to succeed the throne. But Kangxi himself also knew that a huge battle at court would ensue if he was to abolish the Crown Prince position entirely. Forty-six years into Kangxi's reign (1707), Kangxi decided that "after twenty years, he could take no more of Yinreng's actions, which he partly described in the Imperial Edict as "too embarrassing to be spoken of", and decided to demote Yinreng from his position as Crown Prince.

With Yinreng rid of and the position empty, discussion began regarding the choice of a new Crown Prince. Yinzhi (胤禔), Kangxi's eldest surviving son, the Da-a-go, was placed to watch Yinreng in his newly found house arrest, and assumed that because his father placed this trust in himself, he would soon be made heir. The 1st Prince had at many times attempted to kill Yinreng through means of witchcraft. He went as far as asking his father to personally direct the murder of Yinreng. The latter action enraged Kangxi, and effectively erased all his chances in succession, as well as his current titles. In Court, the Eighth Imperial Prince, Yinsi, seemed to have the most support among officials, as well as the Imperial Family.

In diplomatic language, Kangxi advised that the officials and nobles at court to stop the debates regarding the position of Crown Prince. But despite these attempts to quiet rumours and speculation as to who the new Crown Prince might be, the court's daily businesses were strongly disrupted. Furthermore, the 1st Prince's actions led Kangxi to think that it may have been external forces that caused Yinreng's disgrace. In the Third Month of the 48th Year of Kangxi's reign (1709), with the support of the 4th and 13th Imperial Princes, Kangxi re-established Yinreng as Crown Prince to avoid further debate, rumours and disruption at the imperial court. Kangxi had explained Yinreng's former wrongs as a result of mental illness, and he has had the time to recover, and think reasonably again.

In 1712, during Kangxi's last visit south to the Yangtze region, Yinreng and his faction yet again vied for supreme power. Yinreng ruled as regent during daily court business in Beijing. He had decided, with bad influence from many of his supporters, to allow an attempt at forcing Kangxi to abdicate when the Emperor returned to Beijing. Through several credible sources, Kangxi had received the news, and with power in hand, using strategic military manoevering, he saved the Empire from a coup. When Kangxi returned to Beijing in December 1712, he was enraged, and removed the Crown Prince once more. Yinreng was sent to court to be tried and placed under house arrest.

Kangxi had made it clear that he would not grant the position of Crown Prince to any of his sons for the remainder of his reign, and that he would place his Imperial Valedictory Will inside a box inside Qianqing Palace, only to be opened after his death, and thus no one knew Kangxi's real intentions. What was on his will is subject to intense historical debate.

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Disputed Succession

Following the abolition, Kangxi made several sweeping changes in the political landscape. The 13th Imperial Prince, Yinxiang, was placed under house arrest for "cooperating" with the former Crown Prince. Yinsi, too, was stripped of all imperial titles, only to have them restored years later. The 14th Imperial Prince Yinti, whom many considered to have the best chance in succession, was named "Border Pacification General-in-chief" quelling rebels and was away from Beijing when the political debates raged on. Yinsi, along with the 9th and 10th Princes, had all pledged their support for Yinti. Yinzhen was not widely believed to be a formidable competitor.

Official documents recorded that during the evening hours of December 20, 1722, Kangxi assembled seven of the non-disgraced Imperial Princes in Beijing at the time, being the 3rd, 4th, 8th, 9th, 10th, 16th, 17th Princes to his bedside. After his death, Longkodo announced Kangxi's will of passing the throne to the 4th Prince Yinzhen. Yinti happened to be in Xinjiang fighting a war, and was summoned to Beijing. He did not arrive until days after Kangxi's death. In the meantime Yinzhen had declared that Kangxi had named him as heir. The dispute over his succession revolves around whether or not Kangxi intended his Fourth son or Fourteenth son to acceed to the throne. In Chinese folk lore Yinzhen is supposed to have opened the box and added a single stroke to one character to change Kangxi's will from his Fourteenth son Yinti to his Four son, Yinzhen. It is impossible to know because once the box containing Kangxi's will was opened, Kangxi himself had died, never officially confirming that Yinzhen was to be Emperor.

He was entombed at the Eastern Tombs (东陵) in Zunhua County (遵化县), Hebei.

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See also

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Family

  • Consorts:
  1. Empress Xiao Cheng (d. 1674) from the Heseri clan - married in 1665
  2. Empress Xiao Zhao (Manchu: Hiyoošungga Genggiyen Gosin Hūwanghu)
  3. Empress Xiao Yi (Manchu: Hiyoošungga Fujurangga Gosin Hūwanghu)
  4. Empress Xiaogong Ren (Chinese: 孝恭皇后; Manchu: Hiyoošungga Gungnecuke Gosin Hūwanghu) from the Uya clan


Preceded by:
Shunzhi Emperor		 Emperor of China
(Qing Dynasty)
1661–1722		 Succeeded by:
Yongzheng Emperor
Retrieved from "http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kangxi_Emperor"
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