Before reading this article, I sincerely invite you to click "Follow", which is convenient for you to discuss and share, and brings you a different sense of participation, thank you for your support.
introduction
Kangxi, the young Son of Heaven, was the second emperor after the entry of the Great Qing Dynasty. He ascended the throne at the age of 8, became pro-government at the age of 14, and did not step down until his death at the age of 69, reigning for 61 years, making him the longest reigning emperor in Chinese history.
(Portrait of Kangxi)
During his time on the throne, with extraordinary courage and a broad and inclusive mind, he began to govern the land scarred by war and the retrogressive policy of enclosure.
(Kangxi governs the Yellow River)
He captured the authoritarian and domineering auxiliary minister Ao Bai, put an end to the San Francisco Rebellion, unified Taiwan, conquered Dzungar, expelled Tsarist Russia, and safeguarded China's sovereignty, and made countless achievements in his life, and can be described as a defender of a great and unified multi-ethnic state.
(Reconquest of Taiwan)
He not only laid the foundation for the prosperity of the Qing Dynasty, but also used practical actions to create a general situation of "Kang Qian prosperous era". Even Zeng Guofan, a heavy minister of the late Qing Dynasty, couldn't help but sigh from the bottom of his heart, saying that the six ancestors and one sect of the Qing Dynasty were none other than Kangxi.
(Zeng Guofan)
However, even this "Emperor of the Ages", who even the late Qing dynasty minister Zeng Guofan praised, and later generations of scholars had a unified positive evaluation, is actually not so perfect, especially in the eyes of foreigners, it is actually a different face. One of the books of the Italian missionary reveals the unknown and absurd side of Kangxi's glamorous exterior.
(Italian missionary. Ma Guoxian)
1. Thirteen years of the Qing court of missionaries
When we talk about Kangxi, we will all admire his great achievements in ruling the country with heavenly power and serving people with his mind, completely ignoring his daily life and harem life. The "Thirteen Years of the Qing Court" written by the Italian missionary Ma Guoxian uses a unique historical description perspective to show us the absurd and not very wise Kangxi that he witnessed with his own eyes.
The great image of Kangxi as "the first emperor of the ages" has also been controversial and even subversive.
(Thirteen years of the Qing court. Memoirs of Ma Guoxian in China)
Ma Guoxian accompanied Kangxi since he came to Daqing until Kangxi's death. Obviously, this 13-year intimate encounter allowed him to know Kangxi better than anyone other than the palace eunuchs.
Ma Guoxian was treated favorably by Kangxi in the palace, because he was good at painting and carving, and after Ma Guoxian entered the palace, Kangxi admired him very much, not only made him a court painter, but also was often allowed to follow Kangxi everywhere.
Therefore, some unknown things of Kangxi, especially some harem life, he can grasp first-hand information at the first time, so in this book, he describes Kangxi's court life in great detail, and many places are even more detailed than the official records of the Qing Dynasty.
Second, Kangxi's absurd search for pleasure
Ma Guoxian, who worked as a painter in the Qing court, often had the opportunity to accompany Kangxi to the "Rehe Palace", working and watching hunting.
(Kangxi Hunting Map)
Ma Guoxian recorded in chapter 21 of the book that in the palace, Kangxi was surrounded by five or six concubines every time, laughing and playing, and there were many ships carrying palace maids behind, and the lineup was strong. Sometimes through the eyelets in the paper window, Ma Guoxian could see Kangxi and his concubines looking for pleasure.
What is even more unexpected is that Kangxi often gathered some concubines in the harem together and played some tricky games to please himself. For example, he would order the guards to catch some disgusting and annoying animals (these animals should be some model toys), such as snakes, toads, etc., and throw them in front of the concubines, who were panicked by fear and frightened to run away, but Kangxi himself was very excited.
(Kangxi harem beauty)
Sometimes Kangxi would act, he pretended to be eager to get a certain concubine, chased after the concubine, until he pinned the concubine to the ground, looking at the concubine's frightened look, listening to the concubine's crisp screams, Kangxi would laugh heartily, completely self-absorbed.
And these Kangxi normalized, noble and happy ways of living a daily life, in Ma Guoxian's view, are one of Kangxi's most depraved lifestyles.
Obviously, this feudal emperor, who was revered as the first emperor of the ages by later generations, in his later years, also gradually became addicted to beauty, absurd, often far away from the palace, far from political affairs and identity constraints, and lingered in the gentle countryside outside the palace, almost not much different from the dim monarch. It really subverts the tall image of us being diligent and loving the people and restrained in women.
Third, play tricks on the weak little foot woman
Kangxi's method of finding pleasure can be described as strange, especially the trick of tricking concubines, which is absurd and ruthless. In Ma Guoxian's account, Kangxi often sent concubines to the nearby mountains to pick some plant roots and fruits for inner entertainment.
Under his order, the poor concubines had to limp on a pair of small feet in order not to be punished, scrambling to rush towards the mountain, you can imagine how tragic the situation of the concubines competing for favor was at that time, especially those who fell to the ground, who should have been the most pitiful and sympathetic, but became the most amused and intoxicated Kangxi, which also showed the ruthlessness of the emperor.
Kangxi continued to create such games throughout the cool summer evenings, and the absurd appearance of his later years was fully displayed, which was completely inconsistent with the admonition to his descendants to "purify one's heart and nurture one's essence."
Fourth, exaggerated talent
From the perspective of Kangxi's personal cultivation, it can be said that he "knows astronomy from above, geography from below", excellent martial arts, and even cultivation in Confucian culture is comparable to everyone, mathematics, music, calligraphy, foreign languages, etc., simply omnipotent.
And the Kangxi observed by Ma Guoxian did not understand music at all, and the reason why he was called a musical genius was just that the people around him beat the horse in order to save their lives.
Once when Kangxi passed by an ancient piano, inadvertently, a finger lightly touched the key, and the guqin made a sound, and the people around him immediately praised the good playing, and Kangxi accepted this kind of flattery. So there is a rich and colorful stroke in the history books that "Kangxi is proficient in musical rhythm".
(Clavichord)
Some people have also questioned the credibility of Ma Guoxian's records in "Thirteen Years of the Qing Court", and from Ma Guoxian's records alone, his evaluation of Kangxi is pertinent and realistic.
First of all, as a missionary of faith, honesty and the dissemination of real events are the most basic cultivations; Secondly, he believed that Kangxi let himself be closely accompanied, which not only made him fully trust himself, but also an unprecedented favor, and he and Kangxi did not have any interest entanglements, and there was no need to smear Kangxi; Finally, the reason why his memoir can be called the "foundation" of Western sinology shows that it has important historical value.
Therefore, Ma Guoxian's account is basically credible. In addition, in addition to this memoir of the Italian missionary, there are also many records of the Kangxi Emperor's desolate life in the official history of the Qing Dynasty and many historical materials.
"Qing Yuzhu" records that Kangxi's harem concubines were numerous, ranking first among the Qing emperors, as many as 66, which is only historically recorded. He had 55 imperial heirs, including 35 princes and 20 princesses, still ranking first among the emperors of the Qing Dynasty.
And the imperial heirs born in the later period were almost all concubines of the Han family, and they were all concubines of Jiangnan, which also indirectly confirmed Kangxi's preference and addiction to beauty in his later years, regardless of birth and status, only about beauty.
(Concubine of the Kangxi harem)
In addition, in the wild history, there are also descriptions of Kangxi's absurd side, such as some absurd stories that are widely circulated in Kangxi's body: forcibly occupying people's wives, ignoring human ethics, taking a concubine and other shocking claims.
Of course, these absurd stories, after all, are not from official documents, and it is inevitable that there may be fabrications by the world or smeared by future generations, but flies do not bite seamless eggs, and I believe that these anecdotal rumors and world notes are by no means empty.
In fact, judging from Kangxi's edict in his later years, Kangxi, as the "first emperor of the ages", was indeed a little faint in his later years, not very diligent, he flaunted benevolence, and was tired of political affairs, a bit of "lying on the merit book to retire". In the end, he also set up a large number of literary prisons, which led to corruption among officials and financial strain, so that Yongzheng was left with a "boastful prosperous era".
However, no one is perfect, even if it is an ancient Mingjun, if there is a good side, there will naturally be a bad side.
Although there were many absurd and negative aspects of Kangxi's life in his later years, from the perspective of meritorious deeds, he opened up his territory, eliminated internal and external troubles, unified the whole country, and carried out foreign trade, while resolutely resisting foreign aggression and safeguarding the unity and territorial integrity of the Qing Dynasty.
(Fighting against the Russian invasion)
Promulgating many policies to benefit the people, seeking benefits for the people, paying attention to cultural development, and following Confucianism while paying attention to Western studies were also positive aspects of his political achievements. This undoubtedly had a very positive effect on the rule of the Qing Dynasty.
"He inherited the imperial inheritance early, was diligent and loved the people, and ruled the world, not so much sitting on the rivers and mountains, but fighting the rivers and mountains", this is the "Qing History Manuscript. Shengzu Benji's evaluation of Kangxi points out his merits very well.
During his 61-year reign, he made wonderful performances on the historical stage provided by the imperial court, whether domestically, internationally or by the imperial court, which is worth remembering.
(Statue of the Kangxi Emperor)
Times and people have their own limitations, and the Kangxi Emperor is the same, he also has the same shortcomings as other emperors, and he does not go beyond the traditional imperial ideological category that rules the world, and checks and balances are greater than development.
On the whole, Kangxi's achievements are greater than excesses, and judging from Kangxi's contributions to the entire Qing Dynasty and even later generations, there are indeed several Chinese emperors that are second to none and worthy of the title of "Emperor of the Ages".