preface
Chocolate, a sweet food, has become an indispensable part of people's daily lives in China. However, few people know that chocolate was first introduced to China from overseas, and the first Chinese son and daughter to taste chocolate turned out to be a great emperor in history, the Kangxi Emperor.
Throughout history, the Kangxi Emperor was inscribed as an intelligent and learned ruler. As with his benevolence, military prowess, and cultural tolerance, he was praised for his curiosity and openness to new things. His first foray into chocolate is a stark example of this.
Perhaps it is difficult to imagine that as an emperor at that time, Kangxi would be attracted to such an exotic food as chocolate. However, the Kangxi Emperor's curiosity and cautious personality made him always cautious when trying new things.
But our Kangxi Emperor was also very desperate, and read the instruction manual of more than 900 words before eating chocolate, but after reading the manual, the Kangxi Emperor only said three words.
Rejuvenating cinchona cream
In 1661, shortly after the Kangxi Emperor took the throne, he led his army south to launch the San Francisco Rebellion and recover the three newly independent vassals. The war lasted for a whole decade. In the course of such a brutal war, many soldiers contracted infectious diseases such as malaria, and also infected the 20-year-old Kangxi Emperor.
As the Son of Heaven, the Kangxi Emperor received full care from the top team of doctors at that time, the Imperial Hospital. However, at that time, Chinese medicine basically did not have any special medicine for malaria, and a life-and-death battle without gunsmoke began. Kangxi's high fever did not subside, he was delirious and helpless. The attendants around Kangxi prayed every day, hoping that a miracle would occur and save the life of the Lord.
When desperate, the palace issued a bounty, hoping that someone would provide a cure to save Kangxi. At first, the hospital did not expect this, because Chinese medicine could not do anything about malaria, and I am afraid that there was no better remedy. Surprisingly, eventually, two missionaries from Europe stepped forward and offered a medicine called "cinchona cream." This quinine contains medicine that is effective in treating malaria.
In order to ensure the effectiveness of the medicine, Kangxi ordered that the medicine be tested on ordinary people. Although the hospital had doubts, it had to do so. It turned out that this cinchona cream from the far west can indeed quickly cure malaria attacks. People infected with malaria only take this drug once or twice, and their symptoms subside and they are out of danger.
As a result, the Kangxi Emperor also began to take this medicine and soon recovered. The imperial doctors were impressed by the cinchona cream and had to admit the advanced technology of Western medicine. This experience gave the young Kangxi a new understanding of Western civilization. It turns out that in terms of medical technology, the West is also advanced, not the backwardness of its own cognition. Perhaps in other respects, the West is also worth learning. An enlightened emperor thus embarked on his journey into Western studies.
The origin of chocolate
Soon after the Kangxi Emperor's recovery, the two missionaries who introduced cinchonas to China were invited into the imperial palace and began to teach the young Kangxi about Western geography, history, and culture.
In a lecture, the missionaries mentioned that a food called "chocolate" was very popular in European royal families. This food is not only delicious, but also nourishes the body and refreshes the mind. Hearing this, the Kangxi Emperor immediately became interested, he remembered his state of weakness when he was sick, and how good it would be if there were such good things to replenish the body.
Therefore, the Kangxi Emperor ordered that he must get this food called chocolate. Kangxi asked people to inquire about the origin of chocolate, and they learned that it was made from a fruit called "cocoa". What kind of fruit can make such a miraculous food? Kangxi was full of curiosity about this.
Of course, with the traffic conditions at the time, it was a pipe dream to import cocoa beans from as far away as South America. But the two missionaries still had some chocolate on them, so they dedicated their private collections to the Kangxi Emperor. The Kangxi Emperor was very happy when he learned about it, and he could finally taste the taste of this miraculous food.
However, Kangxi, as the emperor, still needs to be cautious about what he eats. So the two missionaries specially wrote a manual for chocolate, detailing the raw materials, production process, eating methods, etc. of chocolate, in order to show their pure intentions. After the Kangxi Emperor obtained the manual, he first asked the ministers to check whether there were any problems, and then carefully studied it, for fear of any mistake.
Three words of anti
After making sure that there was nothing wrong with chocolate, the Kangxi Emperor tried the first bite of chocolate with anticipation. This is a rare delicacy from a distant and exotic land, what impact will it have on the taste buds?
However, the results of the first taste of chocolate obviously did not meet the expectations of the Kangxi Emperor. You know, in 17th century China, the staple food was mainly rice, and the taste was mainly light. The rough chocolate taste and rich chocolate flavor are indeed a new and difficult to accept taste for a Chinese like the Kangxi Emperor.
After taking a small bite of chocolate, the Kangxi Emperor frowned and never touched a second bite. The taste of chocolate is too exciting and does not fit his eating habits at all. Under the missionary's expectant gaze, the Kangxi Emperor simply said "got it" and ended his chocolate experience.
Judging from Kangxi's reaction, tasting chocolate for the first time was not a surprise experience. However, Kangxi did not reject chocolate or Western food because of this. He simply accepted the fact that Chinese had different eating habits than in the West, and chocolate did not suit the taste of Chinese. This open-minded and inclusive attitude reflects the wisdom of the Kangxi Emperor.
Reuse foreigners to spread Western learning
Although chocolate disappointed the Kangxi Emperor a little, it did not dampen his enthusiasm for learning Western culture. After this, he continued to hire Westerners, including missionaries, to the imperial court to learn Western science and technology and let them spread Western knowledge to China.
The most famous of these were the missionaries Nan Huairen and John Tang. Nan Huairen was quite accomplished in mechanical manufacturing, and the Wucheng Yonggu General Cannon that he helped manufacture was extremely powerful. This heavy artillery played an important role in the later pacification of Taiwan by the Qing army.
Not only did John Tang participate in reforming the Chinese calendar to make it more scientific and accurate, but also helped China manufacture the most advanced artillery of the time. Under his guidance, China's weapons manufacturing technology reached a new height.
With the support of Kangxi, this group of Western missionaries deeply promoted Western scientific thought. It is precisely because of their efforts that Chinese culture and Western culture have launched unprecedented collisions and exchanges.
The Kangxi Emperor himself also learned a lot of Western scientific knowledge, and was the first emperor in Chinese history to study geometry. This added mathematics questions to the imperial examination in later generations and played an important role in promoting the development of mathematics in China.
epilogue
The spread of chocolate in China is an interesting history. Although the Kangxi Emperor did not like the taste of chocolate, he openly accepted the difference between the two civilizations.
It is precisely because of this that with his support, Western technology and culture have spread, and the collision between East and West has begun since then and continues to affect us today. The enlightened spirit of the Kangxi Emperor is worth learning.