Known mainly as a cultured emperor, Kangxi was also known as a scholar, administrator, and a conqueror (Wills 153). Kangxi was the first in the Golden Age of Emperors: Kangxi, Yongzheng, and Qianlong (Zhang 61). Aixin-Jueluo Xuanye, was the emperor’s full name; Kangxi lived between 1654-1722 and reigned between 1661-1722 (Zhang 61). Kangxi, which is his reign name, is named by many names: Jen Huang-ti, K’ang-hsi, Kangxi, Sheng-tsu, and Hsuan-yeh (EWB). Emperor Kangxi resided in the Qing dynasty and brought stability, tranquility, and prosperity to a foreign land. Xuanye did not live an easy life as he had trouble in government, strife in wars, and the hardest part of all, trying to find himself.
As a child, the emperor was self-motivated and knew two languages: Chinese and Manchurian. His mother was Manchurian, coming from southern Manchuria, and his father was Chinese, which lead Xuanye to know both languages (EWB). He started his Manchurian studies with the servant of his grandmother, Empress
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Dowager Xiaozhuang, whose name was, Sumalagu (Rawski 118). Xuanye studied on a rigorous schedule of starting school at five in the morning to four in the afternoon, throughout each year; he did have the opportunity to mingle with paternal cousins and high ranking bannermen sons (Rawski 118). Even at such young ages, the children were being taught Chinese, Mongolian, and Manchurian, as well as subjects in the physical fields like riding, archery, and military subjects (Rawski 118). Until he was twelve years of age, Xuanye did not study with private tutors, but instead studied with his father tutelage; he started to delve into Confucianism when he was sixteen in 1670. Archery was something the Qing dynasty took pride in and what emperor Kangxi was very proficient with. Emperors in the Qing dynasty had specials bows made for them which were made from mulberry wood and had a pull of eighteen. Stories about Kangxi say he could fire a bow with either hand and he personally stated that “bend a bow with a pull of fifteen li and fire a fifty-two-inch arrow” (Rawski 45). According to the Veritable Records, it would be rare for the emperor to miss a target, as he has performed archery many times in front of an assembly of soldiers and officials. In 1684, when he was nineteen years of age, he carried out mounted archery and left his audience bewildered with his ruthless, yet graceful performance (Rawski 45). During his Southern Inspection tours, the emperor would hold archery contests for his soldiers and bannermen; the emperor himself would even participate in these contests out of his own will to enjoy himself (Rawski 45). He was taught archery when he was a child by one of his guards, Officer A-shu-mo-erh-ken; he was strict and every fault the emperor made, the officer would correct swiftly (Spence 47). Gun or bow, emperor Kangxi wielded one for hunting and hunted until the day he died. Hunting was one of his favorite pass time activities and eventually became an exercise just to stretch his limbs, since he was extremely experienced (Spence 47). When he was a child he hunted, and killed a plethora of game: 135 tigers, 20 bears, 25 leopards, 20 lynxes, 14 tailed mi deer, 96 wolves, and 132 wild boars (Spence 47). As shrewd as he was, his fellow hunting companions have watched Kangxi kill game in marvelous ways. Once, he shot two mountain sheep with one arrow, both pierced cleanly through and through (Spence 50). Whenever he went on a hunt, he would admire his surroundings and write poetry based on his hunt. This is a poem from Kangxi himself in 1695, “Open country, flat sand, Sky beyond the river. Over a thousand hares daily Trapped in the hunters’ ring. Checking the borders, I’m going to stretch my limbs; And keep on shooting the carved bow, Now with my left hand, now my right” (Spence 43). He was struck with copious number of tasks as emperor, so when he went on a hunt, he would reflect on his life and think deep down to find his true self. Xuanye was declared the emperor when he was six years old and his father, Emperor Shun-chih, fell to the hand of small pox (EWB). Just like his father, Xuanye also contracted small pox, but survived, and it was a factor that reinforced his position as emperor (EWB). Until the emperor came of age, four regents aided him: Sonin, Oboi, Suksaha, and Ebilum (Zheng 63). At thirteen, he dethroned Oboi on suspicion that he was manipulating the state for his own affairs (Spence 49). Soon, at the prime age of fifteen, with his grandmother, he imprisoned Oboi in 1669 for arrogance and dishonesty (Spence 49). Unifying China under Manchu control from the Chinese was the hardest part of his early reign; the emperor had three generals control certain parts of China, two of which were, Shang Kexi and Geng Jimao (Spence 49).
Kangxi trusted these men who surrender themselves to the Manchus in 1633 and have proven themselves by recapturing Canton from Ming supports in 1650 (Spence 50). These generals were proficient killers as they slaughtered every defender in Canton recapture and proved themselves on multiple occasions to the emperor; Wu Sangui also participated in the Canton event (Spence 50). The two generals and Sangui were called the “Three Feudatories” and were given provinces of China to rule over as a token for their allegiance with the Manchus (Spence 50). Later, as Shang Kexi grew ill and Geng Jiamo died, Sheng asked if he could retire back to his homeland; with this inquiry, Kangxi granted his request gracious, which was a cataclysmic decision for the emperor (Spence
50). Wu Sangui and Geng Jingzhong, the song of Geng Jimao, was testing the emperor to see if he wanted to disposal of them too by sending them into retirement, so when the emperor granted his wish, Sangui revolted and started a civil war in 1673 (Zheng 64). Sangui formed his own dynasty called the Zhou and convinced the other Feudatories to follow (Spence 50). Jingzhong joined the rebellion in 1674 and held Fujian and sent his forces into the Zhejiang province; Shang Zhixin joined in 1676 holding Guangdong and sending his forces towards Jiangxi and Zhixin sent his father to prison because he stayed loyal to emperor Kangxi (Spence 51). Since the Qing were a conquering dynasty to the Chinese, they had people who made peace with them but had the threat of the Zhou to convince them to join them (Spence 51). The Original Three Feudatories were Chinese and part of the Ming dynasty, when Sangui said he was going to bring back Ming customs, it started to tear at the allegiance of the Chinese people (Spence 51). Enraged by the proposition Sangui proposed, he executed his son at Peking where he was being hostage (Spence 51). Sangui declared himself emperor of the Zhou dynasty in 1678, but then he died of dysentery that same year (Spence 52). The war ended in 1681, lasting eight years and blood from all other China to be spilled; Kangxi almost lost the war due to the inability to rally his court behind him and Jingzhong, who was ineffective in leading an army (Spence 52). Taiwan was an opportunity island that the Dutch saw and took advantage of. The Dutch traded peacefully with the Chinese, but saw the inevitability that they would get involved; the Dutch then allied themselves with the Qing, knowing they will soon have to face the Zheng (Keay 434). The son of Zheng family, Zheng Chenggong, decided to help the Ming loyalist, instead of going to the Qing court and surrender (Spence 54). In doing so, Zheng, better known as Koxinga, assaulted the Dutch fort, Zeelandia (Spence 54). After nine months of constant sieges, the Dutch finally surrendered in 1662, but in agreement that the Dutch retire to Batavia in the Dutch East Indies (Spence 55). Emperor Kangxi saw Konxinga on Taiwan as a threat, so he assaulted many times and failed every in assault. The Emperor’s last hope was to appoint Shi Lang, Koxinga’s father’s former admirals, to lead as admiral for one last siege; Shi Lang planned months and was given over three hundred war vessels (Spence 56). If the emperor could lay victor in this attempt, he would give up the war because he was tired after the war with the Three Feudatories. In July of 1683, Shi Lang won a battle over the last of the Koxinga’s forces, and three months later Taiwan surrendered (Spence 56). Although Kangxi has taken Taiwan, did not know what to do with it and decided to take it to the Qing court. Shi Lang suggested that they should transform it into a fortified base to protect Chine from outside invaders like the Dutch, if they ever decide to invade with their unimaginable warships (Spence 57). At the end, Kangxi decided to bring the country into China, and he stationed a standing army of eight thousand troops, in case they ever get abruptly invaded (Spence 57). Aside from war, Xuanye had other things to worry about, such as the rivers in China and the shaping of government. Because he neglected the Yangtze and Huai rivers during the Three Feudatories war, their banks busted and caused serious amounts of damage to the land (Zhang 65). The six Inspection Tours Xuanye took around China’s countryside were primarily used for flood control and engineering projects (Zhang 69). Chinese culture swallowed the emperor, as Confucianism captured him, willing him to change the philosophy of government. He wanted the government and the nation of China to follow the Confucius way of living. In 1670 Xuanye issued sixteen maxims called the “Sacred Edict” (Spence 60). The second maxim in the Sacred Edict, written by Kangxi himself, states: Respect kindred, in order to display the excellence of harmony (Kangxi 49). All the maxims were a summarization of Confucian moral values and covered social relations, generosity, obedience, thrift, and arduous work (Spence 60). Emperor Kangxi was a cultured man who enjoyed the company Jesuits, Roman Catholic missionaries, because they brought knowledge from the west. Kangxi was more on the observational side of science; when he went on hunts, he would take a Jesuit along with him to measure what altitude they were at (Wills 153). Previous emperors despised Jesuits, but Kangxi used them as advisers in matters of cartography and allowed them to practice their religion in Peking (Spence 71). One of the things he appreciated from the Jesuits was their knowledge of maps. A Jesuit was show the emperor a map of Europe and the Americas, and it always fascinated him (Will 153). In 1700, he ordered multiple Jesuits to design atlas of maps for his empire; Chinese culture has a keen sense to mapping since maps were of strategical importance (Will 153). The Jesuits never discussed the religious problems they were having in Europe, since they assumed it might affect the emperor’s view of them (Will 154). Throughout the 1600s, Jesuits would try to make a compromise with the emperor at what decisions best for the missionaries and for the people of the country; the Roman Catholic church never doubted themselves at least once if they had a right to be making decisions for an emperor. This show of ignorance for was performed in 1705 when the Roman Catholic church sent a papal emissary to Beijing. The show of ignorance and insistent decision-making led the emperor to an outrage and banned Chinese Catholicism (Will 154).
There are little to no direct accounts of how individuals’ lives were a couple thousand years ago in Ancient China. With a wealth of information on the rise, decline, and fall of empires, Michael Loewe, a sinologist who specializes in oriental studies and theology, writes an imaginary story about a hero named Bing set around 70 BCE. Bing: From Farmer’s Son to Magistrate in Han China is Loewe’s fictional portrait of life during the Han Empire. It is by no means a comprehensive historical account of Han times, in fact, it was written with those readers who are not familiar with Chinese in mind, however through the life of Bing we can gage how the lives of laborers, those involved in military service, merchants, and government officials might
During the Han and Roman time period everything was changing. New Technology greatly expanding the empire's. Attitudes shifted in the Han and Roman empire. The Han attitude towards technology is for the common people with innovative tools and natural disaster prevention. The attitude to the Roman technology is to show off how advanced their civilization was with aqueducts and paved roads.
Most outcasts of history had a particular, exclusive life; full of struggles against the society ever since birth and grew up with a heart made out of steel from the harsh criticism they have endured. They differ from the community within their beginning to their end, and many of their stories end up becoming legends and gaps of the past that nobody will be able to reincarnate. China’s first and last female emperor, Wu Zetian, was one of these exclusives. Ever since birth, her history of tactics to the people around her; in order to ascend the throne, juxtaposed towards society’s attitudes of women at the time; through her breakdown of gender stereotypes and quick knowledge, and offered a new perspective to the world of just how cruel and beautiful women can be. She successfully destructed all accumulated views of women in the Tang Dynasty, and created her future in the way she wanted it – on top of every man in her country. She was an outcast – somebody who juxtaposed against the demands of her. She was history.
Daily life was influenced in both Ancient India and China because of religion and philosophies. Their well being, their beliefs, and their caste system were affected by religion and philosophies.
One of the eras of a majestic ancient civilization that has left a lasting impression upon the world of today is the Chinese Song Dynasty. Established by General Zhao Kuangyin this dynasty lasted from 960–1279 AD and brought a new stability to China after many decades of civil war, and ushered in a new era of modernization. It was divided into the Bei (Northern) and the Nan (Southern) Song periods. This brilliant cultural epoch gave birth to major advances in economic reform, achievements in technology, and helped to further medical knowledge.
The Han dynasty and the Roman Empire were both powerful empires during their era. However, the ways they obtained their power varied greatly because they used different methods that involved their political structures, which revolved around their centralized governments. The Han dynasty and the Roman Empire acquired very unique techniques that allowed them to control social and political. For example, the Han dynasty adopted a religion known as Confucianism, which monitored everything in the lives of the Chinese. Contrary, the Roman Empire established a monarchy but allowed its residents more freedom as compared to the Han. Nevertheless, the two empires were similar in political structures in that the power was depended on the wealthy that were in authority, the peasants struggled with their lives because of concerning issues such as food supply. The empires were able to create and preserve a peaceful and sustainable lives for a long time, unlike the past empires. Social distribution were under the control of the wealthiest and they could effortlessly impact community viewpoints and interactions among the residents. These two empires existed during the Classical Period had comparable and various social, political, religions, as well as economical values and practices. However, they both possessed differences and similarities in their economic and social perspectives even though the two empires were established around the same era.
Chapter 1: The Wan-Li Emperor, begins by explaining the major premise of the work: The concept of looking at a single year in the history of the leadership of China and evaluating the implications for understanding other aspects of history, including the decline of the Ming Dynasty. In this initial chapter, Huang provides an anecdotal history of some of the events that occurred, and includes within it a discussion of the set up of the leadership, the repercussions that occurred in the event of certain actions, including the prospects of an audience with the emperor. Huang reviews these issues as he considers that actions taken by the Wan-li emperor, who was only twenty-four in 1587 and who had been a veteran of ceremonial proceedings, and considers his history as an element of understanding the progression of leadership.
There were three reform movements between 1860-1911, “ the Qing court and Chinese provincial officials had tried to adapt a wide range of Western techniques and ideas to China’s proven needs: artillery, ships, the telegraph, new schools, factories, chambers of commerce and international law” (Spence, 234). The first reform being the Self-strengthening Movement the second was the Hundred Days Reform and the last is regarded as the Late Qing reform. These three reforms were similar in the fact that the main objective was to strengthen China. However, there were multiple reasons for the failed plans of the reforms. Analyzing certain individuals and events during the late Qing dynasty will help determine if the Manchus would have been viable leaders for modern China.
The Tang Dynasty’s rise is similar to the rise of the Han Dynasty, which began over 800 years earlier. The first emperor of the tang, Kao-tsu (618-626 C.E.), implemented many of the practices and ideas established during the Sui Dynasty. Emperor Kao-tsu carried on the tradition of local government rule, and also awarded each adult male in China equal amounts of land, in exchange for taxes. Emperor Taizong, who began rule in 626 C.E., was the son of Kao-tsu, also played an important role in the economic expansion of China and ruled during the beginning decades of the Tang. Emperor Taizong’s reign beg...
It helped to create a strong army, a submissive government, an obedient populace and the unquestioned authority of a central government. Although Confucianism was preferred in the later dynasties, legalism became the standard for the Chinese government and is maintained in some form today. The Han Dynasty (206BCE-220 CE) was the longest lasting of China’s major dynasties and lasted a span of over four centuries and was considered a golden age in Chinese history especially in arts, politics and technology. The Han almost rivalled its contemporary roman empire in the west. Emperor Gaozu’s original name was Liu Bang.
Chinese Dynasty Art Chinese art dates back to ancient times in history that expresses different ideas. The earliest forms of art in the Chinese culture can be classified from ancient to visualized art that lead to milestones in art history. The Chinese dynasties that present the evolution of art show how China has since been modernized throughout history. In the Chinese culture, the earliest dynasties that show the importance in art are the Shang, Zhou, Jin, Tang, Song, and Yuan dynasties. The Shang Dynasty, along with the Zhou dynasty which will be discussed in detail later, took a massive role in what historians call today The Bronze Age of China.
TIME PERIOD: Qing Dynasty: Part III: (Japan rising and the boxer rebellion) (1644-1912) BIOGRAPHY OF THE TIMES: Kang Youwei Kang Youwei came from a scholarly gentry’s family in the district of Nanhai in Guangdong province. His teacher imbued him with the ideal service to society, and his study of Buddhism impressed him with its spirit of compassion and made him to believe more in this religion. He rebelled against convention, after reading about the outside world, he came to admire Western civilization. In the 1880s he began some of his basic ideas: ideas of historical progress, social equality, a world government, and the nature of the universe.
According to historians, the language of human is the method communication either spoken or written, consisting of the use words in a structured and conventional form and ways. Without language, our world would be completely ineffectual because human beings would not know what to do or interact with each other. The world is full of different kinds of languages which are totally amazing and others have to study to be able to apprehend with others from dissimilar countries. Additionally, I will discuss how language, government, and religion lay foundation for one of these human civilizations and that would be China enlightenment. China is well known for many things such as technology, agriculture, and other things.
The Last Emperor is about the last emperor Pu Yi of China. At the very beginning the three year old little boy Pu Yi is brought to the forbidden city to confront the Empress Dowager. During their meeting the Empress entrust China to the hands of Pu Yi. The Story is told in a flashback and flashforward way where we learn about the emperor’s past and his present life. During his reign as a monarch Pu Yi meets his younger brother for the first time, and his mother who he hasn’t seen in years.
In Han Kang’s, Human Acts there are several highly graphic and shocking descriptions of the human body that beg the readers to problematize and question what it means to be humanized. Throughout her novel there are several instances where humans are being referred to as bloodied, convulsing, animal like sacks being thrown around without purpose and such descriptions may be interpreted by some readers as clearly dehumanizing. However, even though such wording may elicit such a response, the text is in fact humanizing the characters being killed and tossed by so accurately describing the human condition and all of the things the body does strictly because following trauma, living as ghosts because humans feel and react.