Kangxi
The emperor of the Dynastie Qing Xuányè 玄 晔 (personal name) Kāngxī 康 熙 (name of reign) was born on May 4th, 1652 with Beijing in the prohibited and died Cité on December 22nd, 1722. He was the emperor who had the longest reign of the history of China, of 1661 with 1722, that is to say 61 years.
He was the son of a concubine resulting from a family Jurchen (ethnos group to which the Mandchous belong). Sinicized long time, it bore the Chinese name of Tong (佟), but had taken again a Manchu name (Tunggiya) with the advent of Qing. The mother of Kangxi was thus certainly partly a Han. A legend makes of Kangxi the secret son of another concubine, Dong Guifei, whose his/her father was very enthusiast, and with dead it would have taken the dress of monk by pretending his death. One can still hear the echoes of them nowadays.
Kangxi already thought of being able to reign at the 16 years age. However, his/her father had chosen to him as regent a Minister for the name of Oboi (Aobai) 鳌拜 which did not leave him the capacity like agreed. One can enjoy to think that Kangxi was a child very shining, because thanks to its skill and the assistance of his/her grandmother the empress dowager Xiaozhuang, it succeeds in making release taken in Oboi and imprisoning it in 1669.
Last resistances and external enemies
South and South-west
It still had to face in 1673 with the great rebellion of the “three feudatories”, the provinces of Yunnan, Sichuan and Guangdong having made secession simultaneously. The imperial armies succeeded in restoring peace durably, even if certain revolts burst in the mountainous steps of South-west.With the Tibet, the regent Sangyé Gyatso hid the death of the 5th Dalaï Lama Lobsang Gyatso during 12 years to finish the construction of the Palate of the Potala. In 1697, the regent Sangyé Gyatso sent its minister Shabdrung Ngawang Shonu to the court Mandchou to inform the Kangxi Emperor of dead of 5th and discovered 6th Dalaï Lama, Tsangyang Gyatso, which were established in the presence of the civils servant of the Gouvernement Tibetan, the population of Lhassa, the Mongolian princes and the representatives the Kangxi Emperor. In 1705, Lhazang Khan the Mongolian king of the tribe of Qoshot made sure that Kangxi would not be opposed so that Lhazang Khan invades the central Tibet. Lhazang Khan took Lhassa and killed the regent Sangyé Gyatso. Lhazang Khan will try to install another Dalaï Lama, which will not be recognized by the monks Gelugpa.
South-east
It had ordered in 1662, to release the empire of the anti-Qing movements, the “Great release”, displacement forced towards the interior of the grounds of the populations of the coasts of South-east where the party of Ming was still powerful. The pirate Koxinga, who fought at the sides of the princes of the south of China remained faithful to the preceding dynasty, had this same year taken the island of Taiwan to the Dutchmen to take refuge there; he founded there the transitory Zheng dynasty which the imperial armies fought with determination. They will end up taking again the island with its grandson in 1683. Starting from 1684 was organized the repopulation of the coastal regions depopulated by the Great release, together with financial encouragements.
North and the North-West
The rebellion of the Mongolian S Chakhars started in 1675 was subdued in two months, and they were incorporated in the Bannière S. the Qing empire was found later on involved in intra-Mongolian fights, Khalkha which declared vassals of China having required its assistance against their attackers Dsungar. Their arguments were in connection with the policy Tibetan, that the Mongols controlled mainly since the 12th century. Dsungars were pushed back but not destroyed, and occupied Tibet in 1717 in reprisals of the ousting of the Dalaï Lama in 1706. Qing protectorate on Tibet was established only in 1720.The Manchu empire also entered in conflict with the Russian Empire along the Amour, in 1650 (Chinese victory) and starting from 1680. The Treated of Nertchinsk, signed in 1689, allotted the valley of the Love to China and fixed the layout of the Russo-Chinese border.
Installation of the empire
Kangxi ordered the repair of the Grand Channel builds by the Sui, more than thousand years before.The emperor knew that agriculture was the key of the State; he thus organized special tax exemptions for the campaigns. The standard of living was improved considerably for the simple villagers. Moreover, the civils servant, remunerated better, were less inclined to deliver themselves to corruption, wound endemic of the Chinese administration. In 1675 was born its successor Yinzhen (future Yongzheng); on this occasion six Eunuque S was high with dignities of civil civils servant.
The Kangxi dictionary
It ordered the composition of the greatest work on the Chinese characters and most exhaustive ever created. It was called the Dictionnaire Kangxi . Since, this dictionary of characters was largely exceeded in the face. It introduced the 214 keys of classification of the Chinese characters which are always largely used (214 keys of Kangxi).
Difficult choice of a successor
Kangxi had had many sons and chooses his heir with much care. It had to give up its first choice, its second wire prince Yinreng (胤礽), appointed crown prince at 2 years, but who had proven extremely disappointing in spite of the precaution that the emperor had taken to supervise itself his education. Yinreng lost its title in definitively 1712. The choice ends up turning around two candidates born of the same mother, whose personal names were homonymous (Yinzhen), the C-W communication differing only by one detail from the second character: 胤禛 and 胤禎. Kangxi had made a point of keeping secret its last wills concerning its succession, which it had placed in a box. One of the heir apparents, fourteenth wire of the emperor, was in shift in the Xinjiang at the time of died of his/her father. When it was proclaimed that the registered name was that of the only present, the fourth wire, a rumor was born applicant whom it had added a feature in the name of the true elected official. At all events truly, he became the emperor Yongzheng, and the name of his/her évincé brother was changed into Yinti, to comply with the rule which wants that nobody bears a name similar to that of the emperor.The true choice of Kangxi is the second of the “four mysteries of the dynasty Qing”, the first being the final destiny of his/her father, the emperor Shunzhi.
Kangxi is buried in the necropolis Is of Qing.
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