Kangxi (1654-1722), whose full name is Ai Xin Jue Luo Xuan Ye, was the second emperor after the Qing dynasty conquered the central plains, his chinese name is "Kangxi". He was in power for as long as 61 years, being the emperor who reigned for the longest period in the history of China.

In the history of China's feudalism, Kangxi is undoubtedly an outstanding emperor in both military glory and civic achievements. He stabilized the regime during the early days of the Qing Dynasty and quickly recovered the war-destructed economy and initiated a period of great prosperity in history. In Chinese history, the good ruling from Emperor Kangxi's reign to Emperor Qianlong's reign was called the"Kang Qian Sheng Shi", with prosperity lasting more than 100 years, and this was the last most prosperous period in ancient China. He greatly strengthened the centralization of monarch power, propelling China's feudal system to its zenith.

What is the personality of Kangxi?

When he was still a child, Kangxi was quite hard-working and showed great talent in literature. He was an inveterate workaholic, rising early and retiring late, reading and responding to numerous memorials every day, conferring with his councilors and giving audiences – and this was in normal times; in wartime, he might be reading memorials from the war-front until after midnight or even.

Kangxi showed himself an effective commander in the one military campaign in which he actively participated, that against the Dzungar Mongols. His communion with the rank-and-file was intimate and caring, his relationship with his generals was discriminating yet masterful.

What are the achievements of Kangxi in the culture field?

Culturally, Kangxi emperor gave special treatment to the intellectual of Han nationality and actively learnt and advocated the Han culture conducive to the feudal reign, thus promoting the culture autarchy of Chinese feudal society to its crest.

A vase of the early Kangxi period, Kangxi ordered the compilation of the

most complete dictionary of Chinese characters ever put together, the Kangxi Dictionary. In many ways this was an attempt to win over the Chinese scholar-gentry. Many of these initially refused to serve the dynasty and remained loyal to the Ming Dynasty. However, by persuading them to work on the dictionary without asking them to formally serve the Qing, Kangxi in effect led them to gradually take on more and more responsibilities until they became normal officials. The great compilation of Tang Dynasty poetry, the Quantangshi, was also produced by imperial order in 1705.He himself was a cultivated man, steeped in Confucian learning.

Kangxi was also keen on Western technology and tried to bring it to China. This was helped through Jesuit missionaries such as Ferdinand Verbiest whom he summoned almost every day to the Forbidden City. The Emperor took notice of scientific matters and he became interested in mathematics. The Jesuit missionaries, who have proved their calculations to be correct, were placed in charge of the Imperial Board of Astronomy and were asked to teach the Emperor Western sciences.

From 1711 to 1723 Matteo Ripa, an Italian priest, worked as a painter and copper-engraver at the Qing court. In 1723 he returned to Naples from China with four young Chinese Christians, in order to let them become priests and go back to China as missionaries; this began the "Collegio dei Cinesi" to help the propagation of Christianity in China. This Chinese Institute was the first school of Sinology in Europe.

Kangxi was also the first Chinese Emperor to play a western instrument, the piano. He also invented a Chinese calendar.

What are the political achievements of Kangxi?

Kangxi ascended the throne at the age of eight and, when he was 14, he rooted out the Prime Minister Ao Bai and began to take over reign of the political affairs.

The rule of Xuanye was for the most part tolerant and conciliatory. In comparison with the emperors of the late Ming period he was frugal, practical, and conscientious in the discharge of his responsibilities. During his reign the empire increased in wealth and most of the time enjoyed peace and prosperity.
In the course of his five tours to South China, he took pains personally to inspect conservancy projects and so spurred the officials in charge to more efficient and conscientious labors. Although he did not vigorously enforce the laws governing corrupt officials, he frequently singled out for promotion those who were reported as incorrupt. It is true that during his reign high officials often organized themselves into fractions, but he was usually able to check their activities through reports of the censors.

How did emperor Kangxi perform in the economy field?

In the economy field, Kangxi adopted a series of policies conducive to the well-being of a nation. These include the practice of actively encouraging and rewarding people to reclaim the wasteland, rehabilitating the hydraulic engineering of the Yellow River, Huai River, and channels, and reforming the tax system.
As a result of the scaling down of hostilities as peace returned to China after the Manchu conquest, and also as a result of the ensuing rapid increase of population, land cultivation and therefore tax revenues based on agriculture, the Kangxi Emperor was able first to make tax remissions, then (in 1712) to freeze the land tax and corvée altogether, without embarrassing the state treasury.

How did Kangxi emperor perform in the field of military?

During his reign, Kangxi emperor got rid of the power of three Feudatories Shang kexi,Wu Sangui, and Geng jingzhong, reoccupied Taiwan, suppressed the revolt of Galdan Khan at Junggar, and resisted the Russia's invasion to Northeast China, as well as signing the Sino-Russian Treaty of Nerchinsk, thus delimiting the borderline of northeast China.

What is the relationship between Kangxi emperor and Catholics?

Early in the Kangxi reign-period Catholic missionaries in the provinces were often persecuted, but in 1692 they obtained a decree from Xuanye legalizing and protecting missionary work in the empire. In 1693, for the service at court - especially for having cured the Emperor of malaria, with quinine - the French missionaries were given a piece of land inside the Forbidden City, with permission (1703) to erect a church there which was completed ten years ago.

Near Peking Xuanye, they restored a garden where he often spent several months in

each year. It was in this garden that for several years he studied mathematics with the Jesuit missionaries to whom he granted a residence nearby.

The Kangxi Emperor ( 康熙大帝 ) was the third Emperor of the Manchu Qing dynasty ( 清朝 ) , and the second Qing emperor to rule over China , from 1661 to 1722 . He is known as one of the greatest Chinese emperors and outstanding politician in history. He made great contribution to Chinese history by his vigorous measures to make the country strong.

Emperor Kangxi studied Confucian classics in his childhood and he worked hard. Thanks to his efforts to incorporate Chinese cultural tradition in his administration, the early Qing Dynasty was a prosperous time.

He began to attend to political affairs at his age of fourteen. He made it a regular institution to handle administrative affairs in person. Every morning he would attend to political affairs in the Gate of Heavenly Purity. Even if he was out of the palace, the memorials submitted from different ministries must be sent to his temporary residence. He persisted in this way of work and this started a tradition of personal attending to politics for emperors in the Qing Dynasty.
In the spring of 1662, Kangxi ordered the Great Clearance in southern China , in order to fight the anti-Qing movement, began by Ming Dynasty loyalists to regain Beijing . He also listed three major issues: the flood control of the Yellow River ( 黄河 ) , the repairing of the Grand Canal ( 大运河 ) and the Three Feudatories ( 三番 ) in South China.
The Revolt of the Three Feudatories was raised 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 clear. Wu Sangui's ( 吴三桂 ) emerging forces had overran most of southern China and began allying himself with local generals. He crushed the latter within two months and incorporated the Chakhar into the Eight Banners ( 八旗 ) . After the surrender of the Zheng family, the Qing Dynasty annexed Taiwan in 1684.
Emperor Kangxi commanded the most complete dictionary of Chinese characters ever put together at the time, The Kangxi Dictionary ( 康熙词典 ) . He also invented a very useful and effective Chinese calendar.
In 1722 A.D, Kangxi assembled all of his Imperial Princes in Beijing at the time for a word with him, thereafter allowing his trusted official Zhang Tingyu ( 张廷玉 ) to announce the heir to the throne. But once the box containing Kangxi's will arrived, Kangxi himself had died. Therefore never confirming that the decision for Yinzhen to be Emperor was Kangxi's will.

What are the main feats of Kangxi Emperor?

The Kangxi Emperor is considered one of China's greatest emperors. He defeated the revolt of the Three Feudatories, forced the Zheng Jing government on Taiwan to submit to Qing rule, blocked Tzarist Russia on the Amur River and expanded the empire in the northwest. He also accomplished such literary feats as the compilation of the Kangxi Dictionary.
Kangxi's reign brought about long-term stability and relative wealth after years of war and chaos. He initiated the period known as the "Prosperous Era of Kangxi and Qianlong" which lasted for generations after his own lifetime. By the end of his reign, the Qing empire controlled all of China proper, Manchuria (including Outer Manchuria), part of Russian Far East, both Inner and Outer Mongolia, and Korea as a protectorate.