Coordinates	50°41′″N21°45′″N
Name	Kangxi Emperor
Temple name	Qing Shengzu(清聖祖)
succession
Reign	5 February 1661 – 20 December 1722()
Predecessor	Shunzhi Emperor
Successor	Yongzheng Emperor
Coronation	1667
Regent	Sonin (1661-1667)EbilunSuksaha (1661-1669)Oboi (1661-1670)
Spouse	Empress Xiao Cheng RenEmpress Xiao Zhao RenEmpress Xiao Yi RenEmpress Xiao Gong Ren
Issue	YintiRongxian, Princess of BaarinYinreng, Prince LiPrincess Duanjing of the Second RankYinzhi, Prince ChengYinzhen, Yongzheng EmperorKejing, Princess of the Khalkha MongolsYinqi, Prince HengYinyou, Prince ChunYinsi, Prince LianState Princess WenxianYintangYin'eState Princess ChunqueYintao, Prince LüYinxiang, 1st Prince YiPrincess Wenke of the Second RankYinti, Prince XunPrincess Quejing of the Second RankPrincess Dunke of the Second RankYinwu, Prince YuYinlu, Prince ZhuangYinli, Prince GuoYinyi, ''Beile''Yinxi, Prince ShenYinhu, ''Beile''Yinqi, ''Beile''Yinmi, Prince Xian
issue-link	#Family
issue-pipe	among others...
Full name	Chinese: Àixīn-Juéluó Xuányè (愛新覺羅玄燁)Manchu: Aisin Gioro hala i Hiowan Yei
Posthumous name	Emperor Hétiān Hóngyùn Wénwǔ Ruìzhé Gōngjiǎn Kuānyù Xiàojìng Chéngxìn Zhōnghé Gōngdé Dàchéng Rén合天弘運文武睿哲恭儉寬裕孝敬誠信中和功德大成仁皇帝[]
Era name	1662–1723 – Kāngxī (康熙)
Royal house	House of Aisin Gioro
Father	Shunzhi Emperor
Mother	Empress Xiao Kang Zhang
Birth date	May 04, 1654
Birth place	Beijing, Qing Empire
Death date	December 20, 1722
Death place	Beijing, Qing Empire
Place of burial	Eastern Qing Tombs, Zunhua }}

The Kangxi Emperor (; temple name: Qīng Shèngzǔ (清聖祖); Manchu: ᡝᠯᡥᡝ ᡨᠠᡳᡶᡳᠨ ''elhe taifin hūwangdi'' ; Mongolian: ''Энх-Амгалан хаан'', 4 May 1654 –20 December 1722) was the fourth emperor of the Qing Dynasty, the first to be born on Chinese soil south of the Pass (Beijing) and the second Qing emperor to rule over China proper, from 1661 to 1722.

Kangxi's reign of 61 years makes him the longest-reigning Chinese emperor in history (although his grandson, the Qianlong Emperor, had the longest period of ''de facto'' power) and one of the longest-reigning rulers in the world. However, having ascended the throne at the age of seven, he was not the effective ruler until later, with that role temporarily fulfilled for six years by four regents and his grandmother, the Grand Empress Dowager Xiaozhuang.

Kangxi is considered one of China's greatest emperors. He suppressed the Revolt of the Three Feudatories, forced the Kingdom of Tungning 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 the Russian Far East, both Inner and Outer Mongolia, Tibet proper, and Joseon Korea as a protectorate.

Early reign

Born on 4 May 1654 to the Shunzhi Emperor and Empress Xiao Kang, Kangxi was originally given the personal name Xuanye ( ; Manchu language: ᡥᡳᠣᠸᠠᠨ ᠶᡝᡳ ; Möllendorff transliteration: ''hiowan yei''). He was enthroned at the age of seven (or eight by East Asian age reckoning), on 7 February 1661, 12 days after his father's death, although his reign formally began on 18 February 1662, the first day of the following lunar year.

According to some accounts, Shunzhi gave up the throne to Kangxi and became a monk. Several alternative explanations are given for this: one is that it was due to the death of his favorite concubine; another is that he was under the influence of a Buddhist monk. The story goes that Shunzhi did indeed became a monk, but the empress dowager ordered the deletion of the incident from official history records, and replacement with the claim that he died from smallpox.

Before Kangxi came to the throne, Shunzhi had appointed Sonin, Suksaha, Ebilun, and Oboi as regents. Sonin died after his granddaughter became Empress Heseri, leaving Suksaha at odds with Oboi in politics. In a fierce power struggle, Oboi had Suksaha put to death and seized absolute power as sole regent. Kangxi and the rest of the imperial court acquiesced in this arrangement.

In 1669, Kangxi had Oboi arrested with the help of Grand Dowager Empress Xiaozhuang, who had raised him and began taking personal control of the empire. He listed three issues of concern: flood control of the Yellow River; repair of the Grand Canal; the Revolt of the Three Feudatories in south China. The Grand Empress Dowager influenced him greatly and he took care of her himself in the months leading up to her death in 1688.

Military achievements

Army

The main army of the Qing Empire, the Eight Banners Army, was in decline under Kangxi. It was smaller than it had been at its peak under Hong Taiji and in the early reign of the Shunzhi Emperor; however, it was larger than in the Yongzheng and Qianlong emperors' reigns. In addition, the Green Standard Army was still powerful with generals such as Tuhai, Fei Yanggu, Zhang Yong, Zhou Peigong, Shi Lang, Mu Zhan, Shun Shike and Wang Jingbao. The main reason for this decline was a change in system between Kangxi and Qianlong's reigns. Kangxi continued using the traditional military system implemented by his predecessors, which was more efficient and stricter. According to the system, a commander who returned from a battle alone (with all his men dead) would be put to death, and likewise for a foot soldier. This was meant to motivate both commanders and soldiers alike to fight valiantly in war because there was no benefit for the sole survivor in a battle.

By Qianlong's reign, military commanders had become lax and the training of the army was deemed less important as compared to during the previous emperors' reigns. This was because commanders' statuses had become hereditary; a general gained his position based on the contributions of his forefathers.

Revolt of the Three Feudatories

In the spring of 1662, the regents ordered a Great Clearance in southern China to counter a resistance movement started by Ming loyalists under the leadership of Koxinga. This involved the forced migration of entire populations in the coastal regions of inland southern China.

In 1673, the Revolt of the Three Feudatories broke out. Wu Sangui's forces overran most of southwest China and he tried to ally himself with local generals such as Wang Fuchen. Kangxi employed generals such as Zhou Peigong and Tuhai to suppress the rebellion, and also granted clemency to the common people who were caught up in the war. He intended to personally lead the armies to crush the rebels but his subjects advised him against it. The revolt ended with victory for Qing forces in 1681.

Kingdom of Tungning

In 1683, the Kingdom of Tungning was defeated by Qing naval forces under the command of admiral Shi Lang at the Battle of Penghu. Zheng Keshuang, ruler of Tungning, surrendered a few days later, and Taiwan was annexed by the Qing Empire. Soon afterwards, the coastal regions of southern China were ordered to be repopulated. In addition, to encourage settlers, the Qing government granted financial incentives to families that settled there.

Vietnam

In 1673, Kangxi's government helped to mediate a truce in the Trịnh–Nguyễn War in Vietnam, which had been ongoing for 45 years since 1627. The peace treaty that was signed between the conflicting parties lasted for 101 years until 1774.

Russia

In the 1650s, the Qing Empire engaged the Russian Empire in a series of border conflicts along the Amur River region, which concluded with victory for the Qing side.

The Russians invaded the northern frontier again in the 1680s. After a series of battles and negotiations, both sides signed the Treaty of Nerchinsk in 1689, in which a border was fixed, and the Amur River valley given to the Qing Empire.

Mongols

In 1675, Burni of the Chahar Mongols started a rebellion against the Qing Empire. The revolt was crushed within two months and the Chahars were incorporated in the Manchu Eight Banners.

The Khalkha Mongols had preserved their independence, and only paid tribute to the Qing Empire. However, a conflict between the houses of Tümen Jasagtu Khan and Tösheetü Khan led to a dispute between the Khalkha and the Dzungars over the influence of Tibetan Buddhism. In 1688, as the Khalkhas were fighting wars with Russian Cossacks in the north of their territory, the Dzungar chief, Galdan Boshugtu Khan, attacked the Khalkha from the west and invaded their territory. The Khalkha royal families and the first Jebtsundamba Khutuktu crossed the Gobi Desert and sought help from the Qing Empire in return for submission to Qing authority. In 1690, the Dzungars and Qing forces clashed at the Battle of Ulaan Butun in Inner Mongolia, concluded with victory for Galdan.

In 1696, Kangxi personally led three armies, totaling 80,000 in strength, in a campaign against the Dzungars. The western section of the Qing army defeated Galdan's forces at the Battle of Zuunmod, and Galdan died in the following year.

The Dzungars continued to threaten the Qing Empire and invaded Tibet in 1717. In response to the deposition of the Dalai Lama and his replacement with Lha-bzang Khan in 1706, they took control of Lhasa with a 6,000 strong army and removed Lha-bzang from power. They held on to the city for two years and defeated a Qing army in 1718. Lhasa was not retaken by the Qing Empire until 1720.

Economic achievements

The contents of the national treasury during Kangxi's reign were: :1668 (7th year of Kangxi): 14,930,000 taels :1692: 27,385,631 taels :1702-1709: approximately 50,000,000 taels with little variation during this period :1710: 45,880,000 taels :1718: 44,319,033 taels :1720: 39,317,103 taels :1721 (60th year of Kangxi, second last of his reign): 32,622,421 taels

The reasons for the declining trend in the later years of Kangxi's reign were a huge expenditure on military campaigns and an increase in corruption. To fix the problem, Kangxi gave Prince Yong (the future Yongzheng Emperor) advice on how to make the economy more efficient.

Cultural achievements

During his reign, Kangxi ordered the compilation of a dictionary of Chinese characters, which became known as the Kangxi Dictionary. This was seen as an attempt by Kangxi to gain support from the Han Chinese scholar-bureaucrats, as many of them initially refused to serve him and remained loyal to the Ming Dynasty. However, by persuading the scholars to work on the dictionary without asking them to formally serve the Qing imperial court, Kangxi led them to gradually taking on greater responsibilities until they were assuming the duties of state officials.

In 1705, on Kangxi's order, a compilation of Tang poetry, the ''Quantangshi'', was produced.

Kangxi also was interested in Western technology and wanted to import them to China. This was done through Jesuit missionaries, such as Ferdinand Verbiest, whom Kangxi frequently summoned for meetings, or Karel Slavíček, who made the first precise map of Beijing on Kangxi's order.

From 1711 to 1723, Matteo Ripa, an Italian priest sent to China by the Congregation for the Evangelization of Peoples, 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 groom them to become priests and send them back to China as missionaries. This marked the beginning of the Collegio dei Cinesi, sanctioned by Pope Clement XII to help the propagation of Christianity in China. This Chinese Institute was the first school of Sinology in Europe, which would later develop to become the Instituto Orientale and the present day Naples Eastern University.

Kangxi was also the first Chinese emperor to play a western musical instrument. He employed Karel Slavíček as court musician. Slavíček was playing Spinet; later Kangxi would play on it himself. He also invented a Chinese calendar.

Christianity

In the early decades of Kangxi's reign, Jesuits played a large role in the imperial court. With their knowledge of astronomy, they ran the imperial observatory. Jean-François Gerbillon and Thomas Pereira served as translators for the negotiations of the Treaty of Nerchinsk. Kangxi was grateful to the Jesuits for their contributions, the many languages they could interpret, and the innovations they offered his military in gun manufacturing and artillery, the latter of which enabled the Qing Empire to conquer the Kingdom of Tungning.

Kangxi was also fond of the Jesuits' respectful and unobtrusive manner; they spoke the Chinese language well, and wore the silk robes of the elite. In 1692, when Fr. Thomas Pereira requested tolerance for Christianity, Kangxi was willing to oblige, and issued the Edict of Toleration, which recognized Catholicism, barred attacks on their churches, and legalized their missions and the practice of Christianity by the Chinese people.

However, controversy arose over whether Chinese Christians could still take part in traditional Confucian ceremonies and ancestor worship, with the Jesuits arguing for tolerance and the Dominicans taking a hard-line against foreign "idolatry". The Dominican position won the support of Pope Clement XI, who in 1705 sent Charles-Thomas Maillard De Tournon as his representative to Kangxi, to communicate the ban on Chinese rites. On 19 March 1715, Pope Clement XI issued the papal bull ''Ex illa die'', which officially condemned Chinese rites.

Disputed succession

The matter of Kangxi's will is one of the "Four Greatest Mysteries of the Qing Dynasty". To this day, whom Kangxi chose as his successor is still a topic of debate amongst historians: on the face of things, he chose Yinzhen, the fourth prince, who later became the Yongzheng Emperor, and indeed there is strong evidence that this is correct. However many have claimed that Yinzhen forged the will, and that in reality the 14th prince Yinti, had been chosen as the successor.

Kangxi's first spouse, Empress Heseri, gave birth to his second surviving son Yinreng, who at the age of two was named crown prince, a Han Chinese custom, to ensure stability during a time of chaos in the south. Although Kangxi left the education of several of his sons to others, he personally oversaw the upbringing of Yinreng, intending to groom him into a perfect heir. Yinreng was tutored by the mandarin Wang Shan, who remained devoted to him, and spent the later years of his life trying to persuade Kangxi to restore Yinreng as the crown prince.

Yinreng did not prove himself to be worthy of the succession despite his father showing favoritism towards him. He was said to have beaten and killed his subordinates, and was alleged to have had sexual relations with one of his father's concubines, which was deemed as incest and a capital offence. Yinreng also purchased young children from Jiangsu to satisfy his pedophiliac pleasure. In addition, Yinreng's supporters, led by Songgotu, gradually formed a "Crown Prince Party" (太子黨), that aimed to help Yinreng get the throne as soon as possible, even if it meant using unlawful methods.

Over the years, Kangxi kept constant watch over Yinreng and became aware of his son's many flaws, while their relationship gradually deteriorated. In 1707, Kangxi decided that he could no longer tolerate Yinreng's behavior, which he partially mentioned in the imperial edict as "too embarrassing to be spoken of", and decided to strip Yinreng off his position as crown prince. Kangxi placed his oldest surviving son, Yinshi, in charge of overseeing Yinreng's house arrest. However, Yinshi attempted to sabotage Yinreng numerous times and requested for his father to order Yinreng's execution. Kangxi was enraged and stripped Yinshi off his titles. Kangxi advised his subjects to stop debating about the succession issue, and despite attempts to reduce rumours and speculation as to who the new crown prince might be, the imperial court's daily activities were disrupted. Apart from that, Yinshi's actions also caused Kangxi to suspect that Yinreng might have been framed, hence Kangxi restored Yinreng as crown prince in 1709, with the support of the 4th and 13th princes, and on the excuse that Yinreng had previously acted under the influence of mental illness.

In 1712, during Kangxi's last inspection tour to the south, Yinreng, who was put in charge of state affairs during his father's absence, tried to vie for power again with his supporters. He allowed an attempt at forcing Kangxi to abdicate when his father returned to Beijing. However, Kangxi received news of the planned coup d'etat, and was so angry that he deposed Yinreng and placed him under house arrest again. After the incident, Kangxi announced that he would not appoint any of his sons as crown prince for the remainder of his reign. He stated that he would place his Imperial Valedictory Will inside a box in the Palace of Heavenly Purity, which will only be opened after his death.

Death and succession

Following the deposition of the crown prince, Kangxi implemented groundbreaking changes in the political landscape. The 13th prince, Yinxiang, was placed under house arrest as well for cooperating with Yinreng. The eighth prince Yinsi was stripped off all his titles and only had them restored years later. The 14th prince Yinti, whom many considered to be the most likely candidate to succeed Kangxi, was sent on a military campaign during the political conflict. Yinsi, along with the ninth and tenth princes, Yintang and Yin'e, pledged their support to Yinti.

In the evening of 20 December 1722 before his death, Kangxi called seven of his sons to assemble at his bedside. They were the third, fourth, eight, ninth, tenth, 16th and 17th princes. After Kangxi died, Longkodo announced that Kangxi had selected the fourth prince, Yinzhen, as the new emperor. Yinzhen ascended to the throne and became known as the Yongzheng Emperor. Kangxi was entombed at the Eastern Tombs in Zunhua, Hebei.

Personality and achievements

Kangxi was the great consolidator of the Qing Dynasty. The transition from the Ming Dynasty to the Qing was a cataclysm whose central event was the fall of the capital Beijing to the invading Manchus in 1644, and the installation of the five-year-old Shunzhi Emperor on their throne. By 1661, when Shunzhi died and was succeeded by Kangxi, the Qing conquest was almost complete and the leading Manchus were already adopting Chinese ways including Confucian ideology. Kangxi completed the conquest, suppressed all significant military threats and revived the ancient central government system with important modifications.

Kangxi was an inveterate workaholic, rising early and retiring late, reading and responding to numerous memorials every day, conferring with his councillors and giving audiences – and this was in normal times; in wartime, he might be reading memorials from the warfront until after midnight or even, as with the Dzungar conflict, away on campaign in person.

Kangxi devised a system of communication that circumvented the scholar-bureaucrats, who had a tendency to usurp the power of the emperor. This Palace Memorial System involved the transfer of secret messages between him and trusted officials in the provinces, where the messages were contained in locked boxes that only he and the official had access to. This started as a system for receiving uncensored extreme-weather reports, which the emperor regarded as divine comments on his rule. However, it soon evolved into a general-purpose secret "news channel". Out of this emerged a Grand Council, which dealt with extraordinary, especially military, events. The council was chaired by the emperor and manned by his more elevated Han Chinese household staff. From this council, the mandarin civil servants were excluded – they were left only with routine administration.

Kangxi managed to seduce the Confucian intelligentsia into co-operating with the Qing government, despite their deep reservations about Manchu rule, by encouraging them to sit the traditional civil service examinations, become mandarins and subsequently to compose lavishly-conceived works of literature such the History of Ming, the Kangxi Dictionary, a phrase-dictionary, a vast encyclopedia and an even vaster compilation of Chinese literature. On a personal level, Kangxi was a cultivated man, steeped in Confucian learning.

In the one military campaign in which he actively participated, against the Dzungar Mongols, Kangxi showed himself an effective military commander. According to Finer, Kangxi's own written reflections allow one to experience "how intimate and caring was his communion with the rank-and-file, how discriminating and yet masterful his relationship with his generals".

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, Kangxi was able first to make tax remissions, then in 1712 to freeze the land tax and corvée altogether, without embarrassing the state treasury.

Family

Father: Shunzhi Emperor

Mother: Tunggiya, Empress Kang Zhang (1640–1663). Her family was of Jurchen origin but had lived among the Chinese for generations. It had a Chinese family name, Tong (), but converted to the Manchu clan name Tongiya later. She was instated as the Empress Dowager Cihe () in 1661 when Kangxi became emperor. She is known posthumously as Empress Xiaokangzhang (; Manchu: Hiyoošungga Nesuken Eldembuhe Hūwanghu).

Consorts

The total number is approximately 64. #Empress Xiaochengren (died 1674) from the Heseri clan – married in 1665. #Empress Xiaozhaoren (Manchu: Hiyoošungga Genggiyen Gosin Hūwanghu) from the Niohuru clan. #Empress Xiaoyiren (Manchu: Hiyoošungga Fujurangga Gosin Hūwanghu) from the Tunggiya clan. #Empress Xiaogongren (Manchu: Hiyoošungga Gungnecuke Gosin Hūwanghu) from the Wuya clan. #Imperial Noble Consort Que Hui (1668–1743) from the Tunggiya clan, Empress Xiaoyiren's younger sister. #Imperial Noble Consort Dun Yi (1683–1768) from the Guwalgiya clan #Honored Imperial Noble Consort Jing Min (died 1699) from the Janggiya clan #Noble Consort Wen Xi (died 1695) from the Niuhuru clan, Empress Xiaozhaoren's younger sister. #Consort Shun Yi Mi (1668–1744) from the Wang clan was Han Chinese from origin. #Consort Chun Yu Qin (died 1754) from the Han Chinese Chen clan. #Consort Rong (died 1727) from the Magiya clan. #Consort Yi (died 1733) from the Gobulo clan. #Consort Hui (died 1732) from the Nala clan. #Consort Liang (died 1711) from the Wei clan. #Consort Cheng (died 1740） from the Daigiya clan. #Consort Xuan (died 1736) from the Mongol Borjigit clan. #Consort Ding (1661–1757) from the Wanliuha clan. #Consort Ping (died 1696) from the Heseri clan, Empress Xiaochengren's younger sister. #Consort Hui (died 1670) from the Borjigit clan.

Sons

Having the longest reign in Chinese history, Kangxi also has the most children of all Qing emperors. He had officially 24 sons and 12 daughters. The actual number is higher, as most of his children died from illness.

5 November 1667 Chenghu承祜 Chengqing承慶 Sayinchahun賽音察渾 Yinti (1672-1735) Changhua長華 Yinreng胤礽 Changsheng長生 Wanpu萬黼 Yinzhi胤祉 Yongzheng Emperor Yinzan胤禶 Yinqi胤祺 Yinzuo胤祚 Yinyou胤祐 Yinsi, Prince Lian Yinju胤䄔 Yintang胤禟 Yin’e胤䄉 Yinzi胤禌 Yintao胤祹 Yinxiang, 1st Prince Yi [[Yinti, Prince Xun Yinji胤禨 Yinwu胤禑 Yinlu, Prince ZhuangYinli, Prince Guo Yinxie胤祄 Yinji胤禝 Yinyi胤禕 Yinxi, Prince Shen Yinhu胤祜 Yinqi胤祁 Yinmi, Prince Xian Yinyuan胤禐

Number1 !! Name2 !! Born !! Died !! Mother !! Notes
	Chengrui承瑞	|	10 July 1670	Consort Rong	Died young
	|	4 January 1670	3 March 1672	Heseri, Empress Cheng Ren>Empress Xiao Cheng Ren	Died young
	|	21 March 1670	26 May 1671	Consort Hui	Died young
	|	24 January 1672	6 March 1674	Consort Rong	Died young
1	Yinti胤禔 ||	12 March 1672	7 January 1735	Consort Hui	Stripped of his title in 1708;Buried with honors due a ''Qing Dynasty nobility>Beizi''
	|	11 May 1674	12 May 1674	Consort Rong	Died young
2	|	6 June 1674	27 January 1725	Heseri, Empress Cheng Ren>Empress Xiao Cheng Ren	Original name Baocheng (保成);Created Crown Prince in 1675;Stripped of his position in 1708;Re-created Crown Prince in 1709;Stripped of his position in 1712;Posthumously created Prince Li of the First Rank
	|	12 August 1675	27 April 1677	Consort Rong	Died young
	|	4 December 1675	11 March 1679	Imperial Concubine Tong	Died young
3	|	23 March 1674	10 July 1732	Imperial Consort Rong	Prince Cheng of the Second Rank (誠郡王) in 1698;Demoted to a ''Qing Dynasty nobility>Beizi'' in 1730;Original title posthumously restored;Granted the posthumous name Yin (隱)
4	Yinzhen胤禛 ||	13 December 1678	8 October 1735	Uya, Empress Gong Ren>Empress Xiao Gong Ren	Created Prince Yong of the First Rank (雍親王) in 1709;Ascended the throne as the Yongzheng Emperor on 27 December 1722
	|	10 April 1679	30 April 1680	Imperial Concubine Tong	Died young
5	|	5 January 1680	10 July 1732	Consort Yi	Created Prince Heng of the First Rank (恆親王) in 1698;Granted the posthumous name Wen (溫)
6	|	5 March 1680	15 June 1685	Uya, Empress Gong Ren>Empress Xiao Gong Ren	Died young
7	|	19 August 1680	18 May 1730	Consort Cheng	Qing Dynasty nobility>Beile in 1698;Elevated to Prince Chun of the Second Rank (淳郡王) in 1709;Elevated further to Prince Chun of the First Rank (淳親王) in May 1723;Granted the posthumous name Du (度)
8	Yinsi胤禩 ||	29 March 1681	5 October 1726	Consort Liang	Created Prince Lian of the First Rank (廉親王) in 1723;Stripped of his title and expelled from the imperial house in 1726;Forced to rename himself Akina (阿其那) ("pig")
	|	13 September 1683	17 July 1684	Honored Lady Gorolo	Died young
9	|	17 October 1683	22 September 1726	Consort Yi	Qing Dynasty nobility>Beizi'' in 1709;Stripped of his title and expelled from the imperial house in 1725;Forced to rename himself Sesihei (塞思黑) (“dog)
10	|	28 November 1683	18 October 1741	Noble Consort Wen Xi	Created Prince Dun of the Second Rank (敦郡王) in 1709;Stripped of his title in 1724;Granted the title “Duke Who Assists the State" (輔國公) in 1737
11	|	8 June 1685	22 August 1696	Consort Yi	Died young
12	|	8 June 1685	2 September 1763	Consort Ding	Created Prince Lü of the First Rank (履親王) in 1709;Granted theposthumous name Yi (懿)
13	Yinxiang胤祥 ||	16 November 1686	18 June 1730	Imperial Noble Consort Jing Min	Created Prince Yi of the First Rank (怡親王) in 1722;Was one of the Qing Dynasty
14	Yinti胤禵 ||	16 January 1688	13 January 1756	Uya, Empress Gong Ren>Empress Xiao Gong Ren	Born Yinzhen (胤禎);Created Prince Xun of the Second Rank (恂郡王) in 1723;Granted the posthumous name Qin (勤)
	|	23 February 1691	30 March 1691	Consort Ping	Died young
15	|	24 December 1693	8 March 1731	Consort Shun Yi Mi	Created Prince Yu of the Second Rank (愉郡王) in 1726;Granted the posthumous name Ke (恪)
16	Yinlu胤祿 ||	28 July 1695	20 March 1767	Consort Shun Yi Mi	Adopted by Boguoduo, Prince Zhuang;Inherited the title Prince Zhuang of the First Rank (莊親王) in 1723;Granted the posthumous name Ke (恪)
17	Yinli胤禮 ||	24 March 1697	21 March 1738	Consort Chun Yu Qin	Created Prince Guo of the Second Rank (果郡王) in 1723;Granted the posthumous name Yi (毅)
18	|	15 May 1701	17 October 1708	Consort Shun Yi Mi	Died at the Chengde Mountain Resort from the mumps
19	|	25 October 1702	28 March 1704	Imperial Concubine Xiang	Died young
20	|	1 September 1706	30 June 1755	Imperial Concubine Xiang	''Qing Dynasty nobility>Beile'' (貝勒) in 1726
21	Yinxi胤禧 ||	27 February 1711	26 June 1758	Imperial Concubine Xi	Created Prince Shen of the Second Rank (慎郡王) in December 1735
22	|	10 January 1712	12 February 1744	Imperial Concubine Jin	''Qing Dynasty nobility>Beile'' in 1730;Granted the posthumous name Gongqin (恭勤)
23	|	14 January 1714	31 August 1785	Imperial Concubine Jing	''Qing Dynasty nobility>Beile'' in 1730;Granted the posthumous name Cheng (誠)
24	Yinmi胤祕 ||	5 July 1716	3 December 1773	Imperial Concubine Mu	Created Prince Xian of the First Rank (諴親王) in 1733;Granted the posthumous name Ke (恪)
	|	2 March 1718	2/3 March 1718	Honored Lady Chen	Died soon after birth

Notes: (1) The order by which the princes were referred to and recorded on official documents were dictated by the number they were assigned by the order of birth. This order was unofficial until 1677, when Kangxi decreed that all of his male descendants must adhere to a "generation code" as their middle character (see Chinese name). As a result of the new system, the former order was abolished, with Yinzhi becoming the First Prince, thus the current numerical order. (2) All of Kangxi's sons changed their names upon Yongzheng's accession in 1722 by modifying the first character from "胤" (yin) to "允" (yun) to avoid the nominal taboo of the emperor. Yinxiang was posthumously allowed to change his name back to Yinxiang. Yongzheng forced his two brothers to rename themselves, but his successor restored their names. There have been many studies on their meanings.

Daughters

23 December 1668 unnamed State Princess Rongxian固倫榮憲公主 unnamed Princess Duanjing of the Second Rank和碩端靜公主 State Princess Kejing固倫恪靖公主 unnamed unnamed State Princess Wenxian固倫溫憲公主 State Princess Chunque固倫純愨公主 unnamed unnamed Princess Wenke of the Second Rank和碩溫恪公主 Princess Quejing of the Second Rank和碩愨靖公主 Princess Dunke of the Second Rank和碩敦恪公主 unnamed unnamed unnamed unnamed unnamed

Number !! Title !! Born !! Died !! Married !! Spouse !! Issue !! Mother
1	unnamed	|	November 1671				Ordinary Consort Zhang
2	|	17 April 1671	8 January 1674				Ordinary Consort Dong
3	|	20 June 1673	29 May 1728	July 1691	Baarin Right Banner>Baarin博爾濟吉特烏爾袞		Consort Rong
4	|	16 March 1674	1678				Ordinary Consort Zhang
5	|	9 June 1674	April 1710	November or December 1692	Ulanghan Garzang烏梁罕噶爾臧		Honored Lady Bu
6	|	4 July 1679	1735	1697	Borjigit Dunduobudorji, Prince of the Khalkha Mongols		Honored Lady Gorolo
7	|	5 July 1682	September 1682				Uya, Empress Gong Ren>Empress Xiao Gong Ren
8	|	13 July 1683	late July or August 1683				Tunggiya, Empress Yi Ren>Empress Xiao Yi Ren
9	|	10 November 1683	August or September 1702	October or November 1700	Tunggiya Shun’anyan佟佳舜安顏		Uya, Empress Gong Ren>Empress Xiao Gong Ren
10	|	20 March 1685	1710	1706	Borjigit Celeng博爾濟吉特策棱	Borjigit Chenggunzhabu博爾濟吉特成袞札布	Imperial Concubine Tong
11	|	24 October 1685	June or July 1686				Noble Consort Wen Xi
12	|	14 June 1686	late February or March 1697				Uya, Empress Gong Ren>Empress Xiao Gong Ren
13	|	1 January 1688	July or August 1709	1706	Borjigit Cangjin博爾濟吉特倉津		Imperial Noble Consort Jing Min
14	|	16 January 1690	1736	1706	Sun Chengyun, Baron of the First Rank一等男孫承運		Honored Lady Yuan
15	|	3 February 1691	January 1710	January or February 1709	‘’Taiji’’ Borjigit Dorji博爾濟吉特台吉多爾濟		Imperial Noble Consort Jing Min
16	|	27 November 1695	October or November 1707				Ordinary Consort Wang
17	|	12 January 1699	December 1700				Ordinary Consort Liu
18	|	17 November 1701					Imperial Noble Consort Dun Yi
19	|	30 March 1703	late February or March 1705				Imperial Concubine Xiang
20	|	20 November 1708	January or early February 1709				Ordinary Consort Niuhuru

Popular culture

Fiction

''Kangxi Dadi'' (康熙大帝; literally: ''The Great Kangxi Emperor''): a historical fiction novel by Er Yuehe, featuring a romanticized version of Kangxi's biography

''The Deer and the Cauldron'' (鹿鼎記): a wuxia novel by Louis Cha. In the story, by coincidence, Kangxi and the protagonist, Wei Xiaobao, become close friends since childhood. Wei helps the emperor consolidate power and strengthen his rule over the empire, playing an important role in affecting how the historical events during Kangxi's reign unfold.

''Qijian Xia Tianshan'' (七劍下天山; literally: ''Seven Swords Descend from Mount Heaven''): a wuxia novel by Liang Yusheng. In the story, Kangxi discovers that his father, the Shunzhi Emperor, has become a monk in a monastery on Mount Wutai. He orders a close aide to kill his father in order to consolidate power, and attempts to erase evidence of the murder later.

Film and television

''Kangxi Dynasty'' (康熙王朝): a 2001 television series adaption of the above mentioned novel by Er Yuehe. Chen Daoming starred as Kangxi.

''Secret History of Kangxi'' (康熙秘史): fourth installment in a series of four television dramas about the early history of the Qing Dynasty. Xia Yu starred as Kangxi.

''Kangxi Weifu Sifang Ji'' (康熙微服私訪記; literally: ''Kangxi's Inspection Tours in Civilian Attire''): a long-running television drama about Kangxi's inspection tours. During some of his tours, Kangxi dressed like an ordinary civilian to conceal his identity so that he can blend in with the commoners and understand their daily lives better. Zhang Guoli starred as Kangxi.

''The Life and Times of a Sentinel'' (紫禁驚雷): TVB series about Kangxi's brother's attempt to overthrow him.

Video games

''Age of Empires III: The Asian Dynasties'': Kangxi is featured as the Chinese leader in this real-time strategy game.

Notes

References

(1997). ''The History of Government from the Earliest Times''. ISBN 0-19-822904-6 (three-volume set, hardback)

External links

Sources

(1974). ''Emperor of China: Self-Portrait of K'ang-hsi'', Jonathan Cape. ISBN 0224009400

Category:1654 births Category:1722 deaths Category:Qing Dynasty emperors Category:People from Beijing Category:Child rulers from Asia Category:18th-century Chinese monarchs Category:17th-century Chinese monarchs

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