In the ninth year of Emperor Kangxi’s reign, the highly ranked court scholar Sun Qizhan, who served as an attendant and secretary beside the Emperor, recorded some character traits he had observed about Emperor Kangxi.
Emperor Kangxi’s character traits
Modest and diligent, respects Heaven, and loves the people
Emperor Kangxi pondered: “How can I surpass the noble merits of the founding kings of the Three Dynasties: Xia, Shang, and Zhou?”
Sun Qizhan records that Emperor Kangxi was diligent in learning and that it was rare to find such a ruler in ancient or modern times. The Emperor’s seat was stacked with a wide variety of books and subjects, among which were the works on the principles of the heart. The Five Classics and the Four Books were the Emperor’s favorites.
Emperor Kangxi was strict with himself, and there was a couplet in the study, written by the Emperor himself: “Love others with the heart that loves yourself, and blame yourself with the heart of responsibility for others,” and the horizontal drape said “Respect Heaven.”
‘Wanshou Jie’ (Longevity Festival), the blessing of the world, is a blessing for me
Emperor Kangxi ascended the throne for a long time; “sixty years of imperial rule” is rare in the world, even today. Officials in the imperial court requested formal permission to allow the nation to congratulate the Emperor, but he rejected all such requests repeatedly.
According to the Manuscript of the Qing History, on the second day of the third month in the 60th year of Kangxi’s reign, the ministers asked if they could honor the “Wanshou Jie” for the Emperor’s birthday, but Emperor Kangxi still would not allow it. He responded: “The family law of this dynasty is to care for the people.” He said there are still wars on the frontier, and soldiers are regularly exposed to danger on the battlefield. He continued: “I have no time to think about this, so why congratulate me?”
Emperor Kangxi believed that true blessings and grace belonged to the people of the world
Emperor Kangxi saw countless people praying for him everywhere en route. He said he felt ashamed: “All countries are safe, that is, the peace for me, the blessing of the world, that is the blessing for me. The objects of blessing and longevity should be for the people in the world.”
On the day of the “Wanshou Jie,” Emperor Kangxi proclaimed to spread grace: Bless the elderly, recommend seclusion, show filial piety, exempt arrears of debts, and the government will protect the widows, lonely, poor, and miserable people, and those on death row waiting to be beheaded will be pardoned for their crimes.
According to the second volume of the New Sayings of the Xi Dynasty, once, during the southern tour of Emperor Kangxi, Wang Guochang, the governor of Shandong, offered seafood and a live deer. The guards sent a decree saying that there was no need for seafood, and Emperor Kangxi would not eat the imperial meal with the meat of the animal specially slaughtered for the feast, so the deer was returned to the governor.
Remember the merits and virtues of the deceased
Emperor Kangxi was busy, but he often remembered and honored the deceased’s merits and cared for their families. Xiong Cilu, a scholar at the Imperial Academy, was known to be talented and prudent in his official duties.
He served in the Ministry of Rites and Officials and was promoted to scholar of the Academy of Wuyingdian. Xiong Cilu was dismissed from office and returned home for more than 10 years, but he was later recalled and reinstated by Emperor Kangxi.
After Xiong Cilu’s death, the Emperor regularly missed him. In the 51st year of his reign, he issued a proclamation: “I heard that Xiong Cilu’s sons have grown up, and they can be hired in Beijing.” The two sons were too young then, and Emperor Kangxi knew their family was poor, so he ordered Jiangning Weaving to help them.
In the 10th month of the 60th year of his reign, Kangxi issued another edict: “Xiong Cilu, a great scholar, has served as an upright official and has extensive knowledge. I will never forget it. I regularly ordered Zhou to sympathize and help his family. Now, his second son has come to Beijing. Judging from his temperament, he can still learn; it is appropriate to cultivate him. Let the nine ministers know about it.”
At that time, Xiong Cilu had been dead for 12 years. Emperor Kangxi often recalled his merits and “never forgot it in his heart.” He continued to take care of Xiong Cilu’s family.
Governs the country with integrity, honesty, and respect
The amount of rice harvested is a matter of great importance for people’s livelihood.
Emperor Kangxi paid great attention to his courtiers’ talents and good deeds and whether his administration was on the right path. He once praised Zhang Boxing as “the most upright official in the world.” However, Zhang Boxing made a wrong policy decision when he was governor, and Emperor Kangxi pointed out the root cause of his mistake so that other officials could learn from it.
According to the Sacred Scriptures of Emperor Shengzuren, Volume 46, when the courtier Zhang Boxing was patrolling Jiangsu, he stipulated that anyone who piled up rice and millet in the homes of the rich should sell it cheaply; otherwise, they would be punished. Emperor Kangxi disapproved of this approach.
The Emperor’s policy: ‘If you work hard, trade fairly, and exploit no one, the rewards are yours’
“While this approach may make the poor feel grateful for a while, it is not the right way to go, and it is only a disguise for the rise in food prices, thus covering up his inability to govern. It is a good thing that there are many wealthy families in the region, and their wealth comes from the accumulation of trade and transactions, not from bribery and greedy looting in their positions of office, so why should they be exploited to please the poor?
“Moreover, the ordinary people are ignorant and greedy. Recently, I heard that some peasants in Shaanxi Province had just started farming, so they coerced the prefectures and counties to report the food shortage to the government to obtain compensation and relief.
“In addition, famine relief often leads to incidents if local officials do not carry it out with sincere intentions. When hungry and cold people are gathered in one township, hooliganism will inevitably occur in the fight for possession. During the Ming Dynasty, there were raids by bandits, so the famine relief must be carried out carefully.
“In the Book of Shang, it is said: ‘The wise have four eyes, and the master has four smarts.’ I know the world’s affairs by heart and know these issues very well, but I will not be angry and punished as soon as I learn about it. In short, governing the country is based on integrity and sincerity, which can handle things impartially and abandon selfishness with sincerity and respect. I read all kinds of books every day and have seen these truths.”
Wise lessons for the ages
The principles of the above mandate of Emperor Kangxi are insightful and to the point: It is not righteous to be harsh on the wealth of those who worked diligently and fairly for their rewards and punish the “rich” to please the poor. Emperor Kangxi emphasized that the governance of state affairs should be based on “integrity, sincerity, and respect” and that you should treat the people as you would treat yourself.
The communist practice of ripping off the successful or forcefully taking the produce from farmers, or taking their products below cost, the “equalization of wealth and poverty,” and the constant interference in the market of buying and selling, in the long run, will only make the problem of poverty accumulate. Moreover, exploiting the usual interests of one group of people to please another is a form of favoritism and exploitation. Here, we see the wisdom of Emperor Kangxi’s insight into human nature and the spirit of justice and sincerity.
Emperor Kangxi’s love for the people
So how did Emperor Kangxi take the people’s welfare to heart? Regarding the issue of food and people’s livelihood, there is a record of Kangxi selecting and breeding suitable rice varieties to produce abundant harvests to feed the population. He used a scientific method of selection and production; Jixia Gewu Bian, which belongs to natural science, was written by Emperor Kangxi.
There are several areas of paddy fields in Fengze Garden, and rice harvesting begins in September every year. One day in the sixth month of a particular year, Emperor Kangxi was touring Fengze Garden when the rice plant had only grown ears and suddenly saw that there was a rice plant that was much taller than the others, and the rice ears were already firm and full. So the Emperor collected these rice seeds and planted them the following year to verify the quality further. After verification in the following year, it was confirmed that it was indeed an early maturing species.
A bumper harvest
This rice variety could produce a double crop in one year. Emperor Kangxi awarded this seed of imperial rice to the governors of Jiang and Zhejiang. He asked them to promote the cultivation of this kind of good rice by the people, which could increase the harvest yearly. Later, it was promoted to Jiangxi, Anhui, and other places, which obtained bumper harvests. Every time Emperor Kangxi dined, he wished to enjoy this kind of grain with people worldwide.
Emperor Kangxi’s sincere blessing “Bless the world, that is, I am the one who is blessed” was fully embodied.
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