As the last dynasty in the history of our country, the existence of the Qing Dynasty has always been controversial. Because of its closed-door policy and various policies of obscuring the people, our country has been humiliated by foreign powers in modern history.
Take the talented and ambitious Kangxi Emperor of the Qing Dynasty as an example. He made great contributions to the Qing Dynasty and the development of the Chinese nation, but he could not conceal his narrow thoughts. From a certain perspective, our country began to decline in the Kangxi dynasty.
The young emperor Xuanye
Aixinjueluo.XuanyeAs the most prestigious monarch in the Qing Dynasty, he was born in 1654 as the third son of Aixinjueluo Fulin, and his mother was Shunzhi's Tong Guifei.
In the early Qing Dynasty, the Tong family could be said to dominate the entire Qing Dynasty. The Tong family had become steadfast comrades-in-arms of Aisin Gioro before the Manchus entered the customs.
Therefore, even if Shunzhi was dissatisfied with Concubine Tong, he could only hold his nose and admit that it was an established fact that Xuan Ye was the eldest son. Xuanye as a child showed the value of training, so Fulin, who was indifferent to Xuanye, began to change his mind and train him as a future king.
However, what really made Fulin determined to train Xuan Ye as his heir was the smallpox crisis that broke out in the palace. When smallpox breaks out in the palace, everyone is at risk. Many princes and princesses are infected. Once infected, they are basically sentenced to death.
Xuan Ye was also unfortunately infected with smallpox. What Shunzhi didn't expect was that his son miraculously escaped and survived the smallpox infection.
With the joint efforts of Fulin and Empress Dowager Xiaozhuang, the foundation of Xuan Ye, who was only 6 years old, was carved out and he was basically determined to be the next generation heir to the dynasty. Later, an epidemic took away Shunzhi's favorite concubine E Guifei. Fulin fell ill with lovesickness and followed his beloved concubine.
Only an eight-year-old Xuanye and his old mother, the Queen Mother Xiaozhuang, were left in the world. Under the auspices of the Queen Mother Xiaozhuang, the 8-year-old Xuanye succeeded to the throne and became the master of the world, which is the Kangxi we are familiar with.
Emperor Kangxi’s Talents and Strategy
As a monarch, Kangxi had courage and ruthless methods that were not inferior to those of his age. When he came to the throne, Obai was rampant and lawless, and he did not take him as a little boy seriously.
Kangxi, who sensed Obei's disobedience, secretly trained a wave of Kubu and relied on his own intelligence to defeat Oboi in one fell swoop, telling the world who the master was.
After that, Kangxi pacified San Francisco as a young man and conquered Galdan in the middle age. It can be said that these three major achievements made Kangxi worthy of the title of king in his life. The land of China also developed in the hands of Kangxi. The door to the prosperous age of Kangxi and Qianlong was opened by Kangxi.
In addition to being a powerful figure in the political arena, Kangxi was also a versatile and romantic king. He made great use of the traditional arts in our country's history. He was proficient in all kinds of music, chess, calligraphy and painting, and also had the ability to explore the truth.
It is worth mentioning that for Kangxi, art was just a side dish to regulate his emotions. What really made him immersed in it was mathematics. At that time, many foreign missionaries came to the land of China to exchange ideas about the country.
Kangxi was different from other emperors in that he showed unparalleled enthusiasm for these missionaries. Almost every missionary who came to China was personally summoned by Emperor Kangxi, who also eagerly asked them about the situation in Western countries.
Basically every missionary who came to China had stayed in the splendid Forbidden City , and had face-to-face discussions with the supreme ruler of the Qing Dynasty on Western mathematics and other issues. Regarding mathematics, Kangxi was said to have learned ancient and modern times, both at home and abroad.
To this day, many of our mathematical ideas and mathematical solution methods were pioneered by Kangxi at that time. This shows Kangxi's attitude towards the foreign high-quality culture at that time. After learning about the situation in Western countries, he was always able to make decisions that were beneficial to maintaining his rule.
Don’t let the Han and Mongolians learn
It is reported that there is such a thing hidden in the palace of Kangxi. This is an old-fashioned computer, that is, a hand-cranked computer. It seems relatively backward now but it was the most advanced technological product at the time.
The first hand-cranked computer in history came out in 1642 AD. The reason why this computer appeared in Kangxi's personal collection was because of Kangxi's personal preference.
Extremely obsessed with mathematics, he discussed with a French missionary, hoping that he could bring a hand-cranked computer to him. The missionary did not refuse and spent a lot of effort to bring the computer to Kangxi.
Kangxi was very happy after seeing the computer he had longed for, and even taught his crown prince Yinreng how to use the calculator. However, while teaching Yinreng, Kangxi said this sentence - "Don't let Han Meng learn it."
What do you mean by this? The meaning is very clear, telling Yin Reng that as long as we Manchus can use such good things ourselves, don't let the Han and Mongolians learn to use them. These six short words can be said to be heart-wrenching.
To put it simply, only the Jurchens (Manchus) alone master such an advanced science and technology can suppress the Mongols and Han people ideologically and culturally, and in this way can they maintain the country built by the Manchus.
These six words not only exposed Kangxi’s narrow view of the nation, but also exposed to us the reasons why the subsequent Qing Dynasty declined.
Just imagine, Emperor Kangxi was the leader of the Qing Dynasty and accounted for more than 80% of the world's people. The Han and Mongolian people did not regard them as their own people. They looked at other ethnic groups with narrow nationalist glasses. How could it be possible to develop the Chinese nation?
To put it in detail, this is Kangxi's power. In order to maintain the Qing Dynasty country, he committed despicable and ignorant acts. Only by making the people ignorant can long-term peace and order be maintained. From the perspective of the ruler, there is nothing wrong.
However, the Age of Discovery had already developed during the Qing Dynasty. From a national perspective, how could Kangxi prevent the Qing Dynasty from rotting by mixing this kind of cancerous mentality with the idea of governing the country and the people.
It can be said that it was this guiding ideology that led to the tragic ending of the Qing Dynasty. After entering modern times, it became more and more backward and the economic gap with the Western powers became wider and wider. Finally, it became a country that could be bullied by everyone. The Qing Dynasty was also burned to ashes in the anger of people and disappeared in the long river of history.
Why is it said today that the Qing Dynasty is the sinner of the nation? Because it not only widened the gap between China and the world because of its isolation, but also caused a nation to be bullied because of its obscurantist policies. What do you think about this?
