Císař Kchang-si
(1654 - 1722)
Self-named Xuan-jie, he was from the Manchu Qing dynasty, which ruled China from 1644. He ascended the imperial throne at the age of eight and took independent rule in 1667. He carried out extensive reforms of the civil service, concentrating particularly on strengthening imperial power. He thus completed the unification of China with Manchuria. He encouraged the establishment of manufactories, especially for the production of porcelain, which began to be exported to Europe and massively imitated there. In turn, arms were mainly sent to China to rearm the army.
In 1692, the emperor issued the so-called toleration edict, which allowed Christianity in the country and invited missionaries to the country. He especially valued the Jesuits, for whom he admired a sense of discipline and devotion, qualities close to the official Chinese ideology, Confucianism. With the help of the Jesuits, he sought to subjugate the Chinese, who still regarded his dynasty as foreign invaders. Kangxi also introduced so-called literary censorship, which was intended to suppress the original spirit of Chinese culture and break the resistance to Manchu rule. At the same time, he allowed Jesuits to publish encyclopedias and study ancient Chinese culture. He also entrusted them with equipping the Imperial Observatory with new instruments from the West. However, disputes arose between the various missionary orders over the rites, which eventually led to the Yongzheng Emperor's successor, Emperor Yongzheng, revoking this tolerant edict in 1724 after the death of Emperor Guangxi.
(1654 - 1722)
Self-named Xuan-jie, he was from the Manchu Qing dynasty, which ruled China from 1644. He ascended the imperial throne at the age of eight and took independent rule in 1667. He carried out extensive reforms of the civil service, concentrating particularly on strengthening imperial power. He thus completed the unification of China with Manchuria. He encouraged the establishment of manufactories, especially for the production of porcelain, which began to be exported to Europe and massively imitated there. In turn, arms were mainly sent to China to rearm the army.
In 1692, the emperor issued the so-called toleration edict, which allowed Christianity in the country and invited missionaries to the country. He especially valued the Jesuits, for whom he admired a sense of discipline and devotion, qualities close to the official Chinese ideology, Confucianism. With the help of the Jesuits, he sought to subjugate the Chinese, who still regarded his dynasty as foreign invaders. Kangxi also introduced so-called literary censorship, which was intended to suppress the original spirit of Chinese culture and break the resistance to Manchu rule. At the same time, he allowed Jesuits to publish encyclopedias and study ancient Chinese culture. He also entrusted them with equipping the Imperial Observatory with new instruments from the West. However, disputes arose between the various missionary orders over the rites, which eventually led to the Yongzheng Emperor's successor, Emperor Yongzheng, revoking this tolerant edict in 1724 after the death of Emperor Guangxi.