Chinese History - Emperor Kang
Emperor K'ang-hsi ruled China from 1661 to 1722 and his reign is captured by Jonathan D. Spence's book Emperor of China. The different chapters of the book deal with certain aspects of the Emperors life. Aspects that the history books to normally deal with. The information in Spence's book is based on Emperor K'ang-hsi's correspondence, his own writings. This writing maybe biased towards himself, but no other piece of information could provide insight into his mind. The book is divided into six parts; In motion, Ruling, Thinking, Growing Old, Sons, Valedictory. The book follows Emperor K'ang-hsi's life as Emperor in chronological order.In the first part, "In Motion," the main emphasis was on Emperor K'ang-hsi travels though his kingdom. He wrote a letter to Ku Wen-hsing stating that he had traveled 1000's of miles in each direction. He had traveled to the provinces of Shansi and Shensi in the west, to the provinces of Manchuria and Ula in the east, north across the Gobi to the Kerulean River and south to the Yangtze River. On his travels, Emperor K'ang-hsi, liked to collect and compare different plats, animals, birds that he came across. He loved to
This political theme is the basis for the chapter named "Sons. Ruling to Emperor K'ang-hsi meant he had compete control for his economical and educational structure. The authors' facts were based on the thousands of imperial documents that came from the emperor. Yet Spence did not address the issue of foreign policies that K'ang-hsi made during his reign. He also felt that he was responsible for the life and death of subjects. The provinces were divided into six province blocks, controlled by s governor-general. He tried to prolong his life with an awareness into his diet, medicine and memory. In the end, K'ang-hsi knew that death was enviable, but he tried to live forever though his children. " In this chapter Spence describes the Emperor's protective nature towards his sons. The third part of the book is "Thinking," that deals with Emperor K'ang-hsi perspective on his life and of his subjects. Emperor K'ang-hsi hunting practices were not just meant for joy and exercise, it was also an exercise in military preparedness. Spence's book goes into greater detail about Emperor K'ang-hsi life then any history book could have. The most interesting chapter in my option was the chapter "Sons. This son was to be raised as the heir to the throne, he received the most care and love that the Emperor could give. When he suspected that his son Yin-jeng has indulging in homosexual activities, K'ang-hsi had three cooks and the serving boys put to death.
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