A FINE CHARACTER. 639 frontiers." The successive deaths of Kanghi and Peter left no opportunity of retrieving the ground thus lost, and the question of some definite arrangement either for trade or diplomatic purposes had to be left over for a future period. It is only needful now, in drawing to a close our description of this long and eventful reign, to say a few words on the subject of the personal character of the prince of whose career not the least notable incident was that it witnessed the consolidation of the remarkable Manchu conquest. We have seen Kanghi as he appears from the public acts and magnificent exploits of his reign. They show him wise, courageous, magnanimous, and sagacious as the sovereign of a vast Empire and of a multitudinous people. His private life, and those minor traits which so often reveal the true man better than his set conduct on the platform of public life, confirm the view impressed upon us by the record of his reign. The character of few rulers will bear the same searching investigation as his will. In the smallest affairs he seems to have been truly great, and his virtue was conspicuous in all he undertook. Although so much occupied by the troubles beyond his borders, Kanghi's main object had ever been to secure for his subjects internal tranquillity and all the benefits of peace and of an impartial dispensation of justice. Whether residing in the Imperial Palace at Pekin, or in his summer retreat at Chang Chun Yuen, "the park of eternal spring," Kanghi was always careful to avoid indulging in any useless or excessive extravagance. The same sound sense which he showed in refusing to assume a fresh title of honour, when requested to do so by his courtiers on the occasion of the overthrow of Galdan, was evinced in many other ways too numerous to be related. Among the principal of these instances of royal thoughtfulness it may be mentioned that he gave up one of his favourite pursuits, that of making tours or progresses through his dominions, from consideration of the wants of his people. When it came to his ears that his subjects were heavily taxed and obliged to give up their ordinary avocations for a time in order that the necessary preparations should be made for his visit, he at once gave orders that these exceptional steps were to be discontinued. He provided a still more effectual remedy by abstaining from a practice which had become almost a habit with him, and which had proved productive of both amusement and instruction. Another similar but less costly practice with Kanghi was to make a tour without attendants through the streets of Pekin. This remarkable condescension on the part of a Chinese monarch was shown for the second time during this reign, in recognition of the people's loyalty and affection, in the year 1709. Kanghi was celebrated from his youth as an intrepid horseman and hunter. It was his favourite relaxation to pass the hotter months of summer in hunting expeditions in Tartary, that is to say in the country beyond the Wall. None among his companions excelled him as a skilful rider and archer, and with him the ardour of the sportsman was one of the keenest sentiments. Even at Pekin he could not give up his chosen pastime, and he filled the neighbouring park of Haidsu with game and savage animals, in order that he might not have to forego his accustomed exercise. Here, in the sixty-ninth year of his age and the last of his reign, Kanghi went out to chase the tiger, to the astonishment, if not the admiration also, of his subjects. The case of this Chinese Emperor may be taken as furnishing another proof that the love and practice of manly exercises do not detract from the vigour of the arm in war, or from the clearness of the head in council. Kanghi's interest in promoting literary pursuits and education was not less conspicuous than that he showed in the pursuit of the exhilarating sports of his race. One of the first objects to which he devoted himself was to procure a complete and trustworthy map both of the provinces and also of the dependent territories over which he reigned. With that end in view he sent the foreign missionaries on special missions of exploration into all the quarters of the Empire. By their agency he succeeded in acquiring a closer and more intimate acquaintance with the features and climatic conditions of the eighteen provinces of China than had been possessed by any of his predecessors. While one party KANGHI'S MEMOIRS. 641 followed the course of the Great Wall throughout its entire extent from east to west, another explored the recesses of Leaoutung, and marked out the frontier of Corea, and a third proceeded to the borders of Tibet, and laid down on the chart the approaches to a country which was gradually but surely being drawn into closer and more intimate connection with Pekin. The Hanlin College came in for a large share of favour during this reign, and the name of Kanghi occupies a prominent place in the annals of that great national institution. The Emperor was himself a man of letters of no mean proficiency and skill, and his collected works filled one hundred volumes. Among the offspring of his imagination were pieces of poetry and fugitive essays, as well as more serious memoirs on public affairs, the history of his country, and the work of administration. But of all his literary labours none has achieved a higher or more durable fame than his sixteen maxims on the art of governing states. Each of these maxims contained no more and no less than seven characters, but they were subsequently amplified and annotated by his son and successor, the Emperor Yung Ching. Another work in which Kanghi's hand may be traced, but which was actually performed by a commission of Hanlin doctors, may be mentioned in the celebrated Imperial dictionary, which represents an imperishable monument to the greatness of Kanghi. Many other literary achievements were accomplished during this reign, and among these were translations into Manchu, for the use of the conquerors, of the principal Chinese classics. All Kanghi's writings were marked by a high code of morality, as well as by the lofty ideas of a large-minded statesman. Kanghi could not escape the shafts of the envious, and several gossiping travellers have endeavoured to spread reports to the disparagement of this prince. An excessive vanity and avarice have been imputed to him, but the whole tenor of his life disproves the former statement, and whatever foundation in fact the latter may have had he never carried it to any greater length than mere prudence and * Laureati and Le Gentil. VOL. I. 2 T consideration for the wants of his people demanded. On the other hand, we know that he resorted to gentle pressure to attain his ends rather than to tyrannical violence. When he wished to levy a heavy contribution from a too rich subject, he had recourse to what may be styled a mild joke sooner than to the thumbscrew or the rack. Nor did he ever allow his anger to carry him into extremes, which he might afterwards have cause to repent. His long reign is singularly free from the executions of prominent princes and officials, which are found so frequently in Chinese history under even the best of rulers; and wherever possible he always tempered justice with mercy. A very short time after his accession one of his ministers fell into disgrace, and lay under sentence of death. But when he bared his breast and exposed the marks of the wounds he had received in saving the life of Kanghi's grandfather, Taitsou, he was immediately pardoned, and found his way back to the confidence of his sovereign. The frequent illnesses from which Kanghi had suffered during his later years had done much to undermine and weaken a constitution that had always been considered exceptionally sound and robust. Notwithstanding these reasons for observing simple precautions, he still persisted in the winter of 1722 in following his amusement of the chase in the neighbourhood of Pekin. He was thus employed when his last and fatal illness seized him. In a few hours all was over, and in the evening of the 20th of December, 1722, there passed away all that was mortal of the best and greatest monarch of Asia. On all sides, and from witnesses of different opinions on most subjects, came unanimous testimony † to his worth. Of the magnitude of his services to * This will be found described at length in note on p. 366 of vol. xi. of Mailla. Briefly it may be thus narrated :-One day Kanghi made this official lead him riding on an ass round his gardens. As recompense he gave him a tael. Then he himself led the mandarin in similar fashion. At the end of the tour he asked how much greater he was than his minister? "The comparison is impossible," said the ready courtier. "Then I must make the estimate myself," replied Kanghi; "I am 20,000 times as great, therefore you will pay me 20,000 taels." † Père Parennin, in his letter of the 1st of May, 1723 (tome xix. of SELF-CONFIDENCE. 643 China and to his own race there could, indeed, be no question. They were conspicuous and incontestable. He had ascended the throne at a time when it seemed that the Manchu conquest, far from giving China the assurance of a settled and peaceful rule, would prove in its main result the perpetuation of internal dissension and of sanguinary strife. The presence of the able and powerful feudatory Wou Sankwei strengthened that conviction, and none dared think when the crisis reached the stage of open war that the youthful prince would more than hold his own, and eventually triumph over the veteran general whose military skill and consistent good fortune had been the theme of admiration and wonder with his countrymen for more than a whole generation. From his earliest youth Kanghi had given abundant promise of his future greatness; and one story which is preserved of him when about to succeed to the crown is indicative of his firm confidence in himself and his destiny. It is said that, when Chuntche was on his death-bed, he summoned his children into his presence. "Which of you," he said, "feels that he possesses the ability and strength to retain a crown that has been won only so short a time?" All pleaded their youth or their inexperience, except Kanghi, the youngest, in whose vigorous instincts there dwelt the assurance of success. The result more than justified his "Lettres Edifiantes "), wrote as follows:-"This prince was one of those extraordinary men who are only met with once in the course of several centuries. He placed no limits to his desire for knowledge, and of all the princes of Asia there never was one with so great a taste for the arts and sciences." And again, "This prince was not put out by the expression of an opinion different to his own-rare, indeed, is it among persons of his rank to tolerate contradiction." Mailla's opinion is not less favourable and not less clearly expressed. He calls him "one of the greatest men who have honoured the throne of China." The following quotation of his personal appearance is taken from Bouvet's "Vie de Canghi :”— "There is nothing in his appearance which is not worthy of the throne he occupies. His air is majestic, his figure excellently proportioned and above the middle height; all the features of the countenance are regular; his eyes bright and larger than is usual with his nation; the nose slightly curved and drooping at the point; and the few marks left by the smallpox detract nothing from the charm which is conspicuous throughout his person. |