The Story of Chinese Emperors | Tea with Erping

Welcome to Tea with Erping. The harsh zero-Covid measures in China, including false daily testing and restrictions on leaving home, have brought widespread public outcry against the communist authorities. A recent NPR report says 45 cities in China are now in strict Covid lockdown, and Beijing will be the next one. Residents have gone to social media to criticize the government for food shortage and difficulty One netizen complained online, Such a comparison is nothing new as Western press often labels the current Chinese Communist Party leader as the Red Emperor. Yet such a comparison is perhaps a bit overly simplified and far from accurate. While rulers in both the communist system and the dynastic feudal society have the monopoly of power over the masses, they share very few commonalities. First of all, Chinese emperors were deeply rooted in Chinese traditions and held strong religious beliefs, either in Buddhism or Taoism. The emperor was considered the son of heaven with the mandate of heaven to rule. This is similar to the historical European concept of the divine rights of the kings, which held that the legitimacy of kings came from God. Therefore, the king should not be held accountable for their actions by earthly authorities, such as the parliament. Back in the 11th century BC, King Wen of the Zhou dynasty, also known as the Zhou Wen Wang, was the first king to claim that his authority came directly from heaven. So being the king, he was considered the head of the royal family, the nobility, the state, the judiciary, and the religious hierarchy. On the other hand, the communist system believed that the political power grows out of the barrel of a gun, and not at all from the mandate of heaven. The communist system is not even part of Chinese heritage, but an import from the Soviet Union, which did everything it could to eradicate the Chinese values, traditions, and culture. The key point here is that the system is atheist and is based on an ideology antithetical to that of the traditional Chinese culture. Secondly, Chinese emperors must follow traditions and cultural norms to serve their subjects, while the communist party leaders aim to build a new world order free of the values from the past. As noted by historian R. Darsen, of relatives, as well as by the need to rely on well-informed ministers. Although on occasion, emperors would behave with sudden harshness, their right to act in an arbitrary manner served as a threat, which was rarely put into practice. On the other hand, upon coming to power in 1949, the communist party destroyed ancient architecture and burned classical books through the Cultural Revolution. To this day, they continue to destroy traditional beliefs by persecuting Tibetan Buddhism and the Falun Gong spiritual group, to name but a few. So even though both the communist party dictatorship and the dynastic feudal system are authoritarian, they are vastly different in their values and how they use their power. Now, let's look at some interesting facts about Chinese emperors. Did you know that China had 559 emperors in 89 dynasties? The emperor who first unified China in 221 BC was Qin Shi Huang. Instead of maintaining the title king used by the previous Shang and Zhou dynasty rulers, Qin Shi Huang ruled as the first emperor of the Qin dynasty from 221 BC to 210 BC. The record of the longest reigning emperor was held by Emperor Kangxi of the Qin dynasty. He ascended the throne at the age of seven, died at the age of 69, and reigned for 62 years. Meanwhile, the shortest reigning emperor was Wanyan Chenglin, the last emperor of the Qin dynasty. In 1234, before his coronation ceremony was even over, the Mongolian invaders came into the capital. The emperor had to finish his coronation ceremony quickly before fighting the Mongolian soldiers. Sadly, he died within three hours after being crowned the emperor. Well, very bad luck indeed. And when it comes to longevity, the longest-lived ruler in China would be Zhao Tuo, or Emperor Wu of Nanyue Kingdom, who lived to be 103 years old. But historians dispute this because he should actually be called a king rather than an emperor. When China, as we know it now, was a collection of different kingdoms, each kingdom's ruler was called a king instead of an emperor. The title of emperor should be given to a ruler of a dynasty, not a kingdom. Thus, most historians consider Emperor Qianlong of the Qing dynasty holds a record of longevity at the age of 89. The only female empress of China was Wu Zetian of the Tang dynasty. She dethroned her own son, Emperor Zhongzong of the Tang dynasty and grandson of the great Taizong of the Tang dynasty, and ran the empire herself into an old age until her ministers forced her to return the throne to her son, who was later poisoned to death by his wife Weihou. So, Emperor Zhongzong of Tang had quite a rough life. Now, who is the shortest-lived emperor? The shortest-lived emperor was Emperor Liu Long of the East Han dynasty. Liu Long was the son of Emperor Liu Zhao of the East Han dynasty, raised among the commoners. Emperor Liu Long was only 100 days old when he ascended the throne, making him the youngest emperor in Chinese history. He died 8 months later, grieving for only 220 days. By the way, ancient Chinese emperors were allowed to have an unlimited number of concubines. The emperor with the most concubines history was the founding emperor of the West Jin dynasty. His name is Sima Yan, or the Emperor Wu of the Jin dynasty. There were more than 10,000 women in his harem. According to records, Sima Yan ordered the selection of women from outside the imperial court to fill the harem. Marriage of all women in the empire was temporarily prohibited until the selection was over. There are records of Sima Yan selecting more than 75 beauties to enter the harem in one go. Historical records also document that after Sima Yan conquered Eastern Wu Kingdom, he brought more than 5,000 women from the Eastern Wu Kingdom harem into his home. One could only imagine The emperor with the fewest concubines in history was the ninth emperor of the Ming dynasty, Emperor Xiaozong of the Ming dynasty, also known as Zhu Youtang. This emperor also advocated monogamy, having married only Queen Zhang and had no other concubines. He was known to be generous and kind, prudent with his expenses, not deluded by lust and women, and noted as one who was diligent in managing state affairs. He served as a role model of virtue for future emperors. In the Song dynasty, Emperor Zhenzong did not let his imperial officials to visit bars, even if they paid out of their own pockets. So drinking alcohol in public would be a bad idea if one chose to serve the imperial court. In ancient China, people got married early. During the reign of Emperor Renzong of the Song dynasty, boys must get married at 15 and girls at 13. During the time of Zhu Yuanzhang, the first emperor of the Ming dynasty, boys must get married at 16, while girls at 14. If girls did not get married by the legal marriage age, their families would be fined. Of all the emperors in Chinese history, I do have quite a few favorites, such as Taizong of Tang dynasty, whom I've mentioned a number of times in my previous videos. Today, I would like to talk about another great emperor of China, Emperor Kangxi of the Qing dynasty. As I just mentioned, he is the longest-reigning emperor of China. Kangxi means peaceful and harmony. True to his name, Emperor Kangxi had an amazing record of military, economic, and cultural achievements, bringing long-term stability and prosperity to China. Emperor Kangxi and his ancestors were not ethnically Han Chinese. They were of Manchurian nationality from northern China, and they replaced the Ming dynasty with the Qing dynasty, the last dynasty of China. When Emperor Kangxi assumed leadership, the empire was torn with internal power struggles and suffered many foreign invasions. The first half of his ruling was devoted to stabilizing this empire. His first action was to depose the authoritarian regent Ao Bai. He then ended the revolt of three fugitives, strengthened peace along the borders with major military victories against invaders, and kicked off the famous Kang Qian Flourishing Age, or the High Qing Era, a booming period in the early Qing dynasty. This golden era lasted 134 years, starting in 1684 and ending in 1799, or soon after Emperor Kangxi's grandson, Emperor Qianlong, passed away. Emperor Kangxi was responsible for transforming the Manchurian way of rulership into a true Confucian establishment. In line with Han Chinese belief, winning over the Han Chinese people, he treated the golden, a violent oppressor of Zangge Mongols, with tolerance and mercy, and showed him the meaning of trust and honesty. His approach to restraining conflict was one of firmness, and yet benevolent. He told his ministers the way to end a rebellion is to be forgiving, generous, and noble. We can win people's hearts through leniency. To rule a nation, one needs to be tolerant. In selecting his officials, Emperor Kangxi's principle is that a person's morality, fairness, and generosity of spirit come first, and his talents and skills come second. Emperor Kangxi required that all officials treat people the same way they want to be treated, as defending a nation requires one to cultivate one's virtue and treat its people respectfully. In the second half of his reign, Emperor Kangxi focused his attention on economic prosperity and the patronage of art and culture. He promoted calligraphy, poetry, and music. Emperor Kangxi made an important edict in 1692 that allowed the practice of Catholicism in China. He also showed interest in learning new things from European missionaries, making tremendous advancements in geography, science, engineering, mathematics, and astronomy. He directed scholars to compile the History of Ming, the Complete Book of Tang Poetry, and of course, the famous Kangxi Dictionary. Under the traditional imperial system of China, nothing in the empire was too small to come under the personal scrutiny of the emperor. Emperor Kangxi did not have extravagant desires and was indifferent to worldly gain. He served the people well and truly practiced what he preached. His longevity on the throne was thus taken as a sign of approval from heaven. Confucius once said, Yet we now have a communist dictatorship that despises and tries in every possible way to destroy Chinese traditions and heritage. When authentic culture norms and legacy are lost, a moral vacuum is thus created for society. That's what's happening today in China. For centuries, China has been called the land of the divine, or Shen Zhou Da Di in Chinese, where everyone, including the emperor, must abide by the wishes or the mandate of heaven, or the course of nature. Now, the AC's communist authorities disregard such traditional values, bringing man-made disasters to the environment and depriving people of their basic human rights. I'll leave you with this beautiful quote A person's talent must be based on his virtues. Therefore, when he possesses more virtue than talent, he is a true gentleman. If he possesses more talent than virtue, he is a spiteful man. With that, let's have a tea break. Until next time, peace and tea be with you.