Emperor Kangxi: As a science lover, why didn't you lead China to modernization?

1662, Aisingiorro Michelle Ye, who was only 8 years old, ascended the throne, with the year Kangxi. He was the emperor who had the longest standby time in the history of China. He reigned for 6 1 year, and started the "Prosperous Age of Health and Gan", and later he was called "the Emperor through the ages".

At the same time, he also created another record in history. He is the most enthusiastic about western science among emperors and can be called "the scientist emperor".

So, what is Kangxi's personal scientific level? Why didn't he lead China into a technological power? It all started with an argument.

During the reign of Shunzhi in Qing Dynasty, a missionary named Tang Ruowang adapted the almanac of Chongzhen into the almanac of Western New Law and presented it to the emperor, which was reused by Shunzhi. Since then, the Gregorian calendar named "Li Shixian" has been officially used by China officials.

The new calendar caused dissatisfaction among conservatives, who repeatedly accused Tang Ruowang of subverting Confucian orthodoxy. In the end, Shunzhi ignored these.

However, after the emperor shunzhi's death, the situation reversed. 1664, Kangxi ascended the throne for three years. Yang Guangxian, a small official of Qin Dynasty, wrote to the emperor that China would rather have no good calendar than a western calendar.

At this time, Ao Bai also used this topic to put Tang Ruowang and another ferdinand verbiest who worked in Qin into prison and sentenced them to one year's imprisonment.

As soon as the verdict came out, there was a vision in the sky in Beijing, and a comet swept by, causing sandstorms and earthquakes, and a fire broke out in the palace. Sourdrang queen thought it was a warning from heaven, so he ordered the release of Tang Ruowang and ferdinand verbiest.

However, the new calendar was still abolished and the court resumed using the old calendar. Yang Guangxian, who only knows a little about the calendar, was also appointed as the supervisor of Qin Tian.

After Tang Ruowang's death, ferdinand verbiest, who held her breath, wrote a complaint, demanding that the Tang Ruowang case be rehabilitated, and the old and new calendars were in dispute again.

The problem was before Kangxi, and at this time, after several years of implementation, the old calendar has gradually shown its disadvantages and the errors are getting bigger and bigger. In the seventh year of Kangxi (1668), there were actually two leap months in a year.

After receiving this case, Kangxi asked the university students to take a group of people from ferdinand verbiest and go to the observatory with Qin officials. People on both sides observe the shadow of the sun in their own ways, and at the same time observe the positions of Mercury and Venus.

As a result, Ferdinand ferdinand verbiest got it right, but Yang Guangxian's people didn't. The Gregorian calendar is more accurate. In Tang Ruowang's case, he was hit in the face on the spot.

Through this incident, Kangxi not only skillfully solved the dispute between the old and new calendars, but also discovered the talent of Ferdinand ferdinand verbiest. He resolutely decided to remove Yang Guangxian from his post and appointed ferdinand verbiest as the deputy supervisor of Qin Dynasty, in charge of astronomical calendar.

A farce of the calendar dispute made Kangxi, who didn't know astronomy at that time, realize that without scientific knowledge, he would be at the mercy of other people's ideas. Many years later, Kangxi also admitted to his son that this experience made him unforgettable and was the direct reason for his trust in western science.

Thus, the young emperor planted a scientific seed in his heart. That year, Kangxi 14 years old.

Kangxi began to learn astronomy, geography, mathematics and surveying from Ferdinand ferdinand verbiest. Ferdinand Ferdinand verbiest also compiled poor neo-Confucianism for Kangxi, including western philosophy and logic.

Kangxi is a man of great planning. He set up a south study room in the palace as a study place, personally drew up a list of study subjects, asked teachers to write teaching materials, and had translation assistance.

Ferdinand ferdinand verbiest recalled in European Astronomy: Every day, when they have classes, they study for no less than two hours. The emperor listened carefully, always taking notes by himself and asking questions if he didn't understand.

Kangxi especially loved mathematics, often immersed in the process of reasoning and repeatedly practiced using instruments. After more than half a year's study, he basically mastered mathematical tools and began to try to calculate astronomical phenomena and find out some astronomical mistakes from history books.

Once Kangxi went to the south of the Yangtze River, he asked the official in charge of astronomical phenomena: "There is a saying that when you see the old star, the world will be peaceful. What do you think? "

The official immediately pointed to the sky and kowtowed: "Being old in the sky shows that you are a wise king and the world is at peace."

Kangxi changed his face when he heard it: "You Jiangning can see the old star every day. If you go to Fujian and Guangzhou, you can even see invivo. This old star is in the sky every day. If it appears, the world will be peaceful, which is completely unreasonable. " People present didn't expect the emperor to know so much, and they were too scared to say another word.

Music closely related to mathematics also became Kangxi's interest. So he entrusted Ferdinand ferdinand verbiest to ask Portuguese priest Xu Risheng to teach him western musical instruments. In just a few months, Kangxi, a brilliant and intelligent man, was able to play music independently.

Among them, Bai Jin and Rizo taught the emperor geometry and arithmetic, and explained to him the use of astronomical and mathematical instruments. Later, Kangxi ordered their speeches to be compiled into the full text of Geometry, which was prefaced by Kangxi himself.

Kangxi's arrangement for the course is: every morning, someone will prepare a horse to pick up the teacher and send him back to his apartment at night. Two hours in the morning and two hours in the evening. If you go out, you should also bring missionaries to avoid delaying your studies.

In order to meet the learning needs of Kangxi, people also specially made a table for mathematics, on which many mathematical tables were drawn and some three-dimensional geometric models were put.

1693, entrusted by Kangxi, Bai Jin recruited more missionaries from France. Whenever Kangxi went out to see missionaries, he should also learn about foreign countries from them.

1697, Bai Jin returned to France, and in his biography of Emperor Kangxi, he strongly praised this good student. He said: Kangxi has a quick mind, strong memory, amazing self-control, careful study, and directly ask what he doesn't understand. Although the teachers came to the palace early every day, Kangxi was ready before their arrival. He has read the Elements of Geometry at least 20 times.

After the teacher finished speaking, Kangxi was still unfinished, and sometimes he called several princes to give them lessons. Among many sons, the most serious and systematic is the third prince Yin Zhi. Later, Yin Zhi was responsible for compiling calendars and participated in some astronomical and geographical calculations.

Kangxi not only attached importance to theoretical research, but also was willing to practice. He often moves some astronomical instruments into the royal garden and uses them to observe the astronomical phenomena. Every patrol or expedition, Kangxi ordered people to carry heavy equipment, survey the terrain, explore rivers, study crops and make detailed records.

In addition to the scientific instruments donated by the west, he also organized people to make other instruments. It was at that time that he made six instruments of the Beijing Ancient Observatory. In addition, Kangxi also directed meteorological research, set up many meteorological stations in Beijing, and arranged special personnel to record them day by day and month by month, leaving precious information.

Kangxi's article "Conch and Clam Shell of Han Dynasty" in Kangxi's Collection of Leisure Current Affairs is the place where he inferred the "snail and clam shell" in the desert according to his own personal observation, which used to be Heze, a water town. There is also the article "A Hundred Miles of Thunder Not Far", which is the final conclusion of Kangxi's measurement of distance by using the speed of sound. This is really rare among emperors, just like learning from tyrants.

Although I like mathematics and astronomy best, it doesn't mean that Kangxi is partial. In fact, he learned everything, and western missionaries taught everything. Medicine is another hobby of his, such as Rizo and Bai Jin, who once introduced the knowledge of physiological anatomy to Kangxi. What really aroused Kangxi's interest in medicine was his own illness experience.

At the age of 40, Kangxi got malaria. After taking a lot of Chinese medicine, my condition has not improved. Seeing that the emperor was dying, two missionaries presented western medicine Cinchona cream. As a result, he recovered quickly after using it, and Kangxi was overjoyed

The magical western medicine aroused Kangxi's strong interest, and he immediately set up a laboratory in the palace for missionaries to refine western medicine. This laboratory produces many kinds of drugs. Kangxi not only used it for himself, but also gave it to the prince.

On one occasion, Cao Yin, a weaver girl in Jiangning, got malaria and sought medical treatment from Kangxi. Kangxi not only gave it to him, but also gave him detailed instructions for use, which shows Kangxi's familiarity with western medicine.

Kangxi had smallpox when he was a child. This disease was basically terminal in ancient times. Although Kangxi survived, it does not mean that most people can do it. So Kangxi decided to study the treatment of smallpox in his own laboratory.

French missionary Hong Ruohan told him that no one in Europe can cure this disease, but there is a method that ancient doctors in China can learn from, and that is "human pox immunization method".

The specific method is to take some liquid from smallpox patients' acne and plant it on healthy people, and this healthy person can get antibodies. Western clinical trials can be used to test whether the human pox vaccine is safe.

Kangxi listened to the suggestion, offered a large reward in the palace, and recruited 30 maid-in-waiting volunteers, all under the age of 16, who were in good health. Hong Ruohan used a syringe to vaccinate them. A month later, four people died of smallpox and 26 people survived. After these 26 people were put together with smallpox patients, 4 people were infected and cured, while others were immune to smallpox.

Seeing that the experiment was progressing smoothly, Kangxi recruited people of different sexes and ages for vaccination many times and finally succeeded. Then, Kangxi and his successors extended the Vaccination Law to the people, saving thousands of lives. Since then, China has never been invaded by smallpox virus.

In the field of agriculture, Kangxi was also gifted. He found a kind of rice in the paddy field of Fengzeyuan, which is higher than other rice and mature. So I collected this precocious ear of rice and decided to plant it the next year.

The next year, I found that it was still earlier than other rice, so I planted it, planted it and selected it. After repeated experiments, a new rice seed named "Imperial Rice Seed" was cultivated. The rice it produces is called "imperial rice", which is fragrant and delicious.

Later, Kangxi expanded the scope of trial planting and cultivated it in Beijing and Chengde. Decades later, Kangxi chose Suzhou as the place to promote Imperial Rice. After eight years of promotion in the south of the Yangtze River, Kangxi issued an edict: provide the people with royal rice and teach them the sowing methods. At this point, Kangxi left a glorious page in the history of rice breeding and popularization.

Kangxi personally organized three major scientific projects in his later years. The first one is surveying and mapping "Panorama of the Forbidden City".

1689 map needed for Sino-Russian northeast border negotiations. Kangxi found that the traditional map drawing methods in China were not as advanced as those in the West, and made up his mind to redraw the national map. So in 1708, Kangxi organized Chinese and foreign experts from all walks of life to conduct on-the-spot investigations in various provinces. This is the first national geodetic survey in the history of China.

People crossed the southeast and northwest, traveled all over the province of Guannei 15, and went to Manchuria and Tibet outside Guanwai. First of all, they used the western latitude and longitude map method and triangulation method to draw the map of each province. Then, the People's Assembly will draw the maps of provinces, and the national map will be drawn at the scale of11400,000 by trapezoidal projection method.

This huge project took 10 years to draw a map of China, "Panorama of the Forbidden City", which became the highest achievement of world geography at that time, and also confirmed Newton's theory that the earth is elliptical. Western scholars evaluated it as "more accurate than all European maps". From the Qing Dynasty to the early years of the Republic of China, all kinds of maps of China at home and abroad originated from this map.

The second is to create a mathematics museum. During the Kangxi period, many European countries began to establish the Royal Academy of Sciences. Kangxi heard about it and envied it. He wanted to establish the Royal Academy of Sciences in his own court. 17 13 years, he put this idea into practice.

Kangxi chose to build a mathematics museum in Mengyangzhai, Changchun Garden. The main task of this institution is to train scientific talents. He recruited more than 300 young people from eight banners aristocratic families. After examination and selection, 72 of them finally went to the Mathematics Museum for further study.

The teachers in the Mathematics Museum are all western missionaries. They teach students western knowledge of measurement, astronomy and mathematics. And follow the example of the French Academy of Sciences to carry out scientific observation activities. This is the cradle of mathematicians, and great mathematicians such as Minggatu and Mei Aicheng have emerged. Later, French missionaries directly called it "China Academy of Sciences".

The third is the origin of compiling the calendar table. From 17 13, Kangxi ordered the third prince Yin Zhi to gather talents from all walks of life and compile them in Mengyangzhai Mathematics Museum.

Kangxi asked the staff to report to him every day, and he personally checked the guidance. In order to support the compilation work, Kangxi also took out the draft he had accumulated for decades as part of the mathematical data.

It was not until 1723, Yongzheng period, that this scientific masterpiece came out. It has one hundred volumes, including the most advanced astronomical calendar, music and mathematics knowledge at that time. Among them, the most famous part is "Essence of Mathematics", which can be called an encyclopedia of mathematics and a "grand ceremony of a generation of masters".

Regrettably, with the death of Kangxi, the next generation is not the same as the next generation. For example, the latest carriages, warships and hot air balloons in the west have not aroused Qianlong's interest. During the Daoguang period, missionaries lost interest in teaching and gradually withdrew from the court, and the scientific exchange between China and the West was interrupted.

It was not until Eight-Nation Alliance entered the Yuanmingyuan that he discovered that the scientific instruments given to Dongdi by western missionaries were still intact in the warehouse. Even though the reform known as the "Reform Movement of 1898" lasted only 100 days, it completely disappeared.

Science and technology are the primary productive forces. Don't emperors headed by Kangxi understand this truth? Or western missionaries, they hit the nail on the head and tell the truth. They described Kangxi in this way: Although they were full of interest in western science, they only dabbled in it and did not study it in depth. Moreover, the emperor is a typical pretentious person.

There is no "If" in history, and there are indications that Kangxi could not carry out the industrial revolution and lead China to modernization. As a ruler who monopolizes power, science is only a personal interest to him and has evolved into a tool for show and rule.

1682, when Kangxi visited Liaodong, he took the initiative to show his horoscope to the missionaries. 1689 During his southern tour, he discussed his astronomical theory with courtiers at the Astrological Observatory in Nanjing. /kloc-in the first month of 0/692, he called a group of ministers, from music mathematics to astronomy and geography, and the scene was full of flattery.

The more you show off your knowledge of western learning, the more you can prove the talent of the monarch and gain a sense of superiority in front of ministers. This over-touted phenomenon caused the missionaries to vomit. Someone commented: "Everything about the emperor is a legend. As long as he touches the piano a few times, people will say that he is piano master. "

Kangxi doesn't care whether others understand or not, but only wants to be knowledgeable. He always wants to keep one hand and realize knowledge monopoly. Because he began to realize that this new scientific thought threatened the rule of the Manchu dynasty.

He asked someone to translate the French version of Human Anatomy into Manchu and Chinese, but when it was about to be printed and published, he chose to give up and finally enjoyed himself in the palace. When Amdo, a missionary, translated algebra works, Kangxi specifically told him not to reveal it to anyone after translation. 17 15 years, Kangxi even issued a decree that the contents related to astronomical calendars should not appear in the imperial examinations.

Kangxi even sighed proudly: Han people don't understand algorithms at all! Since Kangxi, there has never been a Han Chinese living in Qin Tian. Mengyangzhai Mathematics Museum only recruits students from the Eight Banners, not Han Chinese. By mastering science, he controlled the Han people and improved the status of Manchu nobles in people's minds. As for ordinary people, the more ignorant they are, the more conducive they are to absolute monarchy.

It is precisely because of this that Liang Qichao said bitterly: Kangxi "killed the wisdom of the people" and was a figure who implemented the policy of ignorance of the people.

Kangxi, an outstanding king, created a prosperous time, but it also had limitations. He loves science, and he loves imperial power even more. He was never ahead of his time.

Author: our guest author Xiao Gong

References:

Records of the Holy Father of Qing Dynasty, Notes on Kangxi's Residence, Missionaries and China Science, Emperor Kangxi and Western Science, China People in the Eyes of Foreigners: Emperor Kangxi, Learning from Heaven: Jesuits and the Spread of Astronomy in China, and Western Medical Activities in the Palace of Kangxi Dynasty.