Introduction: The Perilous Northern Frontier In the annals of Qing dynasty history, the northern borderlands held a notorious reputation—both as […]
Introduction: Taiwan at a Crossroads in the Early Qing Dynasty The late 17th century marked a pivotal moment in the […]
Introduction: A Crucial Moment in East Asian History In the summer of 1683, a pivotal naval confrontation unfolded in the […]
A Stalemate of Two Decades The question of Taiwan dominated early discussions in the Kangxi Emperor’s reign . The initial […]
A Kingdom Divided: The Ming Dynasty’s Impossible Choices The mid-17th century presented the crumbling Ming Dynasty with an impossible trilemma. […]
The Unfolding Crisis: Dutch Encroachment on Ming Territory In the early 17th century, the newly independent Dutch Republic—fresh from its […]
The Unraveling of the Rebellion The Revolt of the Three Feudatories marked one of the greatest internal challenges to the […]
The Unraveling of a Rebellion In the summer of 1678, the once-mighty warlord Wu Sangui received devastating news: his trusted […]
The Kangxi Emperor’s Calculated Mercy In a strategic display of imperial magnanimity, the Kangxi Emperor allowed the disgraced warlord Geng […]
The Tide Turns in Wu Sangui’s Favor By early 1674, rebel commander Wu Sangui found himself in an enviable military […]
The Gathering Storm: China’s Most Dangerous Rebellion The year was 1673 when the 19-year-old Kangxi Emperor faced the greatest threat […]
Introduction: Reassessing the Kangxi Emperor’s Early Struggles Historical narratives often depict the Kangxi Emperor as a master strategist during the […]
A Fateful Summons in Kunming On November 21, 1673, Zhu Guozhi, the governor of Yunnan, received an ominous invitation from […]
The Unwilling Rebel: Wu Sangui’s Dilemma In 1673, the sixty-two-year-old Wu Sangui, a veteran general who had served the Qing […]
The Aging General’s Persistent Plea In March 1673, Prince Pingnan Shang Kexi submitted his eleventh formal request to retire to […]
A Chess Game of Imperial Politics On an unremarkable evening in 1669, the 15-year-old Kangxi Emperor summoned his confidant Songgotu […]
The Untimely Yet Timely Death of a Regent In the summer of 1667, the Qing Empire stood at a crucial […]
A Reign in the Shadows The year 1667 marked a pivotal moment in the early Qing dynasty, when the formidable […]
A Precarious Inheritance When the Shunzhi Emperor died in 1661, he bequeathed to his seven-year-old son Kangxi an empire both […]
A Beloved Emperor Faces His Mortality Johann Adam Schall von Bell, the German Jesuit missionary, enjoyed unwavering favor throughout Emperor […]
A Jesuit Astronomer at the Fall of the Ming In the tumultuous year of 1644, as Beijing’s Ming dynasty collapsed […]
Introduction: A Monument in Beijing’s Ancient Observatory At Beijing’s Ancient Observatory stands a statue commemorating Johann Adam Schall von Bell […]
