When Zhu “never wrong” Youjian was forced to hang himself by the rebelling peasants, the Jurchen regent was standing outside the border. He asked the security guard, what do you make of this? The guard shrugged and said, it’s hopeless. How about you come in and fix this? So he opened the door. The Jurchens came in and told everyone to behave with their fists. They founded the Qing dynasty. Later, they made the security guard a Prince.
Then the regent died, and the emperor was still a little boy. Unlike other dynasties, the Qing didn’t start in the best shape and then decline. They had a lot of problems right from the beginning. The Han Chinese were wary about being ruled by Jurchens. And like the Mongols before them, the Jurchen nobles only knew how to fight, not how to rule. But it was also they who had helped conquer China, and now they wanted power. How could a little boy solve these problems? Well, he couldn’t. And he died after 10 years.
He passed the throne to his 6-year-old son, Xuanye. How could a little boy solve these problems? I don’t know, but this one did. A powerful minister was ruling like a regent. At 15, Xuanye planned and deposed him peacefully. When he was 19, the Artist Formerly Known as Security Guard rebelled. He put it down. He cleaned up the Ming dynasty remnants and the Mongol remnants. Under his we-are-one-family policy, Han Chinese could become officials. He set a rule to never raise the per-person tax. Without him, the Qing probably would have lasted about as long as the Yuan Mongols.
Sounds boring? Because that is how Xuanye was written in history textbooks. But for the Qing emperors, we have an unusually large amount of daily records, personal letters, and their official email system. When we look at earlier emperors, we’re looking through a telescope. The Qing emperors were more like living people. And the good news is, under close examination, Xuanye is still a good emperor and a good person.
Xuanye was a foodie. His records included a lot of details about food. I’m not talking about eating luxury ingredients like shark’s fin. He was interested in local delicacies whenever he travelled. He even created a farm in the palace to experiment with better-tasting rice. When he succeeded, he would brag about it to his ministers. In his letters to the generals stationed at the borders, he often wrote things like, I found some very nice deer meat or pheasant. You have to try this.
He was also a nerd. He loved reading so much that he was near-sighted. He didn’t just read Chinese philosophy and literature. But he also read about mathematics, astronomy, and geometry. He was the first Chinese emperor to wear glasses. And sunglasses, too. And he being him, of course he’d go to great lengths to learn about optics, how glasses work, and which type of lens was best.
Once, his friend was sick, and he quickly sent a messenger with medicine. In the letter, he wrote the instructions like a doctor. Take this medicine if you have this symptom. How to take it. What reaction to expect. What precautions to take.
Xuanye didn’t choose a crown prince. When he was old, his sons wanted to be the next emperor and fought among themselves. In the end, Xuanye chose his workaholic son, Yinzhen. It was a good choice.
Yinzhen was hardworking like Zhu “never wrong” Youjian, but he was actually competent. During his reign, he replied to 40,000 emails and wrote 10 million words. (Try doing that with a calligraphy brush instead of a keyboard.) His replies showed what he was like as a person.
“I don’t know how to cherish you enough.”
“This is who I am. If you don’t let me down, I won’t let you down.”
“It all sounds very good. But. Can you really do it?”
“You think I’m a three-year-old? How dare you lie to me like this?”
“I’m fine. How are you? What’s going on in your household lately?”
Traditionally, emperors loved miracles that happened during their reign. They were seen as a signal that the emperor was good. Once, an official reported that he found lucky rice (kind of like a four-leaf clover). Yinzhen replied, that’s a natural thing, don’t exaggerate. Another time, an official reported that Lingzhi fungus had grown on his mother’s grave. The official thought it was a sign of him being filial. Yinzhen replied, if you want to feel happy about it, it’s up to you. But why report it to me? You want me to praise you? You’re absolutely ignorant.
Although he was hardworking, he wasn’t a machine. He complained about how much work he had to do often. Once, a minister sent him a long email. It was all empty praises and no substance. He was so angry he replied, don’t you know how busy I am? Why are you wasting my time with this? He later reopened the email and added, I have zero interest in reading garbage like this!
He also liked to share things with his ministers. One time he sent some lychees to a friend. He was worried that the lychees would spoil, so he wrote a detailed letter explaining how to keep them fresh. Then he wrote, I also really like these, but the journey is too far, so I can’t give you too many. Here are just a few for you to try…
Yinzhen didn’t take any days off, except on his birthdays. He only slept 4 hours per day. He was still working like that 3 days before he died.