The "Kang and Qian Dynasties", also known as the "Kang, Yong and Qian Dynasties", were the prosperous times under the rule of the early Qing Dynasty in China. It is a reflection of China's feudal society, and it is also the last prosperous age of ancient China's feudal dynasty. It started from the 20th year of Kangxi (1681) when the San Francisco Rebellion was put down and ended with the outbreak of the White Lotus Sect uprising in Sichuan and Shaanxi in the first year of Jiaqing (1796). It lasted for 115 years and was the highest peak of the Qing Dynasty's rule. Mainland China, In the historical circles and textbooks in Taiwan and other places, the Kang, Yong and Qian periods are called the Kang-Qian Dynasty or the Kang-Yong-Qian Dynasty. Traditional Western historians also agree with this statement, or call this period "High Qing", that is, the peak period of the Qing Dynasty. During this period, the society was stable, the economy developed rapidly, the population grew rapidly, and the territory was vast. However, due to the rigidity of the system and the isolation of the country, this situation cannot last long.
During the Kangxi, Yongzong and Qianlong periods (1662-1795), China's feudal economy was highly prosperous, agricultural production greatly improved, handicrafts, commerce, etc. also achieved considerable development; various political regulations and systems were formulated, and conflicts were relatively eased , the order is relatively stable, and the national power is at its peak; culturally, it is a link between the past and the next, carrying on the past and opening up the future, entering the summary period; militarily, the rebellion has been put down, the invasion has been fought, and the unity has been maintained. The unified multi-ethnic authoritarian centralized state developed to its peak. It is known as the prosperous age of Kangxi and Qianlong in history. ?
The reason why the Kangxi and Qianlong periods are known as the prosperous age is largely because the economy of this period created a miracle for traditional Chinese society: it withstood unprecedented population pressure (during the prosperous age , while China's population increased from 100 million to 300 million), it met the Qing court's increasing financial needs and significantly improved the living standards of people in economically developed areas. During the Kangxi and Qianlong periods, government fiscal revenue remained stable for a long time. In order to achieve higher growth, the silver deposits in the household department increased significantly. For example, in the thirty-third year of Qianlong's reign (1768 AD), the household deposits reached 71.82 million taels, which was more than twice that in the first year of Qianlong's reign (1736 AD). The increase in fiscal revenue enabled the Qing Dynasty to launch many wars to eliminate separatist forces, maintain national unity, resist foreign aggression, and organize large-scale cultural construction projects to promote the prosperity of Chinese academic culture. In line with the prosperous social situation, the academic culture during the Kangxi and Qianlong periods showed a grand atmosphere unique to the heyday. The rise of Sinology, with its important feature of textual research and historical verification, promoted the development of academic studies in the direction of comprehensive achievements. The research and compilation of ancient books during the Kangxi and Qianlong periods covered an extremely wide range, including classics, history, astronomy, ancient arithmetic, geography, agriculture, medicine and other aspects, demonstrating the breadth and depth of Chinese traditional culture from a relatively broad scope. Of course, the most important and representative result of the compilation of ancient books is the well-known "Sikuquanshu". The "Summary of the General Catalog of Sikuquanshu" written by Ji Yun and others on this basis states that "archaeology must be based on all the truths, and the arguments must be balanced", which reflects the highest level of Chinese academics in the 18th century. ?
The "Kangxi and Qianlong Dynasties" were mainly reflected in the growth of population. In the sixty-first year of Kangxi (1722), the national population exceeded 100 million, and in the fifty-fifth year of Qianlong (1790), it exceeded three 100 million. Some people attribute this to the diligence of the Qing rulers; but the more important reason is the introduction of high-yielding crops such as sweet potatoes and corn in the late Ming Dynasty and their promotion throughout the country. The cultural symbol is the compilation of "Collection of Ancient and Modern Books" and "Sikuquanshu" from Kangxi to Qianlong years. At the same time, the territory of the Qing Dynasty expanded several times and greatly exceeded that of the previous dynasty. During this period, the rulers of the Qing Dynasty implemented a policy of isolation from the outside world, halting the spread of Western learning to the east in the late Ming Dynasty; they also established a "literary prison" internally. Therefore, some people believe that it was the "prosperity of Kangxi and Qianlong" that seriously hindered the development of Chinese society and made China lag behind the West, which is not worthy of praise. One view is that the "Kangxi and Qianlong Dynasties" are a lie, a statement made by some Chinese historians who ignore history and deceive themselves. During the Kangxi period, the Treaty of Nerchinsk signed after the war with Russia ceded territory. It would be unbelievable to cede territory in the prosperous times. Coincidentally, during the Yongzheng period, which was also in the "prosperity of Kangxi and Qianlong", the "Treaty of Kyaktu" was signed to cede territory. And what did the three emperors of Kangxi, Yongzong and Qianlong do during their reign? Causing one wave of literary prison tragedies, Kang and Qian went to the south of the Yangtze River several times for extravagant travels. Since Yongzheng, he also spent people's money and money to build the Old Summer Palace. At the same time, Western science and technology and culture developed rapidly. On the eve of the Opium War, the British invaders had strong ships and artillery, but the Qing army still used the artillery of the Ming Dynasty. It was really shameless that the prosperous age had reached this point. Tang Zhen, a civilian thinker during the Kangxi period, mentioned in his book "Qian Shu": In the fifty years since the Qing Dynasty, the whole country has become increasingly poor, with farmers, workers, cities and officials empty. He saw with his own eyes that many women in Shanxi had no pants to wear, while "most people in Wuzhong have their children in the north." During the Qianlong period, the British envoy Magani came to China and recorded that there were many beggars on the streets of Beijing. Many of the people were unkempt and ragged, so he described the Manchus as nothing more than a clay-footed giant, and that the "Chinese" were gradually degenerating into the era of "semi-barbarians" (see Macartney's Travels in China).
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