Emperor Kangxi went to Jiangnan six times in his life, and five of them went to the Ming Tombs. In the mausoleum of Zhu Yuanzhang, the founding emperor of the Ming Dynasty, there is a stone tablet inscribed by Kangxi himself, which reads "Governing the Tang and Song Dynasties".
The word "governing the Tang and Song Dynasties" is the highest evaluation of Zhu Yuanzhang's literary martial arts in Kangxi's life, praising Zhu Yuanzhang's difficulty and achievements in creating a prosperous era, which has already surpassed the heroes of Han and Tang Dynasties. This evaluation is quite high.
Kangxi visited the Ming Tombs five times during his southern tour. Kangxi visited the South six times in the twenty-fourth year, and five of them went to the Ming Tombs to pay homage to them.
The first time I went to the Ming Tombs was in the 23rd year of Kangxi (1684), and it was also Kangxi's first southern tour. After Kangxi arrived in Nanjing, he decided to visit the Ming Tombs himself. He entered the hall through the tunnel to show his respect.
Appreciate Zhu Yuanzhang's three kneels and nine knocks in Xiaoling Hall, and go to Baocheng to worship Zhu Yuanzhang for three glasses of wine. Kangxi's move not only shocked the officials present, but also surprised the students in Jiangnan.
The second visit to the Ming Tombs was in the 28th year of Kangxi (1689), which was Kangxi's second southern tour. Five years later, after paying a visit to Dayu's tomb, Kangxi kowtowed to Xiaoling three times again and offered three glasses of wine.
The third visit to the Ming Tombs was in the thirty-eighth year of Kangxi (1699), which was Kangxi's third southern tour. The procedure of this visit is the same as last time, the only difference is that a monument to the Tang and Song Dynasties was erected in front of the mausoleum.
The fourth visit to the Ming Tombs was in the forty-fourth year of Kangxi (1705), which was Kangxi's fifth southern tour. The last time I visited the grave was two years later. Kangxi was 54 years old, and it was also a three-kneeling and nine-knocking ceremony.
Why did Kangxi kneel three times and knock nine times to worship the Ming tombs? Some people think that Kangxi is putting on a show to show his wisdom and generosity. Although there are such thoughts, I think these are superficial phenomena. There are two main reasons for Kangxi's high-standard mausoleum.
First, according to the world situation at that time, attract Jiangnan scholars.
When Kangxi went to the Ming Tombs for the first time, it happened to be forty years after the Qing Dynasty entered the Central Plains, and it was also the third year after the San Francisco Rebellion was put down. Although Kangxi's governance of the world was on the right track, the taxi drivers at that time did not buy it.
A large number of intellectuals in Jiangnan are still worried about the rule of the Qing Dynasty. Although there was no large-scale armed resistance, they always used pen and ink as a weapon against Kangxi's prosperous times, and they vowed to defend traditional culture.
At that time, some prestigious scholars regularly went to the Ming tombs to cry and sacrifice, and some even chose to live in seclusion in Zhongshan area. The purpose is to promote Zhu Yuanzhang's orthodox position, not to be dissatisfied with the rule of the Qing court.
Kangxi knows well the way of governing the country, and he knows well that he can win the world at once but can't rule the world at once. For these dissatisfied taxi drivers, we can only use reason to influence them, but force can't solve the problem.
Therefore, Kangxi decided to go to the Ming Tombs and take an unprecedented high-standard ceremony of three kneeling and nine knocking. Kangxi's sincerity and humility completely touched the scholars in the south of the Yangtze River, and solved the problem of submission of scholars from then on.
Second, Kangxi wanted to emulate Zhu Yuanzhang, so as to reproduce the prosperity of China.
Kangxi spoke highly of Zhu Yuanzhang, not just flattering him. He really admired Zhu Yuanzhang's skills. Of course, Zhu Yuanzhang's legend and achievements are also worthy of the name, worthy of the evaluation of governing the Tang and Song Dynasties.