It has been ten years since I finished translating a few chapters of Kang Xi Emperor for a publication project that unfortunately fell through. But to my delight ten years later I found Jianshu to be the perfect media to showcase my labor of love.
Synopsis
This book is the first volume in a series of historical novels depicting the life of the great Qing Dynasty Emperor Kang Xi.
Kang Xi ascended to the throne when he was just eight years old. Before Emperor Shun Zhi passed away, he issued a decree, setting up Suo Ni, Suke Saha, Ye Bilong and Ao Bai as the four official advisors to the young Kang Xi. Ao Bai was a domineering and arrogant man, who loved taking all the credit for himself.After the elderly minister Suo Ni fell ill and died, Ao Bai seized total control of the royal court by ganging up with Ye Bilong and executing the uncooperative Suke Saha. He would often roar with rage in the Imperial Palace and forced Kang Xi to submit to his rule. When Kang Xi was 14 years old and reached the age where he should assume the reigns of government, Ao Bai not only refused to relinquish his power, but continued to form secret factions to plot the assassination of Kang Xi and usurp the throne.
From his youth, Kang Xi was a precocious young man and mature beyond his years. He secretly became a student of a failed Imperial Examination candidate named Wu Ciyou who was a gifted scholar from southern China. Kang Xi diligently studied how past emperors had ruled China. Meanwhile, he enlisted the help and protection of his personal bodyguard Wei Dongting, and, in the name of practicing Kung Fu, he also carefully selected and trained more than ten strongmen to be his imperial bodyguards. At the opportune moment, he knew he could rely on these men to help him eliminate his greatest personal dangers.
After a series of conspicuous as well as not so conspicuous political disputes which ensued between the parties of Kang Xi and Ao Bai, the conflict became increasingly sharp and pronounced. A life and death struggle was the inevitable next step. Feigning sickness at home, Ao Bai intensified his efforts to seize the throne and murder Kang Xi. Kang Xi remained completely calm. He even arranged a special visit to Ao Bai with his personal bodyguard Wei Dongting at night with the two-fold intention of checking up on as well as pacifying Ao Bai.
In May of the eighth year of Kang Xi’s reign, Kang Xi summoned Ao Bai alone to the Shu Qing Palace. The event was meticulously premeditated and orchestrated. In the blink of an eye, the imperial bodyguards captured Ao Bai, who was renowned for his advanced Kung Fu skills. The imperial bodyguards also rounded up Ao Bai’s sworn followers. From that time on, Kang Xi regained all his power and thus, laid a strong and solid political foundation for the Qing Dynasty.
