From Kangxi Emperor To Learn How To Be a Good Leader
Zihao, Chen (Jimmy)
English 101
Ms. Chocos
Fed 28, 2012
How to be a good leader? At first this leader must understand how to lead himself, and then to lead his follower. Not lonely become a leader for a country, but also to get personal leadership. As a leader for a country, this person who has clear understand what kind of responsibility that he/she need to bear. And the leader must listen his people idea and voice it means you are the follower for your people. As if mentioned in the “Tao-teChing” created by Lao Tzh, to be a good leader must be self-discipline, and Niccolo Machiavelli’s “The Qualities of the Prince”. Mentioned that be a good leader must be profession of war, however, the Kangxi Emperor is a good leader, also he is bad leader, but from his bad leadership can mapped out as a qualified leader, what is needed.
The Kangxi Emperor (4 May 1654 –20 December 1722) was the fourth emperor of the Qing Dynasty from 1661 to 1722. Kangxi's reign of 61 years makes him the longest-reigning Chinese emperor in history, although his grandson, the Qianlong Emperor, had the longest period of de facto power and one of the longest-reigning rulers in the world. In his reign, created a, the last golden age in feudal society from 1681 to 1796. It named Prosperous Era of Kangxi and Qianlong. However, having ascended the throne at the age of seven, he was not the effective ruler until later, with that role temporarily fulfilled for six years by four regents and his grandmother, the Grand Empress Dowager Xiaozhuang.
First of all, to be a leader must understand war, whatever, to lead people fight for freedom or just protect their countryIn times of peace, but also know the necessity of the war. As Machiavelli said: “War is just when it is necessary; arms are permissible when there is no hope except in arms.” To be a good leader must be know how to use the power of army. The Kangxi Emperor is great Strategist. And also he is considered one of China's greatest emperors. He suppressed the Revolt of the Three Feudatories, forced the Kingdom of Tungning on Taiwan to submit to Qing rule, blocked Tzarist Russia on the Amur River and expanded the empire in the northwest.
The most important war for Kangxi is Revolt of the Three Feudatories, In the spring of 1662, the regent ordered Clearance in southern China, the resistance movement under the leadership of ZhengChenggong, the Ming loyalists began to fight back. This involves the whole of China inland southern coastal populations forced to migrate. In 1673, Revolt of the Three Feudatories broke out.
The Sangui the troops occupied most of southwest China, He tried to join himself with local generals such as Wang Fuchen. Kangxi employment, such as the week embryo male and the General Tuhai counter-insurgency, but also gave a generous people were captured in the war. He intends to personally led the military suppression of the rebels, but his subjects, that he objected to. Uprising in 1681, the end of the victory is belongs to the Qing Dynasty.
The Kangxi Emperor create a gold age in his reign, but in some reason that he is not a good leader too. Lao Tzh said: “If you want to govern the people, you must place yourself below them. If you want to lead the people, you must learn how to follow them.” It means that to be a leader must know haw his people wants. The leader need follow the people, because your leadership and your power given by the follower. You cannot just autocratic to make politics, let people to follow. And andNiccolo Machiavelli also said: “To understand the nature of the people on mut be a prince, and to understand the nature of the prince, one must be of the people.” In Prosperous Era of Kangxi and Qianlong, Kangxi want to limit the development of the commercial capital of the annexation of land and recovery of agricultural production, the Qing government totake “Restraining Commerce policy”. It making the seeds of capitalism suppressed. And at that age, the Western society has started the Industrial Revolution. And through the world trade, many Western cultures, goods and technology bring into China. But only Kangxi personal very fond of these Western things, but he did not want his people to accept these advanced ideas. He did not stand the people's perspective to examine the benefits of these things only from their own selfish concept rule to limit the spread of these things in the private sector. And in Lao Tzh’s idea to leader a country that “Governing Without Interruption” it means that they are not indulging in leaving the world to be governed. And the implied meaning is the leader should follow his people nature to manage country. In this point Kangxiis a selfish Emperor, also is bad leader for a country. Because his selfishness the end of Qing dynastyforeign aggression.
The other reason that, KangxiEmperor is an immature leader that he in order to consolidate political power, and try to control people's minds. He use Literary Inquisition to limit people’s mind. And Niccolo Machiavelli said: “princes and governments are far more dangerous than other elements within society.” When the leader lost his mind, he can do everycrazy thing that he can. In other word, to be a good leader, must have clear mind, and identify problems and thinking of ways to solve the problem, rather than murdered.
About Literary Inquisition, itrefers to official persecution of intellectuals for their writings in Imperial China. Literary Inquisition took place under each of the dynasties ruling China, although the Qing was particularly notorious for the practise. Such persecutions could owe even to a single phrase or word which the ruler considered offensive. Some of these owed to the naming taboo. In a serious case, not only the writer but also his immediate and extended families would be killed.
There has an example of how about tragedy literary inquisition: “ In 1753 The Qianlong emperor's frequent tours of Jiangnan were partly funded by local governments, and therefore indirectly by the local people. One local official by the name of Lu Lusen, using a higher ranking minister's name, Sun Jiajin, sent a memorial to Qianlong pleading with him to stop the tour for the sake of the local people. The text achieved widespread popular support. Eventually Lu Lusen was sentenced to death by slow slicing for sedition, his two sons were beheaded, and more than a thousand relatives and acquaintances were either executed, exiled, or thrown into jail according to the notion of "collective responsibility" that automatically applied in cases of sedition”(Kang-Qianshengshi' de wenhuazhuanzhiyuwenziyu) from this example that we can see how danger about the leader don’ta positive solution to the problem, with extraordinary measures to control the people. And itrelate to Niccolo Machiavelli said: “princes and governments are far more dangerous than other elements within society.”
Bibliography
- Tao-teChing by Lao Tzh
- The Qualities of the Prince by Niccolo Machiavelli
- 'Kang-Qianshengshi' de wenhuazhuanzhiyuwenziyu" “ [Cultural despotism and literary inquisitions in the 'Kangxi-Qianlong golden age'], in Guoshishiliujiang [Sixteen lectures on the history of China]. Beijing: Zhonghuashuju, 2006. Retrieved on 10 November 2008.