Kangxi the Great: Auspicious Skies

After putting down the Revolt of the Three Feudatories, Kangxi searched far and wide for capable officials to control the rivers. He traveled to Bianliang in person to inspect the Yellow River, appointed able officials to dredge the waterways and improve grain transport, and finally made the Yellow River run clear. He appointed capable generals to train the navy, combining virtue with authority, and brought Taiwan back under his rule. He established the Erudite Scholars examination to select worthy officials and ease ethnic tensions. During his southern tour of Jinling, he paid tribute to the Ming founder and united the remaining loyalists of the former dynasty. He heeded frank counsel, reformed officialdom, punished corrupt officials, and ushered in a new era. On his northern tour of Shengjing, he forged an alliance with the princes of Eastern Mongolia, then marched west against Galdan, completing the great task of unifying China. This volume also brings a new cast of vivid characters to the fore: the charming and elegant Gao Shiqi, the incorruptible and stubborn Yu Chenglong, the outspoken Guo Xiu, the wind-and-rain-battered Chen Huang, the arrow-pulling, pearl-biting Shi Lang, the “Fragrant Beauty” begging in the streets, and the exceptionally sharp-witted “Capable Granny,” among others. Through these characters, the novel recreates the lives and customs of early Qing society and the historical vision of a blessed realm brought together under one rule.