Under his influence vast encylopedias were compiled, as well as the Kangxi Chinese dictionary. In 1705, he commissioned The Complete Tang Poems —a collection of 49,000 lyric poems by more than 2,200 poets.
In 1692, Kangxi issued the Edict of Toleration, which barred attacks on churches, and legalized the practice of Christianity among Chinese people. He wanted to maintain oversite of Chinese Christians himself, and resisted the control of Pope Clement XI who issued a papal bull in 1715 condemning certain traditional Chinese religious practices. The emperor responded by banning missionaries from entering China.
Various people have sought to claim Kangxi as an adherent of their beliefs. He was a Neo-Confucian, who sponsored the construction, preservation, and restoration of many Buddhist sites, and who wrote poetry — such as the following poem of Christian faith.
The following qi-yen-she poem follows a traditional format — using seven Chinese characters in each line, and including the numbers one through ten.
基督死
功成十字血成溪 ，千丈恩流分自西。
身列四衙半夜路，徒方三背兩番鸡。
五百鞭达寸肌裂，六尺悬垂二盜齐。
慘恸八垓惊九品，七言一毕万灵啼。
The Death of Christ
When the work of the cross is done, blood flowed like a river,
Grace from the west flowed a thousand yards deep,
On the midnight road he was subjected to four trials,
Before the rooster crowed twice, three times betrayed by a disciple.
Five hundred lashes tore every inch of skin,
Two thieves hung on either side, six feet high,
Sadness greater than any had ever known,
Seven words, one completed task, ten thousand spirits weep.
Since all ten numbers don’t come through in this English translation, they are laid out here:
----1- — once for all, the finished work, or the one task
----2- — two thieves
----3- — three times denied
----4- — four trials back and forth
----5- — five hundred stripes
----6- — six feet high on the cross
----7- — the seven last words of Christ from the cross
----8- — eight compass points — to the furthermost point of the world
----9- — nine ranks of officials — all walks of people
----10 — Chinese numeral ten, which is the pictograph of the cross
Entry written by D.S. Martin. He is the author of five poetry collections including Angelicus (2021, Cascade) ― a book of poems written from the point-of-view of angels. His books are available through Wipf & Stock.
Posts
