★Additional Information

Emperor Kangxi Subsided Rebellion

In order to strengthen national unification, Emperor Kangxi abolished the system of vassal states in 1673. Wu Sangui, King of Pingxi, rose to resist. His army attacked the provinces of Hunan and Sichuan. King of Jingnan and King of Pingnan joined him. In 1678 Wu Sangui claimed himself Emperor of the Dazhou Dynasty in Hengzhou, Hunan Province. Emperor Kangxi immediately responded with both political and military moves. After 8 years of war, Wu was finally eliminated, and peace was restored. The Qing Dynasty entered a prosperous era called“Yong-Qian Period”. What Emperor Kangxi did represented not only the interest of the Manchu people, but also the interest of all the ethnic groups, including the Han people.

The Chinese people have always cherished friendship and solidarity with other ethnic groups or nationalities. Since the time Zhang Qian was dispatched to the far western region of China as the central government's emissary, friendly exchanges between the Han people and ethnic minority groups and between different ethnic groups have never stopped. The reason why Emissary Su Wu was able to return to his motherland after being detained for 19 years by the Huns was because, firstly, he remained loyal to the Han Dynasty, secondly, the Huns feared the power of the Han and were forced to make peace. Envoy Ban Chao worked in the far western regions of China for 31 years. He helped local people to develop economy and was deeply loved by them. When he was about to leave for his hometown for retirement, many people cried. Some even held his legs to prevent him from leaving. They said he was like their father. In the Tang Dynasty, in order to strengthen relations between the Tang Dynasty and Tibet, Princess Wencheng was married to Tibetan King SongtsanGambo. Songtsan came all the way from Tibet to Qinghai to meet her. Wencheng brought with her many craftsmen and vegetable seeds and silkworms. She also taught Tibetans advanced production techniques. Sons of Tibetan royal families were sent to the capital of the Tang Empire, Chang'an, to study. All those boosted the development of Tibet and promoted the unity between Tibetans and the Han people. Today there are many Tibetan folk songs praising Princess Wencheng, and she was deeply loved by Tibetans ever since.

At that time, the Han people had a higher level of development and other ethnic groups learned a lot through interactions and exchanges with the Han. At the same time, the Han people also learned useful things from them. Although the Qing Dynasty was founded by the Manchurians, they realized that it was necessary and important to learn culture from the Han. Therefore, they selected many Han intellectuals to the ruling class, and encouraged the Manchurians to learn Han culture and other ethnic cultures. The Manchurians not only learned and adopted the political system, military tactics and production techniques of the Han people, but also mastered the Chinese language well. There appeared many great and famous poets and novelists, like Nalan Xingde and Cao Xueqin. There have been numerous examples of Chinese ethnic groups learning from each other. As a united nation with many ethnic groups, such learning was made possible. That, in turn, promoted the development of the whole Chinese nationality. With the development of productivity and social progress, such exchanges and mutual learning will enhance, and the Chinese patriotism will grow stronger.