I'd say there is little doubt that the Manchu emperors could all speak decent Chinese. Kangxi's was almost certainly not as good as that of his son and grandson, but he could get by just fine.

Emperors of the Qing never identified themselves as rulers of a Manchu empire. Secondly, the argument ignores the historical fact that the Chinese nation continued to form and develop as a ...

Qing Kuan (1848–1927) and other court painters, detail of “The Grand Imperial Wedding of the Guangxu Emperor” (ca. 1889), Album leaves, ink and color on silk (image courtesy The Palace Museum) ...

The Qing dynasty, the last imperial dynasty of China, was ruled by the Manchu. During the Qing era, the Han were subjected to brutal persecution, including the elimination of Han traditions, the ...

The Individualists were Ming loyalists exiled from the court after the Manchu conquest, and the Courtiers were the court painters of the Qing at its height, during the reigns of the Emperors ...

The Manchu and Han banquet was introduced during Emperor Kangxi s reign at the government house and official residence of the upper strata. The Manchu and Han banquet derived from changes in the ...

Two Qing emperors in particular, Kangxi (r. 1661-1722) and Qianlong (r. 1735-1796), appreciated the beauty of the pergola so keenly that they considered it their favorite place to compose poetry.