---
node: kangxi_emperor
type: person
slug: kangxi_emperor
title: "Kangxi Emperor"
lead: "The Kangxi Emperor (1654–1722, reigned 1661–1722), third emperor of the Qing, consolidated the dynasty's rule over China during the longest reign of any Chinese emperor."
published: 2026-07-09
updated: 2026-07-09
image_file: kangxi_emperor.jpg
image_source: "https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Portrait_of_the_Kangxi_Emperor_in_Informal_Dress_Holding_a_Brush.jpg"
image_author: "AnonymousUnknown author court artists"
image_license: "Public domain"
---

## Who they were

Third emperor of the Qing dynasty, he reigned for 61 years, longer than any other emperor of China.

## What they did

He suppressed the Revolt of the Three Feudatories (1673–81), took Taiwan in 1683, signed the Treaty of Nerchinsk with Russia in 1689 — Qing China's first treaty with a European power — and campaigned against the Dzungar Mongols. A patron of scholarship, he gave his era name to the Kangxi Dictionary. He employed Jesuit missionaries for astronomy and cartography and tolerated Christianity early in the reign; restrictions came with the Rites Controversy at its end.

## Legacy

His reign opened the Qing golden age, continued by Yongzheng and Qianlong.