Because the Manchus could present themselves as Confucian rulers, and because the Ming had been so corrupt, the Manchus were accepted by the Chinese people as legitimate rulers.
The early Manchu emperors faced a number of significant problems, consolidation of their rule against Ming loyalists, and creation of political institutions which were acceptable both to the Chinese people and to the Manchu clans upon whose support the throne would depend for some time. The Manchus were fortunate in that the first several emperors were very capable men, strong in the warrior virtues of the Manchus and able to hold the throne, but intelligent enough to see the changes which were necessary to consolidate their rule. The fourth emperor (actually he was the second, but the Manchus proclaimed two of their early leaders emperors posthumously, to honor their achievements in preparing for the founding of the dynasty), the emperor Kangxi (K'ang-hsi; r. 1662-1722) was particularly capable. Kangxi lived a long life; he reigned for a longer period than any other Chinese emperor, the first of whom sat upon the Chinese throne in 221 b.c. During the reign of Kangxi, most of the outstanding problems of the new dynasty were solved, the Manchus were fully accepted by the Chinese people, and the institutions which would bring China to its highest level of cultural and political achievement were created.
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