The Chinese emperor K'ang-hsi (1654-1722) was a man of enormous personal vitality and exceptional administrative and military ability. He was one of the greatest emperors of the Ch'ing period.

Born on May 4, 1654, K'ang-hsi was the third son of the sickly and weak emperor Shun-chih (reigned 1643-1661). K'ang-hsi's mother, who died in 1663, came from a family in southern Manchuria which had served under the Manchus since the early 17th century. As a youth, he was raised outside the imperial palace in the care of his grandmother, the dowager empress Hsiao-chuang and the mother of Shun-chih. Here K'ang-hsi received his tutoring, learning the Manchu language and acquiring enough ability in Chinese to deal efficiently with state documents. While still a child, K'ang-hsi suffered an attack of smallpox, leaving his face pockmarked, but also elevating his chances to become emperor since he was thereafter considered to be immune to that disease...