Which wuxia king/emperor would you want as ruler of *your* country?

[Ken Cheng]

Imagine that you live in imperial China. Wuxia stories have featured a number of kings and emperors (some historical, others fictional). Which of the Chinese rulers (from wuxia fiction) in this poll would you want to be the leader of your nation?

[kidd]

It's a toss up betweeb Duen Jing Ming and Kang Xi. Both rulers are presented in very good light in their respective novels.

I have not read the duel. But, I read that this Emperor in the Duel is actually a very intelligent fella. Might worth a thought too.

[Ken Cheng]

I have not read the duel. But, I read that this Emperor in the Duel is actually a very intelligent fella. Might worth a thought too.

Not only intelligent, but showed a great amount of courage and character. One of the world's two most deadly swordsmen was threatening him with a sword, and the emperor was defenseless, but he didn't back down an inch. He stood up to Yip Goo Sing and showed no fear for his own life at all.

Even Yip Goo Sing admitted that he was very impressed, and that he believed that if the emperor had been a wulin man, he'd definitely be one of wulin's top ten martial artists.

[Trien Chieu]

I pick the fictional Ming emperor from LUK SIU FUNG: THE DUEL.
I think he is great as many have mention from the above. My second choice would be Chu Yuan Cheung. I don't like K'ang Hsi or Chien Lung as the emperors. They are good emperor only if you are Manchu. If you are han chinese, they will treat you like a second class citizen. They were racist against non-manchurian chinese. If I was a han wuxia hero during the Qing Dynasty, I would join the rebellion against the Qing Dynasty and their manchurian citizens for all the injustices they caused.

By the way, you missed out Yongle Emperor (Lethal weapons of love and passion) of the Ming and Qin Shi HuangTi (Step into the past) of the Qin. Yongle is considered of of the best emperor in chinese history.

[Banh Mi]

The Great Khan for me. My people be a warrior race.

[CC]

The fictional Ming Emperor from LXF might be cool and smart and know-it-all but there was zilch evidence that he was running the country well or that he made extra effort to root out corrupt officals. Not to say that he is bad but I'd rather stick with the DGSD Duans who seem to care for the country and people.

[Ren Wo Xing]

Duan Zhengming seemed to be too much of a nice guy; he was actually tempted to return the freaking throne to Duan Yanqing!!!!

Kang Xi ftw for sure. A good emperor that was also competent and ruthless as necessary; witness the way he handled Aobai at such a tender age.

[pannonian]

I pick the fictional Ming emperor from LUK SIU FUNG: THE DUEL.
By the way, you missed out Yongle Emperor (Lethal weapons of love and passion) of the Ming and Qin Shi HuangTi (Step into the past) of the Qin. Yongle is considered of of the best emperor in chinese history.

Didn't he bankrupt the state?

[wkeej]

I will choose KX. Though in terms of others, i will choose XF. strong and can defend country well.

[Ian Liew]

By the way, you missed out Yongle Emperor (Lethal weapons of love and passion) of the Ming and Qin Shi HuangTi (Step into the past) of the Qin. Yongle is considered of of the best emperor in chinese history.

Yongle was only a good man if you pictured him from the LWOLAP angle. History is less clear as to how noble his intentions were when he attacked Jianwen and stole the throne from him. Some historians paint him as a power-hungry man who was upset at being passed over for the throne and usurped the throne from his nephew and killed him. He built the Forbidden City and was the greatest Ming emperor, but fell short of some of the other emperors in other dynasties.

Kangxi did all he could to give the Han equal opportunity, but his officials were reluctant to implement it. As far as talent, heart and ethic were concerned, Kangxi would not be a bad choice, and he is historically recognised as one of the greatest emperors of China. Hongwu was hard working but created a system which fell apart should the Emperor slack - although his edict that eunuchs should never hold any position in court was a wise and far-seeing one.

The Duans looked good, but it wasn't really hard to govern a small country like Dali. I'd vote for Kangxi or the Duel Emperor. Kangxi's efforts at racial and cultural integration should be much more meaningful than anything Malaysia's leaders professe to desire (or mock) right now.

[PJ]

How about NINE HEAVEN DRAGON SAINT Ma Yingjiu.

[Trien Chieu]

Yongle was only a good man if you pictured him from the LWOLAP angle. History is less clear as to how noble his intentions were when he attacked Jianwen and stole the throne from him. Some historians paint him as a power-hungry man who was upset at being passed over for the throne and usurped the throne from his nephew and killed him. He built the Forbidden City and was the greatest Ming emperor, but fell short of some of the other emperors in other dynasties.

Kangxi did all he could to give the Han equal opportunity, but his officials were reluctant to implement it. As far as talent, heart and ethic were concerned, Kangxi would not be a bad choice, and he is historically recognised as one of the greatest emperors of China. Hongwu was hard working but created a system which fell apart should the Emperor slack - although his edict that eunuchs should never hold any position in court was a wise and far-seeing one.

Kangxi would be one of the best emperor you can have if you are a manchurian. But if you are a han chinese, life is still suck. The manchurians still have more privileges and rights than you. There is still lot of double standards in favor of the manchurians and injustice to the han chinese. Yes, Yongle wasn't a nice guy but the han chinese was way better off during his reign than during Kangxi's. The Qing Dynasty was racist from the beginning to the very end. Even at the time when the dynasty was about to collapse, they still want to keep all the privileges and rights over the han and other ethnic groups. They still considered them as second class citizens, no wonder they never win their hearts and souls.

[ByTmE]

I find this question to be quite difficult. I love my country but hate it's people. Oh wait, this is my country in imperial China, right? Regardless, I have some qualifications that need to be met.

It would be of utmost importance for the ruler to have a genuine vested interest in the welfare of the people regardless of how they see him. The ruler would have to benevelont but firm because firmness without benevolence has always been the normal in this particular country of mine [...since I deem it so]. My ruler should also be a father-figure so people could place their faith in him to protect their welfare. Even if I think it's silly to place a leap of faith in one human being, the citizens would want to be able feel this.

Also, my ideal ruler would be able to stand up against foreign powers who repeatedly demean our citizens by using effective but peaceful methods. Effective in that said foreign nations would never think of such audacity again, and peaceful in the sense that no wars will be fought on our soil. He should make reforms and implement new economic and agricultural policies to make our country more self sufficient so we wouldn't have to rely on heavy imports.

Finally, my ideal ruler would promote the importance of education and cultural arts to sustain our national identity and pride. My ideal rulers might be either Kang Xi or Zhu Yuanzhang . We don't have the problem of racial discrimination, the problem is the existence of rigid social and economic heirarchies, so it might not matter that Kang Xi is Manchurian. Since we do a good job of hating one another anyway, having a ruler from a different ethinic group may work towards cementing group ethnic identity in response...yes, this is how my country might be. Negative true, but realistic.

[kidd]

Kangxi would be one of the best emperor you can have if you are a manchurian. But if you are a han chinese, life is still suck. The manchurians still have more privileges and rights than you. There is still lot of double standards in favor of the manchurians and injustice to the han chinese.

Kangxi tried his best to give equal opportunities. But, reform cannot be done in one day and cannot be done without support from others.

The Qing Dynasty was racist from the beginning to the very end. Even at the time when the dynasty was about to collapse, they still want to keep all the privileges and rights over the han and other ethnic groups. They still considered them as second class citizens, no wonder they never win their hearts and souls.

By the time the dynasty collapsed, Kangxi was already long dead. He was one of the Emperors in a long line of Qing Dynasty Emperors. But, you couldn't put the blame of what his descendants felt or did on him especially when it's after so many generations.

Btw, should the evaluation of the Emperors based on what shown in the novel/tv series or include real historical records? It seems that some members are judging the Emperors based on the real persons instead of the fictional ones in the novels.

[Trien Chieu]

Yongle was only a good man if you pictured him from the LWOLAP angle. History is less clear as to how noble his intentions were when he attacked Jianwen and stole the throne from him. Some historians paint him as a power-hungry man who was upset at being passed over for the throne and usurped the throne from his nephew and killed him. He built the Forbidden City and was the greatest Ming emperor, but fell short of some of the other emperors in other dynasties.

Jianwen poisoned his grandpa to death and sold out his country to the Mongol in order to be emperor. I guess he deserved what he got. Yonge did not kill him but forced him to become a monk.

Kangxi did all he could to give the Han equal opportunity, but his officials were reluctant to implement it. As far as talent, heart and ethic were concerned, Kangxi would not be a bad choice, and he is historically recognised as one of the greatest emperors of China.

Perhaps Kangxi had good intention but at the end of the day the non-manchu Chinese were still second/third class citizens. The laws of the land still heavily favor the Manchurians.

Hongwu was hard working but created a system which fell apart should the Emperor slack - although his edict that eunuchs should never hold any position in court was a wise and far-seeing one.

To be fair, no matter how great the system is if the emperor is slacking, the empire will fall apart. Regarding the eunuchs, both the Ming and Qing dynasties were victims of the evil eunuchs.

The Duans looked good, but it wasn't really hard to govern a small country like Dali. I'd vote for Kangxi or the Duel Emperor. Kangxi's efforts at racial and cultural integration should be much more meaningful than anything Malaysia's leaders professe to desire (or mock) right now.

[Ian Liew]

Jianwen poisoned his grandpa to death and sold out his country to the Mongol in order to be emperor. I guess he deserved what he got. Yonge did not kill him but forced him to become a monk.

Exactly. Like I said, if you picture him from TVB's LWOLAP angle.

Perhaps Kangxi had good intention but at the end of the day the non-manchu Chinese were still second/third class citizens. The laws of the land still heavily favor the Manchurians.

That problem was in spite of his best efforts rather than because of it, which is more than can be said for many other Emperors.

To be fair, no matter how great the system is if the emperor is slacking, the empire will fall apart. Regarding the eunuchs, both the Ming and Qing dynasties were victims of the evil eunuchs.

Some systems delegated authority better than others, and a useless emperor could still be entertained in his palace without the whole country falling apart. The Hongwu system left no room for anyone other than the emperor himself to make the major decisions, and if he decided to slack the whole system would grind to a halt. Compare that to Han Gaozu's system, where his input into the running of the country was less important that that of his civil officers such as Xiao He.

[pannonian]

Exactly. Like I said, if you picture him from TVB's LWOLAP angle.

That problem was in spite of his best efforts rather than because of it, which is more than can be said for many other Emperors.

Some systems delegated authority better than others, and a useless emperor could still be entertained in his palace without the whole country falling apart. The Hongwu system left no room for anyone other than the emperor himself to make the major decisions, and if he decided to slack the whole system would grind to a halt. Compare that to Han Gaozu's system, where his input into the running of the country was less important that that of his civil officers such as Xiao He.

My family has no complaints about the opportunities for advancement in the government during the Qing dynasty, nor for its treatment by the imperial government. Whatever prejudices TC alludes to from the Manchurian government, we encountered little of it, and we did as well under the foreign Qing as we did under any native Chinese government. The Qing dynasty treated us well, and I resent any attempt to paint them as inferior simply because they were foreign. The British were just as foreign, and their government was probably the best that we've ever experienced.

One little project which Kang Xi commissioned, which any Chinese scholar would be forever grateful for, is the Chinese dictionary. But then again, I assume TC would have little experience of that, since he has no knowledge of Chinese culture bar what he gleans from TVB serials. I invite him to educate himself on history in general, and Chinese history in particular, and maybe even acquaint himself with the four treasures of the study. If he's never used these these things, he has no business pretending to be Chinese.

[ToastedRossi]

This is a pretty easy choice: Kangxi is widely considered to be one of China's three best emperors, and the other guys in contention aren't on this list. The Kangxi in the Deer and the Cauldron is also one of the most extraordinary characters in Jin Yong's novels, so it doesn't even matter if we're talking about the fictional or real version.

[mawguy]

one who isn't listed. the female one. :P

[Ian Liew]

This is a pretty easy choice: Kangxi is widely considered to be one of China's three best emperors, and the other guys in contention aren't on this list. The Kangxi in the Deer and the Cauldron is also one of the most extraordinary characters in Jin Yong's novels, so it doesn't even matter if we're talking about the fictional or real version.

Who would be the third after Kangxi and Han Wudi?