1 00:00:00,120 --> 00:00:01,920 Speaker 1: This Day in History Class is a production of I 2 00:00:02,000 --> 00:00:14,120 Speaker 1: Heart Radio. Hello and welcome to This Day in History Class, 3 00:00:14,120 --> 00:00:16,840 Speaker 1: a show that proves there's more than one way to 4 00:00:16,960 --> 00:00:21,880 Speaker 1: make history. I'm Gaye Louzier, and in this episode we're 5 00:00:21,920 --> 00:00:25,120 Speaker 1: talking about the Chinese emperor who gave up his title 6 00:00:25,200 --> 00:00:28,440 Speaker 1: in order to maintain public respect and to keep from 7 00:00:28,520 --> 00:00:41,880 Speaker 1: upstaging his grandpa. The day was February ninth, seventeen ninety six. 8 00:00:42,680 --> 00:00:46,239 Speaker 1: The Emperor of China renounced his throne in deference to 9 00:00:46,360 --> 00:00:51,960 Speaker 1: his grandfather. The shan Long Emperor born Hong Lie, was 10 00:00:52,040 --> 00:00:55,800 Speaker 1: the fifth emperor of the Shing dynasty. He had assumed 11 00:00:55,800 --> 00:00:59,480 Speaker 1: the throne in seventeen thirty five and ruled with absolute 12 00:00:59,480 --> 00:01:03,800 Speaker 1: power over his territories for a full six decades. That 13 00:01:03,960 --> 00:01:07,640 Speaker 1: extensive term had been matched only by his grandfather, the 14 00:01:07,760 --> 00:01:12,040 Speaker 1: Kong She Emperor. He had ruled for sixty one years, 15 00:01:12,360 --> 00:01:16,440 Speaker 1: which was and still is the longest reign in Chinese history. 16 00:01:17,440 --> 00:01:20,560 Speaker 1: Shan Long was in good health and showed no sign 17 00:01:20,600 --> 00:01:24,240 Speaker 1: of slowing down, but in order to preserve his grandfather's record, 18 00:01:24,440 --> 00:01:27,919 Speaker 1: he abdicated the throne and passed the title of emperor 19 00:01:27,920 --> 00:01:32,160 Speaker 1: to his son, the Shing dynasty, also known as the 20 00:01:32,200 --> 00:01:36,760 Speaker 1: Manchu dynasty, was established in sixteen forty four and ruled 21 00:01:36,840 --> 00:01:40,800 Speaker 1: China for nearly three hundred years. Much of that time 22 00:01:40,880 --> 00:01:43,920 Speaker 1: was devoted to the rule of just two monarchs, the 23 00:01:44,040 --> 00:01:47,440 Speaker 1: kong She Emperor, who reigned from sixteen sixty one to 24 00:01:47,560 --> 00:01:51,880 Speaker 1: seventeen twenty two and his grandson, the Shan Long Emperor, 25 00:01:52,120 --> 00:01:55,800 Speaker 1: who reigned from seventeen thirty five to seventeen ninety six. 26 00:01:56,760 --> 00:02:01,440 Speaker 1: Taken together, their reigns were incredibly INFLUENTI shoal. They raised 27 00:02:01,520 --> 00:02:04,400 Speaker 1: China to its pre modern peak in terms of size 28 00:02:04,400 --> 00:02:07,840 Speaker 1: and power, and their policies helped develop many of the political, 29 00:02:08,000 --> 00:02:14,280 Speaker 1: economic and cultural practices that modern China still holds today. However, 30 00:02:14,520 --> 00:02:19,000 Speaker 1: the Shing dynasty was not without its controversies. For starters, 31 00:02:19,080 --> 00:02:21,560 Speaker 1: it was founded by the man Shus, a group of 32 00:02:21,600 --> 00:02:25,959 Speaker 1: foreign conquerors from Manchuria in Northeast Asia. In order to 33 00:02:26,080 --> 00:02:29,840 Speaker 1: rule effectively, they would have to win over the Chinese populace, 34 00:02:30,080 --> 00:02:33,919 Speaker 1: a task for which the Kong Shi Emperor proved perfectly suited. 35 00:02:34,639 --> 00:02:37,880 Speaker 1: His tactic was to recruit scholars from the yan Zee 36 00:02:37,960 --> 00:02:41,080 Speaker 1: River Delta area and elevate them to positions in his 37 00:02:41,160 --> 00:02:45,280 Speaker 1: court with the academic elite on his side, Kong Shi 38 00:02:45,400 --> 00:02:49,640 Speaker 1: worked out how to stabilize the economy and suppress armed rebellions. 39 00:02:50,240 --> 00:02:53,359 Speaker 1: In this way, the rest of the empire gradually came 40 00:02:53,400 --> 00:02:58,120 Speaker 1: around the idea of man shue leadership. That widespread approval 41 00:02:58,400 --> 00:03:01,880 Speaker 1: enabled Kong Shi to shift his focus to other areas, 42 00:03:02,040 --> 00:03:04,680 Speaker 1: such as the patronage of art and culture during the 43 00:03:04,720 --> 00:03:09,280 Speaker 1: second half of his lengthy reign. Kong Shi's successor was 44 00:03:09,320 --> 00:03:12,880 Speaker 1: his son, the yong Jong Emperor, but he ruled for 45 00:03:12,960 --> 00:03:16,080 Speaker 1: just thirteen years before dying suddenly at the age of 46 00:03:16,120 --> 00:03:19,720 Speaker 1: fifty six. On the eve of his death in October 47 00:03:19,840 --> 00:03:24,040 Speaker 1: seventeen thirty five, his fourth born son, Hong Lie, was 48 00:03:24,080 --> 00:03:28,400 Speaker 1: declared the heir apparent. The chain of succession didn't usually 49 00:03:28,440 --> 00:03:32,440 Speaker 1: work that way, but Hong Lee's grandfather, the Kong Shi Emperor, 50 00:03:32,680 --> 00:03:37,120 Speaker 1: had secretly chosen him for the honor many years earlier. Apparently, 51 00:03:37,200 --> 00:03:40,320 Speaker 1: he believed Hong Lie possessed special qualities that made him 52 00:03:40,320 --> 00:03:43,440 Speaker 1: well suited for leadership, and it convinced the boy's father 53 00:03:43,560 --> 00:03:46,880 Speaker 1: to honor that belief by passing him the title of emperor. 54 00:03:47,680 --> 00:03:51,280 Speaker 1: As a result, hong Lee ascended the throne on October 55 00:03:51,360 --> 00:03:55,760 Speaker 1: eighteenth seventeen thirty five and assumed the regunal title of 56 00:03:55,880 --> 00:04:00,720 Speaker 1: shong Long. Under his reign, the Chinese fire grew to 57 00:04:00,800 --> 00:04:04,400 Speaker 1: include Tibet and a large portion of Central Asia, including 58 00:04:04,440 --> 00:04:09,240 Speaker 1: parts of modern day Russia. These expansions effectively transformed the 59 00:04:09,320 --> 00:04:13,680 Speaker 1: kingdom into a multi ethnic Chinese empire. The majority group 60 00:04:13,720 --> 00:04:18,159 Speaker 1: remained the Han Chinese, but they were now joined by Mongols, Tibetans, 61 00:04:18,200 --> 00:04:22,440 Speaker 1: and Manchus, among others. Each group had its own cultural 62 00:04:22,520 --> 00:04:26,440 Speaker 1: practices and religious traditions, a level of diversity that led 63 00:04:26,560 --> 00:04:30,200 Speaker 1: Shong Long to think of himself as a universal ruler. 64 00:04:31,400 --> 00:04:34,919 Speaker 1: But expanding the empire wasn't all he did. Like his 65 00:04:34,960 --> 00:04:38,560 Speaker 1: grandfather before him, Shong Long was a true patron of 66 00:04:38,600 --> 00:04:42,080 Speaker 1: the arts. In his free time, he wrote both prose 67 00:04:42,120 --> 00:04:46,440 Speaker 1: and poetry, and also practiced calligraphy and painting. He also 68 00:04:46,520 --> 00:04:49,080 Speaker 1: helped foster a love of art in the public, and 69 00:04:49,120 --> 00:04:53,200 Speaker 1: as a result, architecture, painting, porcelain making, and jade and 70 00:04:53,279 --> 00:04:58,400 Speaker 1: ivory working all flourished during his reign. In addition, Chang 71 00:04:58,480 --> 00:05:01,920 Speaker 1: Long did a service to history by commissioning a collection 72 00:05:02,000 --> 00:05:05,039 Speaker 1: of all the great literary works of the era. He 73 00:05:05,160 --> 00:05:09,680 Speaker 1: also assembled an unprecedented collection of Chinese paintings and artifacts, 74 00:05:10,000 --> 00:05:12,320 Speaker 1: many of which are now on exhibit at the country's 75 00:05:12,440 --> 00:05:18,119 Speaker 1: national palace museums. Unlike many ancient rulers, the Shong Long 76 00:05:18,240 --> 00:05:21,680 Speaker 1: Emperor didn't die in office, and he wasn't removed due 77 00:05:21,720 --> 00:05:25,719 Speaker 1: to a scandal or a public uprising either. Instead, he 78 00:05:25,880 --> 00:05:28,719 Speaker 1: chose to step down voluntarily at the start of his 79 00:05:28,839 --> 00:05:31,960 Speaker 1: sixty first year on the throne. He was still in 80 00:05:32,040 --> 00:05:34,560 Speaker 1: good health for a man in his mid eighties, but 81 00:05:34,640 --> 00:05:37,320 Speaker 1: he had made a promise when he first became emperor 82 00:05:37,360 --> 00:05:39,640 Speaker 1: that he would not rule for a longer time than 83 00:05:39,680 --> 00:05:43,880 Speaker 1: his grandfather. At the time, Kong Shi was still held 84 00:05:43,920 --> 00:05:47,640 Speaker 1: in high regard as a prosperous and stabilizing ruler, and 85 00:05:47,720 --> 00:05:50,840 Speaker 1: his title as the longest reigning emperor was viewed as 86 00:05:50,880 --> 00:05:54,920 Speaker 1: a sign of his greatness. If Shong Long had broken 87 00:05:54,960 --> 00:05:58,839 Speaker 1: his grandfather's record, it would have been interpreted as disrespectful 88 00:05:58,920 --> 00:06:02,479 Speaker 1: and vain, a dishonor to both his family and the throne. 89 00:06:03,680 --> 00:06:06,760 Speaker 1: Sean Long was aware of the optics, so in the 90 00:06:06,760 --> 00:06:10,680 Speaker 1: fall of seventeen he kept his word by designating his 91 00:06:10,800 --> 00:06:16,280 Speaker 1: fifteenth son to succeed him, and so on February nine, seventeen, 92 00:06:16,360 --> 00:06:20,800 Speaker 1: ninety six Chinese New Year, Shan Long abdicated the throne 93 00:06:21,000 --> 00:06:25,680 Speaker 1: and assumed the title of retired Emperor. On paper, his 94 00:06:25,760 --> 00:06:29,360 Speaker 1: son was now in charge, but in practice, Sean Long 95 00:06:29,560 --> 00:06:32,839 Speaker 1: continued to wheel power from behind the scenes until his 96 00:06:32,920 --> 00:06:36,440 Speaker 1: death three years later. If you add that time to 97 00:06:36,600 --> 00:06:40,320 Speaker 1: his official tally, that would make Sean Long the true 98 00:06:40,440 --> 00:06:49,360 Speaker 1: longest reigning emperor of China. Just don't tell his grandpa. 99 00:06:50,320 --> 00:06:53,839 Speaker 1: I'm gay, bluesier and hopefully you now know a little 100 00:06:53,880 --> 00:06:57,640 Speaker 1: more about history today than you did yesterday. If you 101 00:06:57,760 --> 00:07:01,599 Speaker 1: enjoyed today's episode, consider following us on Twitter, Facebook, and 102 00:07:01,640 --> 00:07:06,000 Speaker 1: Instagram at t d I HC Show. You can also 103 00:07:06,160 --> 00:07:09,039 Speaker 1: rate and review the show on Apple Podcasts, or you 104 00:07:09,080 --> 00:07:12,280 Speaker 1: can write to us directly by emailing This Day at 105 00:07:12,320 --> 00:07:16,480 Speaker 1: iHeart media dot com. Thanks to Chandler Mays for producing 106 00:07:16,480 --> 00:07:19,120 Speaker 1: the show, and thank you for listening. I'll see you 107 00:07:19,160 --> 00:07:22,720 Speaker 1: back here again tomorrow for another day in History class.