Wang Hui and other Kangxi’s Southern Tour

[Wang Hui et al. Kangxi South Tour Map]

“Kangxi South Tour Map” volume, written by Wang Hui et al. of the Qing Dynasty, in silk, with colors, ranging from 67.8 cm vertically and 1400 to 2600 cm horizontally
Emperor Kangxi was the second generation of emperors after the Qing Dynasty entered the customs. During his reign, in order to understand the situation of the people, inspect the river defense, especially to calm the anti-Qing sentiment of the people in the south of the Yangtze River, there were six grand tours of the south from the 23rd year of Kangxi (1684) to the 46th year of Kangxi (1707). Each time the emperor and his party set out from the capital, sometimes by bike, sometimes by boat, and reached Shaoxing in Zhejiang. The tour was huge and stirring, and local officials greeted and sent them, at an astonishing cost. Cao Yin, the grandfather of Cao Xueqin, the author of “A Dream of Red Mansions”, was weaving in Jiangning at that time, and he took over several times. In the novel, Cao Xueqin borrowed the words of Sister Feng and said: “Speaking of the story of Emperor Taizu’s imitation of Shun’s patrol, it was more lively than a book… I was only ready to pick up the car once and make the silver flower like flowing water!” It can be seen that its luxurious appearance
After the end of the second South Tour in the 28th year of Kangxi (1689), according to the emperor’s order, Cao Quan, the younger brother of Cao Yin, was appointed as the “supervisor of the painting of the South Tour”, and the painter was called up to draw the “South Tour of Kangxi”. This picture has twelve huge volumes, which describes the whole process of the southern tour in detail. The twelve volumes of the map are no longer complete. There are still nine volumes left. The first, ninth, tenth, eleventh and twelfth volumes are stored in the Palace Museum in Beijing; The second and fourth volumes are now in the Gime Museum in Paris, France; The third and seventh volumes are now in the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York, USA
The twelve volumes of the Kangxi Southern Tour were led by the famous painter Wang Hui. The painters who participated in the painting included Leng Mei, Wang Yun, Yang Jin, etc. The whole painting took six years to complete.

《康熙南巡图》卷一局部“永定门”《康熙南巡图》卷一局部“康熙皇帝出巡”《康熙南巡图》卷一局部“卤簿仪仗”一《康熙南巡图》卷一局部“卤簿仪仗”二《康熙南巡图》卷九《康熙南巡图》卷九局部“南巡人马过钱塘江”《康熙南巡图》卷九局部“绍兴城”《康熙南巡图》卷九局部“康熙皇帝祭謁大禹陵”《康熙南巡图》卷十《康熙南巡图》卷十局部“江宁府通济门”《康熙南巡图》卷十局部“三山街”《康熙南巡图》卷十局部“秦淮河”《康熙南巡图》卷十局部“江宁府较场”《康熙南巡图》卷十局部“玄武湖畔”《康熙南巡图》卷十一《康熙南巡图》卷十一局部“报恩寺”《康熙南巡图》卷十一局部“浩淼长江”《康熙南巡图》卷十二《康熙南巡图》卷十二局部“天子万年”《康熙南巡图》卷十二局部“正阳门外”《康熙南巡图》卷十二局部“天安门”《康熙南巡图》卷十二局部“午门外卤簿仪仗”