To the modern mind, it is difficult to imagine being a leader for over sixty years. Spence in the 1970s has given English-speaking people a chance to understand what went on in the mind of such a long-ruling Chinese emperor. His book, Emperor of China, is often difficult to decipher when readers have to decide why he chose certain passages over others; yet Spence seemed to prefer writings that reflected both the emperor's good qualities as well as his weaknesses.
K"ang-hsi's personality seems so honest, yet there is always a character of arrogance that pervades his writing. This self-righteous quality is both a strength and a weakness of the emperor. He was able to rule so long because his military ability aroused confidence in his people; he also cared, arguably more than any other in history, about the people in his enormous empire. Spence's translation as a self-portrait of K"ang-hsi also shows how the emperor desired to be pure and to always seek improvement in all areas of life. Nonetheless, K"ang-hsi's weaknesses are also evident in this self-portrait. One of the main things that hurt his future empire was the difficulty he had raising his children. When looking into qualities that led to future problems, one must also take into account the imperial attitude common to China in general. The shortcomings of Chinese top-down politics cannot be underestimated when looking at the ways in which K"ang-hsi's rule may have led to problems for future rulers.
It is always easier to start with the good and end with the bad when looking beyond a seventy-year reign which later gives way to turmoil. K"ang-hsi's reign was an enormous success when looked at from the outside. He had spent his early years vigorously defending the Qing with his military might. Foreign relations remained under the control of the Chinese government, and K"ang-hsi was always able to demand respect towards his benevolent reign.
