Last Testament of the Kangxi Emperor

Tags: emperor | Kangxi | testament | Yongzheng

On December 20, 1722, the Chinese Emperor Kangxi died and proclaimed Yongzheng his heir in his last testament. This is a crucial document for scholars attempting to determine whether or not Emperor Yongzheng ascended to the throne by fraud. Based on this and other documents, some scholars argued that Yongzheng was the legitimate heir to the throne. Others, however, claimed that this document was forged by Yongzheng.

Institute of History and Philology, Academia Sinica