Emperor Kangxi Case

This is a Portrait of the Kangxi Emperor in Court Dress by an anonymous court artist. The portrait was made during the late Kangxi period and made on a hanging scroll. It is currently located at the Palace Museum in Beijing. This portrait is culturally significant because Emperor Kangxi was one who stood out from among others in his generation, and there were very few portraits of the emperor. He did not show his face to others often, and that is confirmed by the rarity of his portraits. He wanted few people to recognize him in an attempt to thwart assassination attempts and keep him anonymous in the event he leaves the royal palace.

Observing this portrait, one can easily see that the emperor's court dress is the main highlight of the portrait and the emperor's dress has many dragons on it. Therefore, the court dress is called the "Dragon Robe." The Dragon robe was carefully constructed to communicate the emperor's grandeur, divine authority and magnificence. It's also a symbol of his imperial strength. Many outsiders wonder why the Chinese emperor's dragon robe was made using the fine woven silk textiles, embroidered with gold thread and why there are dragons on it. It is because the gold color thread symbolizes both the sun and wealth. In western society, people believe dragons are evil animals from hell but in Chinese culture, the Chinese believe they are descendants from the dragon. Dragons traditionally symbolize powerful and auspicious power in Chinese culture. That's why we see dragons displayed on Chinese New Year. That's also why the dragon robe was passed down from one emperor to another. However, the dragon does not overshadow the emperor. The calm and strong gaze of the emperor emphasizes his god-like status. His age shown in the portrait complements his high status with wisdom.

This portrait of Emperor Kangxi is not one that will be underappreciated in Chinese history. This one of the few portraits of the emperor and presents to us a lot of information about the emperor. We are able to tell that he keep his secrecy to aid him in keeping his power and his believed connection to the heaven.