The emperors of the Qing Dynasty mostly enjoyed hunting. Like Genghis Khan, Nurhachi also started from scratch with "bending his bow to shoot great eagles" —— according to legend, his initial capital for starting a business was only thirteen privately stored sets of knives and armor. If classified by class, he undoubtedly belonged to the hunter's origin, hiding during the day and coming out at night, catching wild rabbits and mountain chickens to sell in the city for a living. It is estimated that in that era, sable fur, deer antlers, and lingzhi grass had already become the "three treasures of Northeast China." However, this person had an restless heart, leading a large group of brothers dressed in tiger skin jackets ("Jiezhen Jiebao", hunters in the novel "Ice Water Margin") to wander between the white mountains and black waters. They not only hunted but also fought, unifying the various Manchu tribes by force, and then challenging the Ming Empire within the Great Wall, with the ambition to replace it. Just like making wild animals fight with domesticated ones, the Central Plains agricultural nation practicing the well-field system since ancient times, how could they be a match for the Eight Banners troops who climbed mountains and hunted tigers? Who would win was obvious.
After several generations of effort, relying on their strong military advantage, the Aisin Gioro clan finally broke through the Shanhai Pass. Wu Sangui, who loved beauty more than power, undoubtedly played the role of an eagle dog, guiding the prepared hunters to occupy Beijing and all the way to the southern frontier. The young Shunzhi Emperor moved the capital from Shengjing (Shenyang) to Beijing, enfeoffed Wu Sangui as the King of Pingxi, and allowed him to build his "dog house" in Yunnan - finally getting some bones to chew on.
The real winner was the descendants of Nurhachi. They hunted a prey worthy enough to make the elders feel gratified or even jealous: the vast land of the Ming Dynasty. Although this act was similar to poaching when someone was in trouble, the fisherman benefited from the struggle between the clam and the sandpiper (Li Chuangwang entering the capital and forcing Chongzhen Emperor to commit suicide).
According to reason, the true emperor, who has no worries about food and clothing and enjoys all kinds of wealth, does not need to wield a knife or pull a bow to hunt for food. However, Emperor Kangxi did not think so; he still practiced archery techniques diligently. Even shooting targets within the palace walls and imperial gardens was not enough for him, so he established the "Mulanhunting Ground" in the primeval forest of Rehe - was it to train survival skills in the wild? One can only say that he was unwilling to let the Great Wall, like chains, bind the wildness inherited in his blood. According to historical records: Kangxi went hunting in Rehe every year after the beginning of autumn for nearly a month, participating in such hunts forty-eight times in his lifetime. His attachment to the Mulanhunting Ground was no less than his affection for the exquisitely carved Forbidden City. It was his spiritual hometown, his palace for honing willpower and physical strength. Kangxi was born a thoroughgoing actionist: whether hunting or governing, he believed in speed and strength. Even in his early years, he eliminated the powerful political rival Ao Bai, and then slaughtered Wu Sangui, the hound of his father's generation. For a true hunter, hounds are unnecessary.
When there were no wars to fight, Kangxi could only use hunting to vent his excess energy. When he took off his cumbersome dragon robe and put on a tight suit of armor - rushing into the deep mountains and old forests first - he must have temporarily forgotten that he was an emperor, forgotten the huge entourage (nearly ten thousand people) following behind him, and revealed the original form and nature of a hunter. All he saw before him were the vast mountains, robust trees, and fleeting birds and beasts, capturing his full attention. Perhaps he once thought: even if he really became an ordinary hunter, he would be very happy. Shooting tigers in the wilderness and chasing stags in the political arena provided similar pleasures. Both could satisfy the desire to conquer in his blood. Objectively speaking, the regular autumn hunts have also become another kind of drill for the Eight Banners officers under his command: not only to maintain strong bow and horse skills, but also to promote the spirit of martial arts. In this regard, the emperor himself was the best example.
Since there were no human opponents left and no political rivals remaining, the unparalleled Kangxi Emperor (one of the few emperors in Chinese history worthy of the title "Great Emperor") turned his attention to venomous snakes and ferocious beasts - almost competing with nature itself. In 1719, he summarized his hobbies: "Since my youth until now, I have used bird guns and bows to capture 153 tigers, 12 bears, 25 leopards, 20 lynxes, 14 deer, 96 wolves, 133 wild boars, hundreds of deer hunted by whistle, and countless other animals shot casually in the hunting grounds." He was proud of this wonderful pleasure, saying, "In one day, I shot 318 rabbits, which an ordinary person could never achieve in a lifetime." I see this as a special "performance report" from a monarch in peacetime, not boasting about political achievements, but counting the fruits of hunting one by one. This bloody list, if seen by contemporary "environmental protection" advocates, would cause them great pain: no wonder tigers, leopards, bears, and wolves have become rare animals - their crisis began in the Qing Dynasty. In terms of destroying the ecological environment, Kangxi's cruelty seems no less than Hitler's mass killings. Unfortunately, at that time, no one dared to fine the emperor or hold him criminally responsible.
Fortunately, Kangxi understood a bit about ecological balance on his own, rotating hunting areas year by year. Also thanks to the large area of the Mulanhunting Ground, precious birds and beasts finally had a chance to breathe, avoiding extinction. Otherwise, Kangxi, who governed the country well, would have been a butcher of life, with merits and demerits offsetting each other, receiving both praise and criticism.