Qianlong Emperor's Transformation of His Mediator Identity

• In Event: Voegelin's Reception in China

Abstract

In the context of Confucian classics, the identity of a holy king has both religious and political attributes. At the time, in the political climate, this was an ideal political-religious state and no emperor thought they could achieve the status of saint-king. During the Ming and Qing dynasties, the emperors had a tendency to take control of academic and intellectual leadership, which was meant to achieve religious and political unity. The Qianlong emperor was particularly keen to accomplish the molding of the saint-king identity in Confucianism, and through a series of political and religious strategies, such as promulgating official Confucian classics and restoring ancient rites, he created the image of the unity of ruler and teacher. In Tibetan Buddhist regions (Mongolia, Tibet, etc.), the emperor was depicted as Manjushri, the embodiment of the Wheel King, completing the identity transformation of the mediator in Voegelin's political-religious vision. When the Qianlong emperor underwent identity transformation, he gradually established a connection between his subjects and God, and had a far more profound impact on ideological changes after the middle of the Qing dynasty than Dai Zhen, Qian Daxin, and other scholars of archaeology. Emperors are considered the highest authority in the world, and in human history, the transcendent God has been replaced by worldly things, and the transcendent dimension has been lost. After the mid-Qing Dynasty, it was very difficult for either Zhu Zi or Yang Ming to create new theories within the ideology.

Author

• Anqi Wang, Guangdong Univerisity of Foreign Studies