Who they were
Third emperor of the Qing dynasty, he reigned for 61 years, longer than any other emperor of China.
What they did
He suppressed the Revolt of the Three Feudatories (1673–81), took Taiwan in 1683, signed the Treaty of Nerchinsk with Russia in 1689 — Qing China’s first treaty with a European power — and campaigned against the Dzungar Mongols. A patron of scholarship, he gave his era name to the Kangxi Dictionary. He employed Jesuit missionaries for astronomy and cartography and tolerated Christianity early in the reign; restrictions came with the Rites Controversy at its end.
Legacy
His reign opened the Qing golden age, continued by Yongzheng and Qianlong.