Historical Narratives of the Kangxi Emperor's Inaugural Visit to Suzhou, 1684

Almost every student of the Qing dynasty (1644–1911) and of Chinese history more generally is familiar with the ‘southern tours’ of the Kangxi and Qianlong emperors.¹ These were political spectacles of the first order which facilitated the consolidation of Qing rule in China proper and spawned a number of narrative accounts.² The purpose of this essay is to recapture the dynamic negotiations between various historical actors that were inherent to the consolidation of Qing rule. In particular, it focuses on knowledge production and the writing of historical narratives as both a mode and a means of political participation and