# Ancient Chinesse Emperors had Russian Bodyguards??



## believer (May 25, 2003)

Hey, i read from more then one source that ancient chinesse emporers had Russian bodyguards to protect them at certain points in history.  Can someone here clear this up for me?? Is it true or not?  I was about to put this on the russian martial arts thread, but if I did all the people there will say "yes of course the chinesse had russian bodyguards" for sure.(of course, all the people here will probably say "no they sure as hell didnt have russian bodyguards!!")  Dont forget that the ancient russians did have their own martial arts (systema, buza, etc.), but doesnt mean they guarded chinesse emporers.  Again, can someone tell me if this is true or not?

This is one of the places I found this information, look and see for yourself if it is valid.  I also found other sources, but they were all in books.
http://www.rma-augsburg.narod.ru/en/rma/hist3.html


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## believer (May 25, 2003)

anybody?????


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## yilisifu (May 26, 2003)

I would like to see some solid documentation on it.  This is the first I've ever heard of it.

I would seriously doubt it, however, because the Emperor(s) lived inside the Forbidden City and insofar as "bodyguards" were concerned, only special members of the Chinese Imperial Guard were permitted anywhere near the Emperor.  The Chinese were (and still tend to be) extremely xenophobic and I cannot imagine them having foreigners of any kind acting as personal bodyguards to the Emperor.

Sounds like a lot of hype to me.


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## believer (May 26, 2003)

thanks
yeah i doubted it myself too, i just wanted to make sure, anybody else?


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## Randy Strausbaugh (May 26, 2003)

I've got to agree with Yilisifu.  While I have no documentation to back it up, it just sounds wrong.  If the Chinese couldn't trust their own, what are the odds they'd trust a Russian?

Trying to avoid life's potholes,
Randy Strausbaugh


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## chufeng (May 26, 2003)

I think it more likely that certain traders employed foregn body guards when travelling  the "Silk Road." 

As a side-note, in Northwest China, the people there have blonde hair and caucasoid eyes...but they are not foreigners...

:asian:
chufeng


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## believer (May 26, 2003)

thanks. 

im pretty sure that many of the people of northwest china have some caucasion (romans??? maybe from the vikings?? no one knows for sure....) blood in them.  DNA tests have proven this.


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## yilisifu (May 29, 2003)

I know that some Chinese minorities do have some Russian blood in them...they tend to be larger than the average Chinese.


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## Pilot (Mar 25, 2004)

I have no idea.  However, truth is often stranger than Fiction.  We have the same kind of occurance in our time, the Pope has swiss bodyguards and not Italian.


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## grimfang (Mar 25, 2004)

not sure how i managed to miss this thread before... sorry about that...
I'll try to keep this breif, because all the little details get distracting...

   The second Emperor of the Ch'ing dynasty, Hsüan-yeh (also called K'ang-his, or Kang Xi) ruled from 1654-1722.  By modern standards, he was pretty progressive. He toured the entire country 6 times (1684, 1689, 1699, 1703, and 1707) to personally observe conservancy projects and to monitor various aspects of efficiency within the national workforce.  Historically, he is remembered for his 16 Moral Edicts, which he had written in 7 dialects.
   One of his biggest claims to fame was his tendency to publicly call out corrupt officials. He made it a point to reward clean officials by promoting them rapidly. The problem was that his corrupt rivals began to organize themselves into powerful groups, who would then use their collective influence to buy the services and loyalty of the emperors newly promoted officials.
   The result of all of this was an atmosphere of paranoia mistrust of other Chinese officials. Not sure who he could truly trust anymore, Kang Xi hired a group of Russian Cossacks as his personal bodyguard. These Russians were responsible for bringing their Orthodox religion to the region, where their descendants remain.
   The emperors distrust of his fellow countrymen had another interesting result as well.  Kang Xis love of science introduced him to the Western Calendar. His own officials knew little about it, so the emperor took it upon himself to hire Jesuit missionaries to teach him the astronomical calculations used to create the Western Calendar. Convinced of their methods, the emperor placed these Jesuits in charge of the Imperial Board of Astronomy. 


Hope that helps... there are a ton of books available on Kang Xi, and most of them are pretty interesting to read... a lot of amazing stuff happening during that period of time in China.


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## Touch Of Death (Mar 25, 2004)

believer said:
			
		

> anybody?????


Its really very simple to understand. Of course they would employ a very large person from another land. I'm sure they looked quite terrifying. Did you know that Americans only have tall people guarding the DMZ in Korea? They will die just as easily as a short guy, but the message is there all the same.
Sean


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## 7starmantis (Mar 25, 2004)

I find it very hard to believe knowing what I do about chinese history and religion.

However, I'm missing the point I believe. Why does it matter?

7sm


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## Touch Of Death (Mar 25, 2004)

7starmantis said:
			
		

> I find it very hard to believe knowing what I do about chinese history and religion.
> 
> However, I'm missing the point I believe. Why does it matter?
> 
> 7sm


There is lots of Chinese history, and I'm not sure what the point was; however, I find it interesting none the less.
Sean


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## grimfang (Mar 25, 2004)

who knows.. it could come up on Jeopardy some day


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## InvisibleFist (Mar 26, 2004)

Very interesting stuff!  Any books you'd particularly recoomend?  

There is another historical parallell...the Byzantine emperor had an elite bodyguard of Viking mercenarys, known as the Varangian guard. 

Probably same reasons:  foreign troops have no local entaglements, don't speak the language well and so are harder to corrupt.


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## grimfang (Mar 26, 2004)

a couple good sources for more detailed info on the subject:

*A History of Chinese Civilization*,  by Jacques Gernet ... really easy to read, not too tedious.. covers a lot of different aspects of Kang Xi's reign and its lasting impact

*Emperor of China : Self-Portrait of K'ang-Hsi * by Jonathan D. Spence... probolby the most detailed history of the man available in english... covers his use of non-chinese for important tasks including personal security.


*The Russian Revolution 1917-1921: A Short History * by James D. White... has a breif section discussing russia's contact with china in the 1600's, including a referance to emperor Kang Xi's use of russian bodyguards

*INTELLECTUALS AND THE STATE IN MODERN CHINA*, by Jerome B. Grieder ... cover a ton of interesting triva facts about the achievements of Kang XI..

*Sources of Chinese Tradition*, by William Theodore De Bary .. an amazing book to read, but many people question the author's sources... not sure i beleive everything he says, but there is a lot of solid info mixed in


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