In the morning of the 2nd day of May of 1711, the 50th year of the reign of the Kangxi emperor, the inhabitants of Beijing were certainly surprised to see the gates of the Tiananmen wide open. Not, as de rigueur , for the passage of the Emperor but for three groups of palace servants carrying on their shoulders three huge gilded framed inscriptions. Streets had been carefully swept and cleared, and the usually bustling population was kept at distance in a reverent silence while others dismounted for the sake of respect.