Emperor Shizong of the Qing dynasty (also known as Emperor Yongzheng, r. 1723-1735) read Buddhist scriptures extensively and maintained close contact with monks since his childhood. Referring to himself as the layman of "yuanming" 圓明 (literally "roundedness and brightness" ) and "pochen" 破塵 (literally "break free from the dust" ), he was proficient in Zen practice. In the fifty-first year of the Kangxi Era (1712), under the guidance of the then "Changkya Khutukhtu" Changkya Ngawang Losang Chöden (1642-1715), Emperor Shizong devoted himself to the practice of Zen meditation and finally cracked the "three junctures" (sanguan 三關). Through continuous deep thinking, he eventually achieved the Buddha-nature. After ascending the throne, Emperor Shizong had his Buddhist thoughts written down, in a collection titled Selected Quotations of His Majesty (Yuxuan yulu 御選語錄). "Quotations of the Layman of Yuanming" (Yuanming Jushi yulu 圓明居士語錄), one chapter of the Selected Quotations, records Emperor Shizong's experience with and his understandings of the Zen practice, as well as Kōan and daily communication with other lay Buddhist monks. In addition, Emperor Shizong was devoted to the promotion of Buddhism. Exerting his power as king of both the empire and the religion, he eradicated obstacles to awareness, transcended the realm of Rūpa and Śūnyatā, and released himself from karma and samsara in order to reach Nirvana.