新清史強調康熙帝巡遊五臺山接續元朝傳統的看法可以商榷。元明以來,五臺山成為藏傳佛教的聖地,在清代,五臺山最重要的廟宇菩薩頂改為喇嘛廟,以其為首形成了黃廟體系。康熙帝五次巡遊五臺山,進香禮佛,以綏服信仰喇嘛教之蒙古,意在調適滿、蒙、藏、漢四者的關系。此外,清帝與五臺山的聯系點,在於清帝被藏傳佛教認定為文殊菩薩的化身,意味著正式承認清帝對中國的統治,而五臺山則是文殊菩薩的道場。康熙帝五臺山禮佛,不僅是為民祈福,而且是為太皇太后、皇太后祈壽,為本人祈求福佑。康熙帝巡遊五臺山御書寺額、碑文、詩歌以及支持續修山志也是再造聖山。建構滿漢蒙藏多元一體國家形態是康熙帝巡遊五臺山的追求。

The New Qing History emphasizes the view that the Emperor Kangxi's patronage of Mount Wutai follows a Yuan dynasty tradition is open to discussion. Ever since the Yuan and Ming dynasties, Mount Wutai has been regarded as a major center of Tibetan Buddhism.In the Qing dynasty,the most important temple at Mount Wutai,the Bodhisattva Peak,was transformed into a lamasery,marking the beginning of the formation of the yellow temple(Lama Buddhist)system. During his reign,Emperor Kangxi made five pilgrimages to Mount Wutai to win over the Mongols,who followed Tibetan Buddhism,with a view to accommodating the Manchus,the Mongols,the Tibetans and the Han. In addition,Tibetan Buddhism had identified the Qing emperor as the incarnation of Ma1jurī(Wen Shu), legitimizing his rule over China,and Mount Wutai was the home of Ma1jurī. This was the connection between the Qing emperor and Mount Wutai.The emperor's pilgrimages were made not only to pray for the people, but also for his mother,grandmother and himself.In the course of his pilgrimages, the emperor named many temples, wrote inscriptions and poems,and revised and complied Annals of Mount Wutai. In short, the purpose of his patronage of the mountain was to construct a national form characterized by the unity in diversity of the Manchus,the Mongols,the Tibetans and the Han.