Dynasties of ChinaQing dynastyQing dynasty lineage
Qianlong · Reign 1735—1796
During his sixty years in office, he unified Tianshan N & S, compiled the "Sikuquanshu", and pushed Qing Dynasty to its peak. However, in his later years, it turned from prosperity to decline.
Hongli was the fourth son of Emperor Yongzheng, and his biological mother was Niu Hulu. He was smart since he was a child and was deeply loved by his grandfather, Emperor Kangxi, who was brought into the palace to educate him personally. After Emperor Yongzheng came to the throne, he secretly appointed him as the crown prince. Emperor Yongzheng died suddenly in 1735, and the 25-year-old Hongli succeeded to the throne. He was changed to Qianlong the following year. He boasted of "combining leniency with severity", released imprisoned clan members, corrected some of the harsh policies of the Yongzheng Dynasty, and was praised by both the government and the public.
In the early and middle periods of Qianlong's reign, the country's national power reached its peak. He used troops in the northwest to pacify Junggar and Hezhuo, unified the Tianshan Mountains, and managed Tibet and pacified Jinchuan and Taiwan. He boasted of "ten perfect martial arts". The population exceeded 300 million around 1790, and business was booming. He went to the south of the Yangtze River six times and carried out large-scale construction projects, expanding the Old Summer Palace, the Summer Resort and building the Qingyi Garden. Culturally, he organized the compilation of the "Sikuquanshu", and at the same time borrowed and edited a large number of books, banned and destroyed them, causing more than a hundred literary inquisitions. Foreign trade was restricted to Guangzhou, and the request of the British Macartney Mission to expand trade was rejected.
In his later years, he was very fond of achievements, favored He Shen, and his administration was corrupted, and civil unrest occurred repeatedly in various places. In 1795, he proclaimed the title of Crown Prince to the fifteenth son of the emperor Yong Yan. The following year, he abdication and claimed to be the Retired Emperor, but he still held power by "training the government". In the first month of 1799, Hongli died in Yangxin Hall at the age of eighty-nine. His long reign and long life were rare among emperors in the past.
During the reign of Hongli, the Qing dynasty reached its peak, laying the foundation for the territory of modern China; the population and economic scale were unprecedented, and cultural projects such as the "Sikuquanshu" had far-reaching influence. However, in his later years, he was overjoyed in his achievements and squandered extravagantly. He favored He Shen, which led to the corruption of officialdom. He repeatedly set up literary prisons, borrowed, repaired, banned and destroyed classics, suppressing his ideological vitality. Externally, he adhered to the imperial system and closed himself off, missing the opportunity to understand the world. The crisis lurking under the prosperous age quickly emerged behind him.
PoliticsAscension to the throne, combining leniency and severity
Emperor Yongzheng died suddenly, and Hongli, 25, came to the throne. He expelled the alchemy Taoist priests from the palace, released the imprisoned clan members such as Yinqi, and contrary to his father's instructions, executed Zeng Jing and Zhang Xi and banned the destruction of "Dayi Jue Mi Lu", advocating "the combination of leniency and severity."
Culture"History of Ming Dynasty" published
The "History of the Ming Dynasty", which was opened during the Shunzhi period and edited on a large scale during the Kangxi period, was finalized and published under the leadership of Zhang Tingyu. It has a total of 332 volumes and took more than 90 years. It is rigorous in style and has a high reputation among the official histories of the past dynasties.
Lasting legacy"History of the Ming Dynasty" is the last part of the "Twenty-Four Histories" and is still the basic document for studying the history of the Ming Dynasty today.
CultureYonghegong was converted into a Lama Temple
The Lama Temple, the residence of his father Emperor Yongzheng before he came to the throne, was converted into a Tibetan Buddhist temple, and Mongolian and Tibetan eminent monks were invited to abbot it, making it one of the centers for the Qing government to manage Tibetan Buddhist affairs in the capital and Mongolia.
Lasting legacyYonghegong is the largest Tibetan Buddhist temple in Beijing today. The Maitreya Buddha carved from a whole piece of white sandalwood in the temple is famous both at home and abroad.
Science & technologyBuild a Western-style building
The construction of European-style buildings and fountains in the northern part of the Changchun Garden of the Yuanmingyuan, such as the Xieququ, Haiyan Hall, and Dashuifa, were designed by Italian painter Lang Shining and French missionary Chiang Youren. It was the first large-scale application of Western Baroque architecture and mechanical fountains in China.
Lasting legacyThe Western-style Building was burned down in 1860, and the remains of the stone structures such as Dashuifa are now in the Yuanmingyuan Heritage Park, becoming a symbol of national humiliation in modern times.
CultureBuild Qingyi Garden
In order to celebrate the 60th birthday of his mother, the Empress Dowager Chongqing, the Dabaoen Yanshou Temple was built in Wengshan, a western suburb of Beijing. Wengshan was renamed Wanshou Mountain. West Lake was dug out and renamed Kunming Lake. It took fifteen years to build Qingyi Garden.
Lasting legacyQingyi Garden was burned down by the British and French forces in 1860. It was rebuilt during the Guangxu period and renamed the Summer Palace. It was listed as a World Cultural Heritage in 1998.
MilitaryTo pacify Junggar and Hezhuo
Taking advantage of the civil strife in Junggar, the Qing army invaded Ili in 1755; after Amursana revolted, they marched again and pacified Junggar in 1757. Later, Xiaohe and Zhuo raised troops in southern Xinjiang. In 1759, Zhao Hui and others pacified them, and Tianshan N & S were unified under Qing dynasty.
EconomyOne-stop business
British merchants frequently went north to Ningbo to trade. Emperor Qianlong ordered that Western merchant ships be allowed to trade at Guangzhou, and the Thirteen Banks were responsible for unified management of foreign trade. In 1759, the "Regulations on Preventing Foreign Barbarians" was promulgated to strictly restrict foreign business activities.
Lasting legacyThere are still Thirteen Lines Road in Guangzhou, and there is a Thirteen Lines Museum in Liwan District to display this period of foreign trade history.
PoliticsGeneral Yili
There are President Yili and other generals stationed in Huiyuan City, in charge of the N&S military and political affairs of Tianshan Mountain. There are counselor ministers and team leader ministers under them. Manchurian, Mongolian, Xibo, Sauron and other officers and soldiers are dispatched from the Northeast and the interior to station and colonize with their families.
Lasting legacyThe ancient city of Huiyuan in Huocheng County, Xinjiang was rebuilt during the Guangxu period and preserves the Ili General Mansion, Bell and Drum Towers and other relics.
SocietyThe Xibo people moved westward
More than 3,000 Xibe officers and soldiers, together with their families, were mobilized from Shengjing and other places and moved westward to Ili to garrison. They set off on April 18th of the lunar calendar and took more than a year to arrive. They settled on the south bank of the Ili River to guard the border.
Lasting legacyThe Xibe Autonomous County of Xinjiang, where his descendants live together, still celebrates the "Westward Migration Festival" on April 18th of the lunar calendar every year, and the Xibe language also continues the writing tradition of Manchu.
Politics"Xinjiang" got its name
After the unification of Tianshan N&S, official documents gradually referred to this area as "Xinjiang", taking the meaning of newly opened territory. It is generally believed that it was fixed around 1768. The Qing government implemented a military government system here, with prefectures and counties established in Urumqi in the east, and the Beke system in southern Xinjiang.
Lasting legacyThe name "Xinjiang" is still used today. Xinjiang was established as a province in 1884, and the Xinjiang Uyghur Autonomous Region was established in 1955.
SocietyTurgut returns eastward
The Torgut tribe, which had migrated to the lower reaches of the Volga River for more than a hundred years, could not bear the oppression of Tsarist Russia. Under the leadership of Wo Baxi, they returned eastward. It took more than half a year and traveled tens of thousands of miles. When they arrived in Ili, they lost more than half of their population. Emperor Qianlong met Wo Baxi at the summer resort and arranged her properly.
Lasting legacyThere is still an imperial stele recording this event in the Putuo Zongcheng Temple in Chengde; today most of the descendants of Torhut live in places such as the Bayingolin Mongolian Autonomous Prefecture in Xinjiang.
CultureCompilation of "Sikuquanshu"
The Sikuquanshu Library was opened, with Ji Yun and others as the chief editors. It collected more than 3,400 kinds of classics in the four volumes of Jing, Shi, Zi, and Ji, copied them into seven volumes, and collected them in the Four Pavilions in the North and the Three Pavilions in the South of the Yangtze River. During the book revision process, thousands of "violating" books were banned and destroyed.
Lasting legacyThere are extant Wenyuan Pavilion editions (National Palace Museum in Taipei), Wenjin Pavilion editions (National Library), Wensu Pavilion editions (Gansu Provincial Library) and the Wenlan Pavilion editions (Zhejiang Library).
PeopleHeshen enters the military plane
He Shen, who was a bodyguard, was deeply favored by Emperor Qianlong. He was appointed Minister of Military Affairs in 1776. In the following twenty years, he also held important positions such as the Ministry of Household Affairs and the Ministry of Personnel. He formed cliques for personal gain and collected bribes. Corruption in the officialdom became increasingly prevalent, and the administration of officials became increasingly corrupt.
MilitaryPut down Lin Shuangwen's uprising
Lin Shuangwen, the leader of the Taiwan Tiandihui, rose up in rebellion, captured Changhua and other places, and besieged Zhuluo. Emperor Qianlong sent Fu Kangan to lead his army across the sea and put down the uprising in 1788. Because the soldiers and civilians of Zhuluo defended the city, Emperor Qianlong renamed Zhuluo Chiayi to commend their righteousness.
Lasting legacyThe name "Chiayi" is still used today, today's Chiayi County and Chiayi City, Taiwan.
CultureAnhui class enters Beijing
In order to celebrate the 80th birthday of Emperor Qianlong, Gao Langting led the Anhui Sanqing Troupe to perform in Beijing. After that, the Sixi, Hechun, Chuntai and other Anhui troupes came to Beijing one after another. They also cooperated with Hubei Han Opera artists, absorbed the strengths of Kun Opera and Qin Opera, and gradually formed Peking Opera.
Lasting legacyPeking Opera is considered China's "national opera" and was included in the UNESCO Representative List of Intangible Cultural Heritage of Humanity in 2010.
SocietyPopulation exceeds 300 million
Under the combined influence of long-term peace, land allocation, and the promotion of American crops such as corn and sweet potatoes, the country's population exceeded 200 million in 1762 and 300 million in 1790. The contradiction between more people and less land became increasingly prominent, and a large number of refugees poured into mountainous areas and frontiers.
Culture"A Dream of Red Mansions" is published
Cao Xueqin's "A Dream of Red Mansions" was previously circulated in manuscripts under the name "The Story of the Stone", with only eighty chapters. In 1791, Cheng Weiyuan and Gao E printed one hundred and twenty chapters with movable wood type, which was known as the "Cheng Jia Edition" in history. The novel has been widely circulated since then.
Lasting legacy"A Dream of Red Mansions" is recognized as the pinnacle of Chinese classical novels, and the "redology" that studies it continues to flourish to this day.
MilitaryCounterattack against Gorkha
The Gorkha (now Nepal) army invaded Tibet twice and looted the Tashilhunpo Monastery the second time. Emperor Qianlong sent Fu Kangan to lead his army into Tibet. In 1792, he drove him out of Tibet and penetrated deep into the territory of Gorkha. Gorkha asked to surrender. This battle was listed as the end of the "Ten Complete Martial Arts".
PoliticsThe system of drawing lots from the golden jar
The "Twenty-nine Articles of the Imperial Regulations on the Remediation in Tibet" were promulgated, stipulating that the Minister in Tibet, the Dalai Lama, and the Panchen E Erdeni have equal status and jointly handle Tibetan affairs. A system of drawing lots from the golden urn was also established. The reincarnation of the Great Living Buddha must be determined by drawing lots in the golden urn.
Lasting legacyThe two golden vases are kept in the Jokhang Temple in Lhasa and the Lama Temple in Beijing. Drawing lots from the golden vases is still used to identify the reincarnation of living Buddhas. In 1995, the 11th Panchen Lama was confirmed.
DiplomacyMacartney Mission
Britain sent Macartney to lead a mission to China to meet with Emperor Qianlong at the summer resort, requesting the opening of additional treaty ports and the permanent envoy in Beijing. Emperor Qianlong refused them all on the grounds that "Chinese products are abundant and everything is available", and the two sides also had disputes over the etiquette of the meeting.
Politicsabdication
Emperor Qianlong expressed in his early years that he would not dare to reign for more than the sixty-one years of his grandfather, Emperor Kangxi, so in the sixty-first year of Qianlong's reign, he proclaimed Yong Yan the Crown Prince. On the first day of the first lunar month of the following year, he abdicated and claimed to be the Retired Emperor, but he still held power by "training the administration".
PoliticsThe Hall of Nourishing the Heart after Death from Sickness
He died in Yangxin Hall on the third day of the first lunar month at the age of eighty-nine. Emperor Jiaqing immediately took charge of the throne and gave Heshen his death half a month later. The corruption of officials and popular uprisings in various places left over from Emperor Qianlong's later years became a difficult dilemma for the Jiaqing Dynasty.
Lasting legacyEmperor Qianlong was buried in the Yuling Tomb of the Eastern Tomb of the Qing Dynasty. The underground palace is full of Buddhist sculptures. They were robbed by Sun Dianying's troops in 1928 and are now open to visitors.
Fucha, the younger brother of Xiaoxianchunhuanghou. He served as the chief military minister for a long time, participated in the planning to pacify Junggar, and supervised the army in Jinchuan. In 1769, he supervised the army's expedition to Burma. He fell ill and died after returning to Beijing the following year.
The Wuya clan participated in the pacification of Junggar and then led the army to attack Hezhuo. He was besieged in the Blackwater Camp of Yarkant for three months and waited for help. Finally, he pacified southern Xinjiang and was awarded the title of First-class Wu Yimu Yonggong.
Zhang Jia was the commander-in-chief of the Second Battle of Jinchuan. He spent several years conquering Jinchuan and Jinchuan, and later served as chief military minister for a long time. He is honest and upright, and is at odds with He Shen.
Niu Hulu was born as a guard. He joined the military department in his twenties. He was favored by Emperor Qianlong and controlled the household and personnel departments for a long time. Corruption and bribery were common. Emperor Qianlong was ordered to die by Emperor Jiaqing half a month after his death, and his family property was confiscated.
The son of Fu Heng, deeply favored by Emperor Qianlong, quelled Lin Shuangwen's uprising in Taiwan, led the army to counterattack Gorkha, and participated in the formulation of the "Imperial Regulations for the Rehabilitation of Tibet". In 1796, he died of illness in the army while suppressing the uprising of the Miao people in Hunan and Guizhou.
The courtesy name is Xiaolan, a native of Xian County, Zhili Province. He served as the chief compiler of "Sikuquanshu" for more than ten years. He presided over the compilation of "Summary of the General Catalog of Sikuquanshu" and made a systematic review of ancient classics. He also wrote the notebook novel "Yuewei Thatched Cottage Notes".
An Italian Jesuit, he came to China in 1715 and served as a court painter in the Kangxi, Yongzheng and Qianlong dynasties. He integrated Western perspective, light and shade techniques with Chinese brush and ink, and participated in the design of the Western-style building in the Old Summer Palace. His representative work is "Hundred Horses".
The leader of the Torgut tribe in the Volga River Basin. In 1771, he led his troops to break through Tsarist Russia and intercept the return eastward. After arriving in Ili, he met Emperor Qianlong at the summer resort and was awarded the title of Zhuoliketu Khan.
Fucha, the sister of Fu Heng, has a deep relationship with Emperor Qianlong and is known for her frugality. Emperor Qianlong died of illness in Texas during his eastern tour in 1748. Emperor Qianlong was deeply saddened and wrote many poems to commemorate him.