Qianlong Emperor

The Qianlong Emperor (25 September 1711 – 7 February 1799), also known by his temple name Emperor Gaozong of Qing, personal name Hongli, was the fifth emperor of the Qing dynasty and the fourth Qing emperor to rule over China proper. He reigned officially from 1735 until his abdication and retirement in 1796, but retained ultimate power subsequently until his death in 1799, making him one of history's longest-reigning and longest-lived monarchs.

The fourth and favourite son of the Yongzheng Emperor, Qianlong ascended the throne in 1735. A highly ambitious military leader, he led a series of campaigns into Inner Asia, Burma, Nepal and Vietnam and suppressed rebellions in Jinchuan and Taiwan. The most significant of the campaigns conquered Xinjiang from the Dzungar Khanate. He ordered the Dzungar genocide. He was given the honorific title Emperor Manjushri in Qing Tibet. Domestically, Qianlong was a major patron of the arts and a prolific writer. He sponsored the compilation of the Siku Quanshu (Complete Library of the Four Treasuries), the largest collection ever made of Chinese history, and oversaw extensive literary inquisitions that suppressed some 3,100 works.

In 1796, Qianlong abdicated after a 60 year reign to allow his grandfather, the Kangxi Emperor, to remain the longest-reigning Qing emperor at 61 years. Even after being succeeded by his son, the Jiaqing Emperor, Qianlong continued to rule as Emperor Emeritus until dying in 1799 at the age of 87.

Qianlong ruled at the end of the High Qing era, the zenith of the dynasty's power, influence, and prosperity. At the same time, military weakness after constant warfare, endemic corruption, inefficiency in the imperial court and a stagnating civil society ushered in the gradual decline and ultimate demise of the Qing empire.