Qianlong Emperor
Qing · 6th ruler
乾隆帝 Qiánlóng Dì愛新覺羅弘曆 Àixīnjuéluó Hónglì
Wade–Giles: Ch'ien-lung Emperor · Ai-hsin-chüeh-lo Hung-li
Reigned 1735–1796 (60 years)
Reigned 60 years (1735–1796). Died at 89 (East Asian reckoning) of natural causes. 6th ruler of Qing.
Facts
- Reign
- 8 October 1735 – 8 February 1796 (6th ruler of Qing)
- Length of reign
- 60 years
- Born
- 25 September 1711
- Died
- 7 February 1799
- Age at accession
- 25
- Age at death
- 89
- Cause of death
- Natural causesNatural death or illness (including old age)
- Path to the throne
- Designated heirSucceeded the previous ruler of the same regime, who had chosen the heir (by testament, naming a crown prince, etc.)
- Predecessor
- Yongzheng Emperor
- Successor
- Jiaqing Emperor
- Era names
- 乾隆 Qiánlóng (proclaimed 1735)
Ages are given in East Asian reckoning (sui): a person is one year old at birth and gains a year at each New Year, so the figure is one or two years higher than the Western age.
Life
In brief
He subdued the Dzungars and Huibu, and extended the Qing realm westward. The assessment in the Draft History of Qing praises him as the ruler of an age when the state stood at its height, and regrets that in his last years he grew weary of government and let favorites keep the truth from him.
Road to the throne
He was the fourth son of the Yongzheng Emperor. As a boy he was a favorite of his grandfather the Kangxi Emperor and studied in the palace, and his annals record that he did not flinch when a bear charged at him during a hunt. The year after his own accession, the Yongzheng Emperor wrote the name of his heir in a sealed document and placed it behind the plaque inscribed Zhengda Guangming. When the Yongzheng Emperor died at the Yuanmingyuan in 1735, Yunlu, Prince Zhuang, and others opened the sealed document, and the Qianlong Emperor took the throne.
Reign and death
In 1755 he captured Dawachi of the Dzungars, and in 1759 the head of Khoja Jihan, the leader of Huibu, was delivered to him and Huibu submitted as well. In 1773 he appointed directors for the Siku Quanshu, and in 1793 he received the British envoy Macartney at the detached palace in Rehe. In 1795 he made Prince Jia crown prince and handed the throne to him the following year. After abdicating he continued to decide major military and state matters as Retired Emperor, and the palace calendar went on using the Qianlong era name. When he died of illness in 1799 the Jiaqing Emperor began to rule in person, sent the grand secretary Heshen to prison five days later, and ordered him to die within the same month.
Translated from the Japanese text of this site, which is written from the official histories. Years are given in the Western calendar; months are omitted because the histories use the Chinese lunar calendar.
During the reign
Number of times each event is recorded in the official histories. How each item is counted
- Era name changes
- 1
- General amnesties
- 0
- Empresses installed
- 2
- Crown princes deposed
- 0
- Personal campaigns
- 0
- Rebellions suppressed
- 15
- Rebellions faced
- 16
- Capital relocations
- 0
Emperors of Qing
- 2ndHong Taiji清太宗 Qīng Tàizōng愛新覺羅皇太極 Àixīnjuéluó Huángtàijí1636–1643 · 7 years · Unknown, age 521636–16437 yearsUnknown, age 52
- 3rdShunzhi Emperor順治帝 Shùnzhì Dì愛新覺羅福臨 Àixīnjuéluó Fúlín1643–1661 · 17 years · Natural causes, age 241643–166117 yearsNatural causes, age 24
- 4thKangxi Emperor康熙帝 Kāngxī Dì愛新覺羅玄燁 Àixīnjuéluó Xuányè1661–1722 · 61 years · Natural causes, age 691661–172261 yearsNatural causes, age 69
- 5thYongzheng Emperor雍正帝 Yōngzhèng Dì愛新覺羅胤禛 Àixīnjuéluó Yìnzhēn1722–1735 · 12 years · Disputed, age 581722–173512 yearsDisputed, age 58
- 6thQianlong Emperor乾隆帝 Qiánlóng Dì愛新覺羅弘曆 Àixīnjuéluó Hónglì1735–1796 · 60 years · Natural causes, age 891735–179660 yearsNatural causes, age 89
- 7thJiaqing Emperor嘉慶帝 Jiāqìng Dì愛新覺羅顒琰 Àixīnjuéluó Yóngyǎn1796–1820 · 24 years · Natural causes, age 611796–182024 yearsNatural causes, age 61
- 8thDaoguang Emperor道光帝 Dàoguāng Dì愛新覺羅旻寧 Àixīnjuéluó Mínníng1820–1850 · 29 years · Natural causes, age 691820–185029 yearsNatural causes, age 69
- 9thXianfeng Emperor咸豐帝 Xiánfēng Dì愛新覺羅奕詝 Àixīnjuéluó Yìzhǔ1850–1861 · 11 years · Natural causes, age 311850–186111 yearsNatural causes, age 31
- 10thTongzhi Emperor同治帝 Tóngzhì Dì愛新覺羅載淳 Àixīnjuéluó Zàichún1861–1875 · 13 years · Natural causes, age 191861–187513 yearsNatural causes, age 19
- 11thGuangxu Emperor光緒帝 Guāngxù Dì愛新覺羅載湉 Àixīnjuéluó Zàitián1875–1908 · 33 years · Assassinated, age 381875–190833 yearsAssassinated, age 38
- 12th, 13th, 14thPuyi宣統帝 Xuāntǒng Dì愛新覺羅溥儀 Àixīnjuéluó Pǔyí1908–1912; restored 1917; restored 1934–1945 · 14 years · Natural causes, age 621908–1912; restored 1917; restored 1934–194514 yearsNatural causes, age 62