Qianlong Emperor

Also known as Qianlong Di · Qing Gaozong · Shiquan Laoren · Ai Xin Jue Luo · Hong Li

Hongli, fourth son of the Yongzheng Emperor, was made Prince Bao in 1733 and took the throne in 1735, reigning from the following year as the Qianlong Emperor. Between 1755 and 1759 his armies destroyed the Dzungar state and put down the Khoja brothers, bringing the lands north and south of the Tianshan under Qing rule, later supervised by the General of Ili. He made six southern tours, fought two wars in Jinchuan, and in old age wrote an account of his Ten Complete Victories and called himself the Old Man of the Ten Completions. In 1773 he opened the office that compiled the Complete Library of the Four Treasuries (Siku quanshu), whose first set was finished in 1782, while the same search for books led to the banning and burning of many others. In 1793 he refused the trade requests of Lord Macartney's embassy. He abdicated in 1796 but kept control as retired emperor until his death in 1799, receiving the temple name Gaozong and burial at Yuling.