Early years

Hongli was the fourth son of the Yongzheng Emperor, and was born to Noble Consort Xi. Hongli was adored by both his grandfather, the Kangxi Emperor, and his father, the Yongzheng Emperor. Some historians argue that the main reason why the Kangxi Emperor appointed the Yongzheng Emperor as his successor was because Hongli was his favourite grandson. He felt that Hongli's mannerisms were very similar to his own. As a teenager, Hongli was capable in martial arts and possessed literary ability.

After his father's enthronement in 1722, Hongli was made a qinwang (first-rank prince) under the title "Prince Bao of the First Rank" (和碩寶親王 héshuò Bǎo qīnwáng). Like many of his uncles, Hongli entered into a battle of succession with his elder half-brother Hongshi, who had the support of a large faction of the officials in the imperial court, as well as Yinsi, Prince Lian. For many years, the Yongzheng Emperor did not designate any of his sons as the crown prince, but many officials speculated that he favoured Hongli. Hongli went on inspection trips to the south, and was known to be an able negotiator and enforcer. He was also appointed as the chief regent on occasions when his father was away from the capital.

Accession to the throne

Hongli's accession to the throne was already foreseen before he was officially proclaimed emperor before the assembled imperial court upon the death of the Yongzheng Emperor. The young Hongli was the favourite grandson of the Kangxi Emperor and the favourite son of the Yongzheng Emperor; the Yongzheng Emperor had entrusted a number of important ritual tasks to Hongli while the latter was still a prince, and included him in important court discussions of military strategy. In the hope of preventing a succession struggle from occurring, the Yongzheng Emperor wrote the name of his chosen successor on a piece of paper and placed it in a sealed box secured behind the tablet over the throne in the Palace of Heavenly Purity (Qianqing Palace). The name in the box was to be revealed to other members of the imperial family in the presence of all senior ministers only upon the death of the emperor. When the Yongzheng Emperor died suddenly in 1735, the will was taken out and read before the entire Qing imperial court, after which Hongli became the new emperor. Hongli adopted the era name "Qianlong", which means "Lasting Eminence".

Frontier wars

The Qianlong Emperor was a successful military leader. Immediately after ascending the throne, he sent armies to suppress the Miao rebellion. His later campaigns greatly expanded the territory controlled by the Qing Empire. This was made possible not only by Qing military might, but also by the disunity and declining strength of the Inner Asian peoples.

Under the Qianlong Emperor's reign, the Dzungar Khanate was incorporated into the Qing Empire's rule and renamed Xinjiang, while to the west, Ili was conquered and garrisoned. The incorporation of Xinjiang into the Qing Empire resulted from the final defeat and destruction of the Dzungars (or Zunghars), a coalition of Western Mongol tribes. The Qianlong Emperor then ordered the Dzungar genocide. According to the Qing dynasty scholar Wei Yuan, 40% of the 600,000 Dzungars were killed by smallpox, 20% fled to the Russian Empire or Kazakh tribes, and 30% were killed by the Qing army, in what Michael Edmund Clarke described as "the complete destruction of not only the Zunghar state but of the Zunghars as a people." Historian Peter Perdue has argued that the decimation of the Dzungars was the result of an explicit policy of massacre launched by the Qianlong Emperor.

The Dzungar genocide has been compared to the Qing extermination of the Jinchuan Tibetan people in 1776, which also occurred during the Qianlong Emperor's reign. When victorious troops returned to Beijing, a celebratory hymn was sung in their honour. A Manchu version of the hymn was recorded by the Jesuit Amoit and sent to Paris.

The Qing Empire hired Zhao Yi and Jiang Yongzhi at the Military Archives Office, in their capacity as members of the Hanlin Academy, to compile works on the Dzungar campaign, such as Strategy for the pacification of the Dzungars (Pingding Zhunge'er fanglue). Poems glorifying the Qing conquest and genocide of the Dzungar Mongols were written by Zhao, who wrote the Yanpu zaji in "brush-notes" style, where military expenditures of the Qianlong Emperor's reign were recorded. The Qianlong Emperor was praised as being the source of "eighteenth-century peace and prosperity" by Zhao Yi.

Khalkha Mongol rebels under Prince Chingünjav had plotted with the Dzungar leader Amursana and led a rebellion against the Qing Empire around the same time as the Dzungars. The Qing army crushed the rebellion and executed Chingünjav and his entire family.

Throughout this period there were continued Mongol interventions in Tibet and a reciprocal spread of Tibetan Buddhism in Mongolia. After the Lhasa riot of 1750, the Qianlong Emperor sent armies into Tibet and firmly established the Dalai Lama as the ruler of Tibet, with a Qing resident and garrison to preserve Qing presence. Further afield, military campaigns against Nepalese and Gurkhas forced the emperor into stalemate where both parties had to submit.

On 23 January, 1751, Tibetan rebels who participated in the Lhasa riot of 1750 against the Qing were sliced to death by Qing Manchu general Bandi, similar to what happened to Tibetan rebels on 1 November, 1728 during his father, the Yongzheng emperor's reign. 6 Tibetan rebel leaders plus Tibetan rebel leader Blo-bzan-bkra-sis were sliced to death. The rest of the Tibetan rebel leaders were strangled and beheaded and their heads were displayed to the Tibetan public on poles. The Qing seized the property of the rebels and exiled other Tibetan rebels. Manchu General Bandi sent a report to the Qing Qianlong emperor on 26 January, 1751 on how he carried out the slicings and executions of the Tibetan rebels. The Tibetan rebels dBan-rgyas (Wang-chieh), Padma-sku-rje-c'os-a['el (Pa-t'e-ma-ku-erh-chi-ch'un-p'i-lo) and Tarqan Yasor (Ta-erh-han Ya-hsün) were sliced to death for injuring the Manchu ambans with arrows, bows and fowling pieces during the Lhasa riot when they assault the building the Manchu ambans (Labdon and Fucin) were in. Tibetan rebel Sacan Hasiha (Ch'e-ch'en-ha-shih-ha) was sliced to death for murder of multiple individuals. Tibetan rebelsCh'ui-mu-cha-t'e and Rab-brtan (A-la-pu-tan) were sliced to death for looting money and setting fire during the attack on the Ambans. Tibetan rebel Blo-bzan-bkra-sis, the mgron-gner was sliced to death for being the overall leader of the rebels who led the attack which looted money and killed the Manchu ambans. 2 Tibetan rebels who had already deid before the execution had their dead bodies beheaded, one died in jail, Lag-mgon-po (La-k'o-kun-pu) and the other killed himself since he was scared of the punishment, Pei-lung-sha-k'o-pa. Bandi sentenced to strangulation several rebel followers and bKra-sis-rab-brtan (Cha-shih-la-pu-tan) a messenger. He ordered the live beheadings of Man-chin Te-shih-nai and rDson-dpon dBan-rgyal (Ts'eng-pen Wang-cha-lo and P'yag-mdsod-pa Lha-skyabs (Shang-cho-t'e-pa La-cha-pu) for leading the attack on the building by being the first to go to on the staircase to the next floor and setting fire and carrying the straw to fuel the fire besides killing several men on orders from the rebel leader.

The Qianlong Emperor responded to the vassal Shan states request for military aid against the attacking forces of Burma,

but the Sino-Burmese War ended in complete failure. He initially believed that it would be an easy victory against a barbarian tribe, and sent only the Green Standard Army based in Yunnan, which borders Burma. The Qing invasion came as the majority of Burmese forces were deployed in their latest invasion of the Siamese Ayutthaya Kingdom. Nonetheless, battle-hardened Burmese troops defeated the first two invasions of 1765–66 and 1766–67 at the border. The regional conflict now escalated to a major war that involved military manoeuvres nationwide in both countries. The third invasion (1767–1768) led by the elite Manchu Bannermen nearly succeeded, penetrating deep into central Burma within a few days' march from the capital, Ava. However, the Manchu Bannermen of northern China could not cope with "unfamiliar tropical terrains and lethal endemic diseases", and were driven back with heavy losses. After the close-call, King Hsinbyushin redeployed his armies from Siam to the Chinese front. The fourth and largest invasion got bogged down at the frontier. With the Qing forces completely encircled, a truce was reached between the field commanders of the two sides in December 1769. The Qing forces kept a heavy military lineup in the border areas of Yunnan for about one decade in an attempt to wage another war while imposing a ban on inter-border trade for two decades. When Burma and China resumed a diplomatic relationship in 1790, the Qing government unilaterally viewed the act as Burmese submission, and claimed victory. The Qianglong emperor ordered Manchu general Eledeng'e (also spelled E'erdeng'e (額爾登額) or possibly 額爾景額)) to be sliced to death after his commander Mingrui was defeated at the Battle of Maymyo in the Sino-Burmese war in 1768 because Eledeng'i was not able to help flank Mingrui when he did not arrive at a rendezvous.

The circumstances in Vietnam were not successful either. In 1787, Lê Chiêu Thống, the last ruler of the Vietnamese Lê dynasty, fled from Vietnam and formally requested to be restored to his throne in Thăng Long (present-day Hanoi). The Qianlong Emperor agreed and sent a large army into Vietnam to remove the Tây Sơn (peasant rebels who had captured all of Vietnam). The capital, Thăng Long, was conquered in 1788, but a few months later the Qing army was defeated and the invasion turned into a debacle due to the surprise attack during Tết (Vietnamese New Year) by Nguyễn Huệ, the second and most capable of the three Tây Sơn brothers. The Qing Empire gave formal protection to Lê Chiêu Thống and his family, and would not intervene in Vietnam for another 90 years.

Despite setbacks in the south, overall the Qianlong Emperor's military expansion nearly doubled the area of the already vast Qing Empire, and brought into the fold many non-Han-Chinese peoples—such as Uyghurs, Kazakhs, Kyrgyzs, Evenks and Mongols—who were potentially hostile. It was also a very expensive enterprise; the funds in the Imperial Treasury were almost all put into military expeditions. Though the wars were successful, they were not overwhelmingly so. The Qing army declined noticeably and had a difficult time facing some enemies: the campaign against the Jinchuan hill peoples took 2 to 3 years—at first the Qing army were mauled, though Yue Zhongqi (a descendant of Yue Fei) later took control of the situation. The battle with the Dzungars was closely fought, and caused heavy losses on both sides.

The Ush rebellion in 1765 by Uyghur Muslims against the Manchus occurred after Uyghur women were gang raped by the servants and son of Manchu official Su-cheng. It was said that Ush Muslims had long wanted to sleep on and son's hides and eat their flesh. because of the rape of Uyghur Muslim women for months by the Manchu official Sucheng and his son. The Manchu Qianlong Emperor ordered that the Uyghur rebel town be massacred, the Qing forces enslaved all the Uyghur children and women and slaughtered the Uyghur men. Manchu soldiers and Manchu officials regularly having sex with or raping Uyghur women caused massive hatred and anger against Manchu rule among Uyghur Muslims. The invasion by Jahangir Khoja was preceded by another Manchu official, Binjing, who raped a Muslim daughter of the Kokan aqsaqal from 1818 to 1820. The Qing sought to cover up the rape of Uyghur women by Manchus to prevent anger against their rule from spreading among the Uyghurs.

At the end of the frontier wars, the Qing army had started to weaken significantly. In addition to a more lenient military system, warlords became satisfied with their lifestyles. Since most of the warring had already taken place, warlords no longer saw any reason to train their armies, resulting in a rapid military decline by the end of the Qianlong Emperor's reign. This was the main reason for the Qing military's failure to suppress the White Lotus Rebellion, which started towards the end of the Qianlong Emperor's reign and extended into the reign of the Jiaqing Emperor.

Cultural achievements

The Qianlong Emperor, like his predecessors, took his cultural role seriously. First of all, he worked to preserve the Manchu heritage, which he saw as the basis of the moral character of the Manchus and thus of the dynasty's power. He ordered the compilation of Manchu language genealogies, histories, and ritual handbooks and in 1747 secretly ordered the compilation of the Shamanic Code, published later in the Siku Quanshu. He further solidified the dynasty's cultural and religious claims in Central Asia by ordering a replica of the Tibetan Potala Palace, the Putuo Zongcheng Temple, to be built on the grounds of the imperial summer palace in Chengde. In order to present himself to Tibetans and Mongols in Buddhist rather than in Confucian terms, he commissioned a thangka'', or sacred painting, depicting him as Manjushri, the Bodhisattva of Wisdom.

The Qianlong Emperor was a major patron and important "preserver and restorer" of Confucian culture. He had an insatiable appetite for collecting, and acquired much of China's "great private collections" by any means necessary, and "reintegrated their treasures into the imperial collection." The Qianlong Emperor, more than any other Manchu emperor, lavished the imperial collection with his attention and effort:

The imperial collection had its origins in the first century BC, and had gone through many vicissitudes of fire, civil wars and foreign invasions in the centuries that followed. But it was Qianlong who lavished the greatest attention on it, certainly of any of the Manchu rulers... One of the many roles played by Qianlong, with his customary diligence, was that of the emperor as collector and curator. ...how carefully Qianlong followed the art market in rare paintings and antiquities, using a team of cultural advisers, from elderly Chinese literati to newly fledged Manchu connoisseurs. These men would help the emperor spot which great private collections might be coming up for sale, either because the fortunes of some previously rich merchant family were unraveling or because the precious objects acquired by Manchu or Chinese grandees during the chaos of the conquest period were no longer valued by those families' surviving heirs. Sometimes, too, Qianlong would pressure or even force wealthy courtiers into yielding up choice art objects: he did this by pointing out failings in their work, which might be excused if they made a certain "gift", or, in a couple of celebrated cases, by persuading the current owners that only the secure walls of the forbidden City and its guardians could save some precious painting from theft or from fire.

The Qianlong Emperor's massive art collection became an intimate part of his life; he took landscape paintings with him on his travels in order to compare them with the actual landscapes, or to hang them in special rooms in palaces where he lodged, to inscribe them on every visit there. "He also regularly added poetic inscriptions to the paintings of the imperial collection, following the example of the emperors of the Song dynasty and the literati painters of the Ming dynasty. They were a mark of distinction for the work, and a visible sign of his rightful role as emperor. Most particular to the Qianlong Emperor is another type of inscription, revealing a unique practice of dealing with works of art that he seems to have developed for himself. On certain fixed occasions over a long period he contemplated a number of paintings or works of calligraphy which possessed special meaning for him, inscribing each regularly with mostly private notes on the circumstances of enjoying them, using them almost as a diary." In particular, the Qianlong Emperor housed within the Hall of Three Rarities (Sanxitang), a small chamber within the Hall of Mental Cultivation, three calligraphy works: 「Timely Clearing After Snowfall」 by Wang Xizhi, from the Jin Dynasty, 「Mid-Autumn」 by his son Wang Xianzhi, and 「Letter to Boyuan」 by Wang Xun.

"Most of the several thousand jade items in the imperial collection date from his reign. The (Qianlong) Emperor was also particularly interested in collecting ancient bronzes, bronze mirrors and seals," in addition to pottery, ceramics and applied arts such as enameling, metal work and lacquer work, which flourished during his reign; a substantial part of his collection is in the Percival David Foundation in London. The Victoria and Albert Museum and British Museum also have collections of art from the Qianlong era.

"The Qianlong Emperor was a passionate poet and essayist. In his collected writings, which were published in a tenfold series between 1749 and 1800, over 40,000 poems and 1,300 prose texts are listed, making him one of the most prolific writers of all time. There is a long tradition of poems of this sort in praise of particular objects ('yongwu shi), and the Qianlong Emperor used it in order to link his name both physically and intellectually with ancient artistic tradition."

One of the Qianlong Emperor's grandest projects was to "assemble a team of China's finest scholars for the purpose of assembling, editing, and printing the largest collection ever made of Chinese philosophy, history, and literature." Known as the Four Treasuries Project (or Siku Quanshu), it was published in 36,000 volumes, containing about 3,450 complete works and employing as many as 15,000 copyists. It preserved numerous books, but was also intended as a way to ferret out and suppress political opponents, requiring the "careful examination of private libraries to assemble a list of around eleven thousand works from the past, of which about a third were chosen for publication. The works not included were either summarised or—in a good many cases—scheduled for destruction."

Burning of books and modification of texts

Some 2,300 works were listed for total suppression and another 350 for partial suppression. The aim was to destroy the writings that were anti-Qing or rebellious, that insulted previous "barbarian" dynasties, or that dealt with frontier or defence problems. The full editing of the Siku Quanshu was completed in about ten years; during these ten years, 3,100 titles (or works), about 150,000 copies of books were either burnt or banned. Of those volumes that had been categorised into the Siku Quanshu, many were subjected to deletion and modification. Books published during the Ming dynasty suffered the greatest damage.

The authority would judge any single character or any single sentence's neutrality; if the authority had decided these words, or sentence, were derogatory or cynical towards the rulers, then persecution would begin. In the Qianlong Emperor's time, there were 53 cases of Literary Inquisition, resulting in the victims executed by beheading or slow slicing (lingchi), or having their corpses mutilated (if they were already dead).

Literary works

In 1743, after his first visit to Mukden (present-day Shenyang, Liaoning), the Qianlong Emperor used Chinese to write his "Ode to Mukden," (Shengjing fu/Mukden-i fujurun bithe), a fu in classical style, as a poem of praise to Mukden, at that point a general term for what was later called Manchuria, describing its beauties and historical values. He describes the mountains and wildlife, using them to justify his belief that the dynasty would endure. A Manchu translation was then made. In 1748, he ordered a jubilee printing in both Chinese and Manchu, using some genuine pre-Qin forms, but Manchu styles which had to be invented and which could not be read.

Languages

In his childhood, the Qianlong Emperor was tutored in Manchu, Chinese and Mongolian, arranged to be tutored in Tibetan, and spoke Chagatai (Turki or Modern Uyghur) and Tangut. However, he was even more concerned than his predecessors to preserve and promote the Manchu language among his followers, as he proclaimed that "the keystone for Manchus is language." He commissioned new Manchu dictionaries, and directed the preparation of the Pentaglot Dictionary which gave equivalents for Manchu terms in Mongolian, Tibetan and Turkic, and had the Buddhist canon translated into Manchu, which was considered the "national language". He directed the elimination of loanwords taken from Chinese and replaced them with calque translations which were put into new Manchu dictionaries. Manchu translations of Chinese works during his reign were direct translations contrasted with Manchu books translated during the Kangxi Emperor's reign which were transliterations in Manchu script of the Chinese characters.

The Qianlong Emperor commissioned the Qin ding Xiyu Tongwen Zhi (欽定西域同文志; "Imperial Western Regions Thesaurus") which was a thesaurus of geographic names in Xinjiang in Oirat Mongol, Manchu, Chinese, Tibetan, and Turki (Modern Uyghur).

Tibetan Buddhism

The long association of the Manchu rulership with the Bodhisattva Manjusri and his own interest in Tibetan Buddhism gave credence to the Qianlong Emperor's patronage of Tibetan Buddhist art and patronage of translations of the Buddhist canon. The accounts in court records and Tibetan language sources affirm his personal commitment. He quickly learned to read the Tibetan language and studied Buddhist texts assiduously. His beliefs are reflected in the Tibetan Buddhist imagery of his tomb, perhaps the most personal and private expression of an emperor's life. He supported the Yellow Church (the Tibetan Buddhist Gelukpa sect) to "maintain peace among the Mongols" since the Mongols were followers of the Dalai Lama and Panchen Lama of the Yellow Church, and the Qianlong Emperor had this explanation placed in the Yonghe Temple in Beijing on a stele entitled "Lama Shuo" (on Lamas) in 1792, and he also said it was "merely in pursuance of Our policy of extending Our affection to the weak." which led him to patronize the Yellow Church. Mark Elliott concludes that these actions delivered political benefits but "meshed seamlessly with his personal faith."

This explanation of supporting the "Yellow Hats" Tibetan Buddhists for practical reasons was used to deflect Han criticism of this policy by the Qianlong Emperor, who had the "Lama Shuo" stele engraved in Tibetan, Mongol, Manchu and Chinese, which said: "By patronizing the Yellow Church, we maintain peace among the Mongols. This being an important task we cannot but protect this (religion). (In doing so) we do not show any bias, nor do we wish to adulate the Tibetan priests as (was done during the) Yuan dynasty."

The Qianlong Emperor turned the Palace of Harmony (Yonghe Palace) into a Tibetan Buddhist temple for Mongols in 1744 and had an edict inscribed on a stele to commemorate it in Tibetan, Mongolian, Chinese, and Manchu, with most likely the Qianlong Emperor having first wrote the Chinese version before the Manchu.

Persecution of Christians by his father became even worse during his reign.

Anti-Islam laws

Qing policy on Muslims and Islam was changed during the reign of the Kangxi, Yongzheng and Qianlong emperors. While the Kangxi emperors proclaimed Muslims and Han to be equal, his grandson the Manchu Qianlong emperor endorsed Han officials harsh recommendations towards treatment of Muslims. The Kangxi emperor said that Muslim and Han Chinese were equal when people argued for Muslims to be treated differently. The Qing Yongzheng emperor held the opinion that Islam was foolish, but he felt it did not pose a threat when a judge in Shandong petitioned him to destroy mosques and ban Islam. Yongzheng then fired an official for demanding Muslims be punished more harshly than non-Muslims.

This policy changed in the reign of the Qianlong emperor. Chen Hongmou, a Qing official, said that Muslims needed to be brought to law and order by being punished more harshly and blaming Muslim leaders for criminal behavior of Muslims in a letter to the Board of Punishments called Covenant to Instruct and Admonish Muslims that he wrote in 1751. Although the Board of Punishment did nothing, the Shaanxi-Gansu Governor-General in 1762 then proceeded to implement his recommendation and had Muslim criminals punished severely more than Han Chinese ones. He also implemented the policy that the criminal deeds of Muslim congregants of Mosques ended up with their Imams being punished and held responsible for them. These anti-Muslim policies by the governor general received endorsement from the Manchu Qianlong emperor.

Great changes happening to Chinese Muslims, like the introduction of a Sufi order, the Naqshbandiyya to the Hui, causing the Qianlong emperor to adopt this harsh attitude against Muslims in contrast to his grandfather and father. This led to larger connections between the Hui and the broader Islamic world from the west, as the Naqshbandiyya order came east to the Hui when Hui scholars in Suzhou were converted to Naqshbandiyya by Muhammad Yusuf. Khoja Afaq, Muhammad Yusuf's son, also further spread Naqshbandi orders among Chinese Muslims like Tibetan Muslims, Salars, Hui and other Muslim ethnicities in Hezhou, Gansu (now Linxia) and Xining in Qinghai and Lanzhou. Ma Laichi was the leader of one of these orders and he personally studied in the Islamic world in Bukhara to learn Sufism, and Yemen and in Mecca where he was taught by Mawlana Makhdum. This brought him prestige among Chinese Muslims. In an argument over the breaking of fast during Ramadan Ma Laichi said that before praying in the mosque, fast should be broken, not vice versa and this led to him getting many Naqshbandi converts from Hui and Turkic Salars. It came to court in 1731 when the Muslims arguing over how to break Ramadan fast filed lawsuits. The Muslim plaintiffs were told by the Qing authorities at the court to resolve them themselves, as the legal authorities who had no idea about Ramadan fasting. The dispute was not solved and continued to go on and was compounded by even more disputes like how to perform dhikr in Sufism, in a jahri (vocal) as taught by Ma Mingxin, another Sufi who learned in the western Islamic lands like Bukhara, or khufi (silent) like what Ma Laichi did. The Zabid Naqshbandiyyas in Yemen taught Ma Mingxin for two decades. They taught vocal dhikr. Ma Mingxin was also affected by another series of events in the Middle Eastern Muslim world, revivalist movements among Muslims like the Saudis who allied with Muhammad ibn 'Abd al-Wahhab. This renewal tajdid influenced Ma Mingxin in Yemen.

While Ma Mingxin was in Yemen and away from China, all of Muslim Inner Asia was conquered by the "infidel" Qing dynasty giving even more relevance to his situation and views. Ma Laichi and Ma Mingxin again sued each other in court but this second time the Qing passed a verdict in favor of the quiet dhikr faction, the Silentist Khafiyya of Ma Laichi and gave it the status of orthodoxy while damning as heterodox the Aloudist Jahriyya of Ma Mingxin. Ma Mingxin ignored the order and kept proselytizing in Shaanxi, Ningxia and Xinjiang going to Guangchuan from Hezhou in 1769 after being kicked out and banned from Xunhua district. Turkic Salars in Xunhua followed his orders even after the Qing banned him from there and he continued to have further lawsuits and legal issues with the Khafiyya and Ma Laichi as the Qing backed the Khafiyya.

A violent battle where a Qing official and Khafiyya followers were among one hundred slaughtered by a Jahriyya assault headed by Su Forty-three, a supporter of Ma Mingxin in 1781 led to Ma Mingxin declared a rebel and taken to jail in Lanzhou. The Qing executed Ma Mingxin after his release was demanded by the armed followers of Su Forty-three. A Jahriyya rebellion all over northwest China ensued after Ma Mingxin was executed. In response, the Manchus in Beijing sent Manchu Grand Secretary Agui with a battalion to slaughter Jahriyya chiefs and exile the adherents of the Sufi order to the border regions.

Tian Wu led another Jahriyya rebellion 3 years after that, which was crushed by the Qing, and the Ma Datian, the Jahriyya's 3rd leader was exiled to Manchuria in 1818 by the Qing and died.

This continual build up of conflict between Muslims and the Qing court led to the 19th century full-scale wars with Muslim rebellions against the Qing in southern and northern China. The change in Manchu attitudes towards Muslims, from tolerating Muslims and regarding them as equal to Han Chinese, before the 1760s, to the violence between the Qing state and Muslims after the 1760s, was due to progressive Qing involvement in the conflict between the Sufi orders Jahriyya and Khafiyya making it no longer possible for the Qing to keep up with the early rhetoric of Muslim equality. The Manchu court under Qianlong began approving and implementing Chen Hongmou's anti-Muslim laws that targeted Muslims for practicing their religion and the violence by the Qing state, the communal violence between Jahriyya and Khafiyya coincided with the Jahriyya's major expansion.

Qing incompetence destroyed the economy of the places where Muslims lived in leading to even more tension.

Chen Hongmou's policies were implemented as laws in 1762 by the Qing government's Board of Punishments and the Qing Manchu Qianlong emperor leading to severe tensions with Muslims. State authorities were mandated to receive all reports of Muslim criminal behaviour by local officials and all criminal behaviour by Muslims had to be reported by Muslim leaders to Qing authorities under these laws. This led to an inundation of anti-Muslim reports filing in Qing offices as the Qing court received information that Muslims were inherently violent and Muslim bandits were committing crimes as report after report were filed by local officials and Muslim crimes inundated court records. The Qing became even more anti-Muslim after receiving these reports about criminal behavior and started passing even more anti-Muslim laws one of them being that if any weapon was found in a group of 3 or more Muslims all of those Muslims would by sentenced as criminals by the Qing.

A new criminal category or act, brawling (dou'ou) was designated by the Qing Manchu court of the Manchu Qianlong emperor in the 1770s especially as an anti-Muslim measure to arrest Muslims leading to even non-Jahriyya Muslims to join with Jahriyya against the Qing and leading the Qing court to be even more anti-Muslim, apprehensive of anti-Qing rebellion by Muslims. This led to the execution of Ma Mingxin in 1781 and the rebellion and violence was compounded by lack of Qing intelligence. A Qing official who was tasked with ending the Jahriyya and Khafiyya communal violence mistakenly thought the people he were talking to were Khafiyya when they were in fact Jahriyya, and he told them that the Qing would massacre all Jahriyya adherents. This led to him being murdered by the Jahriyya mob, which led to the Qing sending Manchu Grand Secretary Agui on a full scale pacification crackdown campaign against the Jahriyya.

The military victory of the Qing against the Jahriyya led to even more Jahriyya anger. Officials went overboard in massacring Muslims deemed as state enemies to impress the Qing court, leading to further growth in Jahriyya membership, leading in turn to the 1784 rebellion by Tian Wu.

The Qianlong emperor asked his minister what was going on as he was puzzled as to how the Muslims from many regions gathered together for revolt. He asked if the investigation of Muslim behavior b y Li Shiyao got leaked leading to rebels to incite violence by telling Muslims the government would exterminate them. He then pondered and said none of these could be why and kept asking why. To solve the issue of the 1784 revolt, northwestern China was put under military occupation by the Qing for 50 years until the Taiping rebellion of southern China forced the Qing to move them away from northwest China leading to the massive 1860s and 1870s Muslim revolts in the northwest caused by growing violence.

The sudden questions about Halal in Islam that Mongol Buddhists had in the 18th century was caused by all these things, northwestern China right next to Mongolia getting militarized, the Qing government officially declaring Muslims to be anti-Qing and violent and revivalist Islam coming to China

Palaces

The Qianlong Emperor was an aggressive builder. In the hills northwest of Beijing, he expanded the villa known as the "Garden of Perfect Brightness" (Yuanmingyuan) (now known as the Old Summer Palace) that was built by his father. He eventually added two new villas, the "Garden of Eternal Spring" and the "Elegant Spring Garden". In time, the Old Summer Palace would encompass , five times larger than the Forbidden City. To celebrate the 60th birthday of his mother, Empress Dowager Chongqing, the Qianlong Emperor ordered a lake at the "Garden of Clear Ripples" (Qingyiyuan) (now known as the Summer Palace) dredged, named it Kunming Lake, and renovated a villa on the eastern shore of the lake.

The Qianlong Emperor also expanded the imperial summer palace in Rehe Province, beyond the Great Wall. Rehe eventually became effectively a third capital and it was at Rehe that the Qianlong Emperor held court with various Mongol nobles. The emperor also spent time at the Mulan hunting grounds north of Rehe, where he held the imperial hunt each year.

European styles

For the Old Summer Palace, the Qianlong Emperor commissioned the Italian Jesuit Giuseppe Castiglione for the construction of the Xiyang Lou, or Western-style mansion, to satisfy his taste for exotic buildings and objects. He also commissioned the French Jesuit Michel Benoist, to design a series of timed waterworks and fountains complete with underground machinery and pipes, for the amusement of the imperial family. The French Jesuit Jean Denis Attiret also became a painter for the emperor. Jean-Damascène Sallusti was also a court painter. He co-designed, with Castiglione and Ignatius Sichelbart, the Battle Copper Prints.

Other architecture

During the Qianlong Emperor's reign, the Emin Minaret was built in Turpan to commemorate Emin Khoja, a Uyghur leader from Turfan who submitted to the Qing Empire as a vassal in order to obtain assistance from the Qing to fight the Zunghars.

Descendants of the Ming dynastys imperial family

In 1725, the Yongzheng Emperor bestowed a hereditary marquis title on a descendant of Zhu Zhilian, a descendant of the imperial family of the Ming dynasty. Zhu was also paid by the Qing government to perform rituals at the Ming tombs and induct the Chinese Plain White Banner into the Eight Banners. Zhu was posthumously awarded the title "Marquis of Extended Grace" in 1750, and the title was passed on for 12 generations in his family until the end of the Qing dynasty. However, it has been argued that Zhu Zhilian, in fact, had no relation to the imperial family at all.

Banner system

The Qianlong Emperor instituted a policy of "Manchu-fying" the Eight Banner system, which was the basic military and social organisation of the dynasty. In the early Qing era, Nurhaci and Huangtaiji categorised Manchu and Han ethnic identity within the Eight Banners based on culture, lifestyle and language, instead of ancestry or genealogy. Han Bannermen were an important part of the Banner System. The Qianlong Emperor changed this definition to one of descent, and demobilised many Han Bannermen and urged Manchu Bannermen to protect their cultural heritage, language and martial skills. The emperor redefined the identity of Han Bannermen by saying that they were to be regarded as of having the same culture and being of the same ancestral extraction as Han civilians Conversely, he emphasised the martial side of Manchu culture and reinstituted the practice of the annual imperial hunt as begun by his grandfather, leading contingents from the Manchu and Mongol banners to the Mulan hunting grounds each autumn to test and improve their skills.

The Qianlong Emperor's view of the Han Bannermen also differed from that of his grandfather in deciding that loyalty in itself was most important quality. He sponsored biographies which depicted Chinese Bannermen who defected from the Ming to the Qing as traitors and glorifying Ming loyalists. Some of the Qianlong Emperor's inclusions and omissions on the list of traitors were political in nature. Some of these actions were including Li Yongfang (out of his dislike for Li Yongfang's descendant, Li Shiyao) and excluding Ma Mingpei (out of concern for his son Ma Xiongzhen's image).

The identification and interchangeability between "Manchu" and "Banner people" (Qiren) began in the 17th century. Banner people were differentiated from civilians (Chinese: minren, Manchu: irgen, or Chinese: Hanren, Manchu :Nikan) and the term Bannermen was becoming identical with "Manchu" in the general perception. The Qianlong Emperor referred to all Bannermen as Manchu, and Qing laws did not say "Manchu", but "Bannermen".

Select groups of Han Chinese bannermen were mass transferred into Manchu Banners by the Qing, changing their ethnicity from Han Chinese to Manchu. Han Chinese bannermen of Tai Nikan 台尼堪 (watchpost Chinese) and Fusi Nikan 抚顺尼堪 (Fushun Chinese) backgrounds into the Manchu banners in 1740 by order of the Qing Qianlong emperor. It was between 1618 and 1629 when the Han Chinese from Liaodong who later became the Fushun Nikan and Tai Nikan defected to the Jurchens (Manchus). These Han Chinese origin Manchu clans continue to use their original Han surnames and are marked as of Han origin on Qing lists of Manchu clans.

Anti-gun measures

The Solons were ordered by the Qianlong Emperor to stop using rifles and instead practice traditional archery. The emperor issued an edict for silver taels to be issued for guns turned over to the government.

Chinese nobility

The Qianlong Emperor granted the title of Wujing Boshi (五經博士; Wǔjīng Bóshì) to the descendants of Zhang Zai, Fu Sheng, and Yan Hui.

The Manchu prince Abatai's daughter was married to the Han Chinese general Li Yongfang (李永芳). The offspring of Li received the "Third-class Viscount" (三等子爵 Sān Děng Zǐjué|labels=no|s=|t=) title. Li Yongfang was the great-great-great-grandfather of Li Shiyao (李侍堯), who, during the Qianlong Emperor's reign, was involved in graft and embezzlement, demoted of his noble title and sentenced to death; however, his life was spared and he regained his title after assisting in the Taiwan campaign.

Chinese political identity and frontier policy

The Qianlong Emperor and his predecessors, since the Shunzhi Emperor, had identified China and the Qing Empire as the same, and in treaties and diplomatic papers the Qing Empire called itself "China". The Qianlong Emperor rejected earlier ideas that only Han could be subjects of China and only Han land could be considered as part of China, so he redefined China as multiethnic, saying in 1755 that "there exists a view of China (zhongxia), according to which non-Han people cannot become China's subjects and their land cannot be integrated into the territory of China. This does not represent our dynasty's understanding of China, but is instead that of the earlier Han, Tang, Song, and Ming dynasties."

The Qianlong Emperor rejected the views of Han officials who said Xinjiang was not part of China and that he should not conquer it, putting forth the view that China was multiethnic and did not just refer to Han. The Qianlong Emperor compared his achievements with that of the Han and Tang ventures into Central Asia.

Han settlement

Han Chinese farmers were resettled from north China by the Qing government in the area along the Liao River in order to restore the land to cultivation. Wasteland was reclaimed by Han squatters in addition to other Han people who rented land from Manchu landlords. Despite officially prohibiting Han settlement on the Manchu and Mongol lands, by the 18th century the Qing government decided to settle Han refugees from northern China who were suffering from famine, floods, and drought into Manchuria and Inner Mongolia. Due to this, Han people farmed 500,000 hectares in Manchuria and tens of thousands of hectares in Inner Mongolia by the 1780s. The Qianlong Emperor allowed Han peasants suffering from drought to move into Manchuria despite him issuing edicts in favor of banning them from 1740 to 1776. Han tenant farmers rented or even claimed title to land from the "imperial estates" and Manchu Bannerlands in the area. Besides moving into the Liao area in southern Manchuria, the path linking Jinzhou, Fengtian, Tieling, Changchun, Hulun, and Ningguta was settled by Han people during the Qianlong Emperor's reign, and Han people were the majority in urban areas of Manchuria by 1800. To increase the Imperial Treasury's revenue, the Qing government sold lands along the Sungari which were previously exclusively for Manchus to Han Chinese at the beginning of the Daoguang Emperor's reign, and Han people filled up most of Manchuria's towns by the 1840s, according to Abbé Huc.

Later years

In his later years, the Qianlong Emperor became spoiled with power and glory, disillusioned and complacent in his reign, and started placing his trust in corrupt officials such as Yu Minzhong and Heshen.

As Heshen was the highest ranked minister and most favoured by the Qianlong Emperor at the time, the day-to-day governance of the country was left in his hands, while the emperor himself indulged in the arts, luxuries and literature. When Heshen was executed by the Jiaqing Emperor, the Qing government discovered that Heshen's personal fortune exceeded that of the Qing Empire's depleted treasury, amounting to 900 million silver taels, the total of 12 years of Treasury surplus of the Qing imperial court.

The Qianlong Emperor began his reign with about 33.95 million silver taels in Treasury surplus. At the peak of his reign, around 1775, even with further tax cuts, the treasury surplus still reached 73.9 million silver taels, a record unmatched by his predecessors, the Kangxi and Yongzheng emperors, both of whom had implemented remarkable tax cut policies.

However, due to numerous factors such as long term embezzlement and corruption by officials, frequent expeditions to the south, huge palace constructions, many war and rebellion campaigns as well as his own extravagant lifestyle, all of these cost the treasury a total of 150.2 million silver taels. This, coupled with his senior age and the lack of political reforms, ushered the beginning of the gradual decline and eventual demise of the Qing Empire, casting a shadow over his glorious and brilliant political life.

Macartney Embassy

During the mid-18th century, European powers began to pressure for increases in the already burgeoning foreign trade and for outposts on the Chinese coast, demands which the aging Qianlong emperor resisted. In 1793 King George III sent a large-scale delegation to present their requests directly to the emperor in Beijing, headed by George Macartney, one of the country's most seasoned diplomats. The British sent a sample of trade goods that they intended to sell in China; this was misinterpreted as tribute that was adjudged to be of low quality.

Historians both in China and abroad long presented the failure of the mission to achieve its goals as a symbol of China's refusal to change and inability to modernize. They explain the refusal first on the fact that interaction with foreign kingdoms was limited to neighbouring tributary states. Furthermore, the worldviews on the two sides were incompatible, China holding entrenched beliefs that China was the "central kingdom". However, after the publication in the 1990s of a fuller range of archival documents concerning the visit, these claims have been challenged. Some assert that China's present day autonomy and successful modernization put the Qianlong Emperor's actions in a new light. One historian summed the newly revised view by characterizing the emperor and his court as "clearly clever and competent political operators". They acted within the formal claims of Qing claims to universal rule, but also simply reacted prudently by placating the British with unspecified promises in order to avoid military conflicts and loss of trade.

Macartney was granted an audience with the Qianlong Emperor on two days, the second of which coincided with the emperor's 82nd birthday. There is continued debate about the nature of the audience and what level of ceremonials were performed. Macartney wrote that he resisted demands that the British trade ambassadors kneel and perform the kowtow and debate continues as to what exactly occurred, differing opinions recorded by Qing courtiers and British delegates.

Qianlong gave Macartney a letter for the British king stating the reasons that he would not grant Macartney's requests:

Yesterday your Ambassador petitioned my Ministers to memorialise me regarding your trade with China, but his proposal is not consistent with our dynastic usage and cannot be entertained. Hitherto, all European nations, including your own country's barbarian merchants, have carried on their trade with our Celestial Empire at Canton. Such has been the procedure for many years, although our Celestial Empire possesses all things in prolific abundance and lacks no product within its own borders.

Your request for a small island near Chusan, where your merchants may reside and goods be warehoused, arises from your desire to develop trade... Consider, moreover, that England is not the only barbarian land which wishes to establish... trade with our Empire: supposing that other nations were all to imitate your evil example and beseech me to present them each and all with a site for trading purposes, how could I possibly comply? This also is a flagrant infringement of the usage of my Empire and cannot possibly be entertained.

Hitherto, the barbarian merchants of Europe have had a definite locality assigned to them at Aomen for residence and trade, and have been forbidden to encroach an inch beyond the limits assigned to that locality.... If these restrictions were withdrawn, friction would inevitably occur between the Chinese and your barbarian subjects...

Regarding your nation's worship of the Lord of Heaven, it is the same religion as that of other European nations. Ever since the beginning of history, sage Emperors and wise rulers have bestowed on China a moral system and inculcated a code, which from time immemorial has been religiously observed by the myriads of my subjects. There has been no hankering after heterodox doctrines. Even the European (missionary) officials in my capital are forbidden to hold intercourse with Chinese subjects...

The letter was unknown to the public until 1914, when it was translated, then later used as a symbol of China's refusal to modernize.

Macartney's conclusions in his memoirs were widely disseminated:

The Empire of China is an old, crazy, first-rate Man of War, which a fortunate succession of able and vigilant officers have contrived to keep afloat for these hundred and fifty years past, and to overawe their neighbours merely by her bulk and appearance. But whenever an insufficient man happens to have the command on deck, adieu to the discipline and safety of the ship. She may, perhaps, not sink outright; she may drift some time as a wreck, and will then be dashed to pieces on the shore; but she can never be rebuilt on the old bottom.

Titsingh Embassy

A Dutch embassy arrived at the Qianlong Emperor's court in 1795, which would turn out to be the last time any European appeared before the Qing imperial court within the context of traditional Chinese imperial foreign relations.

Representing Dutch and Dutch East India Company interests, Isaac Titsingh traveled to Beijing in 1794–95 for celebrations of the 60th anniversary of the Qianlong Emperor's reign. The Titsingh delegation also included the Dutch-American Andreas Everardus van Braam Houckgeest, whose detailed description of this embassy to the Qing court was soon after published in the United States and Europe. Titsingh's French translator, Chrétien-Louis-Joseph de Guignes, published his own account of the Titsingh mission in 1808. Voyage a Pékin, Manille et l'Ile de France provided an alternate perspective and a useful counterpoint to other reports that were then circulating. Titsingh himself died before he could publish his version of events.

In contrast to Macartney, Isaac Titsingh, the Dutch and VOC emissary in 1795 did not refuse to kowtow. In the year following Mccartney's rebuff, Titsingh and his colleagues were much feted by the Chinese because of what was construed as seemly compliance with conventional court etiquette.

Abdication

In October 1795, the Qianlong Emperor officially announced that in the spring of the following year he would voluntarily abdicate his throne and pass the throne to his son. It was said that the Qianlong Emperor had made a promise during the year of his ascension not to rule longer than his grandfather, the Kangxi Emperor, who had reigned for 61 years.

The Qianlong Emperor anticipated moving out of the Hall of Mental Cultivation (Yangxindian) in the Forbidden City. The hall had been conventionally dedicated for the exclusive use of the reigning sovereign, and in 1771 the emperor ordered the beginning of construction on what was ostensibly intended as his retirement residence in another part of the Forbidden City: a lavish, two-acre walled retreat called the "Palace of Tranquil Longevity (Ningshou Palace)", which is today more commonly known as the "Qianlong Garden". The complex, completed in 1776, is currently undergoing a ten-year restoration led by the Palace Museum in Beijing and the World Monuments Fund (WMF). The first of the restored apartments, the Qianlong Emperor's Juanqinzhai, or "Studio of Exhaustion From Diligent Service," began an exhibition tour of the United States in 2010.

The Qianlong Emperor relinquished the throne at the age of 85, after almost 61 years on the throne, to his son, the 36-year-old Jiaqing Emperor, in 1796. For the next three years, he held the title "Taishang Huang (or Emperor Emeritus)" (太上皇) even though he continued to hold on to power and the Jiaqing Emperor ruled only in name. He never moved into his retirement suites in the Qianlong Garden. He died in 1799.

Legends

A legend, popularised in fiction, says that the Qianlong Emperor was the son of Chen Shiguan (陳世倌), a Han Chinese official from Haining County, Zhejiang Province. In his choice of heir to the throne, the Kangxi Emperor required not only that the heir be able to govern the empire well but that the heir's son be of no less calibre, thus ensuring the Manchus' everlasting reign over China. The son of Yinzhen, the Kangxi Emperor's fourth son, was a weakling so Yinzhen surreptitiously arranged for his daughter to be exchanged for Chen Shiguan's son, who became the favourite grandson of the Kangxi Emperor. Yinzhen succeeded his father and became the Yongzheng Emperor, while his "son", Hongli, succeeded him in turn as the Qianlong Emperor. During his reign, the Qianlong Emperor went on inspection tours to southern China and stayed in Chen Shiguan's house in Haining, where he wrote calligraphy. He also frequently issued imperial edicts to waive off taxes from Haining County.

However, there are major problems with this story. First, the Yongzheng Emperor's eldest surviving son, Hongshi, was only seven when Hongli was born, far too young to make the drastic choice of replacing a child of imperial birth with an outsider (and risking disgrace if not death). Second, the Yongzheng Emperor had three other princes who survived to adulthood and had the potential to ascend the throne. Indeed, since Hongshi was the son forced to commit suicide, it would have been far more logical for him to be the adopted son, if any of them were.

Stories about the Qianlong Emperor's six inspection tours to southern China in disguise as a commoner have been a popular topic for many generations. In total, he visited southern China six times – the same number of times as his grandfather, the Kangxi Emperor.

Family

Parents

Father — Yinzhen, the Yongzheng Emperor (雍正帝) of the Aisin Gioro (愛新覺羅) Clan

Mother — Empress Xiaoshengxian (孝聖憲皇后) of the Niohuru (鈕祜祿) Clan

Consorts and Issue

Empress

• Empress Xiaoxianchun (孝賢純皇后) of the Fuca (富察氏) ClanTenure as Empress Consort: 23 January 1738 – 8 April 1748.

　• First daughter (3 November 1728 – 14 February 1730)

　• Yonglian, Crown Prince Duanhui (端慧皇太子 永璉; 9 August 1730 – 23 November 1738), second son

　• Princess Hejing of the First Rank (固倫和敬公主; 31 July 1731 – 30 September 1792), third daughter. Married Septeng Baljur (色布騰巴爾珠爾; d. 1775) of the Khorchin Borjigit clan in April/May 1747, and had issue: one son, four daughters.

　• Yongcong, Prince Zhe of the First Rank (哲親王 永琮; 27 May 1746 – 29 January 1748), seventh son

• Empress of the Nara clan (皇后 那拉氏; 11 March 1718 – 19 August 1766). She is the only Qing Empress who did not receive a posthumous name. Her maiden clan is a matter of debate, either Ula-nara or Hoifa-nara.Tenure as Empress Consort: 2 September 1750 – 19 August 1766.

　• Yongji, Prince of the Third Rank (貝勒 永璂; 7 June 1752 – 17 March 1776), 12th son

　• Fifth daughter (23 July 1753 – 1 June 1755)

　• Yongjing (永璟; 22 January 1756 – 7 September 1757), 13th son

• Empress Xiaoyichun (孝儀純皇后) of the Weigiya (魏佳) Clan

　• Princess Hejing of the First Rank (固倫和靜公主; 10 August 1756 – 9 February 1775), seventh daughter. Married Lhawang Dorji (拉旺多爾濟; 1754–1816) of the Khalkha Borjigit clan in August/September 1770

　• Yonglu (永璐; 31 August 1757 – 3 May 1760), 14th son

　• Princess Heke of the Second Rank (和碩和恪公主; 17 August 1758 – 14 December 1780), ninth daughter. Married Jalantai (; d. 1788) of the Manchu Uya clan in August/September 1772

　• Miscarriage at eight months (13 November 1759)

　• Yongyan (仁宗 顒琰; 13 November 1760 – 2 September 1820), the Jiaqing Emperor (嘉慶帝), 15th son

　• 16th son (13 January 1763 – 6 May 1765)

　• Yonglin, Prince Qingxi of the First Rank (慶僖親王 永璘; 17 June 1766 – 25 April 1820), 17th son

Imperial Noble Consort

• Imperial Noble Consort Huixian (慧賢皇貴妃) of the Gaogiya (高佳) ClanTenure as Imperial Noble Consort: 23–25 February 1745.

• Imperial Noble Consort Chunhui (純惠皇貴妃) of the Su (蘇) ClanTenure as Imperial Noble Consort: 25 May - 2 June 1760.

　• Yongzhang, Prince Xun of the Second Rank (循郡王 永璋; 15 July 1735 – 26 August 1760), third son

　• Yongrong, Prince Zhizhuang of the First Rank (質莊親王 永瑢; 28 January 1744 – 13 June 1790), sixth son

　• Princess Hejia of the Second Rank (和碩和嘉公主; 24 December 1745 – 29 October 1767), fourth daughter. Married Fulong'an (福隆安; 1746–1784) of the Manchu Fuca clan on 10 May 1760, and had issue (one son).

• Imperial Noble Consort Shujia (淑嘉皇貴妃) of the Gingiya (金佳) Clan

　• Yongcheng, Prince Lüduan of the First Rank (履端親王 永珹; 21 February 1739 – 5 April 1777), fourth son

　• Yongxuan, Prince Yishen of the First Rank (儀慎親王 永璇; 31 August 1746 – 1 September 1832), eighth son

　• Ninth son (2 August 1748 – 11 June 1749)

　• Yongxing, Prince Chengzhe of the First Rank (成哲親王 永瑆; 22 March 1752 – 10 May 1823), 11th son

• Imperial Noble Consort Qinggong (慶恭皇貴妃) of the Lu (陸) Clan

• Imperial Noble Consort Zhemin (哲憫皇貴妃) of the Fuca (富察氏) Clan

　• Yonghuang, Prince Ding'an of the First Rank (定安親王 永璜; 5 July 1728 – 21 April 1750), first son

　• Second daughter (May/June 1731 – December 1731 or January 1732)

Noble Consort

• Noble Consort Ying (穎貴妃) of the Barin (巴林) Clan

• Noble Consort Xin (忻貴妃) of the Dagiya (戴佳) Clan

　• Sixth daughter (24 August 1755 – 27 September 1758)

　• Eighth daughter (16 January 1758 – 17 June 1767)

　• Obstructed labour or miscarriage at eight months (28 May 1764)

• Noble Consort Yu (愉貴妃) of the Keliyete (珂里葉特) Clan

　• Yongqi, Prince Rongchun of the First Rank (榮純親王 永琪; 23 March 1741 – 16 April 1766), fifth son

• Noble Consort Xun (循貴妃) of the Irgen Gioro (伊爾根覺羅) Clan

• Noble Consort Wan (婉貴妃) of the Chen (陳) Clan

Consort

• Consort Shu (舒妃) of the Yehe Nara (葉赫那拉) Clan

　• Tenth son (12 June 1751 – 7 July 1753)

• Consort Yu (豫妃) of the Borjigit ( 博爾濟吉特氏) Clan

　• Miscarriage (1759 or 1760)

• Consort Rong (容妃) of the Xojam (和卓氏) Clan

• Consort Dun (惇妃) of the Wang (汪) Clan

　• Princess Hexiao of the First Rank (固倫和孝公主; 2 February 1775 – 13 October 1823), tenth daughter. Married Fengšeninde (丰紳殷德; 1775–1810) of the Manchu Niohuru clan on 12 January 1790, and had issue (one son).

　• Miscarriage (1777 or 1778)

• Consort Fang (芳妃) of the Chen Clan

• Consort Jin (晉妃 ) of the Fuca (富察氏) Clan

Concubine

• Concubine Yi (仪嫔) of the Huang (黄) Clan

• Concubine Yi (怡嬪 ) of the Bo (柏氏) Clan

• Concubine Shen (慎嬪) of the Bai'ergesi (拜爾葛斯氏) Clan

• Concubine Xun (恂嬪) of the Huoshuote (霍碩特氏) Clan

• Concubine Cheng (誠嬪) of the Niohuru (鈕祜祿氏) Clan

• Concubine Gong (恭嬪) of the Lin (林氏) Clan

Noble Lady

• Noble Lady E (鄂貴人) of the Sirin Gioro (西林覺羅氏) Clan

• Noble Lady Rui (瑞貴人) of the Socoro clan (索綽絡氏)

• Noble Lady Bai (白貴人) of the Bo (柏氏) Clan

• Noble Lady Lu (祿貴人) of the Lu (陸氏) Clan

• Noble Lady Shou (壽貴人) of a certain clan

• Noble Lady Shun (順貴人) of the Niohuru (鈕祜祿氏) Clan

Ancestry

In fiction and popular culture

• Portrayed by Tony Liu in The Adventures Of Emperor Chien Lung (1977)

• Portrayed by Zhang Tielin in My Fair Princess (1998)

• Portrayed by Nie Yuan in World granary (天下粮仓) (2001), Story of Yanxi Palace (2018) and Yanxi Palace: Princess Adventures (2019)

• Portrayed by Ti Lung in My Fair Princess III (2003)

• Portrayed by Chiu Hsinchih in New My Fair Princess (2011)

• Portrayed by Wang Wenjie in Empresses in the Palace (2011)

• Portrayed by Chen Xu in Palace II (2012)

• Portrayed by Kent Tong in Palace 3: The Lost Daughter (2014)

• Portrayed by KK Cheung in Succession War (2018)

• Portrayed by Wallace Huo in Ruyi's Royal Love in the Palace (2018)

Works by the Qianlong Emperor

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人物生平

皇子時期

弘曆於康熙五十年八月十三日（1711年9月25日）出生，為雍正帝胤禛第四子，幼名「元壽」。當時，其父胤禛為雍親王，生母為藩邸格格鈕祜祿氏（孝聖憲皇后）。弘曆生于雍王府東書院「如意室」。他被認為是雍正帝諸子中最有才幹的一位，雖然與皇祖康熙帝真正相處的時間並不長，但康熙帝曾為其慎擇良師，進行多方面教育。一些清史學家認為正因為康熙帝認為弘曆在為人處事的方式上與自己極為相像，在十數歲時就精于武術，並對藝術創作十分著迷，所以才傳位于其父，以便將來能傳位與弘曆。

康熙六十一年（1722年）十一月十三日，清聖祖康熙帝駕崩前宣詔皇四子雍親王胤禛嗣位。二十日雍親王登基，是為雍正帝。

雍正元年（1723年）八月十七日，雍正帝以康熙帝的旨意，超越前朝歷代的慣例，極早密封親書儲君人選諭旨于正大光明匾額後。同年三月，雍正親生子女，按照慣例，僅追封已成年皇二女爵位和碩懷恪公主，雍正帝尚活著的兒子弘時、弘曆、弘晝、福惠、福沛均未封爵位（其生母分別是齊妃、熹妃鈕祜祿氏、純愨皇貴妃、敦肅皇貴妃）。

雍正元年（1723年）十一月十三日，適逢康熙忌辰，雍正帝命皇四子弘曆祭景陵。

雍正二年（1724年）十一月十三日，適逢康熙忌辰，雍正帝命皇四子弘曆祭景陵。

雍正四年（1726年）五月，適逢仁壽皇太后三周年忌辰，雍正帝欲要親往祭陵。王大臣等以聖躬素畏炎暑，萬幾已極勞苦，又觸熱往返五六百里，洵非所宜，且二麥登場，一路夫役祗候，不免耽誤農功，因合詞懇請停止。雍正帝勉從所請，因此命皇四子弘曆前往行禮。

雍正四年（1726年）十二月，雍正帝命皇四子弘曆和莊親王允祿，視馬武疾。諭曰：「馬武抱病危篤，聞之深為悽惻，馬武事我皇考康熙五十餘年，朝夕侍奉不離左右、恪恭謹慎，事事能仰體聖心」。馬武病故後，命皇四子弘曆、怡親王允祥、莊親王允祿、及左翼四旗部院大臣、一等侍衛，往奠故內大臣馬武茶酒。

雍正五年（1727年），皇四子弘曆開始娶第一任妻子嫡福晉富察氏。六年（1728年），其餘侍妾格格開始生下他第一個兒子永璜。

雍正九年（1731年）八月，大學士忠達公、撫遠大將軍馬爾賽起程，令皇四子弘曆告祭奉先殿。王以下官員俱至西長安門外送行。

雍正十一年（1733年），首次冊封皇子爵位，那時候雍正帝的兒子只剩下兩位時：（熹妃兒子）皇四子弘曆封和碩寶親王、（裕妃兒子）皇五子弘晝封和碩和親王爵位。

雍正十三年（1735年）五月。命令果親王允禮、皇四子寶親王弘曆、皇五子和親王弘晝、及大學士鄂爾泰、張廷玉、戶部尚書公慶複、禮部尚書魏廷珍、刑部尚書憲德、張照、工部尚書徐本、正紅旗漢軍都統李禧、正黃旗漢軍都統甘國璧、倉場侍郎呂耀曾，俱辦理苗疆事務。由于皇四子弘曆行事恩威並施，手段寬猛相濟，雍正帝指派他欽差出京辦事，以及參與西北準部用兵西南改土歸流的決策。在雍正後期，使自己漸得到了父親信任。

雍正十三年（1735年）九月三日，乾隆帝登基即位，詔告天下曰：「朕自沖齡即蒙皇祖撫育宮中，深恩鍾愛，睠睞逾常…朕自惟涼德懼弗克勝，顧念神器不可久虛，勉抑哀衷欽遵成命」。

乾隆元年（1736年）七月二日，奉上諭旨：「皇祖當日於建儲一事大費苦心，及授神器於我皇考時，一言而定萬世之業，我皇考御極之元年，聖心即默注朕躬，不宜宣布中外，而傳集諸王大臣九卿特加訓諭，親書密旨收藏於乾清宮正大光明匾額之後…」。

乾隆二年（1737年），正式刊刻發行《樂善堂全集 》。乾隆帝一生作有多首關於和皇祖玄燁過去相處的詞賦雜著，例如於《樂善堂文集》《御製詩》中提及自己12歲時即和母親迅速得到康熙帝的恩澤寵愛眷顧。起自雍正八年（1730年），乾隆帝為皇子時期，就已預備收錄14歲以後自己編寫的詩賦雜文進行整理成冊，取名為《樂善堂文鈔》，並由五弟弘晝、大學士鄂爾泰、大學士張廷玉特為他作序。

根據《乾隆朝起居注》《御製文初集》乾隆六十年（1795年）九月三曰，奉乾隆帝晚年禪位前的上諭：「在我朝清太祖、清太宗、清世祖俱未預立儲位，只有清聖祖康熙帝曾以嫡立為皇太子…皇祖聖裁獨斷訓諭特頒不復冊立皇太子，迨傳位皇考十三年勵精圖治內外肅清，雍正元年皇考即親書朕名貯於乾清宮正大光明匾額之上、又另書密緘常以自隨…朕何嘗不欲立嫡，以皇次子永璉為嫡后所生，曾書其名遵皇考之例貯於正大光明匾上…以明年嘉親王（令懿皇貴妃所生庶子顒琰）為嘉慶皇帝」。《御製詩五集 卷九十一》「予十二歲蒙皇祖於圓明園之牡丹臺召見，即命養育宮中，是年隨侍來熱河居山莊內之萬壑松風，皇考請皇祖幸本園進膳，子時亦隨駕來此…即今仰窺皇祖恩意似已知，予異日可以付託，因欲豫觀聖母福相也！四十年孝養慈寧福，聖諭兩言萬世留予即位後侍奉聖母皇太后四十餘年，以天下養稽之史牒實所罕覯，蓋皇祖當年眷顧深恩，即早於有福兩言預卜慈寧之慶，予今八十有四，實亦老矣！是不可以不記也」。乾隆六十四年（1799年）正月三日，乾隆太上皇的賓天：「朕衝齡即蒙康熙帝鍾愛非常，雍正帝慎選元良付畀神器（遺詔）…」。

即位早期

雍正十三年八月二十三日（1735年10月8日），其父雍正帝在圓明園內駕崩，享年五十七歲。宣讀遺詔：「寶親王皇四子（弘曆）…聖祖於諸孫之中，最為鍾愛，撫養宮中恩逾常格…與和親王（弘晝）同氣至親，實為一體…俾皇太子弘曆成一代之令主。」寶親王皇四子弘曆登基，是為乾隆帝。乾隆弘曆以雍正駕崩前遺命尊生母熹貴妃鈕鈷祿氏為崇慶皇太后。封和親王弘晝之母裕妃耿氏為皇貴太妃。九月，撫養過弘曆的兩位養母愨惠皇貴妃、惇怡皇貴妃各加封號晉封太妃。十一月十三日，追封崇慶皇太后的曾祖父額宜騰、祖父吳祿俱追封為一等公爵、曾祖母俱追封一品夫人、父四品典儀官凌柱封一等公爵、母封一品夫人，世襲罔替。

同時遺詔命莊親王允祿、果親王允禮、大學士鄂爾泰、張廷玉為輔政大臣，輔佐新君處理政務。

成書

乾隆七年（1742年），乾隆皇帝命令內廷大學士鄂爾泰、張廷玉等編纂《國朝宮史 》。

收錄以下雍正皇帝諭旨：

雍正元年正月，上諭：諸皇子入學之日，與師傅豫備杌子四張，高桌四張，將書籍筆硯表裏安設桌上。皇子行禮時，爾等力勸其受禮，如不肯受，皇子向座一揖，以師儒之禮相敬。如此則皇子知隆重師傅，師傅等得以盡心教導，此古禮也。朕為藩王時，在府中亦如此行。至桌張飯菜，爾等照例用心預備。

雍正八年三月，上諭：諭總管太監傳與各處首領太監知悉：阿哥現居宮內，年已長成，爾等不可趨奉，亦不可得罪，並不許向阿哥處往來行走。即阿哥下太監亦不許與爾等所屬太監飲酒、下棋、鬥骨牌、說閑話。除趙進朝、靳進忠、趙運祥、楊進朝四人奉旨行走，不必攔阻外，其餘各處首領太監，嚴加曉諭，小心遵行，不可日久懈怠。嗣後如有玩法之人，經朕察出，係宮內太監，治宮內總管之罪；係圓明園太監，治圓明園總管之罪。

中期統治

乾隆帝即位後，以「寬猛相濟」理念施政，先後平定新疆、蒙古，還使四川、貴州等地繼續改土歸流，人口不斷增加，在乾隆末年時突破三億大關，約占當時世界人口的三分之一。乾隆三十八年（1773年）下令編纂《四庫全書》，歷時9年成書，是當時世界上最為龐大的百科全書。統治期間與康熙、雍正二朝合稱「康雍乾盛世」。

同時，乾隆為了打擊朋黨以及加強對人民主要是漢人的思想控制，大興文字獄，並藉此焚書箝制漢人反清思想的傳播。郭成康指出，乾隆查辦禁書目的就是要徹底消滅部分漢人中的反滿思想；然而，乾隆當時民族矛盾和鬥爭的情況已經逐漸緩和、並且在漢族臣民已承認清朝對全國統治的情況下，乾隆將民族矛盾和鬥爭的嚴重性誇大，在有關文字獄和禁書的決定中作錯誤估計，並且表現得過度敏感。此外，在乾隆時期的文字獄，針對的並非只有漢族，犧牲者中亦有滿族如鄂昌。

在位後期

中期以後，乾隆多次下江南，有安撫百姓，檢閱軍隊，視察水利，增加科舉以及免除稅收之舉。

乾隆五十一年十一月二十六日（1786年1月16日），台灣爆發林爽文事件，滿清雖利用台灣閩客之間的族群對立，但戰事曠日廢時，要至福康安率大兵登陸後，方於四個月內鎮壓此亂。並將林爽文凌遲斬首，女眷發放邊疆做奴，十五歲以下男童連坐犯被押解至北京閹割。

乾隆五十八年（1793年），英國遣使喬治·馬戛爾尼于乾隆83歲時到中國尋求駐節，但雙方出現與乾隆皇帝會面採「單膝下跪」（英方主張）或「三跪九叩」（中方主張）的禮儀之爭，最後以「單膝下跪」而為禮。

喬治·馬戛爾尼在回國後向英國議會寫出報告：「中國是一艘破舊的大船，150年來，它之所以沒有傾覆，是因為幸運的遇見了極為謹慎的船長。一旦趕上昏庸的船長，這艘大船隨時就可能沉沒。中國根本就沒有現代的軍事工業，中國的軍事實力比英國差三到四個世紀」。而在馬戛爾尼的日記中卻有以下記載：「中國工業雖有數種，遠出吾歐人之上，然以全體而論，化學上及醫學上之知識，實處于極幼稚之地位。」，又稱：「中國政府的行政機制和權力是如此的有組織和高效，有條件能夠迅即排除萬難，創造任何成就。」。

為了打擊腐敗之風，乾隆鼓勵人們秘密向他匯報官員們的可疑行為，收受賄賂、欺詐、任人唯親、濫用職權和瞞報等，例如福建大獄案，至于控訴的真假則由皇帝決定，在其統治初期堅定了懲治貪腐的決心，下令任何案件只要涉贓額超過一千兩，案犯就將斬立決；然而到了乾隆統治的後半期，官員貪污這一嚴重問題再次出現，到了晚期每隔幾年就會爆出一些重大案件及彈劾案，當時年邁的乾隆已經沒有初時的魄力去嚴懲官員們的瀆職行為，有學者指出：「從乾隆看來，在這些欺詐行為中也存在一些積極因素，其中之一便是所有被沒收的貪官污吏的家產都流入了乾隆的腰包，大大增加了他的財富。而財政赤字和糧食虧空則由那些被免官員的繼任者負責。另一個積極因素是滿、漢官員都捲入了這種犯罪，這樣乾隆就無須擔心存在漢官通過腐敗來故意破壞國家政治體制的陰謀。但是，看到那些本應更加效忠皇帝的滿洲官員同樣也在做著有損皇帝統治之事時，乾隆也會感到不太舒服。不過，好在還有一些值得依靠的、公正廉明的官員讓乾隆感到些許安心，這些人對乾隆總是以誠相待，不收受賄賂，不會為了一己私利而欺君罔上。他們之中多數是滿洲人，包括阿桂和傅恆」。

傳位與去世

乾隆五十年之後，睡眠減少，「寅初已懶睡，寅正無不醒。」，左眼視力下降，年過七十之後，「昨日之事，今日輒忘；早間所行，晚或不省。」

乾隆25歲登基時表示過若蒙眷佑，得在位六十年，即當傳位嗣子，不敢上同皇祖紀元六十一載之數。因此在乾隆六十年九月初三日（1795年10月15日）85歲的乾隆將皇位傳予十五子顒琰（嘉慶帝），自稱太上皇，但軍國大事及用人皆由乾隆躬親指教，嘉慶帝朝夕敬聆訓聽；宮中仍用「乾隆」年號，中國第一歷史檔案館藏《萬歲爺進藥底簿》封皮上書「乾隆六十四年」。嘉慶四年正月初三日（1799年2月7日），乾隆太上皇駕崩於北京紫禁城養心殿內，享壽八十八歲，結束了長達六十三年又四個月的統治。廟號清高宗，諡號純皇帝。死後與二位皇后三位皇貴妃合葬於清裕陵。

身後之事

嘉慶四年二月二十一日，總管張進喜傳旨交如意館繪畫太上皇帝聖容一軸，大邊上花紋按照安佑宮供奉的聖祖和世宗聖容挂軸上的大邊花紋式樣繪畫。圓明園四十景之鴻慈永祜的主體建築安佑宮殿內便供奉他的畫像。嘉慶四年四月的圓明園文開稱，安佑宮供奉高宗純皇帝聖容，照例供獻用宮香餅一觔、小黑蕓香五兩和小白蕓香五兩。

1928年，乾隆去世近一百三十年後，軍閥孫殿英看準了乾隆帝陵墓及慈禧太后陵墓的珍貴財寶，藉演習之名，率其部下盜掘乾隆帝及慈禧太后之陵墓。士兵為得棺內珠寶，將乾隆梓棺劈開並大肆搜掠，乾隆帝后遺骸四散在地，情況奇慘；及後溥儀派人前往收拾，亦只能找回部份遺骸，勉強砌回主體，並將帝后遺骸合葬一棺，重新行葬。

軼事傳說

藝術愛好

乾隆帝好詩、書、畫，作品極多，作詩多達四萬首（38630首）。其作品多採用「御題」做題跋。紫禁城宮殿內絕大部份的匾額，楹聯，亦是出自其御筆。乾隆有在宮中收藏的名家書畫上題詩用印的嗜好，被認為有一定的史料價值，但這種行為也破壞了原作品的藝術價值。

十全老人

乾隆五十七年，乾隆親自撰寫成《十全武功記》，自詡「十全老人」。命人以滿、漢、蒙、藏四種文字刻碑，昭示其武功。「十全武功」指「平準噶爾為二，定回部為一，掃金川為二，靖台灣為一，降緬甸、安南各一，即今二次受廓爾喀降，合為十」。綜觀十全武功各役，當中有力戰保衛清朝疆土完整者；但亦有消耗鉅大而收獲極微欠實際軍事價值之舉。主流史觀認為十全武功之說以名過其實，誇大乾隆帝武功者較多。

風流天子

在各種民間傳說中，乾隆帝被描繪成風流天子。民國初年，就盛行香妃的傳說。至今，關于香妃以及乾隆帝與平民女子的愛情故事為主題的各類文學、戲劇、影視作品，絡繹不絕。另外在大臣中，乾隆帝對傅恆之子福康安最為優待。民國後，多傳說福康安為他與傅恆妻的私生子，但黃一農等學者已考証此說不確。

六下江南

民間對乾隆帝六次南巡亦多有演繹，或稱之「乾隆下江南」。當代廣告中，聲稱乾隆帝在南巡過程中曾品嘗過某種美食的例子不勝枚舉。

出生血統

關於乾隆出生之處也有爭議，一說在雍親王府（雍和宮），另一說則是在承德避暑山莊獅子園，而且避暑山莊一說是由嘉慶皇帝親口提起，這也是野史會傳出乾隆是由避暑山莊漢人宮女所生的原因。

家族成員

妻妾

皇后

• 孝賢純皇后富察氏

• 繼皇后那拉氏

• 孝儀純皇后魏佳氏

皇貴妃

• 慧賢皇貴妃高佳氏

• 純惠皇貴妃蘇氏

• 慶恭皇貴妃陸氏

• 淑嘉皇貴妃金佳氏

• 哲憫皇貴妃富察氏

貴妃

• 愉貴妃珂里葉特氏

• 婉貴妃陳氏

• 穎貴妃巴林氏

• 忻貴妃戴佳氏

• 循貴妃伊爾根覺羅氏

妃

• 舒妃葉赫勒氏（或稱葉赫那拉氏）

• 豫妃博爾濟吉特氏

• 容妃和卓氏

• 惇妃汪氏

• 晉妃富察氏

• 芳妃陳氏

嬪

• 儀嬪黃氏

• 怡嬪柏氏

• 恂嬪霍碩特氏

• 慎嬪拜爾噶斯氏

• 恭嬪林氏

• 誠嬪鈕祜祿氏

貴人

• 順貴人鈕祜祿氏

• 鄂貴人西林覺羅氏（？—1808年），父親巡撫鄂樂舜。乾隆三年九月已為鄂貴人。乾隆十三年正月已為鄂常在。乾隆五十九年十二月賜號為鄂貴人。嘉慶時尊為鄂太貴人，嘉慶十三年四月廿五去世。

• 瑞貴人索綽絡氏，乾隆二十四年六月二十二日，令妃下學規距女子一人封瑞常在。

• 祿貴人陸氏（？—1788年），蘇州漢族民籍，無子女，生年不詳，生辰為九月廿三日，乾隆二十五年十一月十四日初封為祿常在。乾隆四十年三月二十二日晉祿貴人。乾隆四十三年八月三日，乾隆帝命人訪查陸常在的親屬並在其南巡時派專人管束陸常在的親屬。乾隆五十三年閏五月五日醜時薨；十二月十八日與順貴人一同葬入裕陵妃園寢。乾隆五十四年十月初九日，祿貴人胞姐等人奉旨入旗，而且給予錢糧等物。

• 壽貴人某氏（？—1809年），嘉慶時為壽貴人。在嘉慶朝第一次的外八旗選秀中被指定為內廷主位，與新入宮的晉貴人富察氏侍奉乾隆帝。壽貴人與那答應是否為同一人，並沒有資料顯示出。嘉慶十四年二月廿一去世。

• 秀貴人索淖洛氏，乾隆十年（1745年）十月十四日薨。

• 白貴人柏氏（？—1803年），為乾隆帝怡嬪之妹，無子女。生年不詳，生辰為六月十七日。乾隆十三年正月已封柏常在，內廷賞賜的記錄也稱其為白常在，乾隆五十九年十月廿四日晉封為白貴人，嘉慶時期，尊為白太貴人，約于嘉慶八年六月薨。嘉慶十年三月十七日葬入裕陵妃園寢。

• 武貴人武氏（？—1781年），無子女，生年不詳。乾隆二十九年三月廿二日，穎妃下學規距女子一人封武常在。乾隆四十四十二月二十九日仍為武常在。乾隆四十五年左右晉武貴人。乾隆四十六年十二月之前薨；十二月初二日收遺物。乾隆四十九年九月初八日與誠嬪、新貴人、慎貴人一同葬入裕陵妃園寢。

• 金貴人某氏（？—1778年），生年不詳，生辰為九月十一日。郎中馮年之女。乾隆四十一年與循貴妃伊爾根覺羅氏一同入宮，五月初八初封金常在。乾隆四十一年十一月十八日晉金貴人。乾隆四十三年九月之前薨；九月初九葬入裕陵妃園寢；十一月廿八日呈覽遺物。

• 新貴人某氏（？—1775年），生辰為八月初八日。蒙古外藩出身，曾為豫妃位下的宮女。乾隆二十七年六月二十七日初封新常在。乾隆四十年正月初三已封新貴人，六月十三日卯時薨；閏四月初九日遺物交上。乾隆四十九年九月初八日與誠嬪、慎貴人一同葬入裕陵妃園寢。

• 慎貴人某氏（？—1777年）。乾隆十三年正月已封慎貴人。乾隆四十二年九月初九日申時薨。乾隆四十九年九月初八日葬入裕陵妃園寢。

• 福貴人某氏（？—1764年），生年不詳，生辰為正月十九日。福貴人在《撥用行文底檔》顯示亦吃羊肉，與容妃、寧常在同為回部女子。乾隆二十八年十月初三日初封福常在。乾隆二十九年三月廿二日晉福貴人；八月初五病薨于承德；十一月廿六日收遺物。乾隆三十年閏二月初二葬入裕陵妃園寢。

常在

• 揆常在某氏

• 寧常在某氏（？—1781年），生辰為十一月十四日，無子女。乾隆二十八年十月廿五日初封寧常在，曾隨駕南巡。乾隆四十六年十二月之前薨，十二月初二日收遺物。乾隆四十九年九月初八日與誠嬪、慎貴人一同葬入裕陵妃園寢。據《撥用行文底檔》顯示，隨行常在的肉食供給份例中有一位是給羊肉。祿常在和明常在分別是蘇州人，揚州人，而新常在有資料證實是吃豬肉的，因此寧常在很大機會是回部女子或回子包衣出身。

• 平常在某氏（？—1778年），無子女。生年不詳，生辰為七月十二日。乾隆三十三年五月二十一日，慶妃下學規距女子封平常在。乾隆四十三年九月之前薨；九月初九與金貴人葬入裕陵妃園寢。

• 張常在張氏（？—1745年），無子女。乾隆元年正月，據完整版《食肉底帳》顯示，已入宮並封為常在，非為藩邸出身。乾隆二年除夕已為裕常在。乾隆十年十月十八日薨。乾隆十一年十月廿七日首批葬入裕陵妃園寢。

答應

• 祥答應某氏，乾隆十八年七月十五日進宮為祥貴人。乾隆二十四年四月初九日，祥常在封祥貴人，但祥貴人不見於乾隆二十五年六月十八日的《賞賜底簿》，可能已降位或失寵。乾隆二十五年七月已為祥貴人。乾隆二十九年十一月二十七日，收其貴人物品，或於此日降為祥答應。乾隆三十八年三月二十八日病故。

• 那答應某氏，乾隆二十九年三月二十二日，愉妃下學規距女子一人封那常在，與乾隆十三年出現的那貴人並非同一人；乾隆四十年四月二十五日，那常在貶那答應，冬日例黑炭，炕柴。夏日例黑炭全部止退。乾隆五十三年三月十六日，那答應宮女五妞受責後投井至死；四月初四日敬事房收其物品，乾隆六十一年十二月的檔案未沒有「那答應」或「那常在」的記載，某氏下落不明，並未與其他后妃一同晉位。未知壽貴人與那答應是否為同一人。

• 答應某氏，據清宮檔案顯示，乾隆五年十月十五日，有一位名為達塞的包衣女子被選為某答應位下的官女子。檔案僅稱她的主子為「答應」，未知具體位號。

• 莞答應某氏，與祥答應一同出現在購買咈囉的檔案中，葬於曹八里屯，推測她在乾隆三十八年三月二十八日，即祥答應病故後才薨逝。

• 採答應某氏，與祥答應一同出現在購買咈囉的檔案中，葬於曹八里屯。

格格

• 格格某氏，乾隆帝尚為皇子時的侍妾，雍正八年十月病故。

• 格格某氏，乾隆帝尚為皇子時的侍妾。雍正十年七月三十日病故。

官女子

• 官女子某氏，乾隆帝尚為寶親王時的侍妾。雍正十一年十二月初五日遇喜，並為其添守月姥姥。在雍正十二年十月的皮庫月摺中，有「給寶親王之四女格格嬤嬤買奶母，照例賞」，後來檔案又有「給和碩寶親王之四女格格嬤嬤買奶母毋照例」的記載。這些記錄表明弘歷在潛邸時期有未入序齒的女兒。

待考

• 定貴人某氏，因為乾隆二十年的乾清宮主位人數均有對應之人，可見某氏在乾隆二十一年，才經外八旗選秀而入宮，惟初封位份不明。定妃某氏約於乾隆二十一年遇喜，不過最終小產或流產。乾隆二十一年七月初九日為定妃的千秋，賞賜檔記載的千秋雖只為放賞日期，但只會因隨皇帝去行宮或者出巡等原因而提前放賞。因此，該定妃非為康熙帝的定妃。乾隆二十二年，乾隆帝與其他后妃出遊，某氏已不見蹤影。某氏死後沒有葬入裕陵妃園寢，禮部的移會稱祿貴人的喪葬禮儀同定貴人，未知是否為定妃被貶為定貴人證據。

皇子

皇女

影視形象

畫像

File:Prince Bao.jpg|和碩寶親王時期的弘曆

File:Prince Hongli Practising Calligraphy on a Banana Leaf.png|和碩寶親王弘曆

File:Qianlong11.jpg|郎世寧繪《乾隆皇帝寫字像》

File:《心寫治平》乾隆部分.jpg|乾隆元年郎世寧繪《心寫治平》局部

File:The Qianlong Emperor in Ceremonial Armour on Horseback.jpg|郎世寧繪《乾隆大閱圖》

File:《萬國來朝圖》之乾隆后妃.jpg|郎世寧繪《萬國來朝圖》局部

File:Portrait of the Qianlong Emperor in Court Dress.jpg|八十歲

File:George-Leonard-Staunton-et-al-An-authentic-account-of-an-embassy-from-the-king-of-Great Britain-to-the-emperor-of-China MG 0725.tif|英國宮廷畫家為馬加爾尼使團繪

File:Emperor Qianlong by Charles Eloi Asselin 1743 1805 after Giuseppe Panzi.jpg|仿潘廷章繪

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