Emperor Qianlong

The 6th emperor of the Qing Dynasty of China (reigned 1735-95). His given name was Hongli, and his temple name was Gaozong. He was known as Emperor Qianlong depending on the era name. He reached the peak of the Qing Dynasty's heyday, known alongside the Kangxi and Qianlong eras. He was the fourth son of Emperor Yongzheng. He was loved by his grandfather, Emperor Kangxi, and raised in the palace, and was expected to become the next emperor. When Emperor Yongzheng died in August 1735, he ascended to the throne and began minting Qianlong coins, but according to Chinese custom, the following year was designated the first year of the Qianlong era. It had already been 90 years since the Qing Dynasty entered Beijing, and the Chinese people's sense of discomfort towards the Manchu conquering dynasty had faded, and stability promised ripeness and prosperity promised fulfillment. The vitality of the Kangxi and Qianlong periods was a revival of the Jiajing and Wanli periods of the Ming dynasty a hundred years earlier. It was not due to the stimulation of new industries or the development of new technologies, but rather to the rise of the people's power, like a fermentation fever.

With this as a backdrop, the conquering dynasty was eager to expand its territory, and Emperor Qianlong initially said that he would walk a middle path between his grandfather's tolerance and his father's strictness, but the desire to conquer was common to all three generations. In his later years, Emperor Qianlong wrote Ten Perfect Poems, boasting about his great achievements in dispatching troops to the borders ten times, and called himself "Ten Perfect Old Men." This was probably out of pride in his having accomplished a task that no other Chinese dynasty had been able to accomplish. He made two campaigns each to the Dzungars, the Gurkhas, and Jinchuan, and made the surrounding areas his territory or suzerain, including Huibe, Taiwan, Burma (now Myanmar), and Vietnam. He destroyed the stubborn Dzungars in the northwest, secured the southern and northern routes of the Tianshan Mountains, defeated the Gurkhas in Nepal, stabilized Tibet's rule, and made Burma and Vietnam tributary states, and even forced Thailand and Laos to pay tribute. The social vitality that supported China's unprecedentedly large territory seems to have come from the expansion of commodity distribution and the development of market organizations. This, in turn, led to increased movement of goods and production, and the financing of military expenditures, as increased production of silver and a large influx of silver from overseas acted as a lubricant. During his 60-year reign, Emperor Qianlong made six southern tours, five western tours, and four eastern tours, to demonstrate peace throughout the country. He also completely exempted the provinces from paying their dues four times, and frequently reduced or exempted taxes, satisfying the autocratic emperor's desire for good governance. While the prosperity of the previous Wanli dynasty was consumed by luxury, and the Ming dynasty was said to have perished with the Wanli dynasty, this brake allowed the Qing dynasty to continue for another century.

The emperor completed the Siku Quanshu as the final compilation project that his grandfather and father had been enthusiastic about. It included all the important books that could be collected at the time, and many scholars were mobilized to carry out strict revisions. It was divided into four parts, the Jing, the Shi, the Zi, and the Ji, and stored in seven locations throughout the country. The stability of the era was surrounded by praise, but the seeds of corruption were sprouting from corruption. Li Shiyao, a member of the Eight Banner Han army, became the Governor of Yungui and was impeached for bribery, but was saved by the emperor's pardon and continued to hold a high position, while He Shen, a member of the Eight Banner Manchu army, became the Minister of Military Affairs and relied on the emperor's favor to indulge in his own desires, and his personal fortune is said to have amounted to more than ten years of national income. After 60 years on the throne, the emperor abdicated to Emperor Jiaqing, fearing to surpass the reign of his grandfather, Emperor Kangxi. During his third year as retired emperor, factions of the retired emperor and the emperor were at odds in the imperial court, but the White Lotus Rebellion, which marked a turning point in the decline of the Qing dynasty, had already begun. He was buried in the Yu Mausoleum.

[Masui Tsuneo]

“Biography of Emperor Qianlong” by Sueo Goto (1942, Seikatsusha)

Source: Shogakukan Encyclopedia Nipponica About Encyclopedia Nipponica Information | Legend

中国、清(しん)朝第6代の皇帝（在位1735～95）。名は弘暦(こうれき)。廟号(びょうごう)は高宗。年号によって乾隆帝という。康煕(こうき)・乾隆と並称される清朝全盛期の頂点にたった。雍正帝(ようせいてい)の第4子。祖父の康煕帝に愛され宮中で養育され、次の皇帝を予定されていた。1735年8月、雍正帝が死ぬと帝位につき、乾隆銭の鋳造を始めたが、中国の習慣で翌年を乾隆元年とした。すでに清朝が北京(ペキン)へ入ってから90年、満洲族の征服王朝に対する中国人の違和感も薄らぎ、安定は豊熟を、活況は充実を約束していた。康煕・乾隆期の活力は百数十年前の明(みん)代の嘉靖(かせい)・万暦(ばんれき)の再生だった。新しい産業の刺激や新しい技術の開発によるものでなく、発酵熱のような民力の高まりであった。

　征服王朝はこれを背景に領土拡張に熱心で、乾隆帝は初め祖父の寛容と父の厳格の中道をいくといったが、征服意欲は3代共通していた。乾隆帝は晩年、自分が辺境に10回出兵して大功をあげたことを誇り十全詩を詠じ、自ら「十全老人」と号したのも、中国人王朝の果たしえなかった事業を成し遂げたという自負であったろう。彼の遠征はジュンガル、グルカ、金川(きんせん)へ2回ずつ行い、回部、台湾、ビルマ（現ミャンマー）、ベトナムと、周辺地域を領土化したり、宗主国となしたりした。北西部で頑強だったジュンガルを壊滅させ、天山南・北路を確保し、ネパールのグルカ人を降してチベット支配を安定させ、ビルマ、ベトナムを朝貢国とし、タイやラオスまで朝貢させた。中国史上空前の大領土を支えた社会の活力は商品流通の拡大と市場組織の整備とから生まれたようである。これはまた銀の増産と海外からの大量流入が潤滑油となって商品移動とその生産を増加させ、軍事費を賄うことになった。乾隆帝はその60年の治世の間に南巡6回、西巡5回、東巡4回と全国巡幸を繰り返して太平を誇示し、また各省輪番でその正賦を全免すること4回、そのほかたびたび税の減免を行って専制皇帝の善政意欲を満足させた。前代の万暦の繁栄が、明朝は万暦で滅んだといわれたように奢侈(しゃし)で食いつぶされてしまったのに対し、このようなブレーキが清朝をなお1世紀余り存続させた。

　帝は、祖父と父が熱心だった編集事業の締めくくりとして『四庫全書』を完成させた。当時収集できる重要な書物を網羅し、多くの学者を動員して厳密な校訂を加え、経、史、子、集の四部(しぶ)に分けて全国7か所に収蔵させた。賞賛に囲まれた時代の安定も腐敗の種子が汚職から芽生えていた。八旗漢軍出身の李侍堯(りじぎょう)は雲貴総督となって収賄で弾劾されたが帝の特赦で助けられ、なお高官を続け、八旗満州出身の和珅(わしん)は軍機大臣となり帝の寵愛(ちょうあい)を頼んで私欲の限りを尽くし、積んだ私財は国家収入の十数年分に達したという。帝は在位60年で祖父康煕帝の在位を越えるのをはばかって嘉慶(かけい)帝に譲位。太上皇帝として訓政3年、宮廷に上皇派と皇帝派が対立したが、すでに清朝衰退の転機となった白蓮教(びゃくれんきょう)の乱が起こり始めていた。裕(ゆう)陵に葬られた。

［増井経夫］

『後藤末雄著『乾隆帝伝』（1942・生活社）』

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