#301 - Qing 36_ And I Think It's Gonna Be a Qianlong Time

31/08/2025 31 min
#301 - Qing 36_ And I Think It's Gonna Be a Qianlong Time

Listen "#301 - Qing 36_ And I Think It's Gonna Be a Qianlong Time"

Episode Synopsis

In the wake of military victory, Qianlong turns inward—launching literary purges, rewriting history, and curating an image of himself as the enlightened ruler of a Confucian empire. Through censorship, spectacle, and the manipulation of memory, the Qing court fights a new kind of war: one for cultural supremacy and imperial legitimacy.


Time Period Covered:
~ 1735–1760 CE


Major Historical Figures:
The Qianlong Emperor (Aisin-Gioro Hongli) [r. 1735-1796]
Grand Secretary No'chin [d. 1749]
Historican Wei Yuan [1794-1857]


Major Works Cited:
Perdue, Peter C. China Marches West: The Qing Conquest of Central Eurasia.
Qian, Zhongshu – Tán Yì Lù, "On the Art of Poetry."
Qianlong Emperor. The Siku Quanshu (四库全书) - Qing Imperial Encyclopedia.
Woodside, Alexander. Lost Modernities: China, Vietnam, Korea, and the Hazards of World History.