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- Hongli (1711-1799), on ascending the throne he took the reign title Qianlong (ruled: 1736-95).
looked down upon foreigners and until his death in 1799, he believed that China was the only civilized nation in the world and all others were barbarian. Peace was unbroken within his empire until his closing years, when rebellions broke out, which heralded the coming century of decline and disorder.
Qianlong was a noted man of letters, calligrapher and poet. He was a devotee of arts, and it seems that no artistic undertaking escaped his influence. Like his two predecessors, he was an enthusiastic collector of porcelains, and when he handled his favourite pieces, he was often moved to write poems about them.
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