The Hungry Era Author: Zhang Hongjie Publisher: Chongqing Publishing House

Introduction
Qianlong's reign lasted for most of the 18th century, bringing the Kangxi and Qianlong prosperity to its peak. In addition to the good foundation laid by Kangxi and Yongzheng, Qianlong's strong self-control, diligence, decisiveness and speed in dealing with problems, ability to absorb the gains and losses of previous dynasties, a relatively dedicated emotional life, and good health and longevity were important factors in Qianlong's success in creating a prosperous era.
China under Qianlong's rule was the most populous and powerful country in the history of thousands of years. It was the most powerful and richest country in the world at that time. However, Qianlong was left with the collapse of the prosperous times and the gradual decline of the Qing Dynasty. In the later years of Qianlong's reign, the White Lotus Rebellion broke out; less than half a century after his death, the Opium War broke out.
Qianlong was successful, and his achievements were enough to make him one of the greatest emperors in Chinese history; Qianlong was also a failure, and the development of world history in the 18th century made his rule seem to have no novelty. From the Macartney Mission's visit to China, we can see that the development of Chinese and Western history during the Qianlong period was experiencing another "great divergence."
About the Author
Zhang Hongjie holds a PhD in History from Fudan University and a postdoctoral fellow from Tsinghua University. He is currently a researcher at the School of History of Renmin University of China. He has written "Search for the Prosperous Age of Hunger", "The Front and Side of Zeng Guofan", "Seven Faces of the Ming Dynasty", "A Brief Reading of Chinese History", "A Brief Reading of Japanese History", "The Millennium Paradox", "Hongwu: The Success and Failure of Zhu Yuanzhang", etc. He was once a speaker on "The Success and Failure of Qianlong" on "Lecture Room". He is the chief writer of the large-scale documentary "Eight Hundred Years of Chu State".