Accomplishments as a Ruler

1. From Pingding Miaojiang Tu (Illustrations on the Pacification of the Miao Region)
2. Copperplate
3. 1st year of the Jiaqing reign (1796), Qing dynasty

The Miao people are an ethnic minority living in the area spanning Guizhou, Hunan, and Sichuan provinces. In 1795, the last year of the Qianlong reign, the Miao in the border area of these three provinces rose in rebellion, which quickly spread and came as a shock to the Qing court. The Qianlong emperor thereupon dispatched the Governor-general of Yunnan-Guizhou, Fuk'anggan (1753-1796), to lead forces to pacify the region. Helin (?-1796), Governor-general of Sichuan, also sent troops to support the campaign. However, following a stalemate between both sides, it was not until the following year, the first year of the Jiaqing reign, that the rebellion came to an end. Afterwards, the Qing court followed precedent and had a series of sixteen copperplate prints made for Illustrations on the Pacification of the Miao Region to commemorate the victory. Although already in the Jiaqing reign, the production still is accompanied by imperial inscriptions of the Qianlong emperor.

1. From Pingding Miaojiang Tu (Illustrations on the Pacification of the Miao Region)
2. Copperplate
3. 3rd year of the Jiaqing reign (1798), Qing dynasty

The Miao people are an ethnic minority living in the area spanning Guizhou, Hunan, and Sichuan provinces. In 1795, the last year of the Qianlong reign, the Miao in the border area of these three provinces rose in rebellion, which quickly spread and came as a shock to the Qing court. The Qianlong emperor thereupon dispatched the Governor-general of Yunnan-Guizhou, Fuk'anggan (1753-1796), to lead forces to pacify the region. Helin (?-1796), Governor-general of Sichuan, also sent troops to support the campaign. However, following a stalemate between both sides, it was not until the following year, the first year of the Jiaqing reign, that the rebellion came to an end. Afterwards, the Qing court followed precedent and had a series of sixteen copperplate prints made for Illustrations on the Pacification of the Miao Region to commemorate the victory. Although already in the Jiaqing reign, the production still is accompanied by imperial inscriptions of the Qianlong emperor.

1. Compiled on imperial order by Qinggui (1737-1816), et al.
2. Imprint of the Imperial Printing Office
3. 7th year of the Jiaqing reign (1802), Qing dynasty

This book mainly records unprecedented flooding in 1801 that occurred in the north along the Yongding River in the Hebei region. According to records from the capital, early in the sixth lunar month of that year, it rained heavily for six days straight. Not only were walls of the Forbidden City destroyed by flooding, waters on the Yongding River rose and burst their levees, inundating more than ninety subprefectures and districts. The Jiaqing emperor, worried about the people, ordered that granaries by opened to provide relief, officials to repair the levees, and punishment meted to negligent officials. To learn from this lesson, the Jiaqing emperor had the process of river construction and disaster relief compiled into a book. Throughout it, the emperor attributes the cause of the disaster as heavenly retribution for his own misconduct, reflecting concretely his ideals on ruling the country with the people in mind.

1. Compiled on imperial order by Qinggui (1737-1816), et al.
2. Imprint of the Imperial Printing Office
3. 15th year of the Jiaqing reign (1810), Qing dynasty

Imperially Endorsed Plan on Suppressing Rebels in the Three Provinces is an important official source of precious historical information dealing with the anti-Qing forces of the White Lotus Sect. After Qing troops finally eradicated the remaining guerilla forces, it was ordered that annals of the event be compiled into a book. In the imperial preface to the book, the Jiaqing Emperor stated that conquering the White Lotus Sect rebel troops was an arduous process taking seven years before it could be considered a success. The Emperor reflected on the origins of this protracted rebellion as resulting from a lack of educating officials and the folly of ignorant masses in following the treacherous leaders of cults. After the rebellion was quelled, the Emperor decided to completely overhaul officialdom. And because the Qing Empire had to reposition its armies to quell this large-scale rebellion, it was an enormous drain on imperial finances and inflicted heavily on imperial power.

1. Submitted by Alinbao (?-1809), Governor-general of Fujian-Zhejiang, and Zhang Shicheng (1762-1830), Governor of Fujian
2. February 3, 1808, Qing dynasty

During the Jiaqing period, the pirate Cai Qian was active in the seas off the coast of Zhejiang, Fujian, and Guangdong. On the 24th day of the 12th month of the 12th Jiaqing year (January 21, 1808), Li Changgeng (Governor of Zhejiang) led a force to attack Cai Qian and on the morning of the 25th, in the Taiwan Strait, Cai Qian's boat was damaged and the pirates suffered heavy casulties. Late in the day on the 25th, however, just as Li Changgeng was preparing to attack Cai Qian again, Li was suddenly struck by cannon fire. Li Changgeng's death came as a shock to the court, and the Jiaqing emperor wrote in red for his rescript to the memorial announcing the news, "How regrettable! May you be blessed!" He also wrote, "Regrettable!" and "The Grand Council high officials and I gnash our teeth!" And the emperor placed an "X" in red ink in the place next to the surname Cai, indicating his hatred of the pirate leader.

1. Compiled by Chen Shujun (n.d.)
2. Imprint of 2nd year of the Xianfeng reign (1852), Qing dynasty

The former name for Yilan was Gezainan(lan), a phonetic rendering for the term used by indigenous peoples that is now spelled in English as Kavalan. Although it could be rendered in many ways in Chinese, it was later settled on Gemalan. The area of Yilan had formerly been beyond the control of the Qing court, and it was not until the seventeenth year of the Jiaqing reign (1812) that the Jiaqing emperor formally approved setting up a government office there for settling disputes between local natives and Chinese. In 1852, the government printed Gazetteer of the Kavalan District in Taiwan Prefecture, the first official gazetteer for the Yilan region. It includes detailed descriptions of the origins, establishment, local products, and customs of as well as relations between locals and Chinese in the area. This edition in the National Palace Museum, transferred from the Ministry of National Defense and presented to the National Palace Museum in 1983, is impressed with a seal for "Kohaku kabushiki gaisha," a north China Japanese transportation company in the puppet state of Manchuria during the first half of the twentieth century.

1. Jiaqing reign (1796-1820), Qing dynasty

This covered sandalwood case with jade inlay has a lidded box in the middle of its interior containing an abridged album transcribing "Hongfan" by the Jiaqing emperor and a colophon by Zhu Gui (1731-1806). Zhu Gui once taught Jiaqing while he was still a prince, and Jiaqing very much relied upon him. This album was written in the 4th year of the Jiaqing reign (1799), the year that Jiaqing assumed personal rule of the country after his father's death. It is a transcription of the "Shuzheng" section of "Hongfan" in Shangshu (Book of Documents) conveying the ancient Chinese idea of a ruler respecting the Heavens when administering the country. The carvings of animals from the Chinese zodiac in white jade also emphasize the unending cycle of time. This jade carving of animals from the Chinese zodiac features succinct lines and forms. The carving of the wood case is also refined, and considering the importance of its contents, it reflects the attitude of the Jiaqing emperor early in his rule of the country.