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Hello. And is open. Hello and welcome to the history of China.

Episode 302, Palace of Mirrors.

Today we begin in a new chapter of our exploration of Qing China under the

Qianlong Emperor, a ruler who, by the second half of his reign, was not merely defending a dynasty

or overseeing a government. He was designing his legacy with eternity as his intended audience.

In the aftermath of the major conquests that had marked the first two decades of his rule,

including the extermination of the Jungar Confederation in Central Asia,

Qianlong turned his attention more inward.

His vision of empire had never been solely military.

Even in the midst of his grand campaigns,

he'd been planning something far more ambitious

to establish an all-encompassing architecture of power,

one that fused ideology, culture, ritual, administration, and memory

into a single coherent image of Qing supremacy.

...