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He was an avid art collector, and can be credited for amassing a great many of the most famous treasures which today comprise the former Imperial collection.<ref>Now divided between the Palace Museum in Beijing and the National Palace Museum in Taipei.</ref> Many of the most famous works in Chinese art history passed through his hands, and bear colophons (commentaries or poetic responses) by the Qianlong Emperor, along with his seals (with multiple seals often used on the same painting, marking not only his ownership, but his appreciation of the work).

He was an avid art collector, and can be credited for amassing a great many of the most famous treasures which today comprise the former Imperial collection.<ref>Now divided between the Palace Museum in Beijing and the National Palace Museum in Taipei.</ref> Many of the most famous works in Chinese art history passed through his hands, and bear colophons (commentaries or poetic responses) by the Qianlong Emperor, along with his seals (with multiple seals often used on the same painting, marking not only his ownership, but his appreciation of the work).

He also patronized [[Giuseppe Castiglione]], an Italian [[Society of Jesus|Jesuit]] missionary and artist, appointing him court painter, and encouraging experimentation with incorporating Western artistic techniques (e.g. perspective, realistic light & shadow, realistic detail) into traditional Chinese painting. He commissioned Castiglione in [[1737]] to design a number of [[Qianlong Gardens|pavilions]] for the Imperial gardens; with the help of other Jesuit artists, architects, and the like, he saw the [[Yuanmingyuan]] (aka the Old Summer Palace) built in [[1747]]-[[1759]].

He also patronized [[Giuseppe Castiglione]], an Italian [[Society of Jesus|Jesuit]] missionary and artist, appointing him court painter, and encouraging experimentation with incorporating Western artistic techniques (e.g. perspective, realistic light & shadow, realistic detail) into traditional Chinese painting. He commissioned Castiglione in [[1737]] to design a number of [[Qianlong Gardens|pavilions]] for the Imperial gardens; with the help of other Jesuit artists, architects, and the like, he saw the [[Yuanmingyuan]] (aka the Old Summer Palace) dramatically expanded in [[1736]]-[[1753]]. This expansion of the Old Summer Palace marked the first full realization at the Imperial gardens of [[Chinese gardens]] in the style of [[Jiangnan|Southern China]].<ref>Chi Xiao, ''Chinese Garden as Lyric Enclave'', Center for Chinese Studies, Univ. of Michigan (2001), 77.</ref>

Qianlong also commissioned 15,000 scribes to compile a collection of classics, history, letters, and philosophy known as the ''Four Treasures'', a work which took fifteen years to complete.<ref>[[Albert M. Craig]], ''The Heritage of Chinese Civilization'', Third Edition, Prentice Hall (2011), 115.</ref>

Qianlong also commissioned 15,000 scribes to compile a collection of classics, history, letters, and philosophy known as the ''Four Treasures'', a work which took fifteen years to complete.<ref>[[Albert M. Craig]], ''The Heritage of Chinese Civilization'', Third Edition, Prentice Hall (2011), 115.</ref>