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During his reign, he attempted to better unite the two Qing bureaucracies of the banners (Mongols, Manchus, and "military" Chinese) and Han Chinese, by requiring members of the banners to take [[Chinese imperial examinations|exams]] in classical Chinese, and not only in Mongol or Manchu. Though deeply committed to Chinese scholarly and cultural traditions, however, Qianlong was also very active in championing Manchu identity, and embracing Tibetan Buddhism, expanding the Imperial compound at [[Chengde]] and transforming it into a religious center in the Tibetan mode.

During his reign, he attempted to better unite the two Qing bureaucracies of the banners (Mongols, Manchus, and "military" Chinese) and Han Chinese, by requiring members of the banners to take [[Chinese imperial examinations|exams]] in classical Chinese, and not only in Mongol or Manchu. Though deeply committed to Chinese scholarly and cultural traditions, however, Qianlong was also very active in championing Manchu identity, and embracing Tibetan Buddhism, expanding the Imperial compound at [[Chengde]] and transforming it into a religious center in the Tibetan mode.

Over the course of his reign, Qianlong also engaged in a number of military adventures, known as the [[Ten Great Campaigns]]. These included, in [[1789]], a Chinese intervention into [[Tay Son|Vietnamese succession disputes]] which ended in the Chinese being expelled from Vietnam.

Over the course of his reign, Qianlong also engaged in a number of military adventures, known as the [[Ten Great Campaigns]]. These included, in [[1789]], a Chinese intervention into [[Tay Son|Vietnamese succession disputes]] which ended in the Chinese being expelled from Vietnam. They also included six "tours" of the south, in [[1751]], [[1757]], [[1762]], [[1765]], [[1780]], and [[1784]], in emulation of those made by his grandfather, the [[Kangxi Emperor]]. Though generally seen as a matter of political theater and spectacle, to allow the emperor to be seen, and to thus drum up feelings of support for the emperorship, Pamela Kyle Crossley represents these tours as military expeditions, designed to awe southern peoples into submission through a show of (the threat of) force.<ref>Chang, Michael G. ''A Court on Horseback: Imperial Touring and the Construction of Qing Rule, 1680-1785''. Harvard University Asia Center, 2007, 3n11.; Crossley, Pamela Kyle. ''A Translucent Mirror: History and Identity in Qing Imperial Ideology''. University of California Press, 1999, 201.</ref>

On his 80th birthday in [[1790]], the emperor invited theatre troupes to perform at the palace. This occasion is oft-cited as representing the origins of ''[[jingju]]'' (Beijing opera).

On his 80th birthday in [[1790]], the emperor invited theatre troupes to perform at the palace. This occasion is oft-cited as representing the origins of ''[[jingju]]'' (Beijing opera).