Qianlong Era, 1735–1796

The Qianlong Emperor succeeded Yongzheng in 1735 and presided over a wealthy, expansive Qing Empire. Campaigns in Inner Asia extended imperial control over Xinjiang, while the court sponsored major artistic, architectural and scholarly projects.

The reign also reinforced Manchu dynastic identity and used censorship and literary inquisition to police political language. Imperial power depended on a multi-ethnic order that combined Manchu, Chinese, Mongol, Tibetan and Muslim institutions.

The Book and the Sword is set within this era and builds its conspiracy around a popular claim that Qianlong was secretly born Han Chinese. Its Central Asian episodes draw on later legends surrounding the emperor’s Uyghur consort, remembered as the Fragrant Concubine.