In fact, Qianlong is far less perfect than the description in Qiong Yao's drama, and the so-called "Kangqian Prosperous World" is just a joke. Some people say that Qianlong destroyed the family foundation that Yongzheng had saved, and there was no mistake, he did spend all the money that Yongzheng left behind, but that little money was not even enough for military expenses. In fact, the greatest wealth that Yongzheng left to Qianlong was not money, but great war potential, and an environment that was easy to develop and govern. Because of this, Qianlong will pursue perfection too much and strive to leave a positive image of a glorious and magnificent shore.
In some Qing Palace dramas, Qianlong became an indispensable soul figure, and his appearance became varied by different actors, Zhang Tielin, Zhang Guoguo, Huo Jianhua or Nie Yuan... Regarding the true appearance of the Qianlong Emperor, there are not many records in the history books. occupy? According to the Records of Emperor Gaozong of the Qing Dynasty, Qianlong was "born a god, and the heavens are very strange... The steps are heavy, the rules are far-reaching, and the peaks are outstanding. It can be seen from this that this is just an official polite remark, roughly written to please the emperor, in a word, Qianlong looks very good, can be called the first emperor in ancient times.
Fortunately, Qianlong was an emperor who liked to compose poems and "take selfies", although there was no camera at that time, the painting skills of the court painters were so superb that they left many portraits of Qianlong. However, because the emperor was in charge of the power of life and death, even the painters did not dare to "draw gourds in the same way", they could only constantly speculate on the holy will, and strive to restore a real Qianlong on the basis of little change. Unfortunately, such paintings are still "distorted", and the Qianlong portraits collected in the Palace Museum do not know the geometry, but there are only a few who can really support history. However, the portrait of Qianlong secretly painted by the Italian painter Lang Shining has been recognized by many historians.
Lang Shining, an Italian, first came to China as a missionary in 1715, when Kangxi was emperor. Later, Lang Shining was summoned to the imperial palace and became a court painter, and he participated in the design of the Western-style building of the Yuanmingyuan. Lang Shining is a well-deserved veteran painter, he has been in the palace for more than 50 years, and has painted portraits of Kangxi, Qianlong and Yongzheng, and his status is much higher than that of ordinary painters. Of course, Lang Shining can not only paint portraits, but also landscapes and animals, figures, flowers and birds, he is an all-round talent.
To give a few simple examples, "Song Xian Yingzhi Tu", "Baijun Tu", "JuRui Tu", etc. are all representative works of Lang Shining, and his painting skills have been recognized by three generations of emperors, and this alone is difficult for other painters to shoot horses. As we all know, the most important thing around the emperor is talent, and the reason why Lang Shining can get grace is that in addition to his superb painting skills, he is IQ and emotional intelligence. Kangxi did not like oil painting, because over time, the whole picture would become oily and blurry. So Lang Shining developed the technique of painting on silk with colloidal pigments, and he made one stroke after another, neither too light nor too heavy, and not a single mistake.
When Qianlong became emperor, Lang Shining's status was even higher, and he would go to the studio every day to see Lang Shining paint, and in addition to admiration, there was also deep reverence. In fact, Qianlong most admired the 2 characteristics of Lang Shining, the first is cleverness, he can draw what the emperor thinks under the premise of maximum "fidelity"; the second is "can be big and powerful", Lang Shining can not only paint magnificent scenes such as hunting and expeditions, but also reflect the details of portrait paintings, and his brushstrokes are free and intoxicating.
Among the many portraits of Qianlong, the most realistic is undoubtedly the "Portrait of the Qianlong Emperor in Half-Body Winter Clothes", which did not appear because of Qianlong's wishes, to put it bluntly, it was secretly painted by Lang Shining. It can be seen that Qianlong's true appearance is very different from the photos in the history books, he has his own noble spirit, and his eyes are calm and ambitious, as if he does not put anything in his eyes. In fact, it is not difficult to understand that the aura of the superior person is naturally not comparable to ordinary people, even if he does not wear a dragon robe, he can feel his majesty and domineering.
However, this also proves from the side that Lang Shining's painting skills, can serve as a painter in the palace for more than 50 years, naturally not easy to be a generation.