"Lang Qianji Wen Erbi" once said: "Good governance is in full swing, Haiyu sees and hears, and does not dance." "During the Qing Dynasty, the Qianlong Emperor's fame and prestige were admired by the world. However, for hundreds of years, under the influence of various factors, the world's cognition of Qianlong has made certain mistakes.
When it comes to the Qianlong Emperor, people are probably familiar with it. As the most famous emperor of the Qing Dynasty, during the reign of the Qianlong Emperor, he contributed greatly to the development of Chinese society, and because of this, most of them also had a more positive view in the process of judging Qianlong in later generations.
For hundreds of years, the study of the Qianlong Emperor has never stopped, and people have a variety of views on the true appearance of the Qianlong Emperor.
In the eyes of some, the Qianlong Emperor should be as majestic and solemn as depicted in TV dramas, but with the paintings of a missionary, people finally saw the true appearance of the Qianlong Emperor. So, who is this preacher? What did the real Qianlong Emperor look like?
The missionary who painted the true appearance of Qianlong was Lang Shining, who came from the Milan region of Italy. At the age of sixteen, He joined the Society of Jesus and became a missionary.
In addition to his daily missionary work, he also learned painting skills based on his hobbies, which also laid the foundation for him to become a court painter of the Qing Dynasty.
In the process of growing up, Lang Shining has always had a great interest in Chinese culture, and because of this, Lang Shining also hopes to come to China to live and experience Chinese culture on the ground.
When the time came, Lang Shining applied to the Jesuits to go to China as a missionary, and finally, in the fifty-fourth year of the Qing Kangxi Dynasty, Lang Shining officially arrived in China.
What Lang Shining never expected was that in the Chinese society at that time, under the influence of the Portuguese occupation of Macao, the qing dynasty people had resistance to foreigners, which also seriously hindered Lang Shining's missionary work. On weekdays, he can only rely on the skill of painting to maintain the needs of life.
In the 59th year of the Kangxi Dynasty, Lang Shining arrived in Beijing and was received by the Kangxi Emperor, after which he entered the dynasty to participate in the Feast of the First Moon and the Lantern Festival, and with his outstanding painting skills, he was invited by the Kangxi Emperor to be a court painter in the Ruyi Pavilion.
Since then, Lang Shining has been retained in the palace by the Kangxi Emperor and has become a full-time court painter. With the care of the Kangxi Emperor, Lang Shining's living conditions also became better and better.
In the days that followed, Lang Shining began to work hard to learn Chinese painting techniques, and during the reign of the Kangxi Emperor, because he did not like the creative style of oil painting, So Lang Shining also integrated the techniques of Chinese painting into oil painting, in this way, to cater to the Kangxi Emperor.
By the Qianlong period, Lang Shining had become one of the best court painters, and because of this, the Qianlong Emperor had great trust in Lang Shining.
During qianlong's reign, Lang Shining's main task was to paint portraits of the emperor and harem concubines, and the reason why the Qianlong Emperor attached so much importance to portraits was also because in the social context of the time, there was no photographic technology, and if you wanted to preserve the figures, you could only rely on the help of painters.
As we all know, in ancient society, many court painters will beautify the portrait of the emperor when they paint it, but when Lang Shining paints a portrait of Qianlong, he prefers to rewrite the realism, and the "Portrait of the Half-Body Winter Dress of the Qianlong Emperor" that he once painted is very different from many portraits of the Qianlong Emperor.
In this portrait, the Qianlong Emperor's hooked nose and fair skin are very different from the traditional portraits of the emperor. In addition to this, Qianlong in this portrait. It is not as majestic as in other portraits, but has a general's wind.
Based on the help of this painting, in the process of understanding the Qianlong Emperor in later generations, he was able to see his true appearance and have a more thorough understanding and understanding of him.
Although in many literary, film and television works, the Qianlong Emperor is described as a tall and majestic person, through the portrait of Lang Shining, the world can feel that in fact, the Qianlong Emperor is just a person with clear eyebrows, not as mysterious as people think.
epilogue
Although Lang Shining came from a Western country, based on his love for Chinese culture in his heart, he was also deeply rooted in the Central Plains and relied on his own efforts to promote the better development of Chinese art.
It can be said that it is precisely because of Lang Shining's efforts that many lifelike precious portraits can be preserved, prompting future generations to have a more comprehensive understanding of the history of the Qing Dynasty.
In modern society, the study of ancient history has never stopped, and I believe that in the coming days, with the help of more precious historical materials, the world's understanding of history will also be further improved.
After having a full understanding of history, I believe that people will also look at historical figures with a more rational attitude and avoid excessive deification of them, which will lead to a wrong understanding of history.
Reference: Draft History of the Qing Dynasty