During the Qing dynasty in China, two emperors – the Kangxi Emperor and his grandson the Qianlong Emperor – each undertook six “tours of inspection” to all corners of the realm and each commissioned a leading artist to record one of these tours. The result was two sets of 12 scrolls. Four of these inspection tour scrolls – two from each collection – are the focus of our exploration in this module:

[GO TO Kangxi Scroll Three—Ji'nan to Mount Tai]
[GO TO Kagxi Scroll Seven—Wuxi to Suzhou]
[GO TO Qianlong Scroll Six—Entering Suzhou Along the Grand Canal]
[GO TO Qianlong Emperor Scroll Four—The Confluence of the Huai and Yellow Rivers]

Established in 1644 by the Manchus who overthrew the Ming dynasty and lasting until the founding of the Republic of China in – the Qing was the last imperial dynasty.

Two monarchs dominated during this 269-year reign: the Kangxi (ruling 1662-1722) and his grandson, the Qianlong Emperor (ruling 1736-1795). These two emperors would set the course of Qing history, creating the political, economic, and cultural legacy inherited by modern China.

Their imperial inspection tours were unique in Chinese history. Emperors of other eras had occasionally completed a single inspection tour of the empire or made the epic journey to Mount Tai to worship Heaven, but the Qing emperors were the first to undertake multiple tours of inspection to all corners of the empire – each completing 6 during their respective 60-year reigns.

In fact, these personal inspection tours were part of a strategy for extending and solidifying Manchu rule throughout the empire. These mammoth works of art provide a unique and vivid glimpse into the grandeur of late imperial China. The module provides insights into many areas of Qing life, including:

The Southern Tour scrolls ever intended for a general audience and scarcely seen. They were created as celebratory and commemorative documents for posterity, kept in a special storeroom for maps and imperial portraits, where they awaited the judgment of history.

Today these scrolls serve not only as a testimony to the political ambitions of the Qing emperors to preside over a prosperous, unified empire, but also provide invaluable documentary evidence about daily life in traditional China. We are the posterity as we explore the scrolls!