The reign of Hungli, the Ch’ien-lung Emperor, was one of the greatest of Chinese history and is remembered for the extent and longevity of his administration of the empire, as well as the process taken towards modernization that coincided with the reign. As a representative of the Manchu Dynasty, Hungli was acutely aware of the need to preserve the outwards signs of difference and the need to integrate the ruling classes and their distinctive characteristics into the bureaucratic state.
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