National Palace Museum

The All Complete Qianlong: a Special Exhibition on the Aesthetic Tastes of the Qing Emperor Gaozong exhibition guidebook is divided into three sections comprising “Taste and Cultivation,” “Connoisseurship and Production,” and “Life and Art.” For this exhibition, the curator combined seven unofficial personal seals that were used to describe Emperor Qianlong. They consisted of “the all complete Qianlong,” “studious and inquisitive,” “diligent study of ancient affairs and pursuit of economic prosperity,” “outstanding connoisseurship,” “unprecedented achievements,” “at ease with his accomplishments,” and “untrammeled lifestyle.” In addition, 220 artifacts that contained easy-to-read descriptions were used to describe how the blessed, assiduous son of heaven developed his aesthetic tastes, and the way in which these aesthetic tastes were reflected in his art creations. Furthermore, the artifact descriptions explained how his fascination with art served as a way to detach himself from the worldly affairs