Qianlong wrote 40,000 poems in his lifetime. What was the level of Qianlong’s poetry?

Emperor Qianlong’s poetry writing level was not high.

It is said that Emperor Qianlong loved writing poetry. In his 89 years of life, he wrote 43,584 poems in one go. What is this concept? Even the "Complete Poems of the Tang Dynasty" only contains 49,403 poems. In other words, Emperor Qianlong wrote the "Complete Poems of the Tang Dynasty" alone, which can be said to be quite impressive. Emperor Qianlong had to write so many poems, almost three poems in two days. Such a terrifying speed of writing poems can be said to be "unprecedented and unprecedented". I am afraid that this is the only emperor in history.

So, how did Emperor Qianlong evaluate his poetry writing level? It is said that in 1977, Emperor Qianlong once told people about his creative career. He said: "In my ninth year, the articles I have accumulated are almost the same as those of all the poets of the Tang Dynasty. Isn't this a good story in the art world? "What's the meaning? That is to say, Emperor Qianlong believed that the poems he wrote throughout his life were comparable to all Tang poems and were a "good story in the art world".

However, in the eyes of modern people, the level of Emperor Qianlong's poetry is not a so-called "artistic legend", but a "joke". It is worth mentioning that the famous writer Qian Zhongshu once commented on Emperor Qianlong's poems. He said: "Gaozong of the Qing Dynasty (Emperor Qianlong) also used literature as poetry, and the language was procrastinating and disgusting...it was both sour and rotten, extremely Those who use literature as the ugly form of poetry are the six collections of Emperor Gaozong of the Qing Dynasty. "What does it mean?" That is to say, the poems written by Emperor Qianlong were very sour and really "disgusting". Such intense words show Qian Zhongshu's disgust for Qianlong's poems.

So, what’s wrong with Emperor Qianlong’s poems?

One is that it is too straightforward. Qianlong's poems were too straightforward, like boiled water. Simply put, they were limericks.

The second is that too many uncommon words are used. In order to conceal his illiteracy, Emperor Qianlong liked to use uncommon words. For example, in "Exemption from Partial Fu in Suqian County and Other Places", Emperor Qianlong used uncommon words such as "恫瘝" and "茆覝" in this poem.

In short, Qianlong's poems are really not worthy of elegance.