The Siku Quanshu, also known as the Complete Repository of the Four Branches of Literature, is the largest collection of books in Chinese history.

It was assembled by the Qianlong Emperor, who also started several other ambitious cultural initiatives. But Qianlong employed the Literary Inquisition to crush dissent.

Let's first start with the king himself with his dynasty.

The fourth Qing emperor to rule over actual China, the Qianlong Emperor, was born Hongli and served as the fifth emperor of the Qing dynasty from 1735 to 1796. His official reign ran from 11 October 1735 to 8 February 1796. He was the fourth son of the Yongzheng Emperor.

His lengthy leadership saw the Qing Empire reach its most glorious and affluent period, with a sizable population and economy, as a skilled and cultured emperor inherited a flourishing empire. He oversaw military campaigns that conquered and occasionally obliterated Central Asian kingdoms to increase the royal territory to the greatest degree.

The Qing dynasty reached its pinnacle of power in the 18th century due to a significant increase in fertile land, a fast-expanding population, and effective governance.

China's greatest boundaries were attained under Qianlong. Military expeditions conducted in succession from 1755 to 1760 in the northeast produced decisive outcomes.

But, even more problematic were the poor administration, extravagance, and corruption that characterized the latter two decades of Qianlong's rule and seriously damaged the empire for some time to come.

When Qianlong, then 65 years old, first saw Heshen, a youthful lieutenant, whom he decided to make the most powerful person in the empire.