In 2006 the Royal Academy, London, exhibited the art and artefacts relating to three remarkable rulers: the Qing Dynasty emperors Kangxi, Yongzheng and Qianlong. Three generations spanning over one hundred years (1662-1795) they presided over China at the peak of her influence and prosperity - yet they were “foreigners”, of Manchurian stock from “Outside the Wall”.  I revisit the period and its collections as well as the Qing Dynasty tombs and the Summer Retreat at Jehol (Chengde), to the very tent where, in 1793, Lord MacCartney presented George III’s petition for increased Anglo-Chinese trade - an encounter which, had the details been different, the subsequent  two hundred years of world history might have been very different.

Many of the material and illustrations in this talk draw from the Royal Academy “Three Emperors’Tour” (with Martin Randall Travel), hosted by me in October 2006

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