Qianlong was the sixth emperor of the Qing Dynasty. During his reign, he only used the era name Qianlong, thus he is also known as the Qianlong Emperor.
He is also the longest-lived emperor in Chinese history, with his reign lasting nearly 60 years, from October 11, 1736, to September 1, 1795. This period was marked by great prosperity both economically and militarily for the Qing Dynasty.
During the Qianlong era, the weather was favorable, and the national treasury was abundant, allowing him ample time and resources to enjoy life.
An interesting story occurred during Qianlong’s inspection tour.
He often traveled to Jiangnan, sometimes engaging in conversation with the locals, but most of the time, he would not reveal his identity and would dress in civilian clothes during his outings, so others could not recognize him.
According to historical anecdotes, there was an interesting incident during Qianlong’s inspection tour that highlighted the injustices of feudal society, demonstrating that a king could do whatever he pleased, even contemplating taking a life.
One time, while traveling, Qianlong became thirsty and sent his attendants to buy watermelons to quench his thirst; however, the attendants returned empty-handed, saying that the watermelon farmer refused to sell them any melons.
During the Qing Dynasty, watermelons were considered a rare fruit, and all the melons had already been pre-ordered, so Qianlong decided to go directly to the watermelon field to buy some himself.
When the emperor arrived, he found the farmer asleep. His attendants wanted to wake the farmer, but Qianlong forbade them. Thus, they waited for a long time until the farmer woke up to make their purchase.
During the Qing Dynasty, watermelons were considered a rare fruit.
As a result, when the farmer woke up and saw people waiting for him, he was touched by their patience and decided to pick some watermelons to share with them.
Qianlong finally got to eat watermelon and felt immense joy. At that moment, he didn’t care about his royal image and sat by the roadside eating watermelon.
Seeing Qianlong eating from the middle of the watermelon, the farmer remarked, “If you eat it that way, it won’t be sweet.”
Qianlong was puzzled, and the farmer explained, “The sweetest part of the watermelon is in the middle, but if you start eating from the middle, it will lose its sweetness as you go. If you eat from both sides first and then finish with the middle, it will be sweeter the more you eat.”
The farmer continued, “Ordinary people usually choose to eat from the sides first because their lives are hard, wanting to save the sweet part for last. Life is similar; it has its bitterness, but there will also be sweetness in time.”
Qianlong found the farmer’s insights profound and engaged him in conversation. He then realized that this man was quite talented and asked him if he would like to become an official, but the farmer expressed his disinterest.
Not long after, Qianlong ordered his men to return and kill the watermelon farmer. (Illustrative image).
After finishing his meal, Qianlong bid farewell to the farmer and left. However, not far from the spot, he ordered his men to go back and kill the watermelon farmer because, in the mind of the Qing emperor at that time, a talented person who did not wish to serve him was indeed too dangerous and needed to be eliminated.
However, contrary to Qianlong’s expectations, when his attendants returned to the watermelon field, the farmer had vanished.
