Jiaqing Emperor

Born Yongyan on 13 November 1760, the 15th son of the Qianlong Emperor, he wasn't an obvious heir but ascended as the sixth Qing emperor and fifth to rule China proper. His first major act was to go after Heshen, his father's notoriously corrupt favorite, signaling a turn toward accountability. He spent his reign trying to restore order and stem the tide of opium flooding into China, reforms that met mixed results. Historians split on what his two decades meant: either the moment the Qing's long decline began, or a period of moderate course correction that quietly set the stage for the reform…