Editing Emperor Qianlong (section)

== Dzungar Genocide ==

=== Intervention ===
The Dzungars were an Oirat(West Mongolic) tribe that had a state in the northern part of present day Xinjiang. In the 1750's there was a civil war between Dawachi and Amursana, two claimants for the position of Khan. Amursana was defeated, but sought the support of the Qing. They then defeated Dawachi in 1755.

=== Genocide ===
Qianlong split Dzungaria into four khanates, one of which would be ruled by Amursana's Khoit clan. However, Amursana did not accept this, wanting to rule all Dzungars. Together with Khalkha Mongol prince Chingunjav, he rebelled against the Qing. Their rebellion failed, and to punish the Dzungars, Qianlong ordered their extermination:

"Show no mercy at all to these rebels. Only the old and weak should be saved. Our previous military campaigns were too lenient. If we act as before, our troops will withdraw, and further trouble will occur.

If a rebel is captured and his followers wish to surrender, he must personally come to the garrison, prostrate himself before the commander, and request surrender. If he only send someone to request submission, it is undoubtedly a trick. Tell Tsengünjav to massacre these crafty Zunghars. Do not believe what they say."

Following his order, Manchu Bannermen(Qianlong's tribal troops) and Khalkha(Eastern) Mongols entered Dzungaria, also having been told that the Dzungars were to be treated as bandits, to be completely exterminated. Accounts are conflicting, but they present a clear picture: between the years 1756 and 1758, hundreds of thousands were massacred, and many were taken by the death squads as slaves. Although they did not achieve a 100 percent kill rate(Chinese historian Wei Yuan estimates 70-80 percent, other estimates lean closer to 80 percent) the survivors were either enslaved or banished and assimilated into other Mongolic tribes; therefore, the genocide can be considered a success, as the Dzungars ceased to exist. Another Oirat tribe, the Khoshut, had a population in Dzungaria that may have also been targeted, and it's likely that many other Oirats in the region were killed as well.

Ironically, the conquest of Dzungaria and eradication of its native population was seen as representing the unity of the ethnic groups which the Qing ruled; in 1759 a monument in Manchu was made stating that the former Dzungar lands were now part of China, which included not only the Han, but also Manchus(which Qianlong's Aisin Gioro family was), Inner Mongols, Khalkha Mongols and Tibetans. This was also represented in the settlement of Xinjiang with Han and Uyghur, which would have the lasting effects of Xinjiang later becoming a Uyghur Autonomous Region under the People's Republic.

Qianlong believed that the Dzungars were subhuman barbarians, and thus Heaven supported him in his efforts. This echoed his grandfather Kangxi's beliefs that sweeping away barbarians brought stability to the interior. According to Peter Perdue's book ''China Marches West'' the Dzungars, unlike their Khalkha counterparts(and even some other Oirats), had refused to submit to the Qing as vassals at virtually ever opportunity given; this may have also motivated Qianlong's decision to exterminate them.