A detail from A Trip Up the River at Qingming Festival, a Song Dynasty long scroll that was on Emperor Qianlong's wish list until the end of his life.[Photo provided to China Daily]

"His paintings are consistently of the second order," Tian says. "So, while doing his own art he turned to collecting so that his name would be more intimately linked with the country's lustrous artistic tradition."

There was nothing genteel or understated about the way in which he went about that task, and today many art purists shake their heads in dismay as they survey the results.

"You'll find his stamps and inscriptions on many of the masterpieces that comprised his huge collection," Tian says. "There are so many of these things, done at various times, that in some cases they overshadow the artwork itself."

For Qianlong, these marks were regal seals that proclaimed him head curator of China's art; beyond that though they were messages on a more intimate and personal level.

"Qianlong made it a practice to record his thoughts on the extended fringe of the paintings," Tian says. "You get the feeling that he was trying to communicate spiritually with those whose artistic genius he aspired to."