Abstract: During the reign of the Qianlong Emperor of the Qing Dynasty(1735-1796),imperial poetry and prose was widely received because of its leading role in literary culture,and its influence was noticeable in the collections of officials who lived in the capital.The imperial leadership in literary culture created certain criteria in the conception,evaluation and content of literature;the emperor not only promoted "agents" to implement these criteria,but also interfered in person the civil examinations.Common scholars were very motivated to follow the imperial leadership,and they provided a compromising interpretation of the contradictory ideas of "a sagely rule" and "eremitism".The imperial authority dominated the development of literature in the capital city during the Qianlong reign,whereas the collective initiative revealed from the top to bottom of the social hierarchy the fundamental reason behind this phenomenon.

Key words: Qianlong, imperial poetry and prose, metrical verses required in the examination, ZHANG Pengchong, Saierhe, ZHU Weigao, erudite learners and great verse writers