Jiaqing Emperor
Like his father Qianlong, the Jiaqing Emperor considered the Mulan hunt to be of vital importance. The inscription of his 1807 stele ("Record of Mulan") at the hunting preserve, placed near that of his father, stated that "Mulan is our nation's hunting ground." Jiaqing reaffirmed the hunt's importance as both a representation of Manchu identity and as a form of military training. Acknowledging that his own riding and shooting skills were probably inferior to those of his father, he proclaimed, "I surely will not take up idle, leisurely ways." In the final words of his inscription, the Jiaqing Emperor wrote: