In October 1795, Qianlong officially announced that in the spring of the following year he would voluntarily abdicate his throne and pass the crown to his son. It was said that Qianlong had made a promise during the year of his ascension not to rule longer than his grandfather, the Kangxi Emperor, who had reigned for 61 years. Under Qianlong the Manchu empire had added Xinjiang and Tibet, while agriculture made great strides and the arts flourished. The decay within China was a result of the explosion of the population from around 100 million in 1700 to around 200 million in 1800.