Abstract: After being appointed governor of Lijiang Prefecture in the early years of Emperor Qianlong’s reign (1736–1796), Guan Xuexuan began his 8-year governance with reform. His innovative measures included: promoting schooling and disseminating Confucianism to alter old customs and habits; promoting agriculture by updating individual land measurement and reducing taxes; promoting infrastructure to improve social development conditions; and organizing compilation of the first chronicle of Lijiang to promote local culture development. Because of such governance performance and reputation of cleanness, he was loved by the local people and followed by the following generations of officials as an example.

Key words: Guan Xuexuan, governance, Lijiang Prefecture, contribution