Puyi

Puyi
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Name	Puyi
Title	Emperor of the Qing dynasty
Reign	2 December 1908 – 12 February 1912
Coronation	2 December 1908
Predecessor	Guangxu Emperor
Successor	Monarchy abolished
Title1	Emperor of Manchukuo
Reign1	1 March 1934 – 17 August 1945
Predecessor1	Title created
Successor1	Position abolished
Birth date	7 February 1906
Birth place	Prince Chun Mansion, Beijing, Qing dynasty
Death date	17 October 1967 (aged 61)
Death place	Peking Union Medical College Hospital, Beijing, People's Republic of China
Spouse	Wanrong, Wenxiu, Tan Yuling, Li Yuqin, Li Shuxian
House	Aisin Gioro
Father	Zaifeng, Prince Chun
Mother	Youlan
Religion	Buddhism

Puyi. He was the last emperor of China, serving as the eleventh and final ruler of the Qing dynasty. His life, marked by extraordinary upheaval, spanned the fall of imperial rule, a period as a Japanese puppet, and eventual life as a private citizen under communist rule. His personal journey from Son of Heaven to political prisoner and gardener is a unique lens through which to view modern Chinese history.

Early life and accession

Born in the Prince Chun Mansion in Beijing, he was the son of Zaifeng, Prince Chun and the nephew of the Guangxu Emperor. Following a political crisis after the deaths of both the Empress Dowager Cixi and the Guangxu Emperor in 1908, the two-year-old child was unexpectedly placed on the Dragon Throne. His father served as Prince Regent during his minority, while the imperial court grappled with rising revolutionary fervor led by figures like Sun Yat-sen.

Reign and abdication

His brief first reign was dominated by the Xinhai Revolution, which erupted in Wuchang in 1911. Facing the collapse of Qing authority and pressure from military leader Yuan Shikai, the Imperial Court issued an Imperial Edict of the Abdication of the Qing Emperor in early 1912. This document, brokered with the new Republic of China, ended over two millennia of imperial history. The Articles of Favourable Treatment allowed him to retain his title and remain within the Forbidden City.

Life in the Forbidden City and brief restoration

Confined to the palace complex in Beijing, he was tutored by the British diplomat Reginald Johnston, who introduced him to Western ideas. In 1917, he was briefly restored to the throne for twelve days by the warlord Zhang Xun during a failed Manchu Restoration attempt. He was finally expelled from the Forbidden City in 1924 by warlord Feng Yuxiang, who revised the favorable terms. He then took up residence in the Japanese concession in Tianjin.

Under Japanese influence and Manchukuo

While in Tianjin, he cultivated ties with Japanese officials and militarists. Following the Japanese invasion of Manchuria and the establishment of the puppet state of Manchukuo in 1932, he was installed as its chief executive. In 1934, he was proclaimed Emperor of Manchukuo, a reign entirely controlled by the Kwantung Army and Japanese advisors like Yoshiko Kawashima. His reign was characterized by Japanese militarism, the brutal suppression of anti-Japanese resistance, and the exploitation of Northeast China.

Imprisonment and later life

After the Surrender of Japan and the Soviet invasion of Manchuria in 1945, he was captured by the Red Army and held in the Soviet Union, notably at Khabarovsk. He testified at the International Military Tribunal for the Far East in Tokyo. Repatriated to the People's Republic of China in 1950, he underwent ideological re-education and was imprisoned at the Fushun War Criminals Management Centre. He was granted a pardon in 1959 and became an ordinary citizen, working as a gardener at the Beijing Botanical Garden and later as an archivist for the Chinese People's Political Consultative Conference.

Personal life and legacy

He was married five times; his spouses included Empress Wanrong, who descended into opium addiction, and Consort Wenxiu, who famously divorced him. His autobiography, From Emperor to Citizen, was published with state approval. He died of uremia at the Peking Union Medical College Hospital in 1967 during the Cultural Revolution. His life has been depicted in numerous works, most famously in Bernardo Bertolucci's film The Last Emperor, which won the Academy Award for Best Picture. His remains were eventually moved to a commercial cemetery near the Western Qing tombs.