The Last Emperor of China: name, biography

The last emperor of China - Pu Yi - a symbolic figure in the history of the Celestial Empire. It was during his reign that the country began to gradually turn from monarchical to communist, subsequently becoming a serious player in the international arena.

Meaning of the name

In China, it was impossible to pronounce the name of the emperor given to him at birth - this was a centuries-old tradition. The last emperor of China received the name of a loud, corresponding to the monarch - "Xuantong" ("unifying").

A family

The last emperor of China was in fact not an ethnic Chinese. His family Aixin Gioro ("Golden Rod") belonged to the Manchu dynasty of Qing, who at that time ruled over five hundred years.

Father Pu and Eisinjiro Zaifeng, Prince Chun, held a high office in power (the Second Grand Duke), but never was the emperor. In general, the father of Pu Yi neglected power and avoided any political affairs.

Mother Pu and Yulan had a truly masculine character. Raised by her father-general, she controlled the entire imperial court and punished for the slightest fault. This involved both servants and individuals, virtually equal to Yulan by status. She could execute servants-eunuchs for any view that did not suit her, and she even beat a daughter-in-law once.

The immediate ruler of China was Uncle Pu Yi, as well as Zaifeng's cousin - Zaitian, later called "Guangxi". It was his successor who became the last emperor of China.

Childhood

Pu And I had to go to the throne at the age of two. After that, the last emperor of China (years of life: 1906-1967) was transported to the Forbidden City, the residence of the ruling individuals of China.

Pu And he was a rather sensitive and emotional child, so moving to a new place and coronation did not cause him anything but tears.

And why it was to cry. After the death in 1908, Zhaitian went so that the two-year-old child was given an empire that was mired in debt, poverty and threatened with disintegration. The reason for this was quite simple: the authoritative Yulan was firmly established in the thought that Zaityan had been damaged by the mind, and had made his successor the son of the cousin of the ruling emperor, who was Pu Yi

As a result, the boy was assigned a father-regent, who did not shine with foresight or political savvy, and then with nothing different from his cousin Aunt Lun Yu. It is interesting that with Father Pu I practically did not see either in childhood or in adolescence.

It is worth noting that Pu Yi was, among other things, a healthy child (apart from stomach problems), alive and cheerful. Most of the time in the Forbidden City the young emperor spent in games with the court eunuchs and also communicated with the wet nurse who surrounded him until the age of eight.

Particular respect and thrill of Pu Yi experienced before the so-called senior mother of Duan Kang. It was this strict woman who taught little Pu And not to be a conceit and not to humiliate others.

Military coup and abdication

The last emperor of China, whose biography was extremely tragic, ruled insignificantly - just over three years (3 years and 2 months). After the Xinhai Revolution of 1911, Lun Yu signed an act of abdication (in 1912).

The new government left behind Pu Yi Imperial Palace and other privileges, which relied on such a high person. Probably, it affected the respect for power, which is embedded in the Chinese in DNA. The more striking is the difference between the Chinese revolution and the Soviet one, where the ruling family of Emperor Nicholas II was treated according to the laws of dictatorship and without any hint of humanity.

Moreover, the new government left Pu And the right to education. The last emperor of China had studied English since he was fourteen years old, he also knew both Manchu and Chinese. By default, the commandments of Konufutsiya were also attached. Teacher of English Pu I, Rezninald Johnston, made him a real Westerner and even gave him a European name - Henry. It is interesting that Pu Yi did not like his native languages and seemed extremely reluctant (he could study only about thirty words per year), while he taught English with Johnston with great attention and diligence.

Married Pu And quite early, at sixteen, on the daughter of a high-ranking official Wang Rong. However, the legitimate wife of Pu Yi was not satisfied, therefore, as a mistress (or concubine), Wen Xu took himself.

With nothing (and no one), the unquiet emperor lived this way until 1924, when the People's Republic of China already equated him to the rest of the citizens. Pu And with his wife had to leave the Forbidden City.

Manchukuo

After the expulsion from the hereditary fiefdom, Pu Yi went to the northeast of China, a territory controlled by Japanese troops. In 1932, there was created a quasi-state called Manchukuo. The last emperor of China became his ruler. The history, however, of this temporarily occupied area of Chinese territory turned out to be quite predictable. There was no real power, like in communist China, at Pu Yi in Manchukuo. He did not read any documents and signed them without looking, almost at the dictation of the Japanese "advisors." Like Nicholas II, Pu I was not created for real government, especially such a huge and problematic. However, it was in Manchukuo that the last emperor of China could again return to the familiar life that he led until the end of World War II.

The new residence of the "emperor" became the city of Chanchun. The territory of this quasi-state was quite serious - more than a million square kilometers, and the population numbered 30 million people. By the way, because of the non-recognition of the League of Manchukuo Nations, Japan had to leave this organization, which later became the prototype of the UN. The more curious is the fact that for a decade, until the end of World War II, a number of European and Asian countries established diplomatic relations with Manchukuo. They, for example, are Italy, Romania, France, Denmark, Croatia, Hong Kong.

Ironically, during the reign of Pu And the economy of Manchukuo went up the hill. This happened due to Japan's large financial investments in this region: mining of minerals (ore, coal) increased, agriculture and heavy industry developed faster.

Also Pu Yi was very friendly with the Japanese emperor Hirohito. For the meeting with him, Pu Yi visited Japan twice.

Soviet captivity

In 1945, the Red Army pushed back the Japanese troops from its eastern borders and entered Manchukuo. It was planned that Pu Yi would be sent urgently to Tokyo. However, in the Mukden landed Soviet troops, and Pu I was taken by plane to the USSR. He was tried for "war crimes" or, rather, because he was a puppet of the Japanese government.

Initially, the last emperor of China was in Chita, where he was charged and also taken into custody. From Chita, he was transported to Khabarovsk, where he was detained in a prison camp for high-ranking prisoners of war. There, Pu Yi had a small plot of land on which he could engage in gardening.

At the Tokyo trial, Pu Yi acted as a witness and testified against Japan. He did not want to return to China under any circumstances, so he seriously considered the possibility of moving to the United States or Britain. The Chinese aristocrat was afraid of a new Chinese government headed by Mao Zedong. He had money to move, because all the jewelry was left with him. In Chita Pu And even tried to pass through a Soviet intelligence officer a letter that was addressed to US President Gary Truman, but this did not happen.

Return to China

In 1950, the Soviet authorities gave Pu and China. There, the former emperor was tried for "war crimes". No indulgence for him, of course, was not provided. Pu Yi became an ordinary prisoner without any privileges. Nevertheless, he very calmly accepted all the hardships of prison life.

While in prison, Pu spent half the time working on the production of boxes for pencils, and the second - on the study of communist ideology on the basis of the works of K. Marx and V. Lenin. Together with other prisoners, Pu Yi participated in the construction of a prison stadium, a factory, and also actively landscaped the territory.

In prison, Pu Yi also experienced a separation from his third wife, Li Yuqin.

After nine years of imprisonment, Pu Yi was amnestied for his exemplary behavior and ideological re-education.

last years of life

Having freed himself, Pu And began to live in Beijing. He got a job at the Botanical Garden, where he was engaged in growing orchids. Here, interestingly, helped stay in the Soviet captivity, where Pu And too was close to the ground.

He no longer claimed anything and did not demand anything. He was polite, courteous, modest in communication.

The role of an ordinary Chinese citizen was not very upsetting Pu I. He engaged in what was close to his heart, and worked on his biography under the title "From the Emperor to the Citizen."

In 1961, Pu Yi joined the CCP and became an employee of the State Archives. At 58, he, in the appendage to the post in the archives, became a member of the political consultative council of the PRC.

At the end of his life, Pu Yi met his fourth (and last) wife, with whom he lived for the rest of his life. Her name was Li Shuaxian. She worked as a simple nurse and noble birth could not boast. Li was much younger than Pu Yi, in 1962 she was only 37 years old. But despite the serious age difference, the couple lived five happy years, until in 1967 Pu Yi died of liver cancer.

It is interesting that Li Shuaxian was the only Chinese wife of Pu I. For an immigrant from Manchuria, this, of course, is an unprecedented case.

Expenses for the funeral of Pu Yi took the CCP, thereby expressing respect to the last emperor of China. The body was cremated.

The children of Pu Yi did not have any of the four wives.

Li Shuaxian died in 1997, having survived her husband for thirty years.

Pu And in the cinema

The story of Pu I turned out to be so exciting that, based on her motives, the painting "The Last Emperor" was created. The film about the last emperor of China was shot by the Italian director Bernardo Bertolucci in 1987.

The filmmakers liked the story in which the last emperor of China was involved: the film received almost the maximum marks.

The picture was a huge success: she won an Oscar in nine nominations, a Golden Globe in four, as well as César, Félix and Grammy awards and an award from the Japanese Film Academy.

That's how the last emperor of China, a film about which was so successful, was immortalized in the art world.

Hobbies

From childhood, Pu Yi was fascinated by the surrounding world. He was attracted to watching animals, which he genuinely loved. Little Pu And loved to play with camels, look at how organized ants live, planted earthworms. Later, the passion for nature only became stronger when Pu Yi became an employee of the botanical garden.

The Meaning of an Example of Pu And in History

The example of Pu I is very typical for the historical process of the late XIX - early XX century. His empire, like a number of European ones, could not stand the test of the new time and could not respond to its actual challenges.

The last emperor of China, Pu Yi, whose biography was difficult and tragic, was in some way a hostage of history.

If China's economic situation is not so severe and internal hostility between dignitaries is so strong, it's possible that Pu and eventually could become the most European of Asian monarchs. However, it was different. Over time, Pu I quite well blended into the Communist Party and began to defend its interests.