From being pushed to the throne of the emperor when he was young to becoming an ordinary citizen of New China in his later years, Puyi was only 61 years old. Perhaps 61 years passed by in a blink of an eye in the long history, but for him, these 61 years were The year is filled w

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Puyi was the last emperor of China's feudal dynasty. His life was extremely ups and downs.

From being pushed to the throne of the emperor when he was young, to becoming an ordinary citizen of New China in his later years, Puyi was only 61 years old in his life. Perhaps 61 years passed by in a blink of an eye in the long history, but for him, this was The past 61 years have been filled with too much depression, bitterness and helplessness.

Puyi

Puyi in his later years can be said to be a good friend of Chairman Mao. At a dinner, Chairman Mao had a great conversation with Pu Yi, and later decided to give his two thousand yuan royalties to Pu Yi.

After accepting the money, Puyi immediately wrote a poem: " I am glad to be reborn in the spring rain, and it is difficult to use up the party's great kindness."

Today, the editor will take you to re-examine Puyi's life. It is of great significance to revisit that time. dinner party.

Puyi's life

Aixinjueluo - Puyi was born in the Forbidden City in Beijing in 1906. He was the eldest son of the regent Zaifeng . Due to the Reform Movement of 1898, Empress Dowager Cixi put Emperor Guangxu under house arrest in Yingtai. In addition, Emperor Guangxu had no son. The relationship between Cixi and Guangxu fell to a freezing point, and she even wanted to depose Emperor Guangxu for a time.

Cixi

As the Empress Dowager grew older, she also realized that her time was short, and it happened to be the thirty-fourth year of Guangxu. Emperor Guangxu's condition gradually worsened, The confirmation of the next emperor of the Qing Dynasty It must be put on the agenda.

Among the many royal descendants, Cixi took a fancy to Puyi, the son of Prince Zaifeng at that time. He immediately ordered Puyi to live in the palace, and the implication goes without saying much.

Zaifeng returned home with the imperial edict. Puyi's mother burst into tears after learning the news. At that time, the Qing dynasty was suffering from internal and external troubles, and its strength was exhausted. At this time, the Dragon Throne was like a needle felt. After all, no last emperor could die a good death.

In the end, Puyi was taken away by the eunuchs crying and making noise, and he entered the palace together with wet nurse Wang Jiaoshi . On November 14, Emperor Guangxu passed away, and the next day, Empress Dowager Cixi also died of illness. Before leaving, Puyi was promoted to the throne, and Empress Dowager Longyu and Zaifeng were regents.

Yuan Shikai

In the third year after Puyi ascended the throne, the Wuchang Uprising broke out. Since the Beiyang Army was controlled by Yuan Shikai, in order to obtain the position of president, Yuan Shikai coerced and lured Puyi and forced him to abdicate. Finally, on February 12, 1912, Empress Dowager Longyu issued the "Abdication Edict" and Puyi abdicated.

However, the royal family had an appointment with Yuan Shikai first. Puyi received preferential treatment after abdicating the throne. The royal family still lived in the Forbidden City and still used the title of emperor. In addition, it provided an annual fee of 4 million silver dollars. This is also the famous " Xunqing small court ".

In the eighth year of the Republic of China, Zhuang Shidun, an officer of the British Empire , came to the Forbidden City in Beijing to serve as Puyi's imperial advisor. Unlike the previous domestic imperial teachers, Zhuang Shidun would not teach Puyi "The Analects of Confucius" and "Spring and Autumn" and other traditional Chinese studies. Instead, he began to teach Puyi English, mathematics, world history, geography, etc.

Zhuang Shidun

This opened the eyes of Puyi, who had never left the Forbidden City in his life, and he began to accept Western culture and cut off his braids. Puyi was also eager to get out of the palace and see the outside world at this time, and even thought about studying abroad, which aroused opposition from conservatives in the palace.

He secretly formulated an escape plan with Pujie and Zhuang Shidun, but was discovered, and Zhuang Shidun was fired. 's biological mother Youlan was also implicated and was forced to commit suicide by taking poison. As an emperor, he could not protect his mother, which shocked Puyi very much.

After that, Puyi met his first lover, Wanrong . Daily life is just reading, painting, and composing poems, and I live a fairly stable life. Until November 5, 1922, the tranquility of the Forbidden City was completely broken.

Puyi and Wanrong were photographed together in their youth.

It was the second Zhili-Fengtian War. Feng Yuxiang, commander-in-chief of the Third Army of the Zhili Army, returned to Beijing and placed Cao Kun under house arrest, which led to the downfall of Wu Peifu. But Feng Yuxiang found that he was surrounded by the old forces and it was difficult for the revolution to make progress, so he sent his capable general Lu Zhonglin into the Forbidden City and drove away Puyi. This is the famous " Beijing coup ".

The homeless Puyi was taken in by the Japanese embassy and became a plaything in the hands of the Japanese.

With the outbreak of September 18th , Japan occupied Northeast China and established the Puppet Manchukuo, with its capital in Changchun, Jilin today. Puyi, who had experienced countless grievances, colluded with the Japanese in order to realize the dream of restoring the Qing Dynasty. With the help of the Japanese, he became the emperor of the puppet Manchukuo .

Puyi

In fact, this emperor is just a puppet emperor just like he was in the Forbidden City. Even Manchukuo is just a puppet regime created by the Japanese to split China. He has no substantive rights here. During this period, he also witnessed his lover Wanrong being driven crazy, but he was unable to do anything about it.

In 1945, under the siege of the Soviet Red Army, the Japanese Kwantung Army was completely wiped out, and Japan subsequently surrendered. Puyi once again became a fallen leaf, swaying in the wind. He was imprisoned in the Soviet Union and attended the International Court of Justice's trial against Japan in 1946 as a witness.

On July 30, 1950, Puyi was extradited back to China. As an accomplice of the Japanese to split China, Puyi was imprisoned in Fushun War Criminals Management Center. It was not until 1959 that the ninth meeting of the Standing Committee of the Second National People's Congress pardoned Puyi at the suggestion of Mao Zedong.

Pu Yi and his wife Li Shuxian

After being pardoned, Puyi was arranged to work in the Botanical Garden of the Institute of Botany, Chinese Academy of Sciences, responsible for watering plants and doing hygiene. In 1962, he married Li Shuxian, a hospital nurse. Under Li Shuxian's guidance, Puyi learned how to live as an ordinary person.

In 1967, Puyi died in Beijing due to uremia. His ashes were placed in the Babaoshan Revolutionary Cemetery. Later, his wife Li Shuxian moved the ashes to the Qingxi Mausoleum.

Puyi once had dinner with Chairman Mao

During the Spring Festival of 1962, the great leader Chairman Mao privately hosted Zhang Shizhao, Cheng Qian, Qiu Ao, and Wang Xiaofan for dinner at the Yi Niantang.

Chairman Mao

After the four of them arrived, Chairman Mao said to everyone with a smile: "Actually, I have invited a guest today. You have to accompany this guest for me."

Everyone looked at each other, guessing what was going on. The identity of the guest.

"He is your immediate boss." Chairman Mao said with a smile again.

Just when everyone was having fun speculating about this mysterious figure, a tall, lean man walked into the room. He looked to be in his fifties. The man is full of energy. Although he is thin, his steps are powerful.

"This is my important guest today, Mr. Puyi." Everyone's jaws suddenly dropped.

"Isn't Emperor Xuantong your immediate superior?" Looking at the shocked faces of everyone, Chairman Mao joked again.

Zhang Shizhao

saw the true appearance of the emperor back then, and the four of them were deeply moved. Especially Zhang Shizhao. When he was the editor-in-chief of " Su Bao ", he once scolded Puyi to the point of being bloody.

At that time, the country was in a period of economic downturn. There were no delicacies on the table, only a few dishes of side dishes with characteristics of Chairman Mao’s hometown in Hunan, plus steamed buns and rice, and a bottle of wine.

Since Hunan cuisine is basically spicy, Puyi was sweating profusely from the spicy food after just a few bites. Seeing this, Chairman Mao smiled and asked Puyi: "We Hunan people love spicy food. How does it taste? Is it not bad?"

Puyi was so spicy that he responded hurriedly: "Not bad, not bad!"

Chairman Mao met Puyi in his later years

Chairman Mao then ridiculed again, pointing at Qiu Ao and Cheng Qian, and said to Puyi: "Their side is the spiciest. Those who are restless and self-defeating should be your subjects and rise up to rebel against you. When the Revolution of 1911 breaks out, I, the emperor, will be kicked out of office." This sentence immediately made everyone laugh.

In fact, Chairman Mao hosted Puyi's banquet this time to resolve Puyi's inner knot. Three of the four people present at the time had participated in the Alliance and all contributed to the overthrow of the Qing Dynasty. Essentially, this is a reconciliation.

In the laughter, everyone started talking about the emperor's marriage and starting a family. "As an emperor, you must be careful when marrying a wife." Chairman Mao joked again.

Puyi

Chairman Mao frequently used the word "emperor" to make a fuss, which was also guiding Puyi to take everything lightly, laugh at the injustices and ups and downs he had encountered, and be a good ordinary citizen of the Republic.

In just a few jokes, Puyi's heart was completely opened. In the days that followed, Puyi put down the burden in his heart, faced life positively, married a wife and started a family, worked seriously, and completely became an ordinary citizen of New China.

In 1964, Puyi, who became a member of the Chinese People's Political Consultative Conference , stood on the stage excitedly and said to everyone:

"I have been emperor four times in my life. The first time was to inherit the position of Emperor Guangxu and become Emperor Xuantong; the second time was Zhang Xun restored and made me the emperor for 12 days; for the third time, I was seduced by the Japanese and went to the Northeast to become the puppet emperor of Manchukuo; this time I was still the emperor, but my status was equal to everyone else , I have now become the collective emperor of the people.”

Puyi

It is not difficult to see that Puyi has gained a new life and has enough courage to face the once miserable life.

Puyi once received two thousand yuan from Chairman Mao

Initially, when Puyi worked in the Botanical Garden, he could only receive a salary of 180 yuan per month. For ordinary people, it was indeed enough, but for the former emperor Saying that is obviously not enough.

Because he was used to living a pampered life in the palace, Puyi suddenly became an ordinary citizen. Puyi was extremely unaccustomed to it. He had not yet adapted to how to live as an ordinary person. In his eyes, there is no concept of money. After all, he has never used money.

Puyi and his wife Li Shuxian

For example, Puyi loved eating palace pastries when he was a child. This was a very luxury thing when the People's Republic of China was founded. After receiving his first salary, Puyi bought a lot of his favorite pastries. Before meeting nurse Li Shuxian, Puyi was almost a moonlight clan.

The people around Puyi gradually left, but Chairman Mao still remembered him. When he learned that Puyi's life was in difficulty, Chairman Mao once sent Puyi his 2,000 yuan royalties .

At that time, everyone expressed their confusion and believed that Chairman Mao had no obligation to help Puyi. Pardoning him is already the greatest tolerance for him.

Chairman Mao faced everyone's confusion and just smiled and said: "He is the emperor. ."

Puyi

The person who went to give money to Puyi was Zhang Shizhao who scolded him back then. Seeing the chairman's care for him, Puyi was excited When he burst into tears, he immediately wrote a poem: " I am glad to be reborn in the spring rain, and it is difficult to fully use the Party's great kindness. "

In addition, Puyi's uncle Zaitao also lives in poverty, and he also receives received a sum of money from Chairman Mao.

2,000 yuan, which was already a huge sum of money in the early days of the founding of the People's Republic of China. This shows how broad-minded Chairman Mao is.

Chairman Mao did not regret what Puyi did to China back then, but instead paid him meticulous care.She even helped him solve a series of life problems, including arranging a marriage between Li Shuxian and him.

Puyi

Facing Chairman Mao’s meticulous care, Puyi became more determined to follow the party. Even before he died, he held the hand of his wife Li Shuxian and said: "The Communist Party gave me a second life, but I did not contribute anything to the people. I am sorry to the party and Chairman Mao."

Comments on Puyi's life

Puyi It can be said that he is a victim of politics. Ever since he was born, he has been involved in the political whirlpool. Although he is the emperor, he has never held actual power. For the first half of my life, I have been a puppet at the mercy of others. In the long river of history, he is like a leaf blowing in the wind.

By cutting his hair and accepting advanced Western culture, we can see that Puyi was actually an enlightened emperor. Be willing to accept advanced Western things. This is much stronger than the die-hards of the Qing Dynasty, and even much stronger than his ancestors such as Qianlong and other emperors.

However, in his middle age, for the restoration of the Qing Dynasty, he believed too much in the Japanese, which made him very naive in politics. But from another perspective, he was an ambitious emperor. As the last emperor, he did not choose to sink, but wanted to use all means to restore the glory of the Qing Dynasty.

I really want to be like my ancestors Kangxi , but I was born at the wrong time. In the decades after the fall of the Qing Dynasty, that period of history was not like the previous dynasties. When the previous dynasty dies, a new stable regime will take its place immediately.

After the Revolution of 1911, China entered a 20-year warlord stage. This period of history is extremely dark. The political forces in China are complicated. In addition, in 1931, Japan invaded the three northeastern provinces of . It is reasonable for Puyi, who had no political experience, to be taken advantage of by the Japanese.

Some people think that Puyi was a tragic figure who experienced ups and downs in his short life. But I don't think so. I think Puyi is a lucky man. Looking back at the last emperors in Chinese history, Zhu Youjian, Zhao Bing, Yang Guang, which one did not die an unexpected death.

Chairman Mao's generosity towards Puyi is an important reason why Puyi died a good death. It is precisely because of this structure that the Communist Party was able to replace the Qing government and the National Government and secure China's power.

In the famous movie "The Last Emperor", there is a scene at the end that I think is particularly good and thought-provoking. The old Puyi used his salary to buy a ticket to the Forbidden City. This is the first time he has returned to the Forbidden City since the coup in Beijing. The Forbidden City is still the Forbidden City, but its identity has changed.

Stills from the movie "The Last Emperor"

When he saw his dragon chair, Puyi fell into deep thought. Unexpectedly, his meditation was interrupted by the son of the manager of the Forbidden City Museum, "Who are you? Why are you here?" Puyi smiled and said, "I am the former emperor and the owner of the Forbidden City." The child did not believe it, so Puyi followed the dragon. He took out a jar with crickets from behind the chair and gave it to the child.

The child opened the jar and the cricket crawled out. When he looked up again, Puyi had disappeared.

The child opened the lid, which symbolized that the cage that had trapped Puyi his whole life was finally opened and he was reborn. That cricket was a hint to him that he had broken free from the feudal thoughts that had restricted his life and regained his freedom.

The disappearance of Puyi in the end means that the emperor who represented feudal society has disappeared, and that dark era has also disappeared. Instead, there is an ordinary citizen of the People's Republic of China , a collective emperor of the people.