"I got a new life, which is not just the rebirth of the body, but the rebirth of the soul. I got the joy of being a human being, which is not the joy of being any kind of human being, but the joy of being a Chinese citizen today. I have real fun in life, which is not the joy of life that can be found in any era and any region, but only in this country, this era can have fun in life."
The above sentences are hard to imagine that they are from an emperor, but this emperor has a miserable fate and is the last emperor in China, named Aisin Gioro Puyi .
He was an emperor, a puppet, and later became a prisoner, a war criminal, and finally a citizen.
During his eight years of being a commoner, he has caused many ridiculous anecdotes.
However, these eight years of ordinary life were the happiest time in his life. I tasted the feeling of being a free man, which was something he had never had in his past life.
Especially during the days of "going to the south of the Yangtze River", what you see and hear about visiting the beautiful rivers and mountains, Puyi gained a new feeling from it.
"Emperor Generals and Ministers Go to Jiangnan"
On November 10, 1963, Premier Zhou Enlai met and invited the first four batches of amnesty of war criminals and their families at the Fujian Hall of the Great Hall of the People of , including Puyi.
announced good news to everyone during the meal: when flowers bloom next spring, all amnesty personnel in Beijing can bring their families to the southeast and northwest of the motherland for a tour.
Premier Zhou also repeatedly reminded the Central United Front Work Department and relevant personnel of the CPPCC to make good arrangements and not make them too nervous and feel restrained.
On February 29th next year, the CPPCC held another meeting. After full and heated discussion, the route to the south was determined:
stayed in Nanjing and Shanghai along the Beijing-Shanghai line , then turned to the Zhejiang-Jiangxi line to Hangzhou, Jinggangshan , and finally transferred to Beijing-Guangzhou line , passing Shaoshan , and returning to Beijing in Wuhan.
As for the cost of the journey, individuals only took out 0.5 yuan from their own pockets, and the rest were all given public subsidies, and family members were allowed to be brought, which made Puyi overjoyed.
At that time, Puyi had just been married for a few years, and he could take this opportunity to make up for his wife's honeymoon trip.
It should be said that Jiangnan was quite attractive to Puyi. Among Puyi's ancestors, there was the talented and wise Kangxi Six times to Jiangnan, not only to travel around, but also to govern the country and prevent troubles.
Puyi was naturally very envious of his ancestors' behavior and wanted to recreate the grand occasion of the Kangxi Dynasty, but this has been gone.
Puyi must seize this once-in-a-lifetime opportunity.
and Puyi are also famous figures, such as Puyi's younger brother "Prince" Pujie, who commanded the Huaihai Battle , Du Yuming , famous Kuomintang generals Liao Yaoxiang , Wang Yaowu , etc.
Shen Zui said jokingly: "Although the CPPCC asked us to visit the group for cultural and historical specialists, it looked more like the 'Emperor General' visit group. "
The train taken by the tour group arrived at Pukou Station on the morning of March 11, 1964. After a short rest, I started visiting Nanjing the next day.
Puyi always followed the commentator closely during the tour, asking questions endlessly. In the eyes of ordinary people, it seems very funny.
was with Puyi at the time, and everything was remembered in his heart. Shen Zui recalled: "It was the first time Puyi went to Jiangnan. He felt strange when he saw everything. In order to add happiness and pleasant atmosphere, everyone gave him a nickname 'Ask for everything'."
When visiting Nanjing Friendship Clothing Factory, Puyi and his wife Li Shuxian came to the most lively street in Nanjing - Confucius Temple.
Confucius Temple was originally a "holy place" commemorating Confucius , but it was also a dirty place where singers, prostitutes, hooligans and gambling sticks gathered in the old society.
Puyi and his wife bought some souvenirs on this street. When they walked back along the gravel paved road, Puyi whispered to themselves: The business woman does not know the hatred of the country of destruction, and she still sings the back garden flowers across the river.
suddenly turned around and said to his wife: "It's okay, I'm afraid that this situation will never happen again now."
The last day of staying in Nanjing, Puyi, Shen Zui and others first went to visit Yuhuatai Martyrs Cemetery .
During the Kuomintang's rule, a large number of progressive people and Communist Party members were massacred here.
Puyi was in a state of grief when he thought of the Nanjing Massacre and the countless tragedies committed by Japanese fascists in the Northeast, and stopped under the martyrs' monument to observe silence.
In the afternoon, Puyi visited the Presidential Palace during the Republic of China period, thinking in his mind that the Presidential Palace should be as majestic as Forbidden City , after all, it is the center of power of a country.
Who knew that as soon as you walked into the presidential palace, you found that the difference between you and your fantasy was 108,000 miles away.
From the gate of the Presidential Palace to the main room is quite deep. Chiang Kai-shek's office is in the innermost part, not huge, but a bit narrow. The outer room is a reception room of only six or seven square meters.
decoration is not considered prosperous and exquisite. A wooden red office desk, a classic and quaint Taishi chair, a small coffee table with tea sets, and a sofa that has become a bit old and yellow, decorates the room.
Puyi's wife Li Shuxian was not well-educated and asked Puyi with confusion: "Is the houses of conspirators so small, which are convenient for planning conspiracies and preventing conspiracies."
Puyi replied in a low voice:
"I don't know this either. I thought Chiang Kai-shek's office should be magnificent and huge space. Not to mention competing with the Hall of Supreme Harmony in the Forbidden City, even the imperial palace in Shenyang, Northeast China cannot be compared. It turns out that it is just a place that is as big as a palm."
This statement happened to be heard by the specialists who were traveling with them. They looked at each other and then laughed.
Shen Zui smiled and said to Puyi: "The president is a product of the new era. The office is not his personal property of Chiang Kai-shek. Naturally, it cannot be compared with the ancient emperors, so there is no need to build the Hall of He Taihe and the Hall of Harmony in as huge as that of the great."
Puyi immediately understood and said: "It's right, Chiang Kai-shek killed tens of thousands of compatriots, and Chiang Kai-shek and I are the same reactionary rulers. He ruled most of China, and I am a puppet emperor in the Northeast. Now that the presidential palace has also returned to the hands of the people, it is natural to do it."
Then, Li Shuxian was on the single sofa in the reception room, and Puyi was sitting on the armrest of the sofa, and the couple took a photo together. After
, Puyi attended the camellia party again and watched tin drama at the World Theater. Puyi ended his trip to Nanjing with Gao Xin's company.
"The king often makes jokes"
Puyi not only spoke shocking words when visiting Nanjing, but also often spoke in other parts of the country.
Puyi was born in Beijing and grew up in Beijing. Taking a walk is one of his daily hobbies.
Puyi naturally has a unique nostalgia in his heart for his home, the Forbidden City.
Since 1924, Puyi was expelled from the Forbidden City, he has never been to this place again.
After the pardon, Puyi often visited the Forbidden City with Du Yuming, Shen Zui and others.
It is said that for the first time, Puyi and Shen Zui came to the gate of the Forbidden City. When Shen Zui went to buy tickets for the Forbidden City, Puyi blurted out without thinking: "I'm coming to the Forbidden City, and I still want to sell tickets?"
Du Yuming, who was standing beside him, quickly explained: "Now the Forbidden City is open to the public and has become a tourist attraction for the people. It is no longer your home when you were a child."
Puyi then suddenly realized that after entering the Forbidden City, Puyi turned into a senior tour guide as if he had changed his name, and introduced it to Shen Zui and Du Yuming endlessly.
includes the purpose of each building, strange and strange events that occur in the year and month of construction, etc.
Shen Zui later wrote in his memoir:
"When I went to the Forbidden City with him, he could close his eyes and point out where the east, west, south and north were. Once, Puyi pointed to a big copper crane and said that a sunken place on the crane was shot by Emperor Qianlong with an arrow. However, this may have been fabricated by the eunuchs around him when Puyi was a child to make it up to make him play with."
In order to write "My First Half of Life", Puyi and the editor of the publishing house came to the Forbidden City.
Puyi pointed to a pair of unicorns and said: "It is called 正正. This animal can distinguish right from wrong. Once the emperor handles the problem unfairly, it will use the unicorn on his head to beat the emperor."
In this colleague, Puyi also corrected two errors in the palace of Guangxu : one is the position of the emperor's sword, and the other is to mistake the photo of the Regent Zaifeng for Emperor Guangxu.
At first, the staff insisted that the photo was correct. Puyi said: "I think I know what my dad looks like."
Jingshan not far behind the Forbidden City. When Puyi and Shen Zui came here, they saw the old crooked tree hanging on Chongzhen . They didn't say a word for a long time, and just stood there blankly. Shen Zui, who was next to
, asked him what he thought. Puyi said: "Most of the last emperors of various dynasties in Chinese history have no good ending. I heard from the eunuch that before Emperor Chongzhen committed suicide, he killed his wife and children first, and advised them not to be born in the imperial family in the next life."
After saying that, he shook the dust on his clothes, touched his head, put on his hat, and then said with a smile: "I, the last emperor, have gotten a good ending, and it is still worth celebrating."
Why is the reason
that Puyi often says something shocking and his acquired environment is inseparable.
Puyi has never had the care of his father and mother since childhood. He entered the palace at the age of 3 and left the palace at the age of 19. He lived in the courtyard of the deep palace for 16 years.
These years are the best time in a person's youth, but Puyi is like a bird locked in a cage, unable to see the outside world, and has become a victim of power.
Moreover, Puyi has almost no ability to take care of himself, is not diligent in four bodies, and does not distinguish between grains, completely losing the human animal attributes! I can't wash my own clothes, and I have to wash a piece of dirty clothes for several days.
During his time in prison, he was assigned labor tasks and asked him to go to the garden to weed. It was logically a very easy job, but he dug out the flowers.
The buttons on the clothes are always unbuttoned, and he still can't learn it after teaching him several times. When traveling with
and Shen Zui, Shen Zui always had to beware of him not being able to keep up with the army, worried that he would go the wrong way.
While the animal attributes are completely lost, the social attributes are pitifully few.
To put it bluntly, Puyi was a body without consciousness, soul, and thoughts before labor reform.
There is another possibility, that is, he feels in his heart that he is still the emperor's fantasy and still lives in the fantasy of the emperor.
Naturally, someone comes to serve him. He belongs to the top and is the highest-ranking person. He does not want to waste his time doing those trivial things.
Even if it is something that can be practiced by oneself, Puyi will not do it. Once he does the same thing as the common people, his noble status will disappear.
This is undoubtedly the cause of the emperor's thoughts, but what Puyi did not realize is that while he was promoting his identity, he also became a slave to his identity and lost his freedom.
Even after the special amnesty and labor reform, Puyi still had the shadow of these thoughts in his life.
But to be honest, in the last eight years of Puyi's life, Puyi's appearance and heart have changed a lot, and he has completed a return of kindness.
In daily life, he is willing to do some housework for his wife Li Shuxian.
The day after getting married, Puyi toughly asked Li Shuxian to sit on the sofa, then locked the kitchen door , rewatched it, and brought out a fragrant pancake.
Li Shuxian took a bite and said, "It's really good, why don't you eat it?"
At this time, Puyi confessed: "This is the third picture, the first one, it's a little toothy, and the second picture is a bit toothy, so I didn't dare to take it out. I'm afraid you will laugh at me, so I ate it all."
Evaluation of Puyi's life, the Italian director Bertoruc, who filmed "The Last Emperor", was very appropriate in accepting the French " Humanitarian News ".
He said: I first regard this as a moral story, a historical, and a political fable. At first I felt that the life of the Qing Dynasty's palace was a shocking decline and corruption. But when the story gradually turned bright, it entered the part that fascinated me. Puyi's transformation and transformation, Puyi completed the redemption of life.
At the end of the video, Puyi became a free person for the first time in his life, freely riding a bicycle and freely buying cloth shoes. Walking out of the dim palace, running towards the bright morning, completing a new life, and becoming a citizen of the new era. I feel sincerely happy for him.
Reference materials:
"The Extraordinary Life of the Last Emperor" Jia Yinghua
"Puyi's Second Half of Life" Wang Qingxiang
"Puyi's Way Out in China" Wang Qingxiang
