Puyi As the ruler of the last feudal dynasty in China, The Imperial Jade Seal is a symbol of his rights, but no one knew at that time, where the Imperial Jade Seal went after Puyi was kicked out of the palace, until Chairman Mao asked about it when he invited Puyi to dinner in 1962. So where did this imperial seal go? What happened then?
The last emperor Puyi
Looking at Puyi's life, when he became an adult, his choice was indeed wrong, but for most of the first half of his life, despite having the most noble title in the world, this emperor always had no choice.
In the winter of 1905, the Qing Dynasty, which entered the Central Plains at its peak, had reached its end, but its rulers did not seem to think so. In this year, Empress Dowager Cixi, who had fought with Emperor Guangxu for most of her life, finally ended the emperor's life. It was from this moment that Puyi, who was only three years old, ushered in his ill-fated life.
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At the age of three, just as his peers were still snuggling in the arms of his parents and enjoying the warmth, Puyi had already shouldered the burden of a country on his shoulders. The ignorant child sat on the large dragon throne. He couldn't even understand what the court officials below were talking about. He could only watch his biological father saluting him among these ministers with different thoughts. What's even more terrifying is that Empress Dowager Cixi, who could have been "relying on" him, passed away soon after.
What will happen next is not difficult to guess at when children who are still unaware of human affairs, corrupt dynasties inside, and warlords waiting for opportunities everywhere. The slogan of "overthrowing the feudal ruling dynasty" resounded throughout the country. The only remaining "his own people" chose to betray him. Puyi, who had been emperor for three years, was kicked off the throne without any defense. The subsequent struggle seemed to have nothing to do with him. He was like a canary "cared in captivity" in the palace. Without any resistance, he was labeled as a shame.
However, the peaceful "captive" life did not last for too long. With the failure of Yuan Shikai , powerful warlords rushed into Forbidden City . Under the instruction of Feng Yuxiang , Puyi lost the only place to stay. He hurriedly cleaned up the fine and soft spots, and he didn't even know where he should go. The warlords chased him and the people didn't like him. There seemed to be no place in the world that could tolerate him.
The sinister and cunning Japanese people threw an olive branch to him at this time. They took him in, expressing their sympathy and love for him all the time, promising to him to restore his identity, and even publicizing the remarks of understanding him among the people. This method is actually useful to anyone who has just experienced ups and downs, let alone a young man who has no credible people around him.
The big mistake was made at this time. Under the lobbying of the Japanese, Puyi's ambition to "restorate" continued to expand, and finally, with the support of the Japanese, the puppet Manchukuo government was established. But obviously, from the beginning to the end, the Japanese helped Puyi under the mask of ugly. Puyi, who became the puppet Manchukuo emperor, completely became a puppet weapon for the Japanese to conquer China and sign various conspiracy and legalization documents.
Going to
After the war, we all know the ending of this conspiracy in Japan. After that, Puyi finally realized his mistake and received the punishment he deserved. Because the Soviet Union declared war on Japan , the puppet Manchukuo regime established by Japan was also destroyed. Puyi, who fled in a hurry, was captured by Soviet soldiers and was then taken back to the Soviet prisoner-of-war camp. Although he was in a prisoner of war camp, Puyi's treatment was actually different from other prisoners of war.
As the former emperor of China, the Soviet Union gave Puyi a lot of preferential treatment during his imprisonment. Perhaps in order to make up for the mistakes he made during the war, Puyi also went to the Far East Military Court of during the Soviet imprisonment to correct Japan's cruel atrocities in China and contributed to the punishment that Japan deserved. But even so, Puyi still maintained a skeptical attitude towards returning to China. He even asked to join the Communist Party of the Soviet Union and stay in the Soviet Union.
Of course, in the end, the Soviet Union rejected his request, and Puyi returned to China and was sent to the prisoner-of-war camp in Fushun . During the three years spent in Fushun War Criminals Management Office, Puyi’s attitude towards transformation was very serious. When he was resting, he would visit various parts of the Northeast and concentrate on writing his autobiography for the first half of his life. At this time, he had no pampered emperor's aura at all. He could often see his hard-working figure in various occasions in the transformation camp.
In fact, when Puyi first returned to China, our country had some concerns about how to deal with the emperors in this feudal era. His identity prevents us from executing him easily, and his actions prevent us from letting him go. In the end, Chairman Mao proposed a solution, "it can only be gradual transformation, not simply executed."
is also Chairman Mao’s proposal. In September 1959, the ninth meeting of the Standing Committee of the Second National People’s Congress passed the decision on amnesty, which has indeed changed the evil and the good criminals. When he first heard this news, all the war criminals were expecting it, but Puyi didn't care about it. Because in his concept, he was a sinner of New China, and the transformation in just three years was not enough to allow him to get a pardon. However, what he did not expect was that Chairman Mao mentioned him in the first list of amnesty. It was from then on that time that this person who had been in control for most of his life had gained true freedom.
In addition to pardoning him, the country also took into account Puyi's life problems after he was released from prison and specially arranged for him to work as a gardener in Beijing Botanical Garden . However, although Puyi spent most of his life as an "emperor", he was not a boast of all his knowledge. Four years after he was released from prison, he became a data specialist of the National Committee of the Chinese People's Political Consultative Conference's Literature and History Material Research Committee, and also served as a member of the Fourth National Committee of the Chinese People's Political Consultative Conference. Later, under the support of the central leaders, he married a local nurse. It can be said that after being released from prison, Puyi truly lived a dull and happy life that ordinary people should have.
Meeting with Chairman Mao
But what few people know is that after Puyi was released from prison, he had a meeting with Chairman Mao. To be more precise, Chairman Mao invited Puyi to a banquet and had a lunch together. When Puyi knew that Chairman Mao was going to see him, he was actually nervous. In his opinion, Chairman Mao had a lot of trouble every day and there was no need to meet him on purpose. At the same time, he was worried that the mistake he had made would be brought up by Chairman Mao again, so he was uneasy along the way to meet Chairman Mao.
But obviously, Chairman Mao did not pursue his ideas anymore. At that time, there were actually 24 people who met with Puyi with Chairman Mao. Zhang Shizhao, Cheng Qian, , Qiu Ao and Wang Jifan . Chairman Mao also joked that Puyi was everyone's "instant boss". I have to say that Chairman Mao is indeed very emotionally literate, and such a joke quickly alleviated the tense environment. Puyi also sat down at the dining table with several people.
This meal was extremely harmonious under Chairman Mao’s host. During this period, Chairman Mao kept talking to Puyi about his current living conditions, reminded him to apply to his superiors if he had difficulties, and picked up food for him many times and introduced the Hunan cuisine on the table. Puyi also slowly relaxed in such an atmosphere. But at this moment, the object taken out of Chairman Mao’s hand made Puyi tense again.
The square thing in Chairman Mao’s hand looks like an jade seal . However, the difference is that this "jade seal" is made of brass, and the bottom is in the imitation Song font engraved with the words "Seal of the Central People's Government of the People's Republic of China". It turns out that this is the national seal of the new China. While handing the jade seal to the people present to watch, Chairman Mao patiently explained the reason for the national seal in this way.
"Where did your imperial seal go at that time?" Just as Puyi was carefully observing the seal, Chairman Mao suddenly asked such a sentence with a smile. This was actually just a casual question from Chairman Mao. Unexpectedly, Puyi was facing a great enemy at this moment. He did not understand the meaning of Chairman Mao's question, and was very afraid that his answer would be incorrect and would provoke several leaders present.
After a while, he had to flatter him that his imperial seal was just an old thing, and that the imperial seal in Chairman Mao’s hand was the real treasure. Hearing his answer, Chairman Mao knew that he had misunderstood his meaning, so he laughed and patted Puyi on the shoulder and told him that although the imperial seal was a symbol of power in the old era and now it is New China, this meaning also dissipated. However, the value of the jade seal itself cannot be denied. It has been passed down for thousands of years and is a real cultural product of our country.
This made Puyi even more confused. Because he was very in a hurry when he was driven out of the Forbidden City by Feng Yuxiang's subordinates, he couldn't even take away much of his own fine and soft treasures, let alone a jade seal that had lost its meaning. I originally thought that Feng Yuxiang should have taken the jade seal, but I didn't expect that Feng Yuxiang would almost turn the palace upside down and could not find the jade seal. Both sides thought that the other party had taken the imperial seal, and this misunderstanding has been misunderstood until today. I thought no one would think of it anymore, but no one expected it to be mentioned suddenly by Chairman Mao.
There was no way, so Puyi had to admit his mistake again, thinking that he was "deserving death to death if he lost the jade seal." But after hearing his explanation, Chairman Mao just smiled slightly and comforted him, "It's going to rain and mother wants to get married. If you lose it, just lose it. There is nothing you can do about it. Back then, you lost your country, let alone a piece of jade?"
The meal ended in peace with the two leaders of the old and new worlds. Chairman Mao and Puyi took a photo together before leaving. Later, this photo followed Puyi and was placed by him on the head of the bed. For him, whether it was the Qing government before his teenage years or the puppet Manchukuo government, it only restricted his life under the banner of glamorousness. Only the Communist Party allowed him to truly liberate, rather than ever becoming a puppet controlled by others.
This is also the last time Puyi met Chairman Mao. Five years later, due to physical reasons, Puyi left the world. It is said that until the last moment, he was still reminding people around him to remember the goodness of the Communist Party of China and to remember to be grateful. The last emperor's bumpy life came to an end here. Although it was a pity that the imperial seal could not be found, we all know that the legendary jade seal that could "protect the national destiny" is now just a piece of jade of age.
