Xuantong Emperor of China
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Henry Pu Yi or
Aisin Gioro Puyi (愛新覺羅·溥儀 in
pinyin: ài xīn júe lúo · pǔ yí),
English name Henry Aisin-gioro, (
February 17,
1906 -
October 17,
1967) was the last
Emperor of
China. His
reign name,
Xuantong (宣統), means "The Proclamation of Unity"(?).
Chosen by
Cixi on her deathbed, Pu Yi and ascended to the throne at age 2 years 10 months in December
1908 following his uncle's death on
November 14. His father, Prince Zaifeng served as a
regent until
December 6,
1911 when Empress Dowager Longyu took over.
\nHe abdicated on
February 12,
1912 following the
Xinhai Revolution under a deal whereby Prime Minister
Yuan Shikai became president of the new
Republic and Puyi retained the title of emperor and the royal family continued to reside in the
Forbidden City. There he was taught the English language and chose the name "Henry" for himself, reputedly after King
Henry VIII of England. Zhang Xun restored his throne for twelve days from
July 1 1917 to
July 12. Puyi signed documents of forfeiting imperial status, hence becoming a Chinese citizen, when he was expelled in
1925 by
Feng Yuxiang.
On
March 1,
1931, he was installed by the Japanese as the emperor of the
puppet state of
Manchukuo under the
reign title Kangde. After
World War II, he was captured by the Russians and turned over to the
Chinese Communists. He spent ten years in a reeducation camp and was declared reformed and became a supporter of the Communists. Afterwards, he was made a member of the
National People's Congress. He wrote an
autobiography in the 1960s and died in
Beijing.
His life was portrayed in
Bernardo Bertolucci's
film The Last Emperor. Although the film contained some elements of dramatic license, it is considered to be a plausible portrayal of his life.
In both his autobiography and the film, Aixinjueluo is portrayed as a largely innocent pawn controlled by more powerful people. Some historians are skeptical about this account: Puyi had a strong interest in minimizing his own role in history, because any admission of active control would have led to his execution.
In
1962, he married for the fifth time to
Li Shuxian.
Puyi was 61 years old at the time of his passing. He was childless.
In
1995, his widow was allowed to transfer his ashes to the Western Qing Tombs, where five of the 10 Manchu rulers are interred. He is the only Chinese Emperor in history whose body was burned into ashes, and thus he has a nickname as "the Fire Dragon" after his death. For others, they are buried with their body in whole.
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External links
\n* Royalty.nu: Extended Bio\n*
TIME: Last Emperor's Humble Occupation\n*
The Last Emperor Pu Yi