The last emperor of China, Aisin-Gioro Puyi (1905~1967) was the eldest son of Prince Chun, who was half brother of the precedent ill-fated yet admirable Guangxu Emperor. Guangxu Emperor died at 37 in 1908 without leaving an issue to succeed the throne. The then Empress Dowager Cixi, Guangxu Emperor's aunt, who was also dying, appointed Puyi as the new 'Son of Heaven' , then immediately died afterwards. (It was found out by the end of last year that the Guangxu Emperor had been poisoned to death, the most suspicious assasinator being his aunt Cixi).
Puyi was only 3 years old when he left home for the unfathomable forbidden city. He grew up within those high pink walls without love from a mother or friendship among ordinary children and the eunuchs became his only companions. Manchu officials and court servants made every effort to prevent the young emperor from getting in touch with the outside world, so that Puyi was deceived to believe that he had always been the emperor of China even long after the fall of the Qing Dynasty in 1911( As the imperial family were still allowed to live in the Forbidden City after the bourgousie revolution, though lost all their power and glory), while in fact he was no more than a noble prisonner inside the decaying palace, worshipped by a group of people forgotten by that new age.
Puyi soon found out the truth as he grew older. He thus felt so rebellous towards his 'guardians' that he wanted to learn new things and change everything. He found himself a Scottish tutor, who would teach him English and western culture. Under the guidance of his tutor, Mr. Johnson, Puyi would also cut off his own pigtail and begin to wear spectacles for the sake of his eyes .
It was when Puyi decided to attend Oxford that the imperial family arranged a marriage for him. His empress was the 17-year-old Wan Rong, a pretty and intelligent manchu girl who had also received occidental education. A consort was also chosen, who was the 12-year-old Wen Xiu.
The fruit of the new republic was soon gripped by warlords and opportunists, who brought China back to wars and chaos. In 1924, the imperial family in the Forbidden City were finally expelled by another coup d'etat, that Puyi and his wives had to seek asylum in Tianjin.
Due to the omnipresent anti-manchu sentiment at that time, Puyi felt like an outsider of society once stepped out of the Forbidden City. As he was feeling frustrated, the vicious and insidious Japanese took their chance. The Japanese volunteerly offered to help Puyi, however, the condition was that Puyi must follow them to Manchuria (North East of China, hometown of manchus) and be the emperor of the state of 'Manchukuo' , which was actually a puppet state established by the Japanese after they occupied manchuria by invasion. Despite the constant persuasion from his wife Wan Rong and his father Prince Chun ( Wen Xiu had already divorced him by that time), Puyi was too naive to realize the real intent of the Japanese while too eager to be restored to emperor, so that he approved of this deal and went with the Japanese to manchuria in 1931. 'China has turned its back on me.' Was his last remark before leaving for 'Manchukuo'.
However, Puyi would soon realize that he was used only as a puppet by the Japanese. There were Japanese spies all around his court that even all details of his private life were penetrated . Meanwhile, Empress Wan Rong fell into depression due to the daily supervision by the Japanese and became addicted to opium. In order to bear an heir for Puyi, she commited adultery with his driver and was then pregnant. After she gave birth to a child, a Japanese doctor immediately killed it by an injection. Wan Rong went totally hysterical and was sent out of the palace by the Japanese, even Puyi was not allowed to fare her well.In the meantime, the Japanese troops commited unimaginable atrocities in China during the Second Sino-Japanese War which lasted from 1937 to 1945, including doing biochemical experiments on live human beings in manchuria, of which event Puyi must had known. However, due to his almost detestable frailty of nature, he signed all those papers presented by the Japanese with approvement. He must had felt the guilt and shame, however, he was too weak-minded to rebel and to sacrifice.
With the Japanese surrender in 1945, Puyi, along with his 'ministers' became war criminals and was transfered by the Soviet Red Army to the Chinese Communist army in 1950. To Puyi's surprise, the communists didn't kill him but only kept him in a labor camp to 'reform his thoughts' and were relatively kind to him. Puyi was finally released in 1959 and became a citizen of the PRC. In fact, unlike Louis XVI and Marie Antoinette or the last Russian Tsar, who were proved to be largely innocent, Puyi really had been guilty, yet he was kept alive by the communists. The fact was that he was used again by the Communist regime to show their 'generosity' at the beginning of their rule in China.
The last scene of the film can really inspire reflections. It was in 1967, at the time when the disastrous Cultural Revolution had broken out. Puyi was walking alongside a long group of red guards, who were raising a huge portrait of Mao above their heads, yelling in one voice to wish him live for 'ten thousand years'. On the other hand, the so-called 'counter-revolutionaries' were wearing heavy hats and being persecuted by the mob of guards. Puyi suddenly sighted his past-day guardian in labor camp among those being persecuted, so that he went to explain to the red guards that the man must be innocent. The red guards wouldn't listien to Puyi's words and asked him not to stand in their way. After seeing these last scenes, I cannot help but think ,' Was there really no emperor after Puyi? Do all atrocities and dictatorship necessarily extinguish with the fall of an empire ? Do rule of law and democracy necessarily flourish when the imperial regime has been overthrown? The answers are probably all negative.
'The Last Emperor' is overall a great film. It reached excellency in both picture and depth of thought. The latter part seems to me more natural than the former part in the Forbidden City, perhaps due to the fact that American producers were not familiar with what life was like really in the imperial palace, so that the Qing court part was made a little artificial.
I sympathize with Puyi, yet, it's a sympathy mixed with detest rather than partiality.(Which is so different from my sympathy towards his predecessor, Guangxu Emperor) I feel sorry for his lamentable life, which had been always in the hand of others. However, I can never forgive his betrayal to China when he had the chance to make a better choice.
I think Pu Yi's decision to take side on the japanese although was a wrong act; still not entirely irrational.
回复删除The chinese stupid republic had broken all link to Him and The Imperial system completely. They have declared that Monarhcy is a sin that have to be scraped away. Japan in other hand was and still is a Monarchy with a revered Emperor. So it is very rational if Pu Yi choosed to allied himself to Japan, afterall all contemporary chinese leaders and people had decided to hate him not because of what he is but simply because of who he is.
My greatest regrets arround these series of events are toward the real behaviour of the Japanese to Pu Yi and Chinese Empire that basically have insulted all monarchists - an irony because the Japanese themselves were monarchist. My other regret was why didn't Pu Yi just went to the British Embassy, like Johnston had recommended. Personaly I think Pu Yi will be better to live his days in UK rather in prc.