The early 20th century marked a period of global upheaval, with industrialization, political unrest, and colonial expansion reshaping nations and toppling monarchies. Amidst this transformation, within the scarlet walls of China's Forbidden City, the final chapter of the Qing dynasty unfolded for Emperor Puyi.
Puyi's life was an extraordinary trajectory from being the most powerful child in the world to a gardener near the very palace he once occupied. His story, the subject of sinologist and author Paul French's new biography, details his reign from his accession in 1908 at the age of two until his expulsion from the Forbidden City in 1924.
Born into a Manchu noble family in 1906, Puyi was named successor by the Dowager Empress Cixi, a ruler known for her ruthlessness. Thrust onto the throne as a toddler, he was told he was the link between heaven and earth. His coronation, he later recalled, was met with the screams and tears of a child.
China's political landscape was in flux. The 1911 revolution established the nation as a republic, a change accepted even by the imperial family. Dr. Sun Yat-sen, the statesman behind the new China, believed that preserving a semblance of the past and avoiding the execution of a child emperor would serve China better. This decision allowed Puyi's family to retain a gilded existence within the Forbidden City, albeit stripped of power and provided with a substantial annual stipend.
French's biography, drawing on accounts such as that of Reginald Johnston, Puyi's English tutor from 1918 to 1924, details the opulence of life within the "Great Within." Johnston, a colonial official fluent in Chinese, developed a paternal relationship with the young emperor and became a key figure in his life. He encouraged Puyi to marry, and in 1922, the teenage emperor chose Wanrong from a selection of photographs.
The wedding was a curious blend of republican and monarchical traditions, with crowds gathering to witness the bride's procession through Peking, accompanied by both republican marching bands playing jazz and Qing princes on horseback. Wanrong, however, became more of a playmate than a wife to the young emperor. They were known to cycle through the Forbidden City, taking photographs and dressing up in costumes.
Despite the outward splendors, Puyi felt imprisoned and longed for freedom. A peculiar aspect of life in the palace was the presence of some 600 eunuchs, who served the emperor for over a millennium. These individuals, often castrated as children, served in various capacities, from servants to companions. For Puyi, they were often targets of his temper, and he admitted to flogging them as a regular occurrence. The eunuchs, facing the constant threat of expulsion, resorted to looting the palace's treasures, selling them to tourists. When Puyi discovered this, he expelled all 600 eunuchs, an act that led to widespread homelessness and suicides.
Shortly after expelling the eunuchs, Puyi and Wanrong were themselves forced out of the Forbidden City in November 1924. The ensuing political instability, marked by the rise of warlords, led to the seizure of Peking by warlord Feng Yuxiang, who had no tolerance for monarchy. The former emperor and empress were made to leave the palace and fend for themselves.
Puyi's desire for freedom outside the palace walls led to further complications. He accepted the position of emperor in Manchukuo, a territory annexed by Japan, making him an enemy of China. Following World War II, Puyi was arrested and sent to a re-education camp. Wanrong, who had developed an opium addiction, died in prison. Puyi was eventually released after ten years and spent the remainder of his life as a gardener in Beijing.
French's biography captures the magnificence and the profound sadness of Puyi's life, portraying him as a potentially modest and intelligent individual ultimately destined to be, as one American journalist described him, "the least consequential monarch on Earth."