Puyi

Puyi (7 February 1906 – 17 October 1967) was the last emperor of China, reigning as the eleventh monarch of the Qing dynasty from 1908 to 1912 when he was forced to abdicate. Later, he sided with Imperial Japan and was made ruler of Manchukuo—Japanese-occupied Manchuria—in hopes of regaining power as China's emperor. After over 10 years of imprisonment for war crimes following the end of World War II, Puyi worked for a number of years as a street sweeper and gardener in Beijing. When the Guangxu Emperor died without an heir, Empress Dowager Cixi picked two year old Puyi, the nephew of the late emperor, to succeed him as the Xuantong Emperor. Puyi's father, Zaifeng, Prince Chun, served as regent before Puyi was forced to abdicate as a result of the Xinhai Revolution, which ended two millennia of imperial rule and established the Republic of China. Empress Dowager Longyu signed the Imperial Edict of the Abdication of the Qing Emperor on Puyi's behalf, and in return the royal family was offered the Articles of Favorable Treatment, which allowed him to retain his imperial title and continue to live in the Forbidden City. From 1 to 12 July 1917, Puyi was briefly restored to the Qing throne by the loyalist general Zhang Xun. In 1924, he was expelled from the capital by warlord Feng Yuxiang after a coup, after which he found refuge in Tianjin and began to court both various warlords and the Japanese, who had long desired control of China. After the Japanese invaded Manchuria and established the puppet state of Manchukuo in 1932, they installed Puyi as the state's chief executive. In 1934, Puyi was declared emperor of Manchukuo under the era name "Kangde". He largely resided in the Manchukuo Imperial Palace in Changchun, where he was closely watched by the Japanese as a puppet ruler. At the end of the Second Sino-Japanese War in 1945, Puyi fled the capital and was captured by the Soviet Red Army. On 16 August 1946, he testified at the Tokyo War Crimes Tribunal, and in 1950, was repatriated to the People's Republic of China. Puyi was then imprisoned and re-educated as a war criminal until his release in 1959. After his release, Puyi published an autobiography (ghostwritten by Li Wenda) under the pressure of the Communist government and became a member of the Chinese People's Political Consultative Conference. He died in 1967 and was ultimately buried near the Western Qing tombs in a commercial cemetery. Puyi married five times, but had no children.

Infobox

First reign

2 December 1908 – 12 February 1912

Predecessor

Himself (as Chief Executive)

Successor

Position abolished

Regent(s)

mw- Zaifeng (1908–1911) Empress Dowager Longyu (1911–1912)

Prime Minister(s)

Zheng Xiaoxu Zhang Jinghui

Second reign

1–12 July 1917[a]

Reign

1 March 1934 – 17 August 1945

Prime Minister

NoneZheng Xiaoxu

Preceded by

Zhang Jinghui (as Chairman of the Northeast Supreme Administrative Council)

Succeeded by

Himself (as Emperor)

Born

(1906-02-07)7 February 1906Prince Chun's Mansion, Beijing, China

Died

17 October 1967(1967-10-17) (aged 61)Beijing, China

Burial

Babaoshan Revolutionary Cemetery, later reburied in the Hualong Imperial Cemetery, Yi County, Hebei

Consort(s)

mw- Wanrong (m. 1922; died 1946) Wenxiu (m. 1922; div. 1931) Tan Yuling (m. 1937; died 1942) Li Yuqin (m. 1943; div. 1957) Li Shuxian (m. 1962)

Era dates

Era dates Qing Xuantong (宣統; 1909–1912, 1917) Manchukuo Datong (大同; 1932–1934) Kangde (康德; 1934–1945)

House

Aisin-Gioro

Dynasty

Qing (1908–1912, 1917) Manchukuo (1932–1945)

Father

Zaifeng, Prince Chun of the First Rank

Mother

Youlan

Traditional Chinese

宣統帝

Simplified Chinese

宣统帝

Transcriptions

TranscriptionsStandard MandarinHanyu PinyinXuāntǒng DìBopomofoㄒㄩㄢㄊㄨㄥˇ ㄉㄧˋWade–GilesHsüan1-tʻung3 Ti4Tongyong PinyinSyuan-tǒng DìIPA[ɕɥɛ́n.tʰʊ̀ŋ tî]Yue: CantoneseJyutpingsyun1 tung2 dai3IPA[syn˥ tʰʊŋ˧˥ tɐj˧]

Hanyu Pinyin

Xuāntǒng Dì

Bopomofo

ㄒㄩㄢㄊㄨㄥˇ ㄉㄧˋ

Wade–Giles

Hsüan1-tʻung3 Ti4

Tongyong Pinyin

Syuan-tǒng Dì

IPA

[syn˥ tʰʊŋ˧˥ tɐj˧]

Jyutping

syun1 tung2 dai3

Religion

Buddhism