He lived one of the strangest lives in history... | Yaakov Astor From Emperor To Pauper From emperor to prisoner in his own palace to a real prisoner accused of major war crimes to a penniless commoner, Aisin-Gioro Puyi led one of the strangest lives of the 20th century… if not of all time. Inheriting the longest-standing empire in history, his world fell apart when he was still a little boy during a tumultuous series of revolutions and wars. His entire life was a roller coaster of the most extreme highs and lows… until at the end he finally achieved some happiness. Read about the remarkable life of the last Emperor of China. 38 | ZMAN • May 2017 ZMAN • Iyar 5777 | 39 ugust 1946. A seemingly unremark- who lived in the northeast of China. They able man takes the stand in front of a had been ruling the vast country since 1644. Awar-crimes tribunal in Tokyo. Despite all appearances, he is no ordinary person. quietly in this palace in Beijing. His father And his story is one of the most remarkable wasFor thethe firstemperor’s two years brother, of his Zaifeng. life, Puyi However, lived in history. dramatic events sweeping China were about “My name is Aisin-Gioro Puyi,” he tells to change the little boy’s life forever. the court, as a hush comes over it. “In 1908, I Since the 1800s, industrial and political was Emperor of China.” revolutions were spreading worldwide. Indeed, he is the last emperor of a world- Through it all, China remained a backward, conquering dynasty stretching back to a feudal society. Technologically, socially and time before the Roman Empire. And he is politically it had changed little in over 2,000 At age two, the new (and last) emperor of China. (Re-enactment.) about to share with the world the story of years. However, at the dawn of the twentieth Providentially, Emperor Guangxu died In January 1912, Sun Yat-Sen highest highs and the lowest lows…. competing warlords became widespread in the very next day. Almost unbelievably, proclaimed the Republic of China. In Febru- his unbelievable life, a life filled with the China.century, The civil times unrest were and ideal conflicts for major between politi- Tzu-hsi herself died only 24 hours later. ary, Emperor Puyi abdicated and Yuan was cal upheaval. The timing was extraordinary. At an induc- made president, as promised. An agree- An Emperor Is Born Oblivious to the outside, the Qing rulers tion ceremony shortly thereafter, the little ment known as “The Articles of Favorable Aisin-Gioro Puyi was born in Beijing, remained ensconced in their Beijing palace, boy was placed on the gilded throne as the Treatment of the Emperor” allowed Puyi to in February 1906. He was the nephew of called the Forbidden City. They saw it not Tenth Emperor of the Qing dynasty. Tiny remain in the palace and also gave him a Guangxu, the reigning emperor of the Qing two-year-old Puyi was Emperor of China. substantial allowance to maintain a court (pronounced “Ching”) dynasty. very center of the universe. During the rare and household of servants. However, he More than 2,200 years earlier, Qin Shi instancesmerely as that a magnificentthey ventured edifice, out of butit, theythe Huang united the various warring kingdoms went to their summer palace, a tranquil Momentous Events in Asia and gave himself the title of “Emper- retreat nearby. Meanwhile, outside the palace momen- was nothing more than a figurehead. The or,” marking the beginning of Imperial China. Although Guangxu was Emperor of tous events were taking place. Sun Yat-Sen, Successive dynasties developed bureaucratic China, the real power was wielded by a a Chinese revolutionary, was calling for systems that enabled an emperor to control remarkable—and remarkably ruthless— a republic. He galvanized many people vast territories directly. The Qing would be woman, Empress Dowager Tzu-hsi, the who saw his call as an opportunity to end China’s last dynasty. emperor’s aunt. In her seventies, Tzu-hsi had the Qing dynasty’s centuries-old reign of The Qings descended from a Chinese been at the Imperial Palaces since the age of dominance. ethnic minority group called the Manchus, 16. Over the years, she had gained in power Since Puyi was so young, his father, Zaifeng, and the previous emperor’s widow, head of Imperial China. Even the emperor, Empress Dowager Longyu, made decisions Puyi’sand influence, uncle, knelt until before she became her. Her the technique effective in the Qing court. When Sun Yat-Sen’s was to dominate the reigning emperor from rebellion spread throughout China, they old son; then Guangxu from the age of three. army no longer obeyed its commander. Guangxua very young was age—first,now in his her thirties own andsix-year- still orderedThey itwere crushed—only forced to toappoint find that popular their childless. Fearing for her family’s dynastic general Yuan Shikai to resolve the crisis. continuity, Tzu-hsi looked for a new boy A cunning and ambitious politician emperor to manipulate. more than a loyal general, he engineered When Guangxu fell gravely ill with a Zaifeng’s resignation as regent. With mysterious ailment, Tzu-hsi issued what Zaifeng out of the way, Yuan bluntly informed Empress Longyu that the young year-old Puyi, she said, was to succeed as Emperor Puyi had to abdicate the throne. emperor.would turn The out little to be child her finalwas decree.immediately Two- Unbeknown to them, Yuan Shikai had been A seemingly unremarkable man takes the stand in front of a summoned to her presence in the Forbid- promised the position of President of the war-crimes tribunal in 1946. “My name is Aisin-Gioro Puyi,” den City. Neither his father nor mother was Republic of China if he could get the Qing A three-year-old Puyi (right), standing next to his father the man begins. “In 1908, I was Emperor of China.” allowed to accompany him. court to abdicate. (Zaifeng, Prince Chun) and his younger brother Pujie. 40 | ZMAN • May 2017 ZMAN • Iyar 5777 | 41.