The Privileged and Often Complicated Childhood of Puyi The Last Emperor of China
#puyi #xuantongemperor #chinesehistory Puyi, the Xuantong Emperor had a unique life that can only be split into several chapters, the first one here looks at his childhood and up to his being forced to flee the Forbidden City and the end of the period of his life of emperor in imperial China. Puyi was born on the seventh of February 1906 and became the last emperor of China at the age of just two years old upon the death of his uncle, the Guangxu Emperor. Puyi was the eleventh monarch of the Qing dynasty and his period of rule lasted from 1908 until 1912 when he was forced to abdicate. Later he sided with Imperial Japan and was placed as a puppet ruler by the Japanese in Manchukuo (Japanese occupied Manchuria and had hopes of even regaining power as the emperor of China. When the Guangxu Emperor died without an heir, the Empress Dowager Cixi picked the nephew of the late emperor, Puyi, aged two as his successor. Puyi became the Xuantong Emperor, with his father, Zaifeng, Prince Chun serving as regent. 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 Favourable Treatment which enabled Puyi to retain his royal title and continue to live in the Forbidden City. From the 1st to the 12th of July 1917, Puyi was briefly restored to the Qing throne by the loyalist general Zhang Xun. In 1924, Puyi was expelled from the capital by the warlord Feng Yuxiang after a coup. After this time, Puyi found refuge in the city of Tianjin while enjoying the company of various warlords, as well as the Japanese, who had long desired the control of China. After the Japanese invasion of Manchuria and established the puppet state of Manchukuo in 1932, Puyi was installed as the chief executive. In 1934, Puyi was declared as the emperor of Manchukuo under the era name of “Kangde.” He mostly resided in the Imperial Palace in Changchun, where he was closely controlled by the Japanese. At the end of the Second Sino-Japanese War in 1945, Puyi fled before he was captured by the Soviet Red Army. In 1946, he testified at the Tokyo War Crimes Tribunal, and in 1950 he was repatriated to the People’s Republic of China where he was imprisoned and re-educated as a war criminal until his release in 1959. He died in 1967 and was buried close to the Western Qing Tombs in a commercial cemetery. Puyi was married five times but had no children. Hi, I am John and welcome to my channel ‘Laowai in China.’ On this channel my aim is to inform people that have never visited China what life here is really like, and not as it is often portrayed in western media. I cover topics such as travel, culture as well as current affairs both here and overseas that reflect the day-to-day life here. Today’s video is called The Privileged and Often Complicated Childhood of Puyi. The Last Emperor of China. I hope you like this video, so sit back and enjoy
