Dynasties of ChinaQing dynastyQing dynasty lineage
Xuantong · Reign 1908—1912
He ascended the throne at the age of three and abdicated at the age of six. After that, he was restored and became the emperor of the puppet Manchukuo. After being reformed, he was pardoned and became an ordinary citizen.
Puyi is the eldest son of Prince Chun Zaifeng and the nephew of Emperor Guangxu. In 1908, Emperor Guangxu was critically ill, and Cixitaihou ordered him to be brought into the palace, so that he could succeed Emperor Tongzhi and also serve as Emperor Guangxu. After Emperor Guangxu and Cixitaihou died one after another, Puyi, who was less than three years old, ascended the throne. The following year, the Yuan Dynasty was changed to Xuantong, and his father Zaifeng took charge as Prince Regent, with Longyutaihou participating in decision-making.
During the Xuantong period, the Qing government continued to implement preparatory constitutionalism, setting up consultative bureaus in each province and the Central Government's Council. However, Zaifeng excluded Han officials. The cabinet formed in 1911 was dominated by the royal family and was ridiculed as the "royal cabinet". It also promoted the policy of state-owned railways, which triggered the road protection movement. In October of the same year, the Wuchang Uprising broke out, and various provinces declared independence one after another. The Qing government appointed Yuan Shikai, who negotiated peace with the revolutionary party and forced the palace. On February 12, 1912, Longyutaihou issued an abdication edict in the name of Puyi, and the Qing dynasty ended.
According to the "Conditions for Preferential Treatment in the Qing Dynasty", Puyi retained the title of emperor after abdicating the throne and temporarily lived in the Forbidden City. He was briefly restored to power when Zhang Xun was restored in 1917. He was expelled from the Forbidden City by Feng Yuxiang's National Army in 1924 and later moved to Tianjin. After the September 18th Incident, he served as the "ruler" and "emperor" of the puppet Manchukuo with the support of Japan. He was captured by the Soviet army in 1945 and transferred to China in 1950. He underwent rehabilitation at the Fushun War Criminals Management Center and was pardoned in 1959. In his later years, he served as a commissioner of the Cultural and Historical Materials Research Committee of the National Committee of the Chinese People's Political Consultative Conference. He died of illness in Beijing in 1967.
Puyi ascended the throne at the age of three and abdicated at the age of six. During his reign, the real power was in the hands of Zaifeng and Longyutaihou. The fall of Qing Dynasty was caused by long-term accumulated internal and external crises, which were beyond the control of the young emperor. After abdicating the throne, he was obsessed with restoration, and eventually defected to the Japanese invaders and became the puppet emperor of Manchukuo, shouldering an unshirkable historical responsibility. After being reformed and granted amnesty, he spent his later years as an ordinary citizen. His life from emperor to citizen became a microcosm of the great changes in Chinese society.
PoliticsAscending the throne at the age of three
In November, Emperor Guangxu and Cixitaihou passed away one after another. In December, Puyi, who was less than three years old, held an enthronement ceremony in the Hall of Supreme Harmony. The following year, the emperor changed to Xuantong. According to legend, he kept crying during the ceremony. Zaifeng coaxed him and said, "It's almost over." People at the time thought it was an ominous sign.
PoliticsDepose Yuan Shikai
Prince Regent Zai Feng dismissed Yuan Shikai and sent him home because he suffered from "foot disease". Zaifeng then acted as the general marshal of the country's army and navy, and let his younger brothers Zai Xun and Zai Tao take charge of the navy and the military consultation office respectively, concentrating military power in the hands of the royal family.
PoliticsConsultative Bureau and Political Council
In 1909, the provincial consultative bureaus were opened, and the following year the Central Counselor's Council was established. Based on the Consultative Bureau, the constitutionalists united representatives from various provinces to Beijing three times to petition, demanding that the National Assembly be convened as soon as possible. The Qing government only agreed to shorten the preparatory period to 1913 and strictly ordered the petitioning groups to be disbanded.
PeopleWang Jingwei plotted to assassinate Zaifeng
Tongmenghui members Wang Jingwei and Huang Fusheng planted bombs under the Shichahai Yinding Bridge, which Zai Feng would pass through when he went to court, and were arrested after the incident was revealed. In order to win over people's hearts, the Qing government did not execute him, but instead sentenced him to eternal imprisonment. In prison, he wrote the poem "The sword leads to a quick success, and he lives up to his youthful head."
Science & technologyEradicating the Northeastern Plague
Pneumonic plague broke out in Northeast China, killing more than 60,000 people. The Qing court appointed Wu Liande as the plenipotentiary chief medical officer. He confirmed the pathogen through autopsies, implemented measures such as isolation, traffic control, and burning corpses, and eliminated the epidemic within a few months. In April 1911, he chaired the International Plague Research Conference in Fengtian.
Lasting legacyThe double-layer gauze mask promoted by Wu Liande is called "Wu's Mask"; he founded the Epidemic Prevention Office of the Three Northeastern Provinces the following year, which is regarded as one of the starting points of China's modern epidemic prevention system.
CultureTsinghua Academy opened
The United States returned part of the Boxer Indemnity to fund Chinese students studying in the United States. The Qing government established the Office of Traveling to America, and in April 1911, Tsinghua Academy was opened in Tsinghua Garden in the western suburbs of Beijing as a preparatory school for studying in the United States.
Lasting legacyTsinghua Academy is the predecessor of Tsinghua University, which was founded in 1911.
Politicsroyal cabinet
In May, the Qing government abolished the Military Aircraft Department and established a responsible cabinet. Nine of the thirteen ministers of state were Manchu aristocrats, most of whom were members of the royal family. Prince Yi Kuang of Qing was the prime minister and was ridiculed as the "royal cabinet." The constitutionalists were greatly disappointed with the Qing government.
SocietyRoad protection movement
The Qing government announced that the main railway lines were state-owned and borrowed money from a group of banks from four countries using road rights as collateral, arousing public opposition in Hunan, Hubei, Guangdong, and Sichuan. The Sichuan Road Baolu Comrades Association launched a market strike and a school strike. In September, a massacre occurred in Chengdu. The Qing government dispatched the Hubei New Army to Sichuan to suppress it, leaving Wuchang's defense empty.
Lasting legacyThe Monument to the Death of Xinhai Qiubao Road in Chengdu People's Park was built in 1913 and still stands today.
MilitaryWuchang Uprising
On October 10, revolutionaries in the Hubei New Army uprising in Wuchang. The next day, the Hubei Military Government was established and Li Yuanhong was elected as the governor. Within two months, more than ten provinces declared independence, and the Qing government was forced to appoint Yuan Shikai as prime minister.
Lasting legacyThe "Red Mansion", the former site of the Hubei Military Government in Wuchang, is now the Wuchang Uprising Memorial Hall of the Revolution of 1911.
PoliticsIssue an edict of abdication
On January 1, the Provisional Government of the Republic of China was established in Nanjing. On February 12, Longyutaihou issued an abdication edict in the name of Emperor Xuantong and accepted the "Preferential Treatment Conditions of the Qing Dynasty". Qing Dynasty's 268-year rule and more than 2,000 years of monarchy after entering the customs came to an end.
Lasting legacyThe phrase "still combines the complete territories of the Manchu, Mongolian, Han, Hui and Tibetan peoples to form one great Republic of China" in the edict provides a legal basis for the Republic of China to inherit the Qing dynasty territory.
PoliticsZhang Xun's restoration
On July 1, Zhang Xun, the "braided commander", led the braided army into Beijing, supported Puyi's restoration, and restored the Xuantong reign. Public opinion across the country unanimously condemned Duan Qirui's "anti-rebellion army" and invaded Beijing. The restoration failed after only twelve days, and Puyi once again announced his abdication.
PoliticsExpelled from the Forbidden City
After Feng Yuxiang launched a coup in Beijing, he sent Lu Zhonglin and his troops into the palace on November 5, modified the preferential treatment conditions, abolished Puyi's title of emperor, and ordered him to move out of the Forbidden City on that day. Puyi first returned to Prince Chun's Mansion, then fled to the Japanese Embassy, and moved to the Japanese Concession in Tianjin the following year.
CultureThe Palace Museum was established
After Puyi left the palace, the Republic of China government organized a cleanup committee to inventory the cultural relics in the palace. On October 10, 1925, the Palace Museum was established in the Forbidden City, and the former palace was opened to the public.
Lasting legacyThe Palace Museum has a collection of more than 1.8 million items. The Forbidden City in Beijing was listed as a World Cultural Heritage in 1987. It is one of the largest existing wooden palace complexes in the world.
PoliticsBecame the ruler of the Puppet Manchukuo State
After the September 18th Incident, Puyi secretly sneaked from Tianjin to the Northeast. In March 1932, under the support of Japan, he took office as the "ruler" of the puppet Manchukuo. In 1934, he was renamed "Emperor" and his reign was Kant. The real power of the Puppet Manchukuo was completely in the hands of the Japanese Kwantung Army, and it was Japan's tool to invade Northeast China.
Lasting legacyThe former site of the Puppet Manchukuo Palace in Changchun is now the Puppet Manchukuo Palace Museum. It is an important place to expose Japan's crimes of invading China.
PeopleBeing Captured and Testifying in Court
When Japan surrendered in 1945, Puyi announced the dissolution of the puppet Manchukuo. When he was about to flee to Japan at Shenyang Airport, he was captured by the Soviet army and taken to the Soviet Union. In 1946, he attended the Tokyo Trial as a witness and exposed the inside story of Japan's manipulation of the puppet Manchukuo.
SocietyEntered the Fushun War Criminals Management Center
The Soviet Union transferred Pu Yi and other puppet Manchukuo war criminals to China. He was imprisoned in the Fushun War Criminals Management Center, where he underwent transformation through labor and study, and learned life skills such as dressing and washing his own clothes.
Lasting legacyThe former site of the Fushun War Criminals Management Office is now an exhibition hall and is a national key cultural relics protection unit.
Politicsget amnesty
On December 4, Puyi was released as one of the first batch of amnesty war criminals and returned to Beijing. The following year, he went to the Beijing Botanical Garden to participate in labor, and was later assigned to serve as a commissioner of the Cultural and Historical Materials Research Committee of the National Committee of the Chinese People's Political Consultative Conference. In 1964, he was elected as a member of the National Committee of the Chinese People's Political Consultative Conference.
Culture"The First Half of My Life" is published
Puyi's autobiography "My First Half of Life", written with the help of others, was officially published. It tells the story of his journey from emperor to citizen and has become an important source for studying the history of the late Qing court and the Manchukuo.
Lasting legacyIn 1987, Italian director Bertolucci made the movie "The Last Emperor" based on his experience, which won nine awards including the Oscar for Best Picture.
PeopleDied of illness in Beijing
He died of kidney cancer in Beijing on October 17 at the age of 61. His ashes were first stored in Babaoshan. In 1995, the ashes were moved to the Hualong Royal Cemetery near the Qingxi Mausoleum in Yixian County, Hebei Province.
The fifth son of Prince Chun Yixuan, the half-brother of Emperor Guangxu, and the biological father of Puyi. During the Xuantong period, he presided over the government as Prince Regent. He excluded Han ministers and concentrated power on the royal family, which accelerated the fall of Qing dynasty. After the Wuchang Uprising, he resigned as Prince Regent and returned to the feudal residence.
Yehenala, niece of Cixitaihou and Empress of Guangxu. During the Xuantong period, he participated in decision-making. In 1912, he issued an abdication edict in the name of Emperor Xuantong and accepted preferential treatment. He died of illness the following year.
The great-grandson of Emperor Qianlong, he had been in charge of the Prime Minister's Office and the Ministry of Foreign Affairs for a long time, and his reputation for corruption spread far and wide. In 1911, he became the prime minister of the "Imperial Cabinet". Later, he advocated the appointment of Yuan Shikai and supported the abdication of the Qing emperor.
He was dismissed and returned to his hometown in 1909. After the Wuchang Uprising, he was re-appointed as Prime Minister of the Cabinet and took control of the Beiyang military power. While negotiating peace with the South, he forced the Qing Dynasty to abdicate. In 1912, he succeeded Sun Zhongshan as the interim president of the Republic of China.
A man from Fengxin in Jiangxi Province still ordered his troops to keep their hair braided after entering the Republic of China, and was known as "Braided Commander". In 1917, he led the army to Beijing to mediate the dispute between the government and the imperial court and support Puyi's restoration. After the failure, he fled to the Dutch embassy.
A British man, he served as Puyi's English teacher in 1919 and introduced him to Western culture, which had a great influence on Puyi. He is the author of "Twilight in the Forbidden City", which describes Puyi's life in the palace.
Guo Bululu married Puyi in 1922 and was the last queen in Chinese history. He moved to Tianjin and Changchun with Puyi. He was neglected in the puppet Manchu palace for a long time and became addicted to cigarettes. He died of illness in Yanji, Jilin in 1946.
Born in Penang, Malaya, he received a doctorate in medicine from Cambridge University. In 1910, he was ordered to go to Northeast China to eradicate the plague. After that, he founded the Epidemic Prevention Office of the three northeastern provinces and participated in the founding of the Chinese Medical Association. He was a pioneer in modern public health and quarantine in China.