Introduction: In 1908, the Guangxu Emperor and Empress Dowager Cixi died of illness one day apart, and according to Cixi's will, the eldest son of Zaifeng the Prince of Alcohol, the 3-year-old Aixin Jueluo Puyi, was made emperor with the era name Xuantong. Just three years later, the faltering Qing government ushered in the last straw that overwhelmed it, the Xinhai Revolution.
In February 1912, Empress Longyu issued an abdication edict in the name of Emperor Xuantong, and the Qing Dynasty was declared extinct in 268. However, according to the "Preferential Conditions for the Qing Dynasty", Puyi still lived in the Forbidden City and retained the title of emperor, and all expenses were spent by the National Government, so Puyi's life was quite comfortable during this time. But on November 5, 1924, everything changed, the warlord general Feng Yuxiang launched a coup d'état, took control of the city of Beijing, and in order to completely eradicate the feudal ideas in society, he sent troops to drive Puyi out of the Forbidden City, that is, from this day on, Puyi began his ups and downs of life.
Puyi, who left the Forbidden City, initially moved back to live in Prince Shuo's mansion, and later fled to Tianjin with the help of the Japanese in order to avoid Feng Yuxiang's pressure. Beginning in 1925, Puyi lived in Tianjin for a total of seven years. In 1931, japan launched the 918 Incident, and after occupying northeast China, the Japanese decided to establish a puppet regime to stabilize local rule, and Puyi was their best candidate.
After careful planning, Puyi ascended the throne in Changchun on March 1, 1934, and became the emperor of the puppet state of Manchukuo, with the era name Kant. In the following ten years, Puyi has been acting as a puppet of the Japanese, and in his later diary" "The First Half of My Life", Puyi declared: "I can only be at the mercy of the Japanese, there is no power of the emperor at all, not even the dignity and personal freedom of ordinary people." ”
In 1945, the Soviet Union declared war on Japan, and soon after sent troops to the northeast, the puppet state of Manchukuo and its supporters, the Kwantung Army, were defeated, and Puyi was captured by Soviet troops on the way to escape. At first, Puyi was imprisoned in a Soviet detention center, and in 1950, after the founding of New China, Puyi was extradited back to China. Because of his special status, he has been detained in the Fushun War Criminals Management Center. In 1959, under the instructions of Chairman Mao and the leadership of the Central Committee, the first batch of war criminals in detention were released throughout the country, and Puyi was also on the list of the first batch of amnesty personnel.
After Puyi's amnesty, he returned to Beijing under the arrangement of the organization and became an ordinary citizen. Although Puyi suffered in the first half of his life, compared with the "king of the fallen country" of other dynasties, the second half of his life was happy.
At first, Puyi was assigned to work in the Beijing Botanical Garden, and later, under the care of Premier Zhou, he was transferred to the Museum of Literature and History, responsible for the collation of cultural and historical materials. At this time, Puyi, after ten years of transformation, is no longer the original emperor in thought, but an ordinary citizen, going to work, leaving work, self-reliance, compared to those who were killed or died without a place to bury the king of the country, his old age is very happy.
In his later years, the only thing Puyi couldn't forget was to hope to see the Forbidden City again, after all, it was the place where he grew up, and his childhood memories were almost all in it. However, when he came to the noon gate, he found that the Forbidden City had become the Palace Museum, and everyone who visited had to buy tickets to enter, which was somewhat unexpected by Puyi.
Just when Puyi was queuing up to buy tickets and prepare to enter the Forbidden City, he suddenly saw a white-haired old man walking in the distance, and after the two looked at each other for a few seconds, Puyi's face changed, who is this old man? Why would seeing him make Puyi so scared?
It turned out that this old man's name was Lu Zhonglin, who was Feng Yuxiang's subordinate at that time, and it was he who led the troops to drive Puyi out of the Forbidden City. After the founding of New China, Lu Zhonglin, who lived in seclusion in Tianjin, actively participated in socialist construction, was elected a member of the National Defense Commission, and has been living in Beijing.
Lu Zhonglin also recognized Puyi after seeing him, recalling his own practices in the past, Lu Zhonglin was also a little embarrassed, and immediately expressed his willingness to buy a ticket to invite Puyi to visit the Forbidden City, which was a little compensation for the events of that year. Lu Zhonglin's intention amused Puyi, and the originally awkward atmosphere eased up at once. Puyi took out the ticket in his hand, saying that now he is also an ordinary citizen, and if he wants to enter the Forbidden City, he must also buy tickets.
The two chatted while entering the Forbidden City to visit. In this process, there was also an interesting thing, when some ordinary people recognized Puyi, came to watch, and asked him what it felt like to sit on the dragon chair on the Golden Ruan Hall, and Puyi, who couldn't smile bitterly, could only answer truthfully: "When I sat on the dragon chair, I was only 3 years old, where do I remember what it felt like." The words caused everyone to laugh, but since then, Puyi has never wanted to visit the Forbidden City again.
Reference: "The First Half of My Life"