The movie "The Last Emperor" gives us an insight into the legendary life of the last emperor of the Qing Dynasty, Ai Xinjue Luo Puyi. In his later self-descriptions, he claimed to have been emperor four times, the first time when he ascended the throne with the support of Empress Dowager Cixi at the age of three; the second time he was emperor for about 10 days in the farce of Zhang Xun's braided army entering Beijing and then the restoration of the Qing Dynasty; the third time he became the emperor of the puppet state of Manchukuo with the support of Japan, and the fourth time he became a citizen of the People's Republic of China. The first three experiences of the emperor are well known, and the fourth "emperor" career is his identification with the rights granted to the people by New China after receiving education in new ideas. In Puyi's legendary and tortuous life, from the age of 3 to the throne, he has been in the political whirlpool, which is also the inevitable fate of politicians. The period of real temporary stability was actually Puyi's later years.
In 1945, thanks to the involvement of the Chinese battlefield, the bombing of the Japanese mainland by the United States and the dropping of two atomic bombs, the defeat of Germany on the European battlefield was decided, and in August the Soviet Union declared war on Japan, and the puppet Manchukuo regime without Japanese support was naturally within the scope of the Soviet Union's attack, and soon collapsed, Puyi himself was captured by the Soviet Red Army when he fled, and was used as a witness to accuse Japan, attended the International Tribunal in the Far East, and then detained by the Soviet Union.
In 1950, Puyi was extradited back to China and imprisoned in the War Criminals Management Center in Fushun for a decade of ideological re-education and labor reform. During this period, he studied seriously, deeply understood the local customs and customs, and took time to complete his autobiography "The First Half of My Life". Finally, in 1959, on the tenth anniversary of the founding of the People's Republic of China, he was pardoned and released from prison, and then homeless, he was picked up by his sister and enjoyed a warm time at home. But he also knew that living in his sister's house was never a long-term solution, and he had to live independently and support himself. It just so happens that the relevant government departments are willing to arrange accommodation and work for him. So under the government's arrangement, in February 1960, he was introduced to the Botanical Garden of the Institute of Botany of the Chinese Academy of Sciences and became a gardener.
This first job brought him so many surprises and joys. Once high, living a life of gold and jade food, and being served by others, but now they are waiting for these flowers and grasses, pruning and cutting every day, lying in the flowers and becoming a diligent gardener, no worries of the past, no special treatment, the whole flower bush is their own decision, but also ended up clean and carefree. Gradually, he put his mentality at ease, and here he truly felt the joy of labor, and understood that only by paying for labor would there be a corresponding reward. Soon, with his industrious hands, he raised the flowers and plants very luxuriantly, so he was arranged to learn more specialized techniques and was sent to the cuttings breeding greenhouse, so that he truly became a craftsman.
The leader of the botanical garden is naturally aware of his special identity, while giving him the care of life, naturally there will be no shortage of Puyi's salary, and soon Puyi received the first salary of 60 yuan in his life. Perhaps now it seems that 60 yuan is only a small amount, but this money is not a small amount at the time, which is enough for several people in a family to eat and drink for several months.
However, for Puyi, an emperor who was once high, he had no concept of money, because he did not need to spend money to live, even if the Qing Dynasty collapsed in 1912, there were also national governments that undertook his annual living expenses of up to one million yuan according to the "Qing Imperial Family Preferential Treatment Treaty", not to mention in Pseudo-Manchuria. However, for the first payment obtained by relying on his own work and labor, although he thinks that it is not much, he is naturally very happy, and he naturally has to think about the use.
Unexpectedly, soon Puyi squandered his reward, he used 60 yuan to buy a comfortable quilt, and even many snacks and snacks, no wonder a group of netizens, issued a sigh of the person who was the emperor in the end. You should know that in that era, eating and eating was still a problem, and snacks and snacks were luxuries that ordinary people did not want to think about. Ordinary people use all their wages to use the family's chai rice oil and salt, raise children, and meat is not necessarily eaten for a while throughout the year. A little surplus is about to be saved in case of emergency. However, for Puyi, who has been an emperor, there is naturally no such concept, so he will only care about the enjoyment of the moment. But this is also understandable, after all, a former emperor eats some snacks and wants to live comfortably, it is still understandable; moreover, Puyi at that time did not have any children to raise due to physical reasons, it can be said that one person is full, and the whole family is not hungry.