There have been 422 emperors in Chinese history, some of whom were the founding emperors of a dynasty or the de facto kings of the country. The founding emperor was naturally admired by the world, and even if the dynasty collapsed later, it would not affect their reputation, such as Qin Shi Huang Yingzheng, Song Taizu Zhao Kuangyin, Ming Taizu Zhu Yuanzhang, and so on. However, the fate of the king of all nations is tragic, and he only has the life of being forced to die and being killed.
However, there are exceptions, such as the last emperor Puyi. On December 2, 1908, Puyi was enthroned by Empress Dowager Cixi at the Taihe Temple, when Puyi was only 3 years old, so he was regent by Empress Dowager Longyu and Puyi's father Zaifeng.
However, Puyi's emperor had not yet been emperor for two years, and the cannon fire of the Xinhai Revolution began. Empress Longyu was forced to abdicate on February 12, 1912 in the name of Puyi.
Fortunately, he signed the "Preferential Conditions for the Qing Dynasty" with Yuan Shikai, so Puyi could still live in the imperial palace, and he could also receive 4 million taels of silver from the Republic of China government every year as an expense.
Puyi has been living a carefree life in the palace until the age of 18, in 1924 Feng Yuxiang suddenly defected and returned to Beijing, and sent Lu Zhonglin to lead troops into the Forbidden City to force Puyi to leave the palace, obtaining a large amount of palace property. At this time, Puyi truly realized what it was like to be displaced.
Puyi took Wanrong and a few sisters to live in Tianjin, and exchanged with Zhang Zuolin, Duan Qirui and other people left behind by the Qing Dynasty, hoping to restore it. After the September 18 incident, Puyi pinned his hopes on the Japanese, but it was obvious that the Japanese just wanted to use Puyi and did not really do restoration for Puyi
When Puyi saw through the minds of the Japanese, the Second World War had already started vigorously, and China's War of Resistance Against Japanese Aggression had also broken out in an all-round way. Puyi became a puppet under the Japanese, until August 15, 1945, after the Surrender of Japan, Puyi was also captured by the Soviet Red Army as a war criminal, and was not extradited until 1950.
At this time, Puyi has completely changed from an emperor to an ordinary people, and after experiencing the atmosphere of life, he has long lost the sharpness of that year, and there is no longer a trace of the idea of restoration. Puyi now wants to live an ordinary life with ordinary work.
On February 16, 1960, Puyi came to the Botanical Garden of the Institute of Botany of the Chinese Academy of Sciences with a letter of introduction, and the Institute opened a salary of 60 yuan to Puyi, and Puyi's work task was very simple.
In this way, Puyi worked hard for a month, and finally got his first salary of 60 yuan. This was already a considerable income at that time, enough for him to buy the daily necessities he needed, and many people may wonder what people who have seen the world when they were emperors would buy something. In fact, Puyi did not buy any luxury goods, which was used too much when Puyi was young, Puyi only bought a quilt, and a cotton coat.
In the final analysis, life is just chai rice oil and salt, which can be picked up and put down, and the impermanence of the world can be blameless. The old days have passed, and if you don't let go, you will harm yourself in the future. Puyi's cleverness is precisely because he understands this truth, and now he is more at ease with the quilt he sold than sleeping on the dragon bed in the past.