We read all the lead to present a different history.
In the eleventh year of the Republic of China (1922 AD), the last emperor Puyi turned 16 years old and reached the age of choosing a concubine to marry. After the news appeared in the newspapers, the bigwigs from all walks of life attached great importance to it, and sent the photos of their daughters or granddaughters to Puyi's eyes, hoping that they could become Puyi's father-in-law. However, they all ended up with hot faces and cold butts, and Puyi's small imperial court still followed the old practice and resolutely did not intermarry with the Han people, and the female relatives in Xu Shichang, Yuan Shikai, and Zhang Zuolin's families were no exception. For this matter, everyone must be very strange, the Qing Dynasty has long been destroyed for many years, Puyi has no power and no power, why are the bigwigs of the Republic of China rushing to marry him?
▲ Stills of the last emperor Puyi
First of all, for identity. After the founding of the Republic of China, Chinese society also entered the stage of democracy and republicanism, and it was said that feudal forces were particularly hated, but because the upper class at that time was deeply influenced by Europe, the traditional aristocracy was still very popular, similar to the American rich flocking to the declining aristocratic titles in Europe. Since the Republic of China was an era of warlords fighting and warriors reigning in the country, the heads of all sides were mud-legged people who had broken through from the sword mountains and the sea of fire, and it was a major flaw that they were born very low.
In the eyes of Chinese, these people are nouveau riche, although rich and powerful, but there is no deep connotation, and there is a great estrangement from high society. In contrast, Puyi is the most noble representative of China's traditional nobility, and the old man who can become an emperor by marrying him is the state abbot in ancient times. This identity is undoubtedly full of gold content in the Republic of China, which pays attention to the traditional aristocratic status, so the big men of the Republic of China are vying to be Puyi's old father-in-law, so that they can have an aristocratic status and improve their social status.
▲Palace view inside the Forbidden City
Second, Puyi still retained the title of emperor at that time, and his status was transcendent. Throughout history, the Qing Dynasty can be said to be the luckiest dynasty in Chinese history, under the situation of internal and external situations, the Qing Dynasty royal family has not been affected by shanghai, the last emperor Puyi can still live in the Forbidden City, there is still a feudal court centered on Puyi. In order to maintain the lives of Puyi and the Qing dynasty, the Government of the Republic of China paid 4 million taels of silver every year, and the Government of the Republic of China treated foreign monarchs as gifts, and would send emissaries to congratulate every festival. It is not difficult to find that Puyi was far more than ordinary people in terms of eating, wearing, living and traveling. On the other hand, the last tsar of Russia, all members of the royal family were secretly executed, who is Puyi so lucky?
▲Puyi lived in Tianjin during the period with the warlord group photo
Third, feudal remnants of thought are also one of the important reasons. Although the establishment of the Republic of China heralded the arrival of new ideas in the new era, many people were influenced by feudal ideas for decades and it was difficult to change them in a short period of time. In fact, whether Puyi was in the palace or later lived in Tianjin, there were a large number of Qing Dynasty remnants gathered around him, such as Chen Baochen, who was born into a jinshi, and Yuan Lizhun, the supervisor of the Beijing Normal University, etc., which can be described as dead hearted to Puyi. Every time these widows and widows went to the Forbidden City to see Puyi, they had to perform the great ceremony of three kneeling and nine kowtows.
In addition, when Zhang Zuolin, the "king of the northeast," saw Puyi, he would take the initiative to prostrate himself and kneel; when Xu Shichang became the president of the second Republic of China, he also specially asked Puyi for instructions and took office after receiving "grace and permission"; Wu Peifu even wrote to Puyi and asked for a title of subject. In the eyes of today's people, these actions are really incredible, which is actually a product of feudal thinking. After Puyi was expelled from the Forbidden City by Feng Yuxiang, Zhang Biao, the former governor of Hubei, took him home and waited with all his heart, personally sweeping the floor for him every day and serving tea. Before Zhang Biao died, he saw Puyi visiting him and struggled to get up from the bed to salute Puyi.
▲ Old photos of Johnston and Puyi
If we say that these feudal remnants maintained a respectful and respectful attitude toward Puyi, we can still understand that Hu Shi, as the benchmark of the new cultural movement, can fully express the national consciousness of that era. At that time, the Forbidden City had just installed a telephone, Puyi looked through the phone book, saw Hu Shi's name, so he called the phone according to the number, the two had a good conversation, and invited him to come to the palace for a talk. After the call, Hu Shi was very excited in his heart, and at the same time, he constantly thought about how to talk when he saw Puyi, how to behave when he arrived at the palace, and what rules in the imperial city needed to be paid attention to? To this end, Hu Shi specially went to consult Puyi's foreign teacher Johnston, and after some guidance, he entered the palace to meet Puyi. Although Hu Shi did not kneel three times and bow nine times, he also bowed respectfully and did not dare to slack off at all.
▲ Puyi and Wanrong big wedding stills
Therefore, when Puyi held the wedding, although the object of marriage was not the female relatives of the Republic of China tycoons and powerful families, there were still many high-ranking officials and rich businessmen who sent gifts, and the government even sent thousands of military police to escort Puyi's wedding. It can be said that in his lifetime, Puyi has always been a fragrant feast, and people are always sought after. After Puyi was granted amnesty in 1959, there were Manchu Qing widows who introduced their granddaughter to the 53-year-old Puyi, but Puyi had already matured in his mentality, he was not tempted by beauty, and finally chose nurse Li Shuxian to live an ordinary life. Speaking of which, it is precisely Puyi's huge potential value and the respect of the Manchu Qing remnants that the bigwigs of the Republic of China want to marry him.
Resources:
"The First Half of My Life"