Puyi, as the last emperor of the feudal dynasty, is also one of the more legendary among the hundreds of emperors in China; but his legend is not that he started from scratch like Zhu Yuanzhang, nor is it like Li Shimin who can create a prosperous era of Zhenguan rule.
His legend is mainly reflected in the second half of his life, the turbulent and displaced life, the era of succession, the great change of identity, etc., and people who have watched the "Last Emperor" movie may have more knowledge and understanding of this legendary emperor.
He initially reached a cooperation with the Japanese after the fall of the Qing Dynasty, and at the same time, Chiang Kai-shek also wanted to cooperate with him, but as a Chinese he chose the Japanese to reject Chiang Kai-shek, mainly because of some personal grudges with Chiang Kai-shek.
First, the Qing Dynasty is heading for the fall
The Manchu Qing Dynasty existed in the history of our country for more than two hundred years, and the prosperous era of Kangqian also once created China's economic prosperity and national prosperity. But even so, the Qing Dynasty eventually came to an end; the fall of the Qing Dynasty did not happen overnight, but was the inevitable result of long-term accumulation and historical development. There are subjective and objective reasons for its demise.
When it comes to the collapse of the Qing Dynasty, many people will think of the policy of closing the country off, Qianlong was originally a Ming Emperor in the first half of his life, but in his later years he began to faint and ordered the closure of the country, laying the seeds for the collapse of the Qing Dynasty; on the other hand, the Qing Government was an extremely corrupt government, and He yan was the most famous corrupt official in China's history, and there were countless small corrupt officials of all kinds.
The corruption of the imperial court officials, Qianlong, not only did not rectify the situation, but on the contrary, he aided and abetted abuse, and it was really sad to use this money for his own use. The conceited Manchu Qing Dynasty still thought it was the strongest in the world, and in the context of the closed country, it was not known that the Western powers had begun the industrial revolution early, and the economy and science and technology had quickly overtaken China.
It was only by this kind of self-deception that it was too late to lose oneself in such self-deception, and by the time the Opium Wars of the Western powers were forcefully suppressed, the fragile Qing Dynasty was soon scattered under the bombardment of copper guns and iron cannons.
Second, Puyi hopes for revival
In fact, the emperor is not only supreme power and endless glory, becoming an emperor is also accompanied by the loss of many things, such as freedom, such as emotions; there are many involuntariness. Puyi, as the last emperor, he was also forced, when he became emperor, he was only three years old, and he was forced to become the king of a country if he couldn't even recognize all the words, which was really absurd to say.
The successive deaths of the Guangxu Emperor and Empress Dowager Cixi left puyi with a mess, how could a young man handle such a thing for his ancestors? Of course, under constant attack, the last feudal dynasty could only step down in ashes.
Although Puyi was still young when he succeeded to the throne, with the passage of time, he could also clearly feel that he was different from others since he was a child; he who had enjoyed a supreme position for a time was definitely difficult to accept the gap after the fall of the Qing Dynasty, so Puyi had been buried in his heart the seeds of reviving the Manchu Qing Dynasty and ascending the throne again.
Third, the trap of the Japanese
Puyi's desire continued until the events of September 18, when the Japanese invaders began to launch frenzied attacks on China, delusionally dreaming of occupying China for their own benefit. Although this ridiculous idea was shattered in the sacrifice of countless martyrs, the cunning of the Japanese invaders was also vividly displayed during this period.
They knew what Puyi was thinking, so they deliberately used his desire to get him to help Japan achieve its goal quickly. Puyi also knew that the Japanese might not have good intentions, but under the temptation of them to help him ascend to the throne again, he was obviously lost in his mind and easily believed their lies.
In this way, he believed in the ruse of the Japanese and had the idea that the Japanese could really help him revive the dynasty. Although the Japanese did the same, establishing a puppet Manchurian regime, Puyi once again enjoyed the title of emperor, but he had nothing but this title, just a veritable puppet; because he was a pawn of the Japanese from beginning to end.
The Japanese also used this chess piece to achieve their goal - to quickly occupy the northeast region of our country. In disguise, it also provided the Japanese with other places for their material supply and logistical support in China to recuperate.
4. Chiang Kai-shek's conditions
Chiang Kai-shek also knew something about the situation at that time, and he knew what medicine the Japanese were selling in the gourd. Although his influence on China was generally greater than his contribution in history, he did make no small contribution during the War of Resistance Against Japan. In the face of the Japanese conspiracy, he still wanted Puyi to get lost and not to embark on the road of traitor.
Knowing the stakes, he immediately sent someone to find Puyi, conveyed to him the Japanese conspiracy, and offered generous conditions hoping that Puyi could turn around and cooperate with him. He guaranteed puyi that he could enjoy the life when he was emperor, but he did not have actual political power; he also guaranteed all the economic expenses of Puyi's living needs.
The most important thing is that he also agreed to restore Puyi's title of emperor, which is actually enough for Puyi. All the conditions offered by Chiang Kai-shek and the exchanges offered to him by the Japanese are obviously richer and more sincere. However, he was angry at Chiang Kai-shek's previous acts of disrespect to his predecessors and was unwilling to cooperate with him.
Fifth, Puyi finally woke up
Chiang Kai-shek, who had no choice, could only watch Puyi go into the trap of the Japanese, and could only watch the northeast region become a colony of the Japanese. Puyi saw the real ugly face of the Japanese after the fall of northeast China, but it was too late, and he could only wait for the day when China defeated Japan to be liberated.
Finally, in 1945, when China's War of Resistance was fully victorious and the Japanese invaders surrendered and withdrew from China, Puyi knew that it was delusional to return to the Manchu Qing Dynasty, and he was a traitor in the eyes of the Chinese people, and everyone shouted and beat rats across the street. So he tried to follow the Japanese to live in Japan.
But his wishful thinking failed again, and he was arrested and imprisoned by the Soviets halfway through, and he was locked up until the founding of New China before he successfully returned to China. After returning to China, Puyi got the management of the botanical garden specially arranged by Premier Zhou, and after that, he really lived puyi, rather than loving the new Jueluo Puyi.
6. Summary
Puyi's life was full of ups and downs, and he made unforgivable mistakes in pro-Japanese decision-making, but he was also a poor person. He was forced to ascend to the highest position at an age that knew nothing, and all he was left with was the chaotic government in the name of emperor; then he fell heavily when he experienced the pleasure.
Puyi wandered all his life until his old age and did not really understand what it was like to live freely. Only then did it come to realize that the feudal dynasty would eventually become a product of history, not only would the emperor not appear again, but everything in the feudal era would be wiped out under the new ideas of new China.