It is well known that the rulers of the Qing Dynasty were all of Manchu origin, received a royal elite education from an early age, and generally spoke at least three languages, that is, they were able to use Manchu, Chinese, and Mongolian fluently. But what many people don't know is that Pu Yi, as the last ruler of the Qing Dynasty, although he can speak fluent English, he said that he can't even speak Manchu, but speaks an authentic Beijing accent.
Many people may be suspicious, Pu Yi is also from the Manchu royal family, how can he not even speak his own national language? In fact, Pu Yi did say that he did not know Manchu, but there may be some misunderstandings in this middle, and what he wanted to express was actually another meaning.
After the founding of the People's Republic of China, Pu Yi, the last emperor who had been in exile for half his life, finally caught up with the good times, and the state not only pardoned his crimes, but also arranged a place for him to live and work. Later, under the introduction of Premier Zhou, Pu Yi also tied the knot with Li Shuxian and had a happy marriage.
It can be said that Pu Yi, as the last emperor, had a much better ending than those peers in history.
At first, Pu Yi was arranged to work in the Botanical Garden, but later the state considered that his identity and experience were of great help to the study of literature and history, so he was transferred to the Central Research Institute of Culture and History.
At that time, Guo Moruo was obsessed with the study of Qing history, and after he learned that Pu Yi had been transferred to the Museum of Culture and History, he approached Pu Yi and made a request, hoping that Pu Yi could serve as his special assistant and help him study some Manchu documents of the Qing Dynasty.
Guo Moruo had a huge reputation at that time and was a well-deserved leader in the literary world. Originally, he thought that Pu Yi would agree to his request, but he didn't expect Pu Yi to refuse, and the reason for refusal was very simple. Pu Yi told Guo Moruo that he couldn't speak Manchu.
Because Pu Yi said this, many people mistakenly think that Pu Yi really can't speak Manchu. So, does Pu Yi really not speak Manchu? Considering Pu Yi's identity, maybe Pu Yi just wanted to reject Guo Moruo on this ground.
After all, Pu Yi is also a former emperor, and he still has some self-esteem in his heart. In his capacity, working for the country is naturally nothing to say, even what work to do, and it is not a problem to carry water and plant flowers. But let him be someone's assistant, his heart is naturally full of resistance.
But because Guo Moruo's status was very high at that time, Pu Yi couldn't refuse directly, so he had to find a reason that he couldn't speak Manchu to shirk.
Of course, this is just speculation. There is also an opinion that Pu Yi could speak Manchu, but considering the development of the Manchu ethnic language in the late Qing Dynasty, even if Pu Yi could speak Manchu, his Manchu level may not be high. He said that he did not know Manchu, perhaps out of self-humility, but in fact he was not very good at speaking Manchu.
So, what is Pu Yi's Manchu level?
In the early Qing Dynasty, the rulers still attached great importance to Manchu culture, such as during the Kangxi Yongzheng period, officials who wanted to be promoted had to be proficient in Manchu, Mongolian and Chinese. In order to maintain the rule of the Qing Dynasty, successive emperors of the Qing Dynasty also learned these three languages from an early age, and some important documents of the imperial court were also formulated in these three languages.
As a ruler, the Qing emperor certainly wanted everyone in the world to speak Manchu, but this was simply not possible. For example, in terms of literary creation, novels and dramas during the Qing Dynasty have made great achievements, but most of them are written in Chinese, and very few people write in Manchu.
Therefore, with the increasing stability of Qing rule and the influence of Han culture, Qing emperors after Qianlong began to pay more attention to the study of Chinese. By the end of the Qing Dynasty, the Manchu language had been in decline, and even many banner people themselves could not speak Manchu, but spoke authentic Beijing films.
Of course, as an emperor of the Qing Dynasty, he still had to learn the language of his own people, and it is unknown how he learned it.
The teacher in charge of teaching Puyi Manchu is named Yiktan, he is a rare Manchu master in the late Qing Dynasty, it is said that the Manchu language skills are very deep, and the teaching of Puyi Manchu is also very serious. However, because Pu Yi was very stubborn when he was a child, it is unknown how many skills he learned from his master.
In the memoirs written by Pu Yi in his later years, he said that his academic performance when he was a child was not good, especially the worst in Manchu literature, which could only be a few simple words. Pu Yi's statement is probably also to cater to the situation at the time, and it is not necessarily his true words.
After all, Iktan had taught Pu Yi Manchu for a total of four years, and he was very serious in teaching, so how could Pu Yi only learn a few simple words? Moreover, it is said that Pu Yi was proficient in reading the "Sacred Oracles and Teachings" and "Manchurian Filial Piety Classics" written in Manchu, which indicates that he had a certain level of proficiency in Manchu.
However, judging from the development of the Manchu language at the end of the Qing Dynasty, the decline of the Manchu language was inevitable. At this time, no one should be able to focus on learning a useless language, and Pu Yi, although he was the emperor of the Qing Dynasty, was probably influenced by this view.
Therefore, objectively speaking, Puyi's Manchu language should have a certain level, and of course this level should not be very high.