When the War to Resist US Aggression and Aid Korea broke out in 1950, the Chinese people donated money and materials to support the front-line soldiers.
At that time, he was still in the reform center in Fushun, but he took out a precious treasure and donated it to the country to express his patriotism, prove his loyalty and love for New China with practical actions, and let us see the transformation and consciousness of a former emperor in the new era.
So, what's the story? Let's talk about it today.
A turbulent era in the last years of the Qing Dynasty
As we all know, the Guangxu Emperor and the Empress Dowager Cixi died one after another, and the rule of the Qing Dynasty fell into an unprecedented crisis. Because Emperor Guangxu did not leave any heirs, Cixi made the three-year-old Aixin Jueluo Puyi emperor during his lifetime.
The young Pu Yi ascended to the throne under Cixi's control, but the actual rule of the Qing Dynasty was in the hands of Cixi and a group of pedantic ministers, who occupied the center of power after Cixi's death and ruled the world.
However, although they were bent on maintaining the rule of the Qing Dynasty, they were unable to return to the sky, and the decline of the Qing Dynasty was irreversible. During this period of time, Pu Yi's life seemed to be extremely luxurious, but in fact he was bound by the rules and etiquette of the court.
Every grass and tree, every meal and food in the palace is strictly carried out in accordance with etiquette, and Pu Yi performs various ceremonies every day surrounded by many eunuchs and palace maids, more like a "puppet emperor" and "symbol of royal power" in the Forbidden City.
Pu Yi's childhood was spent in the Forbidden City, and his life as emperor was surrounded by all kinds of cumbersome etiquette, and his playmates were not only the children of the nobles, but also some elderly eunuchs, who were his servants and teachers in life.
These elders were too heavily influenced by feudal thinking, and their influence on Pu Yi was mostly traditional and decadent, but during this period Pu Yi learned more or less Manchu, Chinese and some basic etiquette knowledge.
In the Forbidden City, Pu Yi is a high emperor, but at the same time, he is also lonely, and although he is surrounded by many people, it is difficult to find true friends. In other words, although he was the orthodox emperor of the Qing Dynasty, he had no real power in his hands at all.
Even these days did not last long, as the Xinhai Revolution broke out in 1911 to overthrow the Qing Dynasty, and the following year the Empress Dowager Longyu accepted the abdication conditions under the pressure of Yuan Shikai, and Pu Yi was forced to abdicate and the Qing Dynasty perished.
After negotiation, Pu Yi can still stay in the Forbidden City and live a life of protection and surveillance, and the government of the Republic of China supports 4 million yuan a year. Pu Yi spent most of his time in the palace, and the eunuchs and palace maids around him tried their best to maintain the so-called dignity of the emperor.
Once upon a time, Pu Yi also had his own legendary stories in the Forbidden City, such as once and gracefully you and me, and also enjoyed the benefits brought by the afterglow of the Qing Dynasty, and such days only lasted for 12 years.
In 1924, when the warlord Feng Yuxiang staged a coup d'état and drove Pu Yi out of the Forbidden City, the last emperor hurriedly took out a cotton coat containing treasures from his dormitory and fled from the place where he once ruled the world.
Escape the Forbidden City and head towards an unknown fate
On that day, Feng Yuxiang's army suddenly broke into the Forbidden City, and the palace maids and eunuchs fled in panic, and Pu Yi was closely guarded by his attendants and quickly took him back to the dormitory, and took out the cotton robe containing the treasure from under the mattress.
He hurriedly put on his cotton clothes and followed the ministers out of the palace through the back door, the cold wind was howling at night, and looking at the palace he was once familiar with, Pu Yi understood that from this moment on, he was no longer an emperor, but an exile.
Despite the loss of the throne, Pu Yi did not give up the dream of "restoration", which played into the hands of the Japanese. After leaving the Forbidden City, Pu Yi moved to the Japanese Concession in Tianjin, where he lived a life between the emperor and the commoners.
He went in and out of major social places, made friends with celebrities from all walks of life, and frequently contacted Duan Qirui, Zhang Zuolin, Wu Peifu and others, hoping to gain their support to regain the throne, but all this was in vain.
Does anyone really care about him? The answer is no, all he cares about is his identity as an emperor, or he wants him to be a puppet.
In 1931, the Japanese army launched the 918 Incident, and because Chiang Kai-shek implemented a policy of non-resistance, all the three northeastern provinces fell. With the support of Japan, Pu Yi came to the Northeast and became the emperor of the puppet Manchukuo, and for a time he seemed to be back at the top.
The fact is that this "emperor" is actually a puppet of Japan, and Pu Yi is nominally the head of state but does not have any real power.
The Japanese also controlled the politics, economy, and military of the puppet state of Manchukuo through a series of treaties, and Pu Yi could only serve as a tool for Japan's invasion of China.
In the life of the puppet Manchukuo, Pu Yi enjoyed the treatment of the emperor, but there was unspeakable bitterness in his heart.
Gradually, he realized that he was only a puppet of the Japanese, and all decisions were made according to the arrangements of the Japanese, and many attempts to get out of this predicament were to no avail.
More than a decade passed in a hurry, and in 1945, as the Second World War drew to a close, the Soviet Union declared war on Japan and quickly captured the territory of the puppet state of Manchukuo.
Pu Yi tried to flee to Japan in the chaos, but was captured by the Soviet Red Army and escorted to the Soviet Union. In the Soviet Union, Pu Yi received a certain degree of treatment, and knew very well that once he was extradited back to China, what awaited him would be trial and reform.
Therefore, in 1950, the Soviet Union decided to extradite Pu Yi back to China, and he insisted on staying in the Soviet Union, fearing that he would lose his current treatment when he returned to China.
The Soviet Union eventually rejected his request and sent him back to China, where he was sent to the Fushun War Criminals Management Center for labor reform and ideological re-education.
Pu Yi's transformation, a new life after the amnesty
In the early days of the Fushun War Criminals Management Center, Pu Yi still maintained the emperor frame of the past, and even asked his entourage to perform the etiquette of the palace, which caused other war criminals to resent and complain to the prison guards.
The prison guards gave Pu Yi a serious education, which made him gradually aware of his identity and situation, as well as the ideas and culture of the new era.
Life in prison was very simple, taking up most of the time in daily labor and study, and later Pu Yi also began to actively participate in labor, listening carefully to ideological education courses, trying to atone for his sins through reform.
In the process of labor and education, Pu Yi slowly realized that he was already an emperor in the past, and as a citizen of the new era, he should contribute to the country and the people, so he began to write a book based on his life experience, that is, "The First Half of My Life".
When the War to Resist US Aggression and Aid Korea broke out in 1950, the situation on the Korean Peninsula became increasingly tense.
This remark deeply touched Pu Yi, and he felt the love and selfless dedication of the people of New China to the country, and everyone should contribute.
Pu Yi felt a sense of responsibility in his heart, although he was in the war criminals management center, he was also a member of this country, and he should do his part for the country's cause of resisting US aggression and aiding Korea.
Returning to his cell and sitting on his humble bed, thinking about how he could contribute to the country, it was at this moment that he suddenly remembered the cotton coat he had brought out when he escaped from the Forbidden City, which contained a precious treasure.
This treasure is called "Tianhuang Three-Chain Seal", which is the favorite seal of the Qianlong Emperor, which is carefully carved from the whole Tianhuang stone, and has extremely high artistic and historical value.
Pu Yi immediately handed over this treasure to the prison guards, hoping to donate it to the country to support the War to Resist US Aggression and Aid Korea. The prison guard took the treasure and looked at it carefully, and found that it was indeed a rare treasure, and immediately ran to report it to his superiors.
Soon after, the director of the management office and a cultural relics expert arrived to identify the item, and the cultural relics expert took a magnifying glass to carefully observe every detail, and couldn't help but admire that the seal was carved from a whole piece of Tianhuang stone, and the craftsmanship was extremely exquisite, and it was a national treasure.
The director of the management office expressed his high appreciation for Pu Yi's behavior and praised him in front of all the war criminals, saying that it is worth learning from the fact that he was able to donate such a precious treasure when the country was in trouble.
Pu Yi felt extremely excited and relieved when he heard these words, and sincerely said that he would continue to work hard to reform and strive to become a qualified Chinese citizen as soon as possible.
Crossing the Yalu River with great courage and courage, with the heroic struggle of the volunteers, we won the final victory in the Korean War three years later and successfully defended the territory of the motherland.
In 1959, Pu Yi was pardoned and released from prison for good behavior, and returned to society to start a new life.
When the staff asked him for his name, he replied that he loved Xinjueluo Puyi, and told the staff that he was no longer an emperor, but a Chinese citizen.
After the amnesty, Pu Yi actively integrated into society and worked hard to reform himself, and the government also arranged a job for him in the Beijing Botanical Garden, living an ordinary and fulfilling life like ordinary people.
Over time, Pu Yi gradually transformed from an emperor abandoned by history to an ordinary Chinese citizen. In 1967, Pu Yi died at the age of 61, and the history of the feudal dynasty came to an end.
Throughout Pu Yi's life, he was full of ups and downs, from the high-ranking emperor to the war criminal, and then to the ordinary citizens of New China, experiencing many changes and endless ups and downs.
However, it was in these trials and tribulations that he found the true value of his life, and his donation during the War to Resist US Aggression and Aid Korea showed his responsibility and responsibility as a Chinese citizen.
Use your own experience to tell everyone that they have the opportunity to integrate into the country's development torrent through hard work and transformation, and contribute their own strength to the country and the people.
The country doesn't care about your past, as long as you reform well, you have a chance to become a reformed person.
Although Pu Yi has been dead for many years, as the "last emperor" of the feudal dynasty, his story has become a non-negligible part of China's modern history. What do you think differently about this?
Reference: Research on the Puppet Emperor System of Manchukuo - CNKI (cnki.net)
The Transformation of the Last Emperor - CNKI (cnki.net)
Triptych of Emperor Tian Huangshi - The Palace Museum (dpm.org.cn)