As we all know, the ancient emperors had high requirements for their own mausoleums, and often mobilized the masses and built a large number of civil engineering, just to build a beautiful cemetery, which is also a traditional project of the Aisin Kyora family.
However, when the project reached Puyi's generation, the situation changed - Puyi did indeed become the emperor of the Qing Dynasty, but the world was unpredictable, and at the time of his death, there was no imperial throne and he was reduced to an ordinary citizen. In this state, after Puyi's death, how should his body be buried?
On this point, his family did not dare to make a decision on their own, so they reported the problem to the central government for inquiry.
After Premier Zhou understood the problem, he immediately made a decision: in accordance with the tradition of the Aisin Kyora family, he handed over the right to dispose of the body to his family.
So, how did Puyi evolve from an emperor to an ordinary citizen? How was his body disposed of in the end?
Picture | Puyi
<h1 class="pgc-h-arrow-right" data-track="197" > the abdication of the last emperor</h1>
Puyi is not a traditional royal bloodline, his father is Zaifeng the Prince of Alcohol, and his mother is only an adopted daughter of Empress Dowager Cixi, so he was born in this way, he did not have the right to inherit the throne, however, because of Cixi's will, his life trajectory was disrupted.
In 1908, Empress Dowager Cixi, who was plagued by illness, handed a bowl full of poison to the "disobedient" Guangxu Emperor, and then immediately issued a decree announcing that Puyi would inherit the throne.
Puyi, who was only three years old, took over the devastated late Qing Dynasty.
Half a month after the death of Guangxu and Cixi, Puyi announced his succession to the throne and changed the era name to "Xuan unification", and everyone rubbed their fists together, hoping to restore the prosperity of the Qing Empire in the past. Unfortunately, at this time, Daqing was like an old man whose life was in danger, and neither the ministers in the imperial court nor the regent of the supervising state could turn his crisis into safety.
What's more, because they did not know the civil situation, the various policies they introduced to try to preserve the Qing Dynasty were based on partisan disputes, and such an act was undoubtedly speeding up the demise of the Qing Dynasty.
In 1911, forced by the exploitative rule of the Qing Government, the revolutionaries launched an uprising in Wuchang, and many provinces responded, and the political storm of the Xinhai Revolution instantly spread to most of China. At this time, the Qing Empire had long been like a dead wood, and there was no way to rejuvenate.
Under the tough blows of the revolutionaries and the crusade of public opinion of the common people, the regent and his ministers had to accept the "Preferential Treatment Regulations" proposed by Yuan Shikai in order to save the title of emperor and their own lives, and gave up the control of the dynasty.
Figure | the government of the late Qing Dynasty
On February 12, 1912, The Puyi Emperor announced his abdication, and the feudal dynasty that had lasted in China for more than two thousand years was officially declared over.
After Puyi abdicated, in order to gain higher interests, the feudal remnants also led their troops into Beijing under the pretext of mediating the "dispute between the government and the courtyard" to support Puyi's second ascension to the throne as emperor. Of course, the revolutionaries were not fools, and Zhang Xun's plot was quickly seen through by others and punished, and under the resistance of the crowd, the farce lasted only twelve days before it was declared over.
It was precisely because of this incident that the patriotic general Feng Yuxiang believed that as long as Puyi was still living in the palace, the feudal dynasty could be restored at any time, and in order to avoid such disturbances, in November 1924, Feng Yuxiang launched a coup d'état in Beijing, expelled Puyi from the palace, and abolished his imperial title.
<h1 class="pgc-h-arrow-right" data-track="290" > became the Manchu Emperor hated by the Chinese people</h1>
This series of changes made the young Puyi extremely afraid, but with the passage of time, Puyi also gradually learned of his identity and status, as well as the current situation, from that moment on, he had the ambition to become an emperor again.
Looking back on past experience, Puyi concluded that if you want to restore the dynasty, you must have a strong army as a support. To this end, as long as the warlords sent him invitations, he would take time to visit; whenever he heard that someone wanted to continue to serve the Qing, he would immediately try to win over, at the same time, Puyi would also actively make friends with domestic magnates, have friendly contacts with foreign consuls and garrison rulers, and often participate in the military parade ceremonies of Japanese devils as emperor Xuantong.
After the September 18 Incident, the Japanese devils declared that they would invite Puyi to the northeast region to "revive" the dynasty, and Puyi, who was bent on reviving the old business of his ancestors, heard this and thought that this was a good opportunity to regain power, so he gladly agreed. But he did not expect that it was precisely because of this action that he became a Manchu Qing emperor who was hated by the people.
Upon arriving at his destination, Puyi immediately found himself deceived — the Japanese devil wanted to create a "pseudo-Manchukuo", not the Qing Dynasty he had hoped for.
Figure | puppet Manchukuo "ruling", Puyi inauguration ceremony
Puyi, who came to the northeast, began to control the power under the compulsion of the Japanese, but the so-called power was restricted everywhere: whenever Puyi wanted to issue any instructions, he always had to pass the review of the Japanese devils, and after they agreed, the instruction could be issued, and he himself had no right to speak. This situation lasted for a while, and in the end, perhaps the Japanese devils were afraid that Puyi would be rescued by others, so they once again strengthened their control over him and forbade him to have casual contact with people, and Puyi at that time had completely reduced to a puppet that the Japanese could manipulate at will.
In this case, Puyi lived both depressed and afraid, and he once mentioned in his own "The First Half of My Life":
"In addition to eating and sleeping, it can be summarized in these eight words, namely: scolding, counting, taking medicine, and being afraid."
Puyi lived such a life for many years, until 1945, when the Japanese devils announced their surrender to Our country, and Puyi and his party, who were the emperors of puppet Manchukuo, were arrested by the Soviet army, which finally ended.
<h1 class="pgc-h-arrow-right" data-track="298" > was imprisoned in the War Criminals Management Center and reborn</h1>
In 1946, Puyi, who was arrested and imprisoned, testified in the political court for eight consecutive days, revealing to the public the cruel atrocities of Japanese devils. Puyi had previously been bent on "restoring" the feudal dynasty, and had done a lot of wrong things for this purpose, even at the expense of defecting to japanese devils and establishing a puppet state of Manchukuo, which had become a stain on his life. Puyi also understood the hatred of the people in China for him, and he was afraid that he would encounter greater setbacks after returning to China, so he made a request, hoping to stay in the Soviet Union and be tortured.
Figure | Puyi testified in court
Of course, the communist comrades did not allow this, and the Emperor of China did something wrong, so how could he leave him overseas and remain at ease? To this end, after the founding of New China, Chairman Mao personally went to the Soviet Union and made a request to Stalin, the ruler of the Soviet Union at that time, hoping to extradite Puyi and other war criminals back to China and accept domestic trial. This demand was not excessive, and Stalin readily agreed. Therefore, on August 1, 1950, the once invincible emperor Puyi was officially imprisoned in our prison.
What Puyi did not expect was that the Communist Party did not execute him, and after hearing what happened to him, the domestic leaders decided to give him a chance to reform himself - to put him in the war criminals management center and accept the party's ideological reform.
When he first entered the war criminals management center, Puyi was still a little unable to accept the fact that he had become a prisoner of the order, when the staff in the prison handed him the prison uniform embroidered with the number "981" on his chest, Puyi would have some small emotions, he thought that this dress was very similar to the birthday clothes worn by dead people, and after wearing this dress, everything was over.
He also does not take care of his daily routine, and eating and dressing are served by relatives who are locked up in the same cell as him. In this state, in order for him to be able to complete it independently, the staff can only arrange for him to go to the new prison area.
In the new cell, no one else had the obligation or interest to pay attention to him, and he had to do everything himself.
Puyi is a real person who does not distinguish between grains, washing, dressing, these things that even children can do, he can do a lot of work. Often someone else has already eaten breakfast and is ready to start work, and he is still struggling with his own quilt. When washing his clothes, he only knew how to soap them, did not know how to rub and rinse them, and after hanging such clothes out, everyone laughed at him.
Once, He Long came to the War Criminals Management Center and wanted to meet Puyi, but the staff obeyed the instructions and told him the news. What he did not expect was that Puyi was busy in his prison for half a day, and when he came out to see, his clothes were not buttoned, his pants were wrinkled, and even his shoelaces were still open, he met He Long in this image.
Pictured| He Long
He Long was also shocked by this image of Puyi, and before leaving, He Long specifically instructed the staff to help Puyi well.
The staff was also quite distressed about this at first, Puyi's image, very much like deliberately looking for stubble, however, after the two sides really contacted, the staff understood that Puyi really would not do these things, and as long as he was taught well, Puyi was also willing to learn.
In this way, with the help of the staff, Puyi slowly learned to complete simple daily living matters by himself, and finally, Puyi also applied to participate in the medical team of the management office, learned to use the instrument to measure blood pressure for everyone, and do electrotherapy.
One day, Puyi received the task of going to treat him, and when he did all the work, the Japanese prisoner of war politely got up, bowed deeply to him, and said: "Thank you Mr. Doctor." This is also the first time that Puyi has been respected by others in the management office, and he is very happy in his heart.
Of course, life in prison is happy and sad, Puyi is happy at this moment, and perhaps the next moment will fall into deep sadness.
<h1 class="pgc-h-arrow-right" data-track="312" > divorce</h1>
In April 1955, just as the staff of the War Criminals Management Center was getting ready for work, they met a middle-aged woman with a silk scarf wrapped in her head in front of the door, who seemed to have been waiting for a long time.
The staff was a little surprised, so they asked, "Who are you?" Who are you looking for when you come here? ”
The middle-aged woman took a step back and replied softly and politely: "My name is Li Yuqin, and I came here to find Ai Xinjue Luo Puyi, I am his wife." ”
Pictured| Li Yuqin
Li Yuqin was born into an ordinary family in Changchun City, and in 1943, at the age of 15, she was favored by the courtiers of the puppet state of Manchukuo, selected into the "palace", and was named a Fugui by puyi, the "emperor of the dynasty", becoming his fourth wife.
In 1945, after the Japanese devils surrendered, Li Yuqin was left in place by Puyi and others, and later after several turns, she lived in Beijing for many years. After 1950, after many inquiries, she learned that Puyi was imprisoned in the war criminals management center, so she worked tirelessly to collect travel expenses to come here, hoping to meet him.
The comrades of the War Criminals Management Center asked their superiors to specially approve the arrangement of a single room in the office, which was combined into a double bed with two single beds, for Li Yuqin to live here when visiting Puyi. The reason why the staff made this decision is also to hope that Puyi's last marriage will make him more kind. But unfortunately, things did not develop according to everyone's imagination.
When she really saw Puyi who had been away for many years, Li Yuqin was startled by his image, in her impression, Puyi has always been a young and handsome emperor, and now standing in front of her eyes is a "bad old man", his back is a little hunched, his speech is a little slow, and his actions have become a little bulky.
What really makes Li Yuqin unacceptable is a detail when they came into contact: when Li Yuqin came to visit Puyi, he brought some sugar on his body, perhaps because he had not eaten it for a long time, Puyi took it, immediately broke it open and stuffed it into his mouth, and did not break another piece for Li Yuqin, obviously he was not like this before.
These changes made Li Yuqin's illusion of him shattered, she began to pay attention to some details of Puyi's behavior, the more she observed, she felt that the more strange the people in front of her. "He's not as young and promising as he was then, but he's older than Dragon Clock." Li Yuqin silently chanted, and her heart was very uncomfortable.
Figure | the elderly Puyi
Since then, Li Yuqin has visited Puyi at the management office many times, but their state is getting worse and worse, and the release date of Puyi seems to be out of reach. In the end, Li Yuqin, after some deliberation, filed for divorce. On May 20, 1957, the people's government officially held a trial of the case and sentenced the two to divorce.
This change in marriage hit Puyi hard, and for a long time after that, he became increasingly depressed, and this state of affairs lasted until 1959.
<h1 class="pgc-h-arrow-right" data-track="320" > amnesty and freedom restored</h1>
Because of Puyi's outstanding performance in the management of war criminals, Chairman Mao personally issued an instruction: Amnesty puyi was pardoned.
On December 12, 1959, the War Criminals Management Center held an "Amnesty Conference for War Criminals", and the first name called out by the staff was Puyi.
This result surprised everyone, when Puyi heard this, it was as if he had been hit on the head by a falling pie, standing in the same place at a loss. It was still his younger brother Pu jie next to him who pushed him a little, and he finally reacted. In tears, he received the amnesty from the staff, his heart full of gratitude to the central leaders. He understood that, judging by his own crimes, to be able to regain his freedom so quickly was definitely a favor from his superiors. He excitedly assured everyone present that from now on, he would definitely be a person who would contribute to society.
Puyi returned to Beijing after being pardoned, and his hukou was registered at the local police station, and since then, Puyi has become a real Chinese citizen. On the eve of the Spring Festival this year, Premier Zhou specially held a symposium to invite Puyi and his relatives to participate, and during the meeting, Premier Zhou saw that Puyi was still far away from his relatives, so he joked: "Well, you still regard him as an emperor?" ”
Puyi's uncle Zaitao heard this and quickly gathered everyone to sit with Puyi.
Pictured | Premier Zhou
Premier Zhou was very satisfied with this reaction of the crowd, and at the same time followed the good example: "Puyi has just made some progress, and those of you who are relatives must help him." If a family wants to fight for progress, it has to help the backward. From these words, Puyi's relatives understood Premier Zhou's deep feelings and expectations, and they decided to put aside their original prejudices and help Puyi move forward together.
After solving this problem, how to arrange Puyi's work is also something that Premier Zhou needs to worry about, when asking Puyi's ideas, he once said that he wanted to go to the Forbidden City to do things, Premier Zhou dismissed this request on the spot, and the former emperor returned to the Forbidden City, which is likely to cause another storm.
After Puyi understood this, he said that he wanted to work in medical treatment, but the amount of knowledge required by this industry was too high, and according to Puyi's knowledge, he could not take on this big responsibility, so he was also rejected by Premier Zhou.
Later, after a long period of deliberation, Premier Zhou decided to let him work for a year at a botanical garden in Beijing, a job that only needed to work for a while in the morning, and he could easily study in the afternoon, and most importantly, he could rest on Sundays and move freely for a day.
The person in charge of the botanical garden also understands Puyi's situation, and the work entrusted to him is always the simplest in the park, and with the help of everyone, Puyi has gradually become familiar with his job.
A year later, Puyi, who studied and made progress in the folk, was promoted — he was transferred to the National Committee of the Chinese People's Political Consultative Conference and became a commissioner of the Literature and History Research Committee. Studying historical relics is Puyi's interest and the industry he is proficient in, so his enthusiasm for work has become higher, and he has become more positive and optimistic.
<h1 class="pgc-h-arrow-right" data-track="327" > remarried</h1>
Seeing that Puyi's life was gradually on the right track, and his marriage had become a matter of great concern to Chairman Mao and Premier Zhou, when he met Puyi, Chairman Mao once said humorously: "You are not married now, right?" The 'emperor' can't live without a mother-in-law, you can still remarry." ”
Why doesn't Puyi want to remarry? After his life was stable, he also began to want to find a partner to spend the rest of his life with, but unfortunately, such a person was not easy to find.
Just three months after returning to Beijing, his uncle Zaitao had given him a kiss, and the other party was a young lady surnamed Zhang. This young lady is fashionably dressed, extremely enthusiastic about Puyi, and has the idea of marrying him. However, when Puyi learned that her father had been a servant of Prince Shuo's palace and had received imperial favors, he immediately broke off contact with her.
His ex-wife WanRong has a cousin, known as Wang Da girl, has been picking and choosing, until the age of 50 has not been married, after understanding that Puyi has the idea of finding a daughter-in-law, she is very interested in this, often looking for him to eat, dating, but Puyi still rejected her.
From this point on, everyone understood Puyi's request - he did not like girls who were involved with the nobles of the palace, and what Puyi really wanted to find was an independent woman in the new society.
In January 1962, Puyi wrote to a friend to describe his troubles, he wrote: "During this time, many people have found me objects, and now that I have pinched my fingers, I should have known seven or eight of them, but I still have no heart, and when I find a good object, I must be the first to write to you." It can be seen that Puyi wants to find a good object's enthusiasm.
Just at this time, Zhou Zhenqiang, who is also a commissioner of literature and history, took a photo to the office and said that Sha Zengxi, the editor of the People's Publishing House, hoped that he could find a good object for the girl in the photo, and the girl in the photo was Li Shuxian.
Picture | Li Shuxian and Puyi took a group photo
Looking at the girl's dignified face in the photo, Puyi had ideas about her, and when he knew that Li Shuxian was still a nurse, his heart was even more satisfied. Not long after, at the recommendation of Zhou Zhenqiang and Sha Zengxi, Puyi and Li Shuxian met.
Later in life, Li Shuxian recalled to her neighbors that when she heard that the object of Sha Zengxi's introduction to her was "Xiao Xuantong", Li Shuxian was shocked, as a girl from the feudal dynasty, she was still a little timid about the royal family. She didn't want to meet him, but under Sha Zengxi's repeated persuasion, she still went with the attitude of trying.
When the two met, Li Shuxian was somewhat restrained, and she told Puyi: "I was born in 1925 and am 37 years old this year. ”
Puyi was also a little restrained, he said dryly: "You are still very young, I am 55 years old this year, I am so different from your age, will it affect the future marriage?" ”
Li Shuxian was also somewhat satisfied with him, so she replied to him: "I mainly look at feelings, and age is not the main issue. ”
After this meeting, the two have a deeper understanding of each other, and more importantly, because both sides have a good feeling for each other, their relationship progresses rapidly.
On April 30, 1962, Puyi and Li Shuxian held a grand wedding ceremony in a club along the South River, and agreed to live forever.
After they got married, the two spent two spring and autumn, which is also a good story, but unfortunately, Puyi is old after all, in the autumn of 1964, he appeared in the phenomenon of blood urine, and was diagnosed with kidney cancer by doctors. At that time, China's medical level was not yet developed, and no matter how hard people tried, they could not save his life.
On October 17, 1967, Puyi closed his eyes in a hospital bed at the age of 61. After his death, how to bury his body became a difficult point for his family.
For this problem, the family did not dare to make a decision lightly, so they reported the problem to the central government. When Premier Zhou learned of this, he immediately gave instructions: in accordance with the tradition of the Aisin Kyora family, the right to dispose of the remains was handed over to his family.
In fact, as early as 1915, when Puyi was just 10 years old, he decided to use the Fox Immortal Tower near the Taidong Tomb in the Qing Dynasty as a burial place after his death, and then because of various changes, he never repaired his mausoleum.
After his death, and when Premier Zhou was willing to hand over the right of burial to his relatives, his uncle and wife had thought of building a cemetery for him in the local area, but considering the situation in China at that time, the people did not want to burden Premier Zhou any longer, so they did not do so.
On October 22, after several days of deliberations, the members of the Ai Xin Jue Luo family reached a consensus and unanimously decided to store their ashes in the Columbarium of the Babaoshan People's Cemetery, and then make plans.
In 1955, a domestic businessman built a cemetery in the QingXi Mausoleum, and in order to expand his popularity, the businessman approached Li Shuxian and hoped to relocate Puyi's ashes here.
This cemetery is named Hualong Royal Cemetery, perhaps to highlight its own dignity, the merchants built this place to a very high-end atmosphere, Li Shuxian after visiting the site, quite satisfied with it, more importantly, burial in the Qing Xi Mausoleum is indeed a decision made by Puyi before his death, so the two sides officially reached a cooperation.
On January 26, 1995, the day Puyi was officially buried in the Qingxi Mausoleum, in order to see her husband's "last side", Li Shuxian specially rode to the cemetery, when she saw Puyi's ashes were submerged by the mound, she murmured: "I am very happy today, Puyi has a place to live, I am at ease." ”