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194-543: Late Qing reforms started in 1901, and since they were implemented with the backing of the Empress Dowager Cixi , they are also called Cixi's New Policies. The reforms were often considered more radical than the earlier Self-Strengthening Movement which came to an abrupt end with China's defeat in the First Sino-Japanese War in 1895. Despite the reforms and other political struggles the revolutionaries led

388-613: A concubine of the Xianfeng Emperor in her adolescence, she gave birth to a son, Zaichun , in 1856. After the Xianfeng Emperor's death in 1861, his five-year-old son became the Tongzhi Emperor, and Cixi assumed the role of co-empress dowager alongside Xianfeng's widow, Empress Dowager Ci'an . Cixi ousted a group of regents appointed by the late emperor and assumed the regency along with Ci'an. Cixi then consolidated control over

582-565: A concubine , so he would have to choose again. Puyi later claimed that the faces were too small to distinguish between. Puyi then chose Gobulo Wanrong , the daughter of one of Manchuria's richest aristocrats, who had been educated in English by American missionaries in Tianjin, who was considered to be an acceptable empress by the Dowager Consorts. On 15 March 1922, the betrothal of Puyi and Wanrong

776-708: A "roundabout way" not to trust his Japanese friends. Zhang fought in the pay of the Japanese, but by this time his relations with the Kwantung Army were becoming strained. In June 1927, Zhang captured Beijing and Behr observed that if Puyi had had more courage and returned to Beijing, he might have been restored to the Dragon Throne. Puyi was noted to have said in a 1927 article in The Illustrated London News , that "I never wish to be Emperor again". Puyi's court

970-717: A Qing restoration for the right price, and eunuchs who had once lived in the Forbidden City and were now living in poverty. Puyi was often bored with his life, and engaged in maniacal shopping to compensate, recalling that he was addicted to "buying pianos, watches, clocks, radios, Western clothes, leather shoes, and spectacles". Puyi's first wife, Wanrong, continued to smoke opium recreationally during this period. Their marriage began to fall apart as they spent more and more time apart, meeting only at mealtimes. Puyi wrote in his memoir: Even if I had had only one wife she would not have found life with me interesting since my preoccupation

1164-490: A Sinophile scholar and a romantic conservative with an instinctive preference for monarchies, believed that China needed a benevolent autocrat to guide the country forward. He was enough of a traditionalist to respect that all major events in the Forbidden City were determined by the court astrologers . Johnston disparaged the superficially Westernised Chinese republican elite who dressed in top hats, frock coats, and business suits as not authentically Chinese, and praised to Puyi

1358-518: A battalion commander, 58-64 taels for a company commander, 25 taels for Lieutenants, 5.1 taels for sergeants, 4.8 taels for corporals, 4.5 taels for first-class privates, 4.2 taels for privates, 3.3 taels for supernumeraries. In 1902, Beiyang Fleet officer Sa Zhenbing proposed four methods for reviving the Imperial Chinese Navy . First, sending naval officers to study in Japan. Second, setting up

1552-418: A certain air of normality to his unique childhood. Separated from his family, Puyi lived his childhood in a regime of virtual seclusion in the Forbidden City, surrounded by guards, eunuchs and other servants who treated him like a god. The emperor's upbringing was a mixture of pampering and mistreatment, as he was required to follow all the rules of rigid Chinese imperial protocol and was unable to behave like

1746-421: A eunuch for a well-done puppet show by having a cake baked for him with iron filings in it, saying, "I want to see what he looks like when he eats it". With much difficulty, Wang talked Puyi out of this plan. Every day, Puyi had to visit five former imperial concubines, called his "mothers", to report on his progress. He hated his "mothers", not least because they prevented him from seeing his real mother until he

1940-552: A former Air Force officer from the Beiyang Army , as his chief of staff to help with the reforms. But on 27 June 1923, a fire destroyed the area around the Palace of Established Happiness, just at the moment when the emperor had ordered to carry out the inventory of one of the imperial warehouses. Puyi suspected it was arson to cover theft. The emperor overheard conversations among the eunuchs that made him fear for his life. In response,

2134-531: A general offensive with the aim of conquering all of Manchuria. Puyi was visited by Kenji Doihara, head of the espionage office of the Japanese Kwantung Army, who proposed establishing Puyi as head of a Manchurian state. The Japanese further bribed a café worker to tell Puyi that a contract was out on his life in an attempt to frighten Puyi into moving. The Empress Wanrong was firmly against Puyi's plans to go to Manchuria, which she called treason, and for

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2328-556: A good boy, not daring to talk about other things when I got bored ... as I did with my other Chinese tutors". As the only person capable of controlling Puyi, Johnston had much more influence than his title of English tutor would suggest, as the eunuchs began to rely on him to steer Puyi away from his more capricious moods. Under the Scotsman's influence, Puyi started to insist that his eunuchs address him as "Henry" and later his wife Wanrong as "Elizabeth" as Puyi began to speak " Chinglish ",

2522-587: A great man such as himself should go conquer Manchuria and then, just as his Qing ancestors did in the 17th century, use Manchuria as a base for conquering China. In 1928, during the Northern Expedition to reunify China, troops sacked the Qing tombs outside Beijing after the Kuomintang and its allies took Beijing from Zhang's army who retreated back to Manchuria. The news that the Qing tombs had been plundered and

2716-434: A handkerchief as a fat old man [Yuan] knelt before her on a red cushion, tears streaming down his face. I was sitting to the right of the widow and wondering why both adults were crying. There was no one in the room other than the three of us and everything was very quiet; the fat man snorted as he spoke and I couldn't understand what he was saying... This was the time when Yuan directly raised the question of abdication. Under

2910-406: A lengthy plan for the reorganisation of the army. The report called for the regular dispatch of central government officials to the provinces to actually check that imperial decrees were being followed something which was not the case previously. In a concession to the provinces the new armies were to be controlled by the provinces and raised by them but ultimately responsible to the throne and used by

3104-720: A letter to Jirō Minami , the Japanese Minister of War, expressing his desire to be restored to the throne. On the night of 18 September 1931, the Mukden Incident began when the Japanese Kwantung Army blew up a section of railroad belonging to the Japanese-owned South Manchurian Railroad company and blamed the warlord Marshal Zhang Xueliang . On this pretext the Kwantung Army began

3298-565: A meal, and he started on a decidedly imperial take on the presidency. Puyi spent hours staring at the Presidential Palace across from the Forbidden City and cursed Yuan whenever he saw him come and go in his car. Puyi loathed Yuan as a "traitor" and decided to sabotage his plans to become emperor by hiding the Imperial Seals, only to be told by his tutors that he would just make new ones. In 1915, Yuan proclaimed himself as emperor , and he

3492-587: A military shilang who had tried to bribe his way out of demotion, and He Guiqing, then Viceroy of Liangjiang , who fled Changzhou in the wake of an incoming Taiping army instead of trying to defend the city. A number of reforms were implemented, such as the development of the Zongli Yamen, an official foreign ministry to deal with international affairs, the restoration of regional armies and regional strongmen, modernization of railroads, factories, and arsenals, an increase of industrial and commercial productivity, and

3686-464: A mixture of Mandarin and English that became his preferred mode of speech. Puyi recalled of Johnston: "I thought everything about him was first-rate. He made me feel that Westerners were the most intelligent and civilised people in the world and that he was the most learned of Westerners" and that "Johnston had become the major part of my soul". In May 1919, Puyi noticed the protests in Beijing generated by

3880-505: A moment Puyi hesitated, leading Doihara to send for Puyi's cousin, the very pro-Japanese Yoshiko Kawashima (also known as "Eastern Jewel", Dongzhen ), to visit him to change his mind. Yoshiko, a strong-willed, flamboyant, openly bisexual woman noted for her habit of wearing male clothing and uniforms, had much influence on Puyi. In the Tientsin Incident of November 1931, Puyi and Zheng Xiaoxu travelled to Manchuria to complete plans for

4074-602: A month after the fire, he evicted the eunuchs from the palace with the support of the Beiyang Army. The reform efforts did not last long before Puyi was forced out of the Forbidden City by Feng Yuxiang . On 10 October 1911, the army garrison in Wuhan mutinied , sparking a widespread revolt in the Yangtze river valley and beyond, demanding the overthrow of the Qing dynasty that had ruled China since 1644. The strongman general Yuan Shikai

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4268-537: A naval school in Jiangyin. Third, building Mawei Shipyard as a ship repair base. Fourth, setting up a naval guard town in Yantai and Fuzhou. The policies reformed almost every aspect of governmental affairs: The impact of these reforms varied from place to place. Many regions were virtually unchanged, while the provinces in the lower Yangzi valley had already taken the lead. The province of Zhili (roughly present day Hebei )

4462-494: A new threat to her power. In 1881, she put a halt to the policy of sending children abroad to study and withdrew her formerly open attitude towards foreigners. In 1872, the Tongzhi Emperor turned 17. Under the guidance of Empress Dowager Ci'an, he was married to Lady Arute . The new empress's grandfather, Duanhua, Prince Zheng, was one of the eight regents ousted from power in the Xinyou Coup of 1861. He had been Cixi's rival during

4656-409: A normal child. The eunuchs were virtual slaves who did all the work in the Forbidden City, such as cooking, gardening, cleaning, entertaining guests, and the bureaucratic work needed to govern a vast empire. They also served as the emperor's advisers. The Forbidden City was full of treasures that the eunuchs constantly stole and sold on the black market. The business of government and of providing for

4850-475: A private citizen of the Republic of China. Puyi was expelled from the Forbidden City the same day. He was given three hours to leave. He spent a few days at the house of his father Prince Chun , and then temporarily resided in the Japanese embassy in Beijing. Puyi left his father's house together with Johnston and his chief servant Big Li without informing Prince Chun's servants, slipped his followers, and went to

5044-581: A relatively conservative-protective one to an aggressive-colonial one. Also, after the British expedition to Tibet in 1904 and the Sino-British treaty in 1906 , Qing China sent the 1910 expedition to Tibet for establishing direct rule over Tibet. The New Policies are judged now to have been a substantive beginning for China's reorganization which was destroyed after the death of the Dowager Empress in 1908 by

5238-705: A resort owned by the South Manchurian Railroad company. Amakasu was a fearsome man who told Puyi how in the Amakasu Incident of 1923 he had the feminist Noe Itō , her lover the anarchist Sakae Ōsugi , and a six-year-old boy strangled as they were "enemies of the Emperor", and he likewise would kill Puyi if he should prove to be an "enemy of the Emperor". Chen Baochen returned to Beijing, where he died in 1935. Once he arrived in Manchuria, Puyi discovered that he

5432-482: A result, Tongzhi asked the Board of Finance to forage for the necessary funds. In addition, he encouraged members of the nobility and high officials to donate funds from their personal resources. Once construction began, the emperor checked its progress on a monthly basis, and would often spend days away from court, indulging himself in pleasures outside of the Forbidden City. Uneasy about Tongzhi's neglect of national affairs,

5626-517: A ritual kowtow , averting their eyes until he passed. Soon he discovered the absolute power he wielded over the eunuchs, and he frequently had them beaten for small transgressions. As an emperor, Puyi's every whim was catered to while no one ever said no to him, making him into a sadistic boy who loved to have his eunuchs flogged or forced to eat dirt. The Anglo-French journalist Edward Behr wrote about Puyi's power as emperor of China, which allowed him to fire his air-gun at anyone he liked: The Emperor

5820-479: A suitable place to live after retiring from political affairs, Cixi continued to influence the decisions and actions of the Guangxu Emperor even after he began his formal rule at age 19. Along with an entourage of court officials, Guangxu would pay visits to her every second or third day at which major political decisions would be made. Weng Tonghe observed that while the emperor dealt with day-to-day administration,

6014-481: A triumphal progress along the decorated road between the Forbidden City and the Summer Palace, decorations for the Beijing city gates and monumental archways, free theatrical performances, remission of punishments and the restoration of degraded officials. However, the war between China and Japan forced the empress dowager to cancel the lavish celebrations she had planned and settle for a much smaller commemoration that

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6208-458: A warning of the imminent loss of the " Mandate of Heaven " by current rulers. For Guangxu's empress, Cixi chose her niece, and Guangxu's cousin, Jingfen . Cixi in addition selected two concubines for the emperor who were sisters, Consorts Jin and Zhen . Guangxu eventually would prefer to spend more time with Consort Zhen, neglecting his empress, much to Cixi's dismay. In 1894, Cixi degraded Consort Zhen, citing intervention in political affairs as

6402-505: Is totally free from arrogance […] Although the emperor does not seem to have been spoiled yet, from the nonsense and futility that surrounds him, I am afraid there is no hope that he will emerge unscathed from the moral dangers through of the next few years of his life (very critical years necessarily for a boy in his early adolescence), unless he can be removed from the influence of the hordes of eunuchs and other useless officials who are now almost his only companions. I am inclined to think that

6596-576: The Great Learning and the Doctrine of the Mean . But he disregarded the rules, and taught Puyi about world history with a special focus on British history. Besides history, Johnston taught Puyi philosophy and about what he saw as the superiority of monarchies to republics. Puyi remembered that his tutor's piercing blue eyes "made me feel uneasy ... I found him very intimidating and studied English with him like

6790-476: The 1911 Revolution which resulted in the fall of the Qing dynasty. In China, the reform is most commonly known as New Policies of the late Qing dynasty (清末新政), and is also called Gengzi New Policies (庚子新政), Post-Gengzi New Policies (庚子后新政). After the fall of the Qing dynasty, in the Republic of China, it was called "Shame-covering reforms" (遮羞变法). In Hong Kong , it was called Late Qing reforms (晚清改革), and in Japan , it

6984-604: The Hundred Days' Reform aimed at sweeping political, legal and social changes and issued edicts for far-reaching modernising reforms. Pu Yi Puyi (7 February 1906 – 17 October 1967) was the last emperor of China , reigning as the eleventh and final monarch of the Qing dynasty . In 1908, when the Guangxu Emperor died without an heir, Empress Dowager Cixi picked his nephew Puyi, aged two, to succeed him as

7178-562: The May 4th movement as thousands of Chinese university students protested against the decision by the great powers at the Paris peace conference to award the former German concessions in Shandong together with the former German colony of Qingdao to Japan. For Puyi, the 4 May movement, which he asked Johnston about, was a revelation as it marked the first time in his life that he noticed that people outside

7372-669: The Sino-French War of 1884–1885. Cixi used China's loss in the war as a pretext for getting rid of Prince Gong and other important decision-makers in the Grand Council in 1885. She downgraded Prince Gong to "advisor" and elevated the more easily influenced Prince Chun, Guangxu's father. When it was first developed by Empress Dowager Cixi, the Beiyang Fleet was said to be the strongest navy in East Asia. Before her nephew Guangxu took over

7566-543: The Summer Palace , destroyed by the English and French in the Second Opium War, would be completely rebuilt under the pretext that it was a gift to Cixi and Ci'an. Historians also suggest that it was an attempt to drive Cixi from the Forbidden City so that he could rule without interference in policy or his private affairs. The imperial treasury was almost depleted at the time from internal strife and foreign wars, and as

7760-484: The Summer Palace . A hefty annual subsidy of four million silver taels was granted by the Republic to the imperial household, although it was never fully paid and was abolished after just a few years. Puyi was not informed in February 1912 that his reign had ended and China was now a republic, and continued to believe that he was still emperor for some time. In 1913, when Empress Dowager Longyu died, President Yuan arrived at

7954-740: The Xuantong Emperor . Puyi's father, Zaifeng, Prince Chun , served as regent for his son before Puyi was forced to abdicate in 1912 as a result of the Xinhai Revolution , which ended two millennia of imperial rule and established the Republic of China . The Empress Dowager Longyu signed the Imperial Edict of the Abdication of the Qing Emperor on Puyi's behalf, and in return the royal family

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8148-522: The " Articles of Favourable Treatment of the Great Qing Emperor after His Abdication ", signed with the new Republic of China , Puyi was to retain his imperial title and be treated by the government of the Republic with the protocol attached to a foreign monarch. Puyi and the imperial court were allowed to remain in the northern half of the Forbidden City (the Private Apartments) as well as in

8342-514: The " Imperial Edict of the Abdication of the Qing Emperor " on 12 February 1912, under a deal brokered by Yuan, now Prime Minister , with the imperial court in Beijing and the Republicans in southern China. Puyi recalled in his autobiography the meeting between Longyu and Yuan: The Dowager Empress was sitting on a kang [platform] in a side room of the Mind Nature Palace, wiping her eyes with

8536-566: The "Eight Regent Ministers" to direct and support the future emperor. Xianfeng died on 22 August 1861 at the Chengde Mountain Resort in Rehe Province. Xianfeng's heir was his five-year-old son with Noble Consort Yi. It is commonly assumed that on his deathbed, Xianfeng summoned his empress and Noble Consort Yi and gave each of them a stamp. He hoped that when his son ascended the throne, the two women would cooperate in harmony and help

8730-421: The "barbarians" that had caused Xianfeng to flee to Rehe Province "greatly against his will", among other charges. To display her high moral standards, Cixi executed only three of the eight regents. Prince Gong had suggested that Sushun and others be executed by the most painful method, known as slow slicing ("death by a thousand cuts"), but Cixi declined the suggestion and ordered that Sushun be beheaded, while

8924-478: The "betrothal presents" of 18 sheep, 2 horses, 40 pieces of satin, and 80 rolls of cloth, marched from the Forbidden City to Wanrong's house, accompanied by court musicians and cavalry. Following Manchu traditions where weddings were conducted under moonlight for good luck, an enormous procession of palace guardsmen, eunuchs, and musicians carried the Princess Wanrong in a red sedan chair called

9118-500: The Boxer groups and declared war on the invaders. The ensuing defeat was a stunning humiliation, ending with the occupation of Beijing and the Qing regime on the brink of collapse. When Cixi returned from Xi'an , she backtracked and began to implement fiscal and institutional reforms aimed to turn China towards a constitutional monarchy. The deaths of both Cixi and Guangxu in November 1908 left

9312-526: The British diplomatic legation in Beijing to host Puyi, and although the British authorities were not very interested in welcoming the former emperor, the British representative eventually gave Johnston his consent. However, Johnston later discovered that Puyi – in view of the situation and that Johnston was not returning from his efforts – had taken refuge in the Japanese legation after being advised by Zheng Xiaoxu. The Japanese diplomat Kenkichi Yoshizawa gave Puyi

9506-623: The Chinese state on a daily basis. On various occasions, the Xianfeng Emperor had Noble Consort Yi read palace memorials for him and leave instructions on the memorials according to his will. As a result, she became well-informed about state affairs and the art of governing. In September 1860, during the closing stages of the Second Opium War , the British diplomatic envoy Harry Parkes was arrested along with other hostages, who were tortured and executed. In retaliation, British and French troops under

9700-457: The Confucian scholars with their traditional robes as the ones who were authentically Chinese. As part of an effort to crack down on corruption by the eunuchs, inspired by Johnston, Puyi ordered an inventory of the Forbidden City's treasures. The Hall of Established Happiness was burned on the night of 26 June 1923, as the eunuchs tried to cover up the extent of their theft. Johnston reported that

9894-418: The Dragon Throne if he gave them enough money, and both of them kept all the money he gave them for themselves. Puyi remembered Zhang as "a universally detested monster" with a face bloated and "tinged with the livid hue induced by opium smoking". Semyonov in particular proved himself to be a talented con man, claiming as an ataman to have several Cossack Hosts under his command, to have 300 million roubles in

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10088-428: The Dragon Throne. By this time, he had forgotten what his mother looked like. Such was the awe in which the emperor was held that his younger brother Pujie never heard his parents refer to Puyi as "your elder brother" but only as "The Emperor". Pujie told Behr his image of Puyi prior to meeting him was that of "a venerable old man with a beard. I couldn't believe it when I saw this boy in yellow robes sitting solemnly on

10282-623: The Empress came into my field of vision with a crimson satin cloth embroidered with a dragon and a phoenix over her head that I felt at all curious about what she looked like." After the wedding was complete, Puyi, Wanrong, and his secondary consort Wenxiu (whom he married the same night) went to the Palace of Earthly Tranquility , where everything was red – the colour of love and sex in China – and where emperors had traditionally consummated their marriages. Puyi, who

10476-526: The Forbidden City , one of the main sources of information about Puyi's life in this period, though Behr cautioned that Johnston painted an idealised picture of Puyi, avoiding all mention of Puyi's sexuality, merely average academic ability, erratic mood swings, and eunuch-flogging. Pujie told Behr of Puyi's moods: "When he was in a good mood, everything was fine, and he was a charming companion. If something upset him, his dark side would emerge." On 21 October 1922, Puyi's wedding to Princess Wanrong began with

10670-532: The Forbidden City and planned to issue an open letter to "the people of China" renouncing the title of Emperor before leaving for Oxford. The escape attempt failed when Johnston vetoed it and refused to call a taxi, and Puyi was too frightened to live on the streets of Beijing on his own. Pujie said of Puyi's escape attempt: "Puyi's decision had nothing to do with the impending marriage. He felt cooped up, and wanted out." Johnston later recounted his time as Puyi's tutor between 1919 and 1924 in his 1934 book Twilight in

10864-484: The Forbidden City as a show of force against Zhang Xun, causing the death of a eunuch, but otherwise inflicting minor damage. This is the first aerial bombardment recorded by a Chinese Air Force , and the restoration failed due to extensive opposition across China. On 3 March 1919, the Scottish scholar and diplomat Reginald Johnston arrived in the Forbidden City to serve as Puyi's tutor. President Xu Shichang believed

11058-437: The Forbidden City had concerns that were not about him. After his first interview with the emperor, the British academic recorded his impressions in a report addressed to the British authorities; in this document Johnston mentions: He appears to be physically robust and well developed for his age. He is a very "human" boy, with liveliness, intelligence and an enthusiastic sense of humour. Furthermore, he has excellent manners and

11252-558: The Forbidden City to pay his respects, which Puyi's tutors told him meant that major changes were afoot. Puyi soon learned that the real reasons for the Articles of Favourable Settlement was that President Yuan was planning on restoring the monarchy with himself as the emperor of a new dynasty, and wanted to have Puyi as a sort of custodian of the Forbidden City until he could move in. Puyi first learned of Yuan's plans to become emperor when he brought in army bands to serenade him whenever he had

11446-472: The Forbidden City, and later Manchukuo , to visit him. After his special government pardon in 1959, she visited her adopted son and only then did he learn of her personal sacrifices to be his nurse. Growing up with scarcely any memory of a time when he was not indulged and revered, Puyi quickly became spoiled. The adults in his life, except for Wang, were all strangers, remote, distant, and unable to discipline him. Wherever he went, grown men would kneel down in

11640-407: The Forbidden City, forcing eunuchs to get out of the way, and told Behr in an interview: "There was a lot of laughter, she and Puyi seemed to get on well, they were like kids together." In 1986, Behr interviewed one of Puyi's two surviving eunuchs, an 85-year-old who was reluctant to answer the questions asked of him, but finally said of Puyi's relationship with Wanrong: "The Emperor would come over to

11834-492: The Grand Councillors gave their advice in more complex cases, and in the most complex cases of all, the advice of Cixi was sought. In 1894, the First Sino-Japanese War broke out over Korea whose age-old allegiance to Beijing was wavering. After the decisive victory and ensuing Treaty of Shimonoseki, Japan annexed Taiwan from Qing China. During this period, Cixi was continuously called upon to arbitrate policy-making, and

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12028-423: The Guangxu Emperor was forced to address Cixi as qin baba ("Dear Father"), in order to enforce an image that she was the fatherly figure in the household. Guangxu began his education when he was aged five, taught by the imperial tutor Weng Tonghe, with whom he would develop a lasting bond. Shortly after Guangxu's accession, Cixi fell severely ill. This rendered her largely inaccessible to her young nephew and had

12222-464: The Japanese legation. Puyi had originally wanted to go to the British Legation, but Johnston had insisted that he would be safer with the Japanese. For Johnston, the system where the Japanese people worshipped their emperor as a living god was much closer to his ideal than the British constitutional monarchy, and he constantly steered Puyi in a pro-Japanese direction. However, Johnston tried to get

12416-526: The Japanese, who had long desired control of China. After the Japanese invaded Manchuria and established the puppet state of Manchukuo in 1932, they installed Puyi as the state's chief executive. In 1934, Puyi was declared emperor of Manchukuo and crowned under the era name "Kangde". He largely resided in the Manchukuo Imperial Palace in Changchun , where his personal life was closely watched by

12610-723: The Japanese. He never held any real power, only able to sign edicts that the Japanese gave him. At the end of the Second Sino-Japanese War in 1945, Puyi fled the capital and was captured by the Soviet Red Army . In 1946, he testified at the Tokyo War Crimes Tribunal , and in 1950, was repatriated to the People's Republic of China . Puyi was then imprisoned and re-educated as a war criminal until his release in 1959. After his release, Puyi wrote an autobiography (with

12804-520: The Manchurians belonged to the royal family, the cabinet was known as a "royal cabinet". In 1902, Shanxi governor Zhao Erxun proposed to reform the local administrative reforms such as the Baojia system, including the establishment of the modern police system and the expansion of local organizational functions. In 1907, the local official system was promulgated, and the financial power and military power of

12998-408: The Phoenix Chair within the Forbidden City, where Puyi sat upon the Dragon Throne. Later Wanrong kowtowed to him six times in her living quarters to symbolize her submission to her husband as the decree of their marriage was read out. Wanrong wore a mask in accordance with Chinese tradition and Puyi, who knew nothing of women, remembered: "I hardly thought about marriage and family. It was only when

13192-430: The Qing dynasty, succeeded to the throne, the provincial advisory councils were elected. In 1910, the Zizheng Institute held its first opening ceremony. In May 1911, the prince regent Zaifeng appointed Yikuang, Prince Qing as the Prime Minister of the Imperial Cabinet to organize the new cabinet. The head of the new cabinet had 13 members, including eight Manchurians, four Han Chinese, and one Mongolian. As seven of

13386-460: The Qing imperial court, and though she was not the de jure "regent", she was the de facto ruler of the Qing empire. Puyi had a standard Confucian education, being taught the various Chinese classics and nothing else. He later wrote: "I learnt nothing of mathematics, let alone science, and for a long time I had no idea where Peking was situated". When Puyi was 13, he met his parents and siblings, all of whom had to kowtow before him as he sat upon

13580-443: The Second Opium War of 1856–60 was a wake-up call. Military strategies were outdated, both on land and sea and in terms of weaponry. Sensing an immediate threat from foreigners and realising that China's agricultural-based economy could not hope to compete with the industrial prowess of the West, Cixi decided that for the first time in Chinese history, China would learn from the Western powers and import their knowledge and technology. At

13774-447: The Summer Palace in Beijing . The greatest symbol of this enduring belief is the Marble Boat that is part of the Summer Palace. However, extensive research by Chinese historians suggests that Cixi was not the cause of the Chinese navy's decline. In actuality, China's defeat was caused by Guangxu's lack of interest in developing and maintaining the military. His close adviser, Grand Tutor Weng Tonghe, advised Guangxu to cut all funding to

13968-543: The Taiping rebels into the hands of a Han Chinese, Zeng Guofan . Additionally, in the next three years, Cixi appointed Han Chinese officials as governors in all southern Chinese provinces, raising alarm bells in the court, traditionally protective of Manchu dominance. Regarding the reforms of the Tongzhi Restoration, Mary C. Wright suggested that "Not only a dynasty but also a civilization which appeared to have collapsed

14162-406: The Taiping rebels' defeat, Cixi was quick to move after Cai Shouqi , a minor scribe-official, filed a memorial accusing Prince Gong of corruption and showing disrespect to the emperor. Having built up a powerful base and a network of allies at court, Prince Gong considered the accusations insignificant. Cixi, however, took the memorial as a stepping stone to Prince Gong's removal. In April 1865, under

14356-524: The United States for studies. China's "learn from foreigners" programme quickly met with impediments. The Chinese military institutions were in desperate need of reform. Cixi's solution, under the advice of officials at court, was to purchase seven British warships. When the warships arrived in China, however, they were staffed with British sailors, all under British command. The Chinese were enraged at this "international joke", negotiations broke down between

14550-522: The age of 2 years and 10 months in December ;1908 after the Guangxu Emperor , Puyi's half-uncle, died childless on 14 November. Titled the Xuantong Emperor, Puyi's introduction to the life of an emperor began when palace officials arrived at his family residence to take him. On the evening of 13 November, without any advance notice, a procession of eunuchs and guardsmen led by

14744-640: The bank, and to be supported by American, British, and Japanese banks in his plans to restore both the House of Qing in China and the House of Romanov in Russia. Puyi gave Semyonov a loan of 5,000 British pounds, which Semyonov never repaid. Another visitor to the Garden of Serenity was General Kenji Doihara , a Japanese Army officer who was fluent in Mandarin and a man of great charm who manipulated Puyi via flattery, telling him that

14938-529: The beginning of Japanese interest in Puyi. On 23 October 1924, a coup led by the warlord Feng Yuxiang took control of Beijing. Feng, the latest of the warlords to take Beijing, was seeking legitimacy and decided that abolishing the unpopular Articles of Favourable Settlement was an easy way to win the crowd's approval. Feng unilaterally revised the "Articles of Favourable Treatment" on 5 November 1924, abolishing Puyi's imperial title and privileges and reducing him to

15132-455: The best course of action to take in the interest of the boy himself would be to remove him from the harmful atmosphere of the "Forbidden City" and send him to the Summer Palace. There it would be possible for him to live a much less artificial and happier life than he can under the present conditions... Puyi could not speak Manchu ; he only knew a single word in the language, yili ("arise"). Despite studying Manchu for years, he admitted that it

15326-574: The boy emperor. The first stated that the two empresses dowager were to be the sole decision-makers "without interference," and the second changed the emperor's regnal title from Qixiang ( 祺祥 ; "auspicious") to Tongzhi ( 同治 ; "collective stability"). Despite being designated as the sole decision-makers, both Ci'an and Cixi were forced to rely on the Grand Council and a complex series of procedures in order to deal with affairs of state. When state documents came in, they were to be first forwarded to

15520-703: The command of Lord Elgin attacked Beijing, and by the following month they had burned the Old Summer Palace to the ground. Xianfeng and his entourage, including Noble Consort Yi, fled Beijing to Rehe Province (around present-day Chengde , Hebei ). On hearing the news of the destruction of the Old Summer Palace, Xianfeng, who was already showing signs of dementia, fell into a depression. He turned heavily to alcohol and other drugs and became seriously ill. He summoned eight of his most prestigious ministers, headed by Sushun , Zaiyuan and Duanhua , and named them

15714-554: The constitutional monarchy. On January 19, 1904, viceroy of Yun-Gui Ding Zhenduo and Yunnan provincial Patrol Lin Shaonian submitted the application for political reform to the imperial government. At the beginning of the July, Viceroy of Liangjiang Zhou Wei asked for the implementation of the "separation of the three powers" political system. On July 2, 1905, Yuan Shikai joined with Zhou Wei and viceroy of Huguang Zhang Zhidong to request

15908-531: The corpse of the Dowager Empress Cixi had been desecrated greatly offended Puyi, who never forgave the Kuomintang and held Chiang Kai-shek personally responsible; the sacking also showed his powerlessness. During his time in Tianjin, Puyi was besieged with visitors asking him for money, including various members of the vast Qing family, old Manchu bannermen, journalists prepared to write articles calling for

16102-437: The coup and was ordered to commit suicide after Cixi's victory. As a consequence, there were tensions between Cixi and Arute, and this was often a source of irritation for Cixi. Moreover, Arute's zodiac symbol of tiger was perceived as life-threatening by the superstitious Cixi, whose own zodiac symbol was a goat. According to Cixi's belief, it was a warning from the gods that she would eventually fall prey to Arute. Empress Arute

16296-696: The court in the hands of Manchu conservatives, the two year-old Puyi on the throne, and a restless, deeply divided society. Historians both in China and abroad have debated Cixi's legacy. Historians have argued that she was a ruthless despot whose reactionary policies – although successful in managing to prolong the ailing Qing dynasty – led to its humiliation and eventual downfall in the Wuchang Uprising . However, revisionist chroniclers have suggested that Nationalist and Communist revolutionaries scapegoated her for deep-rooted problems which were beyond salvaging, and laud her penchant for moderate reform, including

16490-406: The curtains" ( 垂簾聽政 ), i.e., to assume power as de facto ruler. The same memorial also asked Prince Gong to enter the political arena as a principal "aide to the Emperor". When Xianfeng's funeral procession left for Beijing, Cixi took advantage of her alliances with Princes Gong and Chun. She and her son returned to the capital before the rest of the party, along with Zaiyuan and Duanhua, two of

16684-577: The dynasty when she installed her nephew as the Guangxu Emperor at the death of the Tongzhi Emperor in 1875. Ci'an continued as co-regent until her death in 1881. Cixi supervised the Tongzhi Restoration , a series of moderate reforms that helped the regime survive until 1911. Although Cixi refused to adopt Western models of government, she supported technological and military reforms and the Self-Strengthening Movement . She supported

16878-510: The eastern Zhongcui Palace. Noble Consort Yi was also elevated to "Empress Dowager Cixi". She was popularly known as the "West Empress Dowager" (西太后) because she lived inside the western Chuxiu Palace. By the time of Xianfeng's death, Empress Dowager Cixi had become a political strategist . In Rehe Province, while waiting for an astrologically favourable time to transport the emperor's coffin back to Beijing, Cixi conspired with court officials and imperial relatives to seize power. Cixi's position as

17072-403: The effect that Cixi had poisoned Ci'an, perhaps as a result of a possible conflict between Cixi and Ci'an over the execution of the eunuch An Dehai in 1869 or a possible will from the late Xianfeng Emperor that was issued exclusively to Ci'an. Because of a lack of evidence, however, historians are reluctant to believe that Cixi poisoned Ci'an, but instead choose to believe that the cause of death

17266-428: The eight regents, while Sushun was left to accompany the deceased emperor's procession. Cixi's early return to Beijing meant that she had more time to plan with Prince Gong and ensure that the power base of the eight regents was divided between Sushun and his allies, Zaiyuan and Duanhua. In order to remove them from power, history was rewritten: the regents were dismissed for having carried out incompetent negotiations with

17460-476: The embarrassment of having him live in the Japanese Legation, which was straining relations with China. On 23 February 1925, Puyi left Beijing for Tianjin wearing a simple Chinese gown and skullcap as he was afraid of being robbed on the train. Puyi described his train journey to Tianjin, saying, "At every stop between Beijing and Tianjin several Japanese policeman and special agents in black suits would get on

17654-553: The emperor created further opportunities for corruption, in which virtually all the eunuchs engaged. Puyi never had any privacy and had all his needs attended to at all times, having eunuchs open doors for him, dress him, wash him, and even blow air into his soup to cool it. At his meals, Puyi was always presented with a huge buffet containing every conceivable dish, the vast majority of which he did not eat, and every day he wore new clothing, as Chinese emperors never reused their clothing. After his wedding, Puyi began to take control of

17848-487: The emperor was sometimes even bypassed in decision-making processes. Cixi eventually was given copies of the secret palace memorials as well, a practice that was carried on until 1898, when it became unnecessary. In November 1894, Cixi celebrated her 60th birthday. Borrowing from the plans used for the celebrations of the 70th and 80th birthdays of Empress Xiaoshengxian (the Qianlong Emperor 's mother), plans included

18042-462: The emperor's escapades. Tongzhi received a rigorous education from four famous teachers of Cixi's own choosing: Li Hongzao , Qi Junzao , Weng Xincun , and Woren . This group was later joined by Weng Xincun's son, Weng Tonghe ; the emperor's governor, also selected by Cixi, was Mianyu. The imperial teachers instructed the emperor in the classics and various old texts for which Tongzhi displayed little or no interest. Despite, or perhaps because of,

18236-656: The emperor's uncles Prince Gong and Prince Chun, along with other senior court officials, submitted a joint memorandum asking the emperor to cease the construction of the Summer Palace, among other recommendations. Tongzhi, unwilling to submit to criticism, issued an imperial edict in August 1874 to strip Prince Gong of his princely title and demote him to the status of a commoner. Two days later, Prince Dun, Prince Chun, Prince Fu , Jingshou , Prince Qing , Wenxiang , Baojun , and Grand Councillors Shen Guifen and Li Hongzao were all to be stripped of their respective titles and jobs. Seeing

18430-628: The emperor's youth as the main reason. Prince Chun and Weng Tonghe, each with a different motive, requested that Guangxu's accession be postponed until a later date. Cixi, with her reputed reluctance, accepted the "advice" and legitimised her continued rule through a new legal document that allowed her to "aid" Guangxu in his rule indefinitely. Guangxu slowly began to take on more responsibilities in spite of Cixi's prolonged regency. In 1886, he attended his first field plowing ceremony and began commenting on imperial state documents. By 1887, he began to rule under Cixi's supervision. Guangxu married and took up

18624-422: The emperors' tombs", Cixi forbade its construction. When construction went ahead anyway in 1877 on Li Hongzhang's recommendation, Cixi asked that they be pulled by horse-drawn carts. She also refused to be driven in a motorcar, as the driver would be unable to lower himself in front of her, as custom dictated. Cixi was especially alarmed at the liberal thinking of people who had studied abroad, and saw that it posed

18818-417: The empress dowager than they did to the emperor, owing in part to her seniority and in part to her personalised approach to cultivating court favourites, many of whom would be given gifts of her artwork and invitations to join her at the theater for opera and acrobatics. In spite of her residence for a period of time at the Summer Palace, which had been constructed with the official intention of providing her

19012-410: The empresses dowager, then referred back to Prince Gong and the Grand Council. Having discussed the matters, Prince Gong and his colleagues would seek the instruction of the empresses dowager at audiences and imperial orders would be drawn up accordingly, with drafts having to be approved by the empresses dowager before edicts were issued. The most important role of the empresses dowager during the regency

19206-559: The end of summer, 1906, the delegation returned to China and submitted a report arguing that “The only way for the state to be powerful is constitutionalism”. On September 1, 1906, the Empress Dowager Cixi promulgated an imperial decree, announcing preparatory imitation of constitution . In 1907, the preparatory office of the Zizhengyuan Institute (Parliament) was established, and Ming Lun and Sun Jiaxuan were appointed as

19400-520: The establishment of modern schools… and the sending of students abroad…”, the reforms were "…essentially a noisy demonstration without much substance or promise of accomplishment…". However, other historians, such as Diana Preston, place much greater weight on the influence of these reforms on the later development of China in its progression towards a more 'developed' society, contending that "…the events of 1900 and their aftermath precipitated reforms that, albeit late [and] grudging, were far-reaching and laid

19594-477: The eunuchs from the Forbidden City to end the problem of theft, only agreeing to keep 50 after the Dowager Consorts complained that they could not function without them. Puyi turned the grounds where the Hall of Supreme Harmony had once stood into a tennis court, as he and Wanrong loved to play. Wanrong's brother Rong Qi recalled: "But after the eunuchs went, many of the palaces inside the Forbidden City were closed down, and

19788-552: The eunuchs. Johnston was also the first to argue that Puyi needed glasses since he had developed myopia , as he was extremely near-sighted, and after much argument with Prince Chun, who thought it was undignified for an emperor, finally prevailed. Johnston, who spoke fluent Mandarin, closely followed the intellectual scene in China, and introduced Puyi to the "new-style" Chinese books and magazines, which so inspired Puyi that he wrote several poems that were published anonymously in "New China" publications. In 1922, Johnston had his friend,

19982-668: The expense of his four concubines, including Imperial Noble Consort Shushen , who was Cixi's preferred candidate for empress consort. As hostility grew between Arute and Cixi, Cixi suggested the emperor and empress spend more time on studies and spied on Tongzhi using palace eunuchs . After her warning was ignored, Cixi ordered the couple to separate, and Tongzhi purportedly spent several months following Cixi's order in isolation at Qianqing Palace . The young emperor, who could no longer cope with his grief and loneliness, grew more and more ill-tempered. He began to treat his servants with cruelty and punished them physically for minor offences. Under

20176-675: The foundations for a modern state…". On 22 July 1908 the Qing government issued the Principles of the Constitution , modeled on the Japanese Meiji Constitution , which provided for gradual introduction of an electoral system beginning with local elections in 1908, followed in two years by elections for provincial legislatures, then two years later, elections for a national assembly. Special bureaus were set up in each province to prepare for setting up assemblies, directly subordinated to

20370-630: The founding of Peking University and Beiyang Army , and maintenance of political order in an era of destabilising European colonialism . Xingzhen of the Yehe Nara clan was born on the tenth day of the tenth lunar month in the 15th year of the Daoguang Emperor 's reign (29 November 1835). Her father was Huizheng ( 惠征 ), a member of the Bordered Blue Banner who held the title of a third class duke ( 三等公 ). Palace archives show that Huizheng

20564-550: The governor were reduced. The Ministry of Civil Affairs owned the function of the national patrol. In 1906, Yuan Shikai had already established the local “Autonomous Research Institute” and the Tianjin County Council in Tianjin. In 1908, the imperial government also began to set up autonomous research institutes in the urban area, and draft the "Regulations of the Provincial Consultative Councils", which

20758-415: The head of the Zongli Yamen, but rid him of his title of prince regent. Prince Gong would never return to political prominence again, and neither would the liberal and pro-reform policies of his time. Prince Gong's demotion revealed Cixi's iron grip on politics, and her lack of willingness to give up absolute power to anyone – not even Prince Gong, her most important ally in the Xinyou Coup. China's defeat in

20952-530: The help of a ghostwriter ) and became a member of the Chinese People's Political Consultative Conference . His time in prison greatly changed him, and he expressed deep regret for his actions while he was emperor. He died in 1967 and was ultimately buried near the Western Qing tombs in a commercial cemetery. Puyi married five times, but had no children. Chosen by Empress Dowager Cixi , Puyi became emperor at

21146-444: The idea. In June 1925, the warlord Zhang Zuolin visited Tianjin to meet Puyi. "Old Marshal" Zhang, an illiterate former bandit, ruled Manchuria, a region equal in size to Germany and France combined, which had a population of 30 million and was the most industrialised region in China. Zhang kowtowed to Puyi at their meeting and promised to restore the House of Qing if Puyi made a large financial donation to his army. Zhang warned Puyi in

21340-513: The imperial government set up a special institution "Inspection of the political pavilion" to study the constitutional government of each country, and provide guidance on constitutional reform. In the same year, on December 7, the first group led by Dai Hongci and Duanfang set off at the first stop, the United States, and was met by the US President Theodore Roosevelt . On January 14, 1906, the second group led by Zaize set out. At

21534-470: The imperial government to implement a constitutional government over a twelve-year period. They also asked the government to assign ministers to go abroad to investigate various political formats. On September 24, 1905, Empress Dowager Cixi decided to assign five ministers: Zhen Prince Zaize, Financial Minister Dai Hongci, Military Minister Xu Shichang , Governor of Hunan Duanfang and Prime Minister of Business Department Shaoying to go abroad. On November 25,

21728-408: The imperial household. Tensions grew between the two empresses dowager and the eight regents, who were led by Sushun. The regents did not appreciate Cixi's interference in political affairs, and their frequent confrontations with the empresses dowager left Ci'an frustrated. Ci'an often refused to come to court audiences, leaving Cixi to deal with the ministers alone. Secretly, Cixi had begun gathering

21922-454: The institution of a period of peace that allowed China time to modernize and develop. Another significant challenge Cixi faced was the increasingly decrepit state of the Manchu elites. Since the beginning of Qing rule over China in 1644, most major positions at court had been held by Manchus. Cixi, again in a reversal of imperial tradition, entrusted the country's most powerful military unit against

22116-445: The intransigent stand of conservative Manchus in the Qing court. Empress Dowager Cixi Empress Dowager Cixi ( Mandarin pronunciation: [tsʰɹ̩̌.ɕì] ; 29 November 1835 – 15 November 1908) was a Manchu noblewoman of the Yehe Nara clan who effectively controlled the Chinese government in the late Qing dynasty as empress dowager and regent for almost 50 years, from 1861 until her death in 1908. Selected as

22310-428: The joined influence of court eunuchs and Zaicheng, Prince Gong's eldest son and Tongzhi's best friend, the emperor managed to escape the palace in search of pleasure in the unrestricted parts of Beijing. For several evenings, Tongzhi disguised himself as a commoner and secretly spent the nights in the brothels of Beijing. His sexual habits became common talk among court officials and commoners, and there are many records of

22504-494: The lack of qualified officers were often employed to instruct the men. The officers therefore were useless in battle and the men had no faith in their officers. The officers were therefore expected to instruct their men. The recruits themselves were to have a literacy rate of 20% along with promotion and demotion being introduced. These literate men were to form the NCOs of the army. A system of pensions and rewards left unenforced since 1737

22698-440: The lower-ranked empress dowager had no intrinsic political power attached to it. In addition, her son, the young emperor, was not a political force himself. As a result, it became necessary for her to ally herself with other powerful figures, including Empress Dowager Ci'an. Cixi suggested that they become co-reigning empress dowagers, with powers exceeding the eight regents; the two had long been close friends since Cixi first came to

22892-516: The main reason. According to some reports, she even had her flogged. Consort Jin had also been implicated in Consort Zhen's reported influence peddling and also apparently suffered a similar punishment. A cousin of theirs, Zhirui, was banished from the capital to a military outpost. On 5 March 1889, Cixi retired from her second regency, but nonetheless served as the effective head of the imperial family. Many officials felt and showed more loyalty to

23086-399: The mayhem unfold from behind the scenes, Cixi and Ci'an made an unprecedented appearance at court directly criticising Tongzhi for his wrongful actions and asked him to withdraw the edict; Cixi said that "without Prince Gong, the situation today would not exist for you and me." Feeling a grand sense of loss at court and unable to assert his authority, Tongzhi returned to his former habits. It

23280-586: The meeting. Puyi's father, Prince Chun, became Prince Regent. During Puyi's coronation in the Hall of Supreme Harmony on 2 December 1908, the young emperor was carried onto the Dragon Throne by his father. Puyi was frightened by the scene before him and the deafening sounds of ceremonial drums and music, and started crying. His father could do nothing except quietly comfort him: "Don't cry, it'll be over soon." Puyi wrote in his autobiography: Two days after I entered

23474-565: The monarchy would eventually be restored, and to prepare Puyi for the challenges of the modern world had hired Johnston to teach Puyi "subjects such as political science, constitutional history and English". Johnston was allowed only five texts in English to give Puyi to read: Alice in Wonderland and translations into English of the " Four Great Books " of Confucianism ; the Analects , the Mencius ,

23668-410: The more so as China was a republic and her title of empress was symbolic only. The westernised Wanrong loved to go out dancing, play tennis, wear western clothes and make-up, listen to jazz music, and to socialize with her friends, which the more conservative courtiers all objected to. She resented having to play the traditional role of a Chinese empress, but was unwilling to break with Puyi. Puyi's butler

23862-459: The navy and army, because he did not see Japan as a true threat, and there were several natural disasters during the early 1890s which the emperor thought to be more pressing to expend funds on. Guangxu technically gained the right to rule at the age of 16 in 1887 after Cixi issued an edict to arrange a ceremony to mark his accession. Because of her prestige and power, however, court officials voiced their opposition to Guangxu's personal rule, citing

24056-444: The next day, he "found the Emperor and Empress standing on a heap of charred wood, sadly contemplating the spectacle". The treasures reported lost in the fire included 2,685 golden statues of Buddha, 1,675 golden altar ornaments, 435 porcelain antiques, and 31 boxes of sable furs, though it is likely that most if not all of these had been sold on the black market before the fire. Puyi finally decided to expel all of

24250-407: The nuptial apartments once every three months and spend the night there ... He left early in the morning on the following day and for the rest of that day he would invariably be in a very filthy temper indeed." A eunuch who served in the Forbidden City as Wanrong's personal servant later wrote in his memoir that there was a rumour among the eunuchs that Puyi was gay, noting a strange situation where he

24444-487: The only empress dowager in the Qing dynasty to assume the role of regent, ruling from behind the curtains. This coup is historically known as the Xinyou Coup because it took place in the xinyou year, the name of the year 1861 in the Chinese sexagenary cycle . In November 1861, a few days following the Xinyou Coup, Cixi was quick to reward Prince Gong for his help. He was appointed prince regent and his eldest daughter

24638-557: The only people who seemed to get along at Puyi's court were Wanrong and Wenxiu, who were "like sisters". Tianjin was, after Shanghai, the most cosmopolitan Chinese city, with large British, French, German, Russian and Japanese communities. As an emperor, Puyi was allowed to join several social clubs that normally only admitted whites. During this period, Puyi and his advisers Chen Baochen , Zheng Xiaoxu, and Luo Zhenyu discussed plans to restore Puyi as Emperor. Zheng and Luo favoured enlisting assistance from external parties, while Chen opposed

24832-407: The other end. Johnston also pressured Puyi to cut down on the waste and extravagance in the Forbidden City and encouraged him to be more self-sufficient. In March 1922, the Dowager Consorts decided that Puyi should be married, and gave him a selection of photographs of aristocratic teenage girls to choose from. Puyi first chose Erdet Wenxiu as his wife, but was told that she was acceptable only as

25026-444: The other two also marked for execution, Zaiyuan and Duanhua, were given pieces of white silk for them to hang themselves with. In addition, Cixi refused outright the idea of executing the family members of the regents, as would be done in accordance with imperial tradition of an alleged usurper. Ironically, Qing imperial tradition also dictated that women and princes were never to engage in politics. In breaking with tradition, Cixi became

25220-482: The palace chamberlain left the Forbidden City for the Northern Mansion to inform Prince Chun that they were taking away his two-year-old son Puyi to be the new emperor. The toddler Puyi screamed and resisted as the officials ordered the eunuch attendants to pick him up. Puyi's parents said nothing when they learned that they were losing their son. As Puyi wept, screaming that he did not want to leave his parents, he

25414-418: The palace, Cixi died and on 2 December the "Great Enthronement Ceremony" took place, a ceremony that I ruined with my tears. Puyi did not see his biological mother, Princess Consort Chun , for the next seven years. He developed a special bond with Wang and credited her as the only person who could control him. She was sent away when he was eight years old. After Puyi married, he would occasionally bring her to

25608-619: The palace. He described "an orgy of looting" taking place that involved "everyone from the highest to the lowest". According to Puyi, by the end of his wedding ceremony, the pearls and jade in the empress's crown had been stolen. Locks were broken, areas ransacked. Puyi's next plan of action was to reform the Household Department. In this period, he brought in more outsiders to replace the traditional aristocratic officers to improve accountability. He appointed Zheng Xiaoxu as minister of Household Department, and Zheng Xiaoxu hired Tong Jixu ,

25802-509: The place took on a desolate, abandoned air." After the Great Kantō earthquake on 1 September 1923 destroyed the cities of Tokyo and Yokohama, Puyi donated jade antiques worth some £33,000 to pay for disaster relief, which led a delegation of Japanese diplomats to visit the Forbidden City to express their thanks. In their report about the visit, the diplomats noted that Puyi was highly vain and malleable, and could be used by Japan, which marked

25996-570: The presidents of the Zizhengyuan Institute. Later, Zhang Jiang and Tang Shouqian established a preparatory constitutional guild in Shanghai. After that, various constitutional guilds were established in major cities all around China. In August 1908, the imperial government published the "Constitutional Outline", "The list of Preparations in next few years", and three appendices including "Civil Rights and Obligations", "The essentials of Parliament", "Election Law Essentials". These proposed laws regulated that

26190-562: The pressure and stress put upon the young emperor, he despised learning for the majority of his life. According to Weng Tonghe's diary, Tongzhi could not read a memorandum in full sentences by the age of 16. Worried about her son's inability to learn, Cixi only pressured him more. When he was given personal rule in November 1873 at the age of 18 (four years behind the usual custom), Tongzhi proved to be an incompetent ruler. Tongzhi made two important policy decisions during his short stint of rule, which lasted from 1873 to 1875. First, he decreed that

26384-595: The pretext that Prince Gong had "improper court conduct before the two empresses," among a series of other charges, the prince was dismissed from all his offices and appointments, but was allowed to retain his status as a noble. The dismissal surprised the nobility and court officials and brought about numerous petitions for his return. Prince Gong's brothers, Prince Dun and Prince Chun, both sought their brother's reinstatement. Prince Gong himself, in an audience with Cixi and Ci'an, burst into tears. Bowing to popular pressure, Cixi allowed Prince Gong to return to his position as

26578-499: The principles of the Hundred Days' Reforms of 1898, but feared that sudden implementation, without bureaucratic support, would be disruptive and permit the Japanese and other foreign powers would take advantage of China. She placed the Guangxu Emperor under virtual house arrest for supporting radical reformers, publicly executing the main reformers . After the Boxer Rebellion led to invasion by Allied armies , Cixi initially backed

26772-530: The provincial advisory council and Central Advisory Council would be elected in the next year and the constitution was plan to prepared in nine years. On November 14, 1908, the Emperor Guangxu died, with Empress Dowager Cixi dying the following day. In 1909, the Qing government held parliamentary elections to the Advisory Council and provincial elections . In 1909, after Pu Yi , the last emperor of

26966-474: The provincial governor and consisting of scholars and gentry. They set up regulations for carrying out the elections, a timetable for carrying them out, and notices. The first to hold elections for the provincial assembly was the Jiangsu province, in 1909, and elections occurred on time in all provinces except for Xinjiang . The New Policies also resulted in drastic change of the Manchu policy toward Mongolia from

27160-516: The puppet state of Manchukuo. Puyi left his house in Tianjin by hiding in the trunk of a car. The Chinese government ordered his arrest for treason, but was unable to breach the Japanese protection. Puyi boarded a Japanese ship that took him across the Bohai, and when he landed in Port Arthur (modern Lüshun), he was greeted by the man who was to become his minder, General Masahiko Amakasu , who took them to

27354-427: The regards of the Japanese government, saying, "Our government has formally acknowledged Your Majesty's taking refuge in our legation and will provide protection for you." Puyi's adviser Lu Zongyu , who was secretly working for the Japanese, suggested that Puyi move to Tianjin, which he argued was safer than Beijing, though the real reason was that the Japanese felt that Puyi would be easier to control in Tianjin without

27548-452: The reins of power in 1889. By that year, the emperor was already 18, older than the conventional marriage age for emperors. Prior to his wedding, a large fire engulfed the Gate of Supreme Harmony at the Forbidden City. This event followed a trend of recent natural disasters that were considered alarming by many observers. According to traditional Chinese political theory, such incidents were taken as

27742-462: The result of leaving Ci'an to attend to most of the affairs of state. The sudden death of Ci'an in April 1881 brought Cixi a new challenge. Ci'an had taken little interest in running state affairs, but was the decision-maker in most family affairs. As the empress of the Xianfeng Emperor, she took seniority over Cixi, despite being two years her junior. Some believe that rumours began circulating at court to

27936-442: The support of talented ministers, soldiers, and others who were ostracized by the eight regents for personal or political reasons. Among them were two of Xianfeng's brothers: Prince Gong and Prince Chun . Prince Gong had been excluded from power, yet harboured great ambitions. While Cixi aligned herself with the two princes, a memorial came from Shandong asking for her to "rule from behind the curtains" or "listen to politics behind

28130-431: The thousands and were not considered political accoutrements, rather objects of art commissioned for pleasure by emperors to stamp on items such as paintings, or given as presents to the concubines. Upon the death of the Xianfeng Emperor, his empress was elevated to the status of empress dowager. Although her official title was "Empress Dowager Ci'an", she was popularly known as the "East Empress Dowager" because she lived in

28324-412: The throne in 1889, Cixi wrote out explicit orders that the navy should continue to develop and expand gradually. However, after Cixi went into retirement, all naval and military development came to a drastic halt. Japan's victories over China has often been falsely rumored to be the fault of Cixi. Many believed that Cixi was the cause of the navy's defeat by embezzling funds from the navy in order to build

28518-593: The throne when necessary. The 8 banners were not included in the program of reform notably. The report highlighted the need for specialised officers that were educated as well as officers in the staff role and in the frontline role with a preference for academy-trained personnel. The pay of officers was to be increased to cover their cost of living and reduce the need for officers to indulge in corruption to cover their own costs with harsher punishments for corruption. Officers were given detailed regulations and were expected to lead their men, not their drill instructors, who due to

28712-461: The throne". Although Puyi could see his family, this happened rarely, and always under the stifling rules of imperial etiquette. The consequence was that the relationship of the emperor with his parents was distant and he found himself more attached to his nurse, Miss Wang (who had accompanied him to the Forbidden City). Later, Puyi began to receive visits from his brothers and cousins, who provided

28906-533: The time, three prominent Han Chinese officials, Zeng Guofan, Li Hongzhang and Zuo Zongtang, had all begun industrial programs in the country's southern regions. In supporting these programmes, Cixi also decreed the opening of the Tongwen Guan in 1862, a school for foreign languages in Beijing. The Tongwen Guan specialised in new-age topics such as astronomy and mathematics, as well as the English, French and Russian languages. Groups of young boys were also sent abroad to

29100-708: The train so that, by the time we reached Tianjin, my special car was almost half occupied by them." In February 1925, Puyi moved to the Japanese concession of Tianjin , first into the Zhang Garden , and in 1929 into the former residence of Lu Zongyu known as the Garden of Serenity . A British journalist, Henry Woodhead, called Puyi's court a "doggy paradise" as both Puyi and Wanrong were dog lovers who owned several very spoiled dogs while Puyi's courtiers spent an inordinate amount of time feuding with one another. Woodhead stated that

29294-502: The two empresses dowager, Zaitian , the four-year-old firstborn son of Prince Chun and Cixi's sister, was to become the new emperor. 1875 was declared the first year of the Guangxu era; Guangxu was the new emperor's regnal name and it means "glorious succession". Zaitian was taken from home and for the remainder of his life would be cut completely off from his family. While addressing Ci'an conventionally as huang e'niang ("Empress Mother"),

29488-411: The two parties, and China returned the warships to Britain, where they were to be auctioned off. Scholars sometimes attribute the failure of China's foreign programmes to Cixi's conservative attitude and old methods of thinking, and contend that Cixi would learn only so much from the foreigners, provided it did not infringe upon her own power. Under the pretext that a railway was too loud and would "disturb

29682-399: The western standard firstly, the standing army then the first-class reserves then the second-class reserves the regulars would serve for 3 years then they would return home and be enrolled in the first reserve for a further 3 years then 4 years in the 2nd reserve with decreasing pay and training per level of service. The report also called for a new table of organisation the basic organisation

29876-559: The writer Hu Shih , visit the Forbidden City to teach Puyi about recent developments in Chinese literature . Under Johnston's influence, Puyi embraced the bicycle as a way to exercise, cut his queue and grew a full head of hair, and wanted to study at the University of Oxford , Johnston's alma mater . Johnston also introduced Puyi to the telephone, which Puyi soon became addicted to, phoning people in Beijing at random just to hear their voices on

30070-581: The year of official examinations, whereby officials of all levels presented their political reports from the previous three years. Cixi decided that the time was ripe for a bureaucratic overhaul, and she personally sought audience with all officials above the level of provincial governor, who had to report to her personally. Cixi thus took on part of the role usually given to the Bureaucratic Affairs Department (吏部). Cixi had two prominent officials executed to serve as examples for others: Qingying,

30264-430: The young emperor to grow and mature together. This may also have been done as a check on the power of the eight regents. There is no evidence for this incident, however, and it is unlikely that the emperor ever would have intended Noble Consort Yi to wield political power. It is possible that the seal, allegedly given as a symbol for the child, was really just a present for Noble Consort Yi herself. Informal seals numbered in

30458-412: Was 13. Their leader was the autocratic Empress Dowager Longyu , who successfully conspired to have Puyi's beloved wet nurse Wang expelled from the Forbidden City when he was 8 on the grounds that Puyi was too old to be breast-fed. Puyi especially hated Longyu for that. Puyi later wrote, "Although I had many mothers, I never knew any motherly love." Empress dowager Longyu ruled with paramount authority over

30652-474: Was Divine. He could not be remonstrated with, or punished. He could only be deferentially advised against ill-treating innocent eunuchs, and if he chose to fire air-gun pellets at them, that was his prerogative. Puyi later said, "Flogging eunuchs was part of my daily routine. My cruelty and love of wielding power were already too firmly set for persuasion to have any effect on me." Wang was the only person capable of controlling Puyi; once, Puyi decided to "reward"

30846-520: Was Prince-Regent in the imperial court. Prince Gong gathered under his command the support of all outstanding Han Chinese armies. In addition, Prince Gong controlled daily court affairs as the head of the Grand Council and the Zongli Yamen (the de facto foreign affairs ministry). With his increasing stature, Prince Gong was considered a threat to Cixi and her power. Although Prince Gong was rewarded for his conduct and recommendation of Zeng Guofan before

31040-425: Was a corps of 2 divisions with each division containing a staff 2 brigades of infantry 1 regiment each of cavalry and artillery 1 battalion each of engineers and transportation men as well as a band. The authorised strength of a division was 748 officers and 10,436 NCOs and privates with 1,328 support staff for 12,512, each corp was to possess 1,595 officers, 23,760 enlisted men, 4,469 horses and mules and 108 g uns . It

31234-473: Was a model. With the strong support of the Empress Dowager, Yuan Shikai set up a strong bureaucracy to administer tax collection, local schools and police. However, there is still debate among the academic community regarding the actual effect that these reforms had on the Chinese people, historian Immanuel Hsü claiming that, apart from the successes in "...the abolition of the civil service examinations…

31428-531: Was a prisoner and was not allowed outside the Yamato Hotel, ostensibly to protect him from assassination. Wanrong had stayed in Tianjin, and remained opposed to Puyi's decision to work with the Japanese, requiring her friend Eastern Jewel to visit numerous times to convince her to go to Manchuria. Behr commented that if Wanrong had been a stronger woman, she might have remained in Tianjin and filed for divorce, but ultimately she accepted Eastern Jewel's argument that it

31622-445: Was a sudden stroke , as validated by traditional Chinese medicine . In the years between 1881 and 1883, Cixi resorted to written communication only with her ministers. The young emperor reportedly was forced to conduct some audiences alone, without Cixi to assist him. The once fierce and determined Prince Gong, frustrated by Cixi's iron grip on power, did little to question Cixi on state affairs, and supported Manchu involvement in

31816-451: Was announced in the newspapers. On 17 March, Wanrong took the train to Beijing, and on 6 April, Puyi went to the Qing family shrine to inform his ancestors that he would be married to her later that year. Puyi did not meet Wanrong until their wedding. In an interview in 1986, Prince Pujie told Behr: "Puyi constantly talked about going to England and becoming an Oxford student, like Johnston." On 4 June 1922, Puyi attempted to escape from

32010-421: Was asked by Puyi to stand inside Wanrong's room while Puyi groped her. Another eunuch claimed that Puyi preferred the "land-way" of the eunuchs to the "water-way" of the Empress, implying he was gay. Puyi rarely left the Forbidden City, knew nothing of the lives of ordinary Chinese people, and was somewhat misled by Johnston, who told him that the vast majority of the Chinese wanted a Qing restoration. Johnston,

32204-475: Was back onto the helm of imperial power. Tongzhi died without a male heir, a circumstance that created an unprecedented succession crisis in the dynastic line. Members of the generation above were considered unfit, as they could not, by definition, be the successor of their nephew. Therefore, the new emperor had to be from a generation below or the same generation as the Tongzhi. After considerable disagreement between

32398-608: Was called the Guangxu's New Policies, in reference to Emperor Guangxu (光绪新政). In April 1901, the Qing dynasty established the Administration Office to supervise the overall plan for reform, appointing Ronglu , Yikuang and Li Hongzhang as managers, nominating Zhang Zhidong and Liu Kunyi as coordinators. Zhang Zhidong and Liu Kunyi jointly submitted "Three folds for reform" to the imperial government, which includes setting reform direction, learning from Japan and implementing

32592-421: Was dispatched by the court to crush the revolution, but was unable to, as by 1911 public opinion had turned decisively against the Qing, and many Chinese had no wish to fight for a dynasty that was seen as having lost the mandate of heaven . Puyi's father, Prince Chun , served as a regent until 6 December, when Empress Dowager Longyu took over following the Xinhai Revolution . Empress Dowager Longyu endorsed

32786-451: Was elevated to the third rank of imperial consort as "Noble Consort Yi". This rank placed her second only to Empress Niohuru among the women within Xianfeng's harem . Unlike many of the other Manchu women in the imperial household, Noble Consort Yi was known for her ability to read and write Chinese. This skill granted her numerous opportunities to help the ailing emperor in the governing of

32980-420: Was estimated that each corp would cost 2,778,222 taels per corps or 1,300,000 per division. With 36 divisions this would amount to a minimum expense of 50,000,000 taels annually on the new army. A new pay scale was also introduced with monthly payments of 1600 taels for a corps commander, 1000 taels for a division commander, 500 taels for a brigade commander. 400 taels for a regimental commander, 180-260 taels for

33174-501: Was forced into a palanquin that took him to the Forbidden City. Wang Lianshou , Puyi's wet nurse , was the only person from the Northern Mansion allowed to go with him. Upon arriving at the Forbidden City, Puyi was taken to see Cixi. Puyi later wrote: I still have a dim recollection of this meeting, the shock of which left a deep impression on my memory. I remember suddenly finding myself surrounded by strangers, while before me

33368-825: Was held in the Forbidden City. After coming to the throne, Guangxu became more reform-minded. After a humiliating defeat in the First Sino-Japanese War of 1894, during which the Chinese Beiyang Fleet was virtually destroyed by the Imperial Japanese Navy , the Qing government faced unprecedented challenges internally and abroad, with its very existence at stake. Under the influence of reformist-officials Kang Youwei and Liang Qichao , Guangxu believed that by learning from constitutional monarchies such as Japan and Germany , China would become politically and economically powerful. In June 1898, Guangxu launched

33562-580: Was her duty as a wife to follow her husband, and six weeks after the Tientsin incident, she too crossed the East China Sea to Port Arthur with Eastern Jewel to keep her company. In early 1932, General Seishirō Itagaki informed Puyi that the new state was to be a republic with him as Chief Executive; the capital was to be Changchun; his form of address was to be "Your Excellency", not "Your Imperial Majesty"; and there were to be no references to Puyi ruling with

33756-416: Was his "worst" subject among everything he studied. According to the journalist Syed Mohammad Ali , Puyi spoke Mandarin when interviewed, but Ali believed he could understand English. Johnston also introduced Puyi to the new technology of cinema, and Puyi was so delighted with the movies, especially Harold Lloyd films, that he had a film projector installed in the Forbidden City despite the opposition of

33950-458: Was hung a drab curtain through which I could see an emaciated and terrifying hideous face. This was Cixi. It is said that I burst out into loud howls at the sight and started to tremble uncontrollably. Cixi told someone to give me some sweets, but I threw them on the floor and yelled "I want nanny, I want nanny", to her great displeasure. "What a naughty child", she said. "Take him away to play." Cixi died on 15 November, less than two days after

34144-532: Was made a first rank princess, a title usually bestowed only on the empress's first-born daughter. However, Cixi avoided giving Prince Gong the absolute political power that princes such as Dorgon exercised during the Shunzhi Emperor 's reign. As one of the first acts of "ruling behind the curtain" from within the Hall of Mental Cultivation , the political and governmental hub during this era, Cixi, nominally along with Ci'an, issued two imperial edicts on behalf of

34338-435: Was my restoration. Frankly, I did not know anything about love. In other marriages husband and wife were equal, but to me wife and consort were both the slaves and tools of their master." Wanrong complained that her life as an "empress" was extremely dull as the rules for an empress forbade her from going out dancing as she wanted, instead forcing her to spend her days in traditional rituals that she found to be meaningless, all

34532-540: Was not done, where emperors were concerned: it would have been an appalling breach of protocol. But the fact remains that a totally inexperienced, over-sheltered adolescent, if normal, could hardly have failed to be aroused by Wan Jung's [Wanrong's] unusual, sensual beauty. The inference is, of course, that Pu Yi was either impotent, extraordinarily immature sexually, or already aware of his homosexual tendencies. Wanrong's younger brother Rong Qi remembered how Puyi and Wanrong, both teenagers, loved to race their bicycles through

34726-575: Was offered the Articles of Favorable Treatment , which allowed him to retain his imperial title and continue to live in the Forbidden City . From 1 to 12 July 1917, Puyi was briefly restored to the Qing throne by the loyalist general Zhang Xun , and in 1924 he was expelled from the capital by warlord Feng Yuxiang after a coup . Puyi found refuge in Tianjin , where he began to court both various warlords and

34920-512: Was one of the few candidates chosen to stay. Among the other chosen candidates were Noble Lady Li of the Tatara clan (who became Consort Li, eventually Imperial Noble Consort Zhuangjing ) and Concubine Zhen of the Niohuru clan (who became empress consort, eventually Empress Dowager Ci'an ). On 26 June 1852, Lady Yehe Nara left her widowed mother's residence at Xilahutong and entered the Forbidden City and

35114-451: Was placed in the sixth rank of consorts, styled "Noble Lady Lan". On 28 February 1854, Noble Lady Lan was elevated to the fifth rank of consorts and granted the title "Concubine Yi". In 1855, she became pregnant, and on 27 April 1856, she gave birth to Zaichun , Xianfeng's first and only surviving son. On the same day, she was elevated to the fourth rank of consorts as "Consort Yi". In 1857, when her son reached his first birthday, Consort Yi

35308-473: Was planning to marry his daughter to Puyi, but had to abdicate in the face of popular opposition. In 1917, the warlord Zhang Xun restored Puyi to the throne from 1 to 12 July. Zhang Xun ordered his army to keep their queues to display loyalty to the emperor. However, then-Premier of the Republic of China Duan Qirui ordered a Caudron Type D plane, piloted by Pan Shizhong (潘世忠) with bombardier Du Yuyuan (杜裕源) from Nanyuan airfield , to drop three bombs over

35502-449: Was prone to factionalism and his advisers were urging him to back different warlords, which gave him a reputation for duplicity as he negotiated with various warlords, which strained his relations with Marshal Zhang. At various times, Puyi met Zhang Zongchang , the "Dogmeat General", and the Russian émigré general Grigory Semyonov at his Tianjin house; both of them promised to restore him to

35696-532: Was reorganized into a New Army . The imperial government originally planned to establish 500,000 regular troops in the next ten years, but until the end of 1911 (the collapse of the Qing dynasty), only about 190,000 troops had been well trained. An edict on 15 July 1909 was passed that established the Ministry of War to control the army. A report in the summer of 1904 by the Commission for Army reorganisation published

35890-579: Was revived to last for another sixty years by the extraordinary efforts of extraordinary men in the 1860s." John K. Fairbank wrote, "That the Qing managed to survive both domestic and international attacks is due largely to the policy and leadership changes known as the Qing Restoration." Under the command of Zeng Guofan, the victorious Xiang Army defeated the Taiping rebel army in a hard-fought battle at Tianjing (present-day Nanjing ) in July 1864. Zeng

36084-423: Was rewarded with the title of "Marquess Yiyong, First Class", while his brother Zeng Guoquan , along with Li Hongzhang , Zuo Zongtang and other Han Chinese officers who fought against the Taiping rebels, were rewarded with auspicious decorations and titles. With the Taiping rebel threat receding, Cixi focused her attention on new internal threats to her power. Of special concern was the position of Prince Gong, who

36278-570: Was rumoured that he caught syphilis and became visibly ill. The physicians spread a rumour that Tongzhi had smallpox , and proceeded to give medical treatment accordingly. Within a few weeks, on 13 January 1875, Tongzhi died. His wife followed suit in March. Judging from a modern medical perspective, the onset of syphilis comes in stages, thus the emperor's quick death does not seem to reflect its symptoms. Therefore, most historians maintain that Tongzhi did, in fact, die from smallpox. Regardless, by 1875, Cixi

36472-523: Was scheduled to be completed in 1914. In 1901, the imperial government abolished the test of traditional Chinese Martial and founded the training system for officers. Then, in 1903, the Central Training Command was established to coordinate the training of the national army. In 1901, the imperial government established three arsenals in Hanyang, Shanghai, and Guangzhou. In 1905, the Beiyang Army

36666-704: Was secretly a Japanese spy, and in a report to his masters, he described Puyi and Wanrong one day spending hours screaming at one another in the gardens with Wanrong repeatedly calling Puyi a "eunuch"; whether she meant that as a reference to sexual inadequacy is unclear. Puyi's sister Yunhe noted in her diary in September 1930, that Puyi had told her that "yesterday the Empress flew into rage saying that she had been bullied by me and she poured out terrible and absurd words". In 1931, Puyi's concubine Wenxiu declared that she had had enough of him and his court and simply walked out, filing for divorce. In September 1931, Puyi sent

36860-577: Was sexually inexperienced and timid, fled from the bridal chamber, leaving his wives to sleep in the Dragon Bed by themselves. Of Puyi's failure to consummate his marriage on his wedding night, Behr wrote: It was perhaps too much to expect an adolescent, permanently surrounded by eunuchs, to show the sexual maturity of a normal seventeen-year-old. Neither the Dowager consorts nor Johnston himself had given him any advice on sexual matters – this sort of thing simply

37054-603: Was to apply their seals to edicts, a merely mechanical role in a complex bureaucracy. Cixi's ascendancy came at a time of internal chaos and foreign challenges. The effects of the Second Opium War were still hovering over the country, and the Taiping Rebellion continued its seemingly unstoppable advance through China's south, eating up the Qing Empire bit by bit. Internally, both the national bureaucracy and regional authorities were infested with corruption. 1861 happened to be

37248-429: Was to be introduced again in a new manner with rewards for bravery and service, including pensions for the retired, dead and disabled. A western-style system of medical and logistical services was also recommended from the frontline to base hospitals in the interior. The report also called for the standardisation of weapons on a simple durable but modern model of weaponry. The army itself was divided into 3 categories as per

37442-495: Was well received by both Tongzhi and Ci'an. Her personal consultants once warned her to be more agreeable and docile to Cixi, who was truly the one in power. Arute replied, "I am a principal consort, having been carried through the front gate with pomp and circumstance, as mandated by our ancestors. Empress Dowager Cixi was a concubine, and entered our household through a side gate." Since the very beginning of his marriage, Tongzhi proceeded to spend most of his time with his empress at

37636-421: Was working in Beijing during the year of Xingzhen's birth, an indication that she was born in Beijing. The file records the location of her childhood home: Pichai Hutong, Xisipailou , Beijing ( 西四牌樓劈柴胡同 ). Lady Yehe Nara had a sister named Wanzhen and a brother named Guixiang. In 1851, Lady Yehe Nara participated in the selection for wives to the Xianfeng Emperor alongside 60 other candidates. Lady Yehe Nara

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