Puyi

Pu (pǔ) Yi (Manchu: ᡦᡠ ᡳ, February 7, 1906 - October 17, 1967), Aisin Gioro, was the last emperor of the Qing Dynasty and Chinese history, and the only monarch of Manchukuo. Puyi was the great-grandson of Emperor Daoguang and nephew of Emperor Guangxu. His biological father was Prince Chun Zaifeng, and his biological mother Youlan was the daughter of Ronglu, an important minister in the late Qing Dynasty. In November 1908, Emperor Guangxu passed away. On her deathbed, Empress Dowager Cixi named Puyi, who was nearly 3 years old, as emperor, concurrently with Emperor Tongzhi and Emperor Guangxu. On December 2 of the same year, Puyi officially ascended the throne and changed the Yuan Dynasty to "Xuantong" the following year. After the Revolution of 1911, Puyi abdicated on February 12, 1912, under the pressure of Prime Minister Yuan Shikai. On July 1, 1917, Puyi briefly restored power in Beijing under the leadership of Yangtze River patrol envoy Zhang Xun and others. He was forced to abdicate after only 12 days. In 1924, Feng Yuxiang, commander-in-chief of the National Army, launched the Jiazi coup, and Puyi was forced to leave the Forbidden City and live in Tianjin. During this period, Puyi began to communicate with Japan. After the founding of Manchukuo in 1932, Puyi took office as the ruler of Manchukuo, with the reign name "Datong". In 1934, Manchukuo was changed from a republic to an imperial system, and Puyi became the emperor of Manchukuo with the reign title "Kant". After Japan's defeat in 1945, Puyi was captured by the Soviet Red Army and detained as a war criminal in the Far East for 5 years. In August 1950, Puyi was extradited back to the Fushun War Criminals Management Center of the People's Republic of China to serve his sentence. In December 1959, Puyi was pardoned by the government and worked successively in the Beijing Botanical Garden and the Cultural and Historical Materials Research Committee of the National Committee of the Chinese People's Political Consultative Conference. In 1964, Puyi served as a member of the Fourth National Committee of the Chinese People's Political Consultative Conference as a special invitee. In October 1967, Puyi died of illness at the age of 61.