I do not wish to make fun of the dead, the unfortunate, the confused or the misguided, but "Henry" Puyi Aisin-Gioro was all of the above and reading his autobiography gave me some very memorable and very well-appreciated laugh out loud moments.
From Emperor to Citizen was penned by the Last Qing Emperor himself during the 1960s, under the thoughtful guidance of the the CCP Politburo in the wake of his release from imprisonment at a re-education detention centre. Puyi lived the last decade of his life as a protected and respected citizen of the People's Republic of China--he definitely came a long way from his original emperor days, his reinstated emperor days and his puppet emperor days.
This autobiography is absolutely genius. Now, after that grand exclamation of approval, let me explain my use of the word 'genius'. I do not wish to suggest that the former emperor had more than an average IQ, but rather, that the existence of this book in the first place is a genius ploy on the part of the Chinese Communist Party. Puyi would be forever known not as that poor kid who had been thrown onto the throne (win for my language skills) aged three, but the best success story in the CCP's re-education movements for counterrevolutionaries.
Puyi's story reads a little like Forrest Gump, but with none of the casual charm and marvel that the latter provides the bemused audience. Instead, Puyi is a figure shadowed with tones of political overbearing and an obvious communist spin on the book's tone.
The most significant factor of Puyi's autobiography can be summed up in its title, From Emperor to Citizen. That is, the significance lies in that the book isn't called From Emperor to Outcast or From Emperor to Exile--at the end of his life, Puyi is no more than the regular, communised Chinese subject.
Check out this picture of the poor man sewing something for himself:
No throne, no servants, no colourful clothing -- but despite all this, he is fulfilled with this real sense of purpose as a citizen of the People's Republic.
The most significant factor of Puyi's autobiography can be summed up in its title, From Emperor to Citizen. That is, the significance lies in that the book isn't called From Emperor to Outcast or From Emperor to Exile--at the end of his life, Puyi is no more than the regular, communised Chinese subject.
Check out this picture of the poor man sewing something for himself:
No throne, no servants, no colourful clothing -- but despite all this, he is fulfilled with this real sense of purpose as a citizen of the People's Republic.
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