The Last Emperor of China

This is a free preview of a paid episode. To hear more, visit www.chinesewhispers.ukIt’s often said that monarchy is a gilded cage, and nowhere is that more true than in the case of the last emperor, Puyi. He was two years old when he became emperor in 1908. He spent the first years of his life within the Forbidden City, but when he was expelled from the palace in 1924, he became a puppet emperor for the Japanese. Japan had occupied vast swathes of northeastern China and declared it ‘Manchukuo’.With Japan’s defeat in 1945, Puyi was captured by Soviet forces and later returned to China, by then ruled by the Communists. He spent the rest of his years as a high profile, reformed prisoner, and even returned to Beijing and worked as a gardener in the city he used to reign.It was an incredible life, and a new biography of the emperor has come out this month. In it, historian Paul French focuses on the years that Puyi and his wives spent in the palace, to shine new light on this most enigmatic figure. I’m delighted to be joined by Paul on this episode.Chinese Whispers with Cindy Yu is listener-supported.Not yet a subscriber?Become a paid subscriber to unlock the full episode and all premium episodes:Subscribe nowAlready a paid subscriber?Set up premium listening in Apple Podcasts, Spotify or your favourite podcast app. Click the button below, scroll down the page to ‘Private podcasts’ and click ‘Set up’.Set up podcast