Preface IVCHAPTER ONEMy Childhood 001CHAPTER TWOSeeing Puyi for the First Time 011CHAPTER THREEMy Courtship with the Last Emperor of China 018CHAPTER FOURThe Setting of Our Love 027CHAPTER FIVEThe Last Emperors Grand Nuptials 040CHAPTER SIXThe First Week of Our Honeymoon 054CHAPTER SEVENHopes of Having Children Vanish into Thin Air 063CHAPTER EIGHTTeaching Puyi Domestic Chores and How to Live a Normal Life 071CHAPTER NINEHangovers from the Previous Lifestyle of the Royal Family 082CHAPTER TENMortals and Secularity 088CHAPTER ELEVENPuyi a Great Fan of Peking Opera 093CHAPTER TWELVEAccompanying my Husband back to the Place where he Ascended theThrone as Emperor 102CHAPTER THIRTEENVisiting Historical and Cultural Sites Together with Puyi 110CHAPTER FOURTEENOur Sincere Love 122CHAPTER FIFTEENThe Refusing of the Feudal Protocols 135CHAPTER SIXTEENReunion with the former servants 145CHAPTER SEVENTEENPuyis Contacts with People from all Circles of Society 154CHAPTER EIGHTEENReceiving Foreign Guests with Puyi 167CHAPTER NINETEENThe Publishing of the Earth Shattering Book 173CHAPTER TWENTYThe Tour to Southeast China 186CHAPTER TWENTY ONEThe Tour to Northwest China 202CHAPTER TWENTY TWOBeing Attacked by Cancer 213CHAPTER TWENTY THREETricky Situation that Happened in Puyis Ward 219CHAPTER TWENTY FOURFriendship with Our Neighbour 224CHAPTER TWENTY FIVEPerforming the Rights of a Citizen 230CHAPTER TWENTY SIXHurricane Blew Suddenly 234CHAPTER TWENTY SEVENThe Puyi Who Dared to Speak Out the Truth 244CHAPTER TWENTY EIGHTOur Venture in Red August 259CHAPTER TWENTY NINEBitter Taste of Revenge 269CHAPTER THIRTYBeing in Bondage to an Incurable Disease 277CHAPTER THIRTY ONEPuyis Last Summer 283CHAPTER THIRTY TWOI Watched Puyi Passing Away 290CHAPTER THIRTY THREEPuyis Memorial Ceremony was held Thirteen Years Later 300CHAPTER THIRTY FOURPublishing of My Memoir and the Puyi Craze 311CHAPTER THIRTY FIVEThe Publishing of The Second Half of Puyis Life 319CHAPTER THIRTY SIXApologies from Edward Behr 325CHAPTER THIRTY SEVENDrawing a Satisfactory Conclusion to the History 333Epilogue 350
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I am overjoyed that My Husband Puyi is to be published. Aixinjuelo Puyi was the last Emperor of the Chinese feudal society era. He was placed on the throne as Emperor Xuantong at the young age of three, but less than three years later his forced abdication was announced. Afterwards, according to The Articles Provided for the Favourable Treatment of the Great Qing Emperor after his Abdication, decided upon by the Provisional Government of the Republic of China, he was still allowed to live in the inner court of the Forbidden City, acting as an Emperor behind closed doors1. For the following 13 years he lived this role, until in 1924, when he was expelled from the Forbidden City by the celebrated Christian General, Feng Yuxiang. Following this, it was arranged that he would stay at the Japanese Concession in Tianjin. In 1932, the Japanese secretly sent him to Northeast China to be the Puppet Emperor of the Manchukuo1 set up by Japanese Imperialists. With the final surrender of the Japanese Imperialists in August 1945, Puyi then fell captive to the Russian Red Army, being escorted first to Chits, then to Khabarivsk two Russian cities in the far east, close to Northeast China, where he was placed under house-arrest for a period of five years. After the establishment of the Peoples Republic of China, the Chinese and the Soviet Union Governments, following bilateral talks, finally decided to extradite Puyi back to China. Puyi was then detained for ten years at Fushun War Criminals Prison2, located in Northeast China. He was reeducated and remoulded there, through physical labour and being imbued with Communistic ideas. Finally Puyi realized his wrongdoing, so repented for his role in aiding the Japanese Imperialists in enslaving the people in Northeast China. He started a new life, with a completely different outlook, which resulted in him becoming an honorable, respected citizen of the New China, and my good husband.His autobiography The First Half of My Life - from Emperor to Citizen has been popular at home and abroad, as a book which has continued to rivet the worlds attention, since it was published in 1964. Now, to the reading public who are interested in Puyi, Id like to present with this book, My Husband Puyi which is about his new life, after being granted special amnesty in 1960. He enjoyed this new life for only eight years, as he died of kidney cancer in 1967. Eight years is a much shorter period compared with the first half of his life which lasted for more than fifty years, but much more valuable, if viewed in the light of his lifes significance. Puyi and I had been married for five and half years, but if taking into account from the day we were introduced to each other, we were together for almost six years. We were fortunate to have experienced a sweet courtship, a happy home life and our attendances to each other when we were both ill.In 1984, the first edition of my memoirs, Puyi and I was published, creating a major sensation in China. In its preface, I explained how I came to write the book, as follows: I remember that it was in September of 1979, when Mr. Wang Qingxiang, an historian from the Historical Research Institute with the Jilin Provincial Academy of Social Sciences, paid a visit to my home. He urged me to write the memoirs of my husband, for he believed that it would prove to be a great contribution to our Chinese nation. The principle we agreed on was that I should write down every event and sentence as they came to my mind, and that he would help me to draw out my memories to the greatest extent possible. He said to me Your memoirs must be first-hand data as precise as possible. They will be an invaluable document for historical research. So every single word of it must conform to historical facts. I also held this view. My memoirs were written intermittently during a period of six months. Whenever I thought of the past, I relived the memories of the life that we had spent together more than ten years earlier. It had been as though my husband was standing lifelike in front of me, when the reminiscences flooded back to me. I have no idea of how many times I laughed while savouring the happiness and sweetness of that time or how often the tears suddenly welled up in my eyes, due to the sadness of losing him. My memoirs may not be perfect but Im confident that they are realistic. While helping me with the compilation of my memoirs, Mr. Wang Qingxiang reiterated that his desire was to make an accurate historical record and that he preferred to omit any unclear details, where my memory failed me. My original memoir, Puyi and I is the result of our mutual cooperation. First, he collated my oral accounts by cross-referencing them with the manuscript left by Puyi. Then, he came to Beijing to go over every single word and sentence together with me. Im glad that the final text successfully conveys the essence of my spoken accounts. Of course, my memoirs mostly show Puyis home life. They obviously couldnt cover every aspect of the second half of his life. In order to get a well-rounded view of citizen Puyi, my memoir should be read alongside Puyis own diary and articles, which were written during this period, to supplement your understanding.Twelve years later, Mr. Wang Qingxiang and I again worked happily together to thoroughly revise Puyi and I by adding to it with many more details of our common life. My difficult experiences during the Cultural Revolution as Puyis widow significantly contrasted with my improved life and situation in the new era. By 1978, China had begun to implement the progressive policy of reform and was opening up its doors to the outside world. During the previous ten years, more and more Chinese and foreign reporters, historians, readers of my book, tourists and personalities of various circles had come to visit me. These visits greatly helped me with my book revision and they also aroused again affection and love for my dear husband. These foreign reporters had often laden me with various questions about our courtship, marriage, our daily life and work, our tours, our times in hospital, as well as the relationships between Puyi and some members of the former Aixinjuelo Royal Clan and also between him and the State Leaders. To answer their questions adequately, I used to write down the key points as I remembered them. Later on these recollections naturally became useful material for the revision of my former memoirs. I named the revised book My Husband Puyi, hoping that it might convey my affection for my dear husband. Finally, Id like to express my gratitude to all the friends who have helped me, as well as the readers who will enjoy the reading of this book.Li ShuXian 1924-1997September 23rd, 1996