The Last Manchu: The Autobiography of Henry Pu Yi, Last Emperor of China

Pu Yi is the famous "Last Emperor of China", subject of a popular film in the 80's by Bernardo Bertolucci and who was a curiosity who died in the 60's during the Cultural Revolution.His story as told by his own words, is well written as he was excellently educated by a Scottish diplomat. The book is prefaced by a brief history of the end of the Qing Dynasty but rather blandly presented with any of the controversial or contested stores carefully edited out.Puyi is sort of a sad tragic figure (in his words) but if you read the entire history of the end of the Qing and the formation of the Republic and then the Communist Revolution, mixed in with the Japanese occupation of Manchuria (Manchuko) it's not nearly so pleasant. And neither is Puyi, who was spoiled, abandoned, frightened, and bored as a child by rituals of centuries. He became a sadist young boy, thinking up "practical jokes" that truly injured his servants, he was sexually ambivalent (due to a lack of maturation? Adult guidance and examples? Molestation? We never really know.) But his true story is not so pleasant as he presents it. It's a turbulent life.Still, this book is fascinating to read from the viewpoint of the last vestige of Imperial China, a young boy chosen by the towering figure of the Dowager Empress Cixi, and a link to China as a closed, hermitic society with rigid rules and customs. Puyi explains these well for the Western reader.We can pity him, but the full story is much more complex and much more insidious.

When I clicked “buy” on this one, I didn’t read the description as carefully as I should have. I was wanting a biography. This is an AUTObiography. Big difference. Fortunately, although not what I was wanting, this was a very satisfying read. The last emperor of China has a lot of potent, powerful history surrounding his reign, his removal, his imprisonment, and his eventual freedom. I never saw the popular (1988?) movie, but heard it was very good. After reading this, I definitely want to watch it at some point.Since this book is an autobiography, most of the historical turmoil surrounding the life of Henry Pu Li is not really dwelled upon within the pages. The emperor, as you might imagine, lives in his own isolated world; surrounded by ivory carvings, expensive jewelry, and hundreds (if not thousands) of servants to cater to his every need and whim. Why should such an individual care about what happens beyond the palace walls as long as he’s allowed to live as tradition dictates? Especially when he’s basically still a child.So we read about his whole life, yet most of the early episodes deal with things most others could never dream. We read about how meals are prepared, how the young emperor is fascinated with watching ants climb trees, how he picks his empress bride (and concubines) from photographs, and how the entire nation is subjugated towards him when they’re in his presence. It’s incredibly difficult if you’re one of the young emperor’s tutors when he would rather watch ants than study. God help you if you’re his tutor and you say something like “you must focus on your studies, your highness, instead of watching insects”. This leads me to point out that we also see a cruel side to the young ruler. We constantly read about how he has his eunuch servants flogged if they show the slightest bit of discourtesy towards him. If the floggers aren’t flogging hard enough, they themselves run the risk of being flogged as well.Because of the political turmoil within China, the eventual invasion of Japan (leading to his imprisonment in the USSR), and the Communist takeover of China, we do read an awful lot of internal strife and conflict, yet strangely, the emperor’s ‘captivity’ never really seems that severe. We read nothing at all about things such as gulag-like tortures that communist prisons are known for throughout history. His imprisonment (both in Russia and China) seems rather mild. Of course, being that this is an autobiography, you have to wonder if many of his reflections in this autobiography were heavily censored. That, or the fact that maybe he really was ‘brainwashed’ during his captivity. He seems to concede awfully easily how his reign and history is a farcical sham, and he seems to praise the new communist leaders of his country rather liberally.On a negative note, there’s an awful lot of Sino names within this autobiography, and it was awfully difficult for my Western brain to assimilate and keep track of the different people. It seemed there were at least a dozen different individuals named either ‘Chan’ or ‘Chen’. Then, as other reviewers have pointed out, there’s quite a bit of punctuation errors and misspellings here as well. My guess is that this is probably due to the transition of this book to electronic format. Still, though, it only makes a complicated endeavor that much worse.Although I still wish I would have read something more geared towards the actual history of the particular time and places, I still felt that this book was very well written, and a quite different change of pace. I mean, how many autobiographies have you read where the person telling the story doesn’t know what a hair dryer is? Or how to get on a public bus? Or how to even open a door?

First, before the words of warning that follow, I want to say that this is a remarkable autobiography that gives the reader a wide appreciation of Chinese history Drury from the 60 years of Henry Pu Yi’s life. I enjoyed it.Here come the warnings: 1). He wrote after being “Re-educated” for 10 years by Mao Tse-Tung. Much of his discussion of his time in captivity is propaganda.2). His descriptions of his life before his Re-education is freer and more open.3) the Introduction by the editor, Paul Kramer, is biased, and unfairly so.Unaware of these limitations, and for personal reasons, I read the book backwards.

It was a rather heavy handed memoir, a bit of a confessional rant with a few glimpses of life in the Forbidden City. I had hoped to gain more insight into the daily life and the political workings of the Manchu dynasty. Instead characters were poorly fleshed out and it was difficult to maintain the thread of the unravelling of the regime.

Very interesting, especially since it was an autobiography. There was so much turmoil, both internal and external during this period.

Pleasure to read with exotic history discovered in it. The Manchu dynasty was extremely rich with wonderful descriptions of how it functioned. I think the Communists in truth did not brainwash PuYi.

Slow.

Loved this book as a wonderful look at the history behind modern China - visit Beijing, watch the Last Emperor movie, read the book - a great combination to understand China. Well written and engaging auto biography of a weak man who managed to stay alive against the odds.

Well worth reading if you have been to China and visited the Temple of Heaven in Beijing. Edited and abridged autobiography of the last Emperor until his death in the 1960s. From the early life as a child emperor to invasion by Japan, communism, and brain washing. Comes across as a fairly weak man and used as a political porn since his childhood. Not until his 20's or 30's did he begin to understand about the world, and was continually protected and shielded from the true political situation until recent times. Incredible insight into the China dynasty and traditions. Terrible abuse of others, and how the emperor can never be wrong. Is being a common citizen working as part of the communist state happier than the emperor with all his wealth? I thought excellent translation and now ready to watch the film.

This book purports to be an autobiography. Within a couple of chapters it becomes obvious it isn’t. The disparity becomes wider as the propaganda element increases to almost laughable levels at the end. A pity, there is an interesting story in there somewhere, but this book isn’t telling it.

A fascinating autobiography, regardless of the likelihood that it was ghostwritten by the Chinese communist party. Fascinating details range from Pu Yi's daily menu (while living as a child in the Forbidden City) to dealings with foreign dignitaries and special favors provided by his Japanese puppet masters.

Clearly much political correctness in this book. No surprises considering the Chinese constantly looking over Pu Yi's shoulders, and the constant brainwashing they subjected him to. Still well worth reading though. The translation seems to be very good

happy