What Happened to the Last Emperor of China? (Short Animated Documentary)

We all know that China no longer has emperors but what happened to its final one? What was the last Emperor of China's life like after his abdication and what did it look like. It's pretty interesting.
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[@gunnerjensen5998]

So the street sweeper yelling "I use to be somebody" isn't so crazy afterall.

[@electricangel4488]

I used to rule the world Seas would rise when I gave the word Now in the morning I sleep alone Sweep the streets I used to own

[@FalconFire13]

@@electricangel4488 Damn it. Until now, I had always sang 'Caesar rised when I gave the word' !! I feel like an idiot now !

[@electricangel4488]

@@FalconFire13 no wories

[@winstonho0805]

Puyi: "I used to be a contender, now I'm just a bum, face it...."

[@hydrogendiamond5830]

@@electricangel4488 I used to roll the dice Feel the fear in my enemy's eyes Listen as the crowd would sing "Now the old king is dead! Long live the king!"

[@shrimpboom8]

Imagine being a monarch and proceeding to survive: * A revolution * A counterrevolution that puts you back in charge * A counter-counterrevolution * A foreign invasion that sets you up as a figurehead * A foreign counterinvasion AND * A communist revolution without being executed at any point

[@ar0568]

With Mao zedong in charge too

[@seronymus]

Nigga had an angel watching over him

[@stevemc01]

@@seronymus Marx: "This emperor seems like a funny guy... maybe I'll try to keep him specifically alive..."

[@starmaker75]

I guess he was protect by dao spirits

[@nikel-]

@@ar0568 Mao : spare this mf in particular

[@TheShadowhawk2]

"Sweep the streets I used to own" - Viva La Vida by Coldplay

[@OCinneide]

@Rocky Carlton that line references that chinese emperor

[@JackHawk-re5vo]

Perfectly used line.

[@wheresmyeyebrow1608]

@@OCinneide Never knew that

[@capncake8837]

TheShadowhawk2 I was actually just listening to that. I though he said roam.

[@xanshen9011]

Villagers would cheer my way, for a hero I was, that’s what they’d say.

[@josephtay4764]

Actually people all recognized him when he walked on the street. In the misdst of cultural recolution, people still called him 'Great Grandpa' and saluted him politely. If he applied any job, the employer surely knew him. Mao employed him as a historian to summarize the history of Qing Dynasty in a book.

[@shinybreloom4027]

Sure, people thought he was endearing, but politically there was still something odd about it, even if Mao was in favor of it didn't Enlai say something to Puyi which amounted to: "I can't blame you for what you did as a five-year-old, because you didn't know any better; but what you did in Manchuria was of your own volition."

[@handlenames]

What book is it? I wanna try reading it

[@bjz3302]

@@handlenames emperor to normal citizen is the name

[@edwardboss]

That's kinda wholesome in a way

[@josephtay4764]

@@handlenames 'From emperor to Civilian' i cant remember exactly

[@Mothman58]

“With him died the last of a 2,000 year old system of government” Dam that’s harsh

[@MachinimaGothic]

Praise Communism

[@CedarHunt]

@Tango Zulu There is a lot wrong with those countries and democracy isn't one.

[@tony3003001]

CedarHunt you forgot to mention oil lol

[@tony3003001]

Chickyismycat K ha definitely a orange idiot supporter. Okay boomer

[@Nathan-jh1ho]

Well the Communist government has preety much turn back into a monarchy.

[@ivanivanofivansson8551]

Imagine the Chinese emperor cleaning the pavement in front of your house. Would they know who he was?

[@dragos4123]

More than probably not. Perhaps the only ones that knew were the ones in Manchuria and maybe some professors?

[@zeflute4586]

They might knew. But you know what communism is like, how ever noble you once were, we don't care~ Comrade!

[@mastermirror3888]

Here's what I found from Wikipedia: …He had the job of sweeping the streets, and got lost on his first day of work, which led him to tell astonished passers-by: "I'm Puyi, the last Emperor of the Qing dynasty. I'm staying with relatives and can't find my way home"…

[@juddyyoutube]

Probably not. The average Chinese person wouldn't have known what Puyi looked like.

[@CorporateShill]

Blanco Mundane joke, terrible execution

[@azorac7188]

if I am not mistaken, after he was released from prison, he was invited to visit the museum of the forbidden city, a historian explained to them (as there are other people within that tour group) what the furniture and Chinaware are for during the imperial era, puyi laughed so hard as he heard the historian describes his old chamber pot as some precious historial relic

[@leonsonyao3921]

There was actually a movie about it

[@isaacsechslingloff9894]

@@leonsonyao3921 fr?

[@leonsonyao3921]

@@isaacsechslingloff9894 yea i was able to watch it

[@leonsonyao3921]

@@isaacsechslingloff9894 it was made in 1987 though

[@isaacsechslingloff9894]

@@leonsonyao3921 would u recommend watching or no

[@mountaingeneral]

Fun fact it is his birthday today

[@UlulvarCape]

this explains why this video was uploaded today

[@graceneilitz7661]

Cool

[@aaronmarks9366]

Happy Birthday to his Eternal Imperial Majesty, Holder of the Mandate of Heaven

[@PyroNexus22]

wow, this fact is indeed very fun

[@AftermathRV]

@@aaronmarks9366 no, im pretty sure he lost that mandate.

[@InternetDarkLord]

If you think the last emperor had it bad,The last imperial Chinese eunuch, Sun Yaoting, was castrated to serve the monarch right before revolution toppled him, making his castration totally unnecessary. If you think you are having a bad day, remember this guy.

[@linkfromzelda1002]

I wonder. What if we had a historically matriarchal society? What would the equivalent of a castration be?

[@ultru3525]

@@linkfromzelda1002 If the main goal is to make sex impossible? Probably sewing the vagina shut.

[@ultru3525]

@Projekt:Kobra Chinese eunuchs were actually emasculated, i.e. not just the balls.

[@bioemiliano]

@@linkfromzelda1002 Some african tribes sew the vaginal lips as a form of castration

[@jwil4286]

@@ultru3525 why were they emasculated in the first place?

[@HellbirdIV]

The most shocking part of this story is the part where Mao decides *not* to have someone killed.

[@ycyang2698]

This is how demonization works

[@tianquxi2844]

because of the BBC CNN fake news

[@teddytatyo]

It was just a pr strategy

[@ryhanzfx1641]

He preffered killing anyone indirectly

[@bobmcbob49]

Mao was suffering from a rare fit of sanity.

[@slyninja4444]

1:44 FACT: After becoming emperor of Manchukuo, Puyi wanted to wear the Qīng robes, however, the Japanese forced him to wear a military uniform.

[@longyu9336]

He wanted to return to his family's old home in Shenyang (Fengtian they called it) where there is a mini-forbidden city just like in Beijing. It was also a far bigger and more populous city than Changchun but the Japanese did not let him.

[@Zeruel3]

@@longyu9336 He also wanted a grand palace as his residence in Changchun, being able to choose the site of and oversee construction of a palace was the only thing the Japanese let him do. After he picked a site construction was stopped due to the war. As a result he ended up in a small collection of buildings next to the railway lines in Changchun that had been used to collect the salt tax. So he spent his time as a puppet collaborator in what everyone called the Salt Tax Palace

[@syue6544]

fun fact about Puyi after he got released from the prison in 1959. He went back to the forbidden city with some friends for the first time after 1924 . At the entrance when he was asked to purchase a ticket, he mumbled “now I need to pay to get in my home” but still insisted to pay for the ticket. During his visit he noticed in one of the palaces there was a man’s portrait hanging on the wall with caption below claiming this is the Guangxu Emperor. Puyi then immediately went to a staff and reported the mistake, said he’s 100% this guy on the picture is not Guangxu, then this conversation happened: Staff: all infos are given by experts, no chance it can be wrong. Puyi: Is that so? The man on the photo is Zaifun the prince Chun. Staff: you gotta be kidding. That’s not possible Puyi (pointing at the photo) : you know what, this man is literally my father. How tf can i ID him wrong. Staff: ......

[@krichenboi]

This is a theathre play

[@SirSX3]

goes to show how incompetent they were/are, that they can't even id the former Emperor. that raises questions about what else they were wrong about.

[@bugsyproductions3140]

Link

[@h0ppingbunnie456]

I have heard this fake drama in both Chinese and English...

[@pettypractice7872]

Nice fiction

[@thegraytemplar2548]

"I'm Puyi, the last Emperor of the Qing dynasty. I'm staying with relatives and can't find my way home" - Puyi after his first day as a street sweeper

[@chaosPneumatic]

Would make a good desription for a gofundme page.

[@ramiqcom]

@@chaosPneumatic no man it was what he actually said, it is in his biography book

[@chaosPneumatic]

@@ramiqcom Because a biography was the closest thing to a gofundme page back then. My joke still stands!

[@ramiqcom]

@@chaosPneumatic hmm alright it checks out

[@dusanbrankov5533]

@@chaosPneumatic badumtsss

[@Longshanks1690]

Honestly, the descendants of overthrown monarchies are some of the most interesting people in the world. Like, the Hapsburgs still try to have some power through being elected officials, the son of the last Shah runs a government in exile and the Hohenzollerens are active patrons of causes across Germany. Even the Bonapartes are split over who is the real head of the household. Despite their technical fall, having such a lineage is something you can never actually escape.

[@samarkand1585]

There's also a surviving Bourbon descendant in France who tries to get himself *elected* as king

[@sammason9763]

A Romanov was mayor of palm beach Florida

[@salahddinebensebane8429]

Or the osmans who are the desendend of the ottoman empire

[@justafaniv1097]

Otto von Habsburg was a straight up boss. He helped establish the EU, was an MEP, helped overthrow communism, and punched a fellow parliamentarian who was harassing the pope. Also, can you blame the pretenders? After all, Juan Carlos managed to pull a comeback in Spain, so who knows?

[@brandonlyon730]

Isn't the current heir to the Habsburg family name a race car driver now?

[@spongebobbies]

When you think about it Mao’s decision was actually incredibly smart as it guaranteed him the loyalty of any royalist’s left in China alongside the bonus of giving him more legitimacy in the eyes of the public and in the international community seeing as how he was able to make even the previous emperor vouch for him

[@Oblivisci........]

Yeah the Mongolians definitely went a different route with former leaders.

[@benthomason3307]

4D chess move right there.

[@kedarunzi9139]

It's almost like killing people isn't the best idea

[@stevemc01]

@@benthomason3307 5D to have him become a literal communist

[@tomfrazier1103]

Just too fun, to make a pet of the former supreme ruler. Mao was a kicky guy, as are many rulers. The early '40s ruler of Germany seems to have made a fetish over his abstemious lifestyle (as presesnted).

[@johnyricco1220]

Puyi’s brother Prince Pujie had a very interesting life also. He married a Japanese noble woman and had a daughter. He was locked up with Puyi and after his release lived in China with his Japanese wife and held a cushy government post. Their daughter was raised in Japan, and was on a shortlist to marry the future Japanese Emperor Akihito, but she committed suicide (her relatives say her boyfriend murdered her). Had she married Akihito and produced an heir, the current Emperor of Japan would be a quarter Chinese and the last member of the Qing royal line.

[@amirflorant3672]

They are Manchu though

[@volumist]

@@amirflorant3672 Manchu wasn't Chinese until 18th century, when Manchurian blood was mixed with chinese groups.

[@IsraelCountryCube]

Yeah this is why Christianity dissolves all that hate and violence.

[@LunarKnight-nn5lr]

​@@IsraelCountryCube meanwhile Colonialism and Racial Discrimination laughing in corner

[@saccorhytus]

@@IsraelCountryCubeyeah i’m sure nothing bad ever happened, something like the crusades or something

[@garmenlin5990]

"What happened to the last emperor of China?" Hoi4 players: He continued his search for the mandate of heaven.

[@blackpowderuser373]

"The Son of Heaven bows to no one!" **

[@sviatoslavs.1305]

*Achievement unlocked!* "Hail to the Qing!"

[@user-xw5xo3bv1n]

HOI4, also known as "What if last chineese emperor actually had balls".

[@bvenkat9924]

got to get rid of the damn banditry first

[@blackpowderuser373]

@@bvenkat9924 quite easy at early game

[@vazeyo]

Fun fact: In germany there is a common phrase to say: "Und ich bin der Kaiser von China!" (And I´m the emperor of china!) to imply that you don´t believe something someone told you. Recognize a lie, so to speak.

[@tayfun8975]

So ein Quatsch! Wenn das wahr ist, bin ich der Kaiser von China!

[@a2falcone]

Random street sweeper: "I'm Puyi, the last Emperor of the Qing dynasty. I'm staying with relatives and can't find my way home." German tourist: "And I'm the Emperor of... hey, wait a minute!"

[@baddecimus2414]

In France its: "Et moi je suis la reine d'Angleterre!" (And I'm the queen of England!)

[@tayfun8975]

@@baddecimus2414 ahh d'accord c'est très interessant qu' nous avons tous des expressions pour cette phénomène !

[@DSTRK93]

In Hungary we are referring back to the liar instead: 1. Azt hiszed te szartad a spanyol viaszt? (You think you shit the spanish wax?) or 2. Azt hiszed te fújod a passzátszelet? (You think you're blowing the trade-winds?)

[@nowhereman6019]

My fascination with Puyi has grown over the years. He was such a strange, pathetic, detestable, pitiful, and sympathetic man. His life was essentially ruined by the Emperorship. He was used by everyone around him for their own gains and was spoiled rotten, but never given any real freedom. Imagine what living in a gilded cage their entire life would do to a person. He would abuse his servants for entertainment all the while they would completely control his day to day activities. Even after he was forcedly removed from the Forbidden City, instead of seeking freedom elsewhere, he quickly went to the Japanese as they promised to make him Emperor again. When he realized he was nothing more than a puppet, his condition only worsened. He became even more bitter over his powerlessness and increasingly abusive to his servants, all the while being trapped in a small palace under implied threat from the Japanese. Ironically, his imprisonment under the Chinese Communist was the best thing that ever happened to him. They forced him to recognize what had been done under his "reign" in Manchukuo, and he became incredibly humble. Although, it's entirely possible he was just trying to suck up to his new captors, and only acted the way he did out of desperation for approval rather than actually growing as a person. Overall, Puyi was never really his own person. He was put in a terrible place by forces beyond his control that caused him great suffering and built him into this maladapted person. But it was his own actions that led to his further misery.

[@iososop9169]

Even the people surrounding him were so interesting. His Wikipedia page even mentions a relative of his working as a spy and was described as “an urban, leather-clad, crossdressing, spy princess”. Like, imagine your life is so interesting, there’s a crossdressing spy princess involved.

[@SelfProclaimedEmperor]

@@iososop9169 Ah yes, Yoshiko Kawashima. (Real name: Aisin Gioro Xianyu). A very fascinating Woman indeed.

[@TheWazzoGames]

Have you seen the movie The Last Emperor?

[@TheWazzoGames]

@@iososop9169 you should really watch the movie the last emperor. His cousin who ended up as a a Japanese spy was the one who gave Puyi his connections to Japan (which is why they placed him as puppet emperor) she also got Puyi’s wife addicted to opium, and was notoriously racist towards the Han Chinese.

[@nowhereman6019]

@@TheWazzoGames yes

[@monad5140]

The movie "The Last Emperor" is just fantastic and tells Puyi's story so beautifully. Highly recommend.

[@bwhog]

It does, however, leave a few important things out...

[@LostSonOfPluto]

I’ve always found this period of Chinese history fascinating

[@grandinquisitor8335]

@Thorne The Taiping rebellion a rebellion that harmed Qing so hard they could never again regain control of its southern land

[@wikipediaintellectual7088]

Unfortunately a lot of Chinese people don’t as they’d like to forget the century they spent suffering under dictators and later their current regime.

[@alexlo7708]

@@wikipediaintellectual7088 They has historic book since more than 2000 yrs ago. They are good at memory better than you for sure. What happen to them is they choose a peaceful society than turmoil they had been to so many experience.

[@MrCanadabacon]

Yes! I took a history course in university that was the warlord period so we covered from about 1900 to 1950. Interesting era but sucked for the everyday Chinese peasant

[@CoffeeSuccubus]

@@MrCanadabacon Only 1900-1950? Go back further. The Three Kingdoms history namely.

[@shafinrahman2199]

Damn, I mean, imagine being on deathbed while being reminded that you are the last of a 2000 years old civilization and you also happen to have worked as a street sweeper.

[@andreimoga7813]

It's the nature of time that the old ways must give in

[@ilpazzo1257]

@@andreimoga7813 it's the nature of time that the new ways come in sin

[@E36333]

He isn't the last of a civilization but the last of a certain government. The Chinese are still there you know, their civilization isn't dead

[@Dalinar.Kholin]

@@ilpazzo1257 When the new meets the old it always ends the ancient ways And as history told the old ways go out in a blaze

[@justnoob8141]

I mean one of the king in my country love to getting laid with every girl he met and ending up with him paying all of them so that doesn’t sound as bad

[@evilmountain7147]

I love the dichotomy of the "what happened to [world leader] after/during _____?" series so far, because we have: Wilhelm II: wrote a lot of stuff about the state of his country, was hoping to return to power Trotsky: wrote a lot of stuff about the state of his ideology, was hoping to return (kinda?) to power Puyi: he was pretty much just a guy

[@luisandrade2254]

Trotsky was never a leader just a pretender

[@DiegoMartinez-lu1vs]

@@luisandrade2254 well Lenin wanted trotsky to succeed him until stalin forced him into exile and he later killed trotsky in 1940 or 41.

[@luisandrade2254]

@@DiegoMartinez-lu1vs that’s right a pretender never the leader

[@DiegoMartinez-lu1vs]

@@luisandrade2254 and I forget to say he was the rightful successor to him without stalin he would be more cooperative with some of the west and maybe tricking adolf to Russia until the winter but that's just my theory.

[@luisandrade2254]

@@DiegoMartinez-lu1vs it doesn’t matter who the rightful successor was they weren’t even a monarchy to have a rightful successor it matters who the actual successor was

[@jayasuryangoral-maanyan3901]

from what I know, puyi eventually developed some humility after being a japanese puppet and married his nurse and realised how he didn't like his time as royalty and as an incredibly spoiled brat

[@jayasuryangoral-maanyan3901]

oh fuck i forgot his reeducation. He was shown the most downtrodden people of the realm which gave him loads of guilt as he had been taught in the forbidden city that everything was good for citizens. I'm pretty sure he developed suspicions and lost a lot of trust in the japanese in manchuria because he found them way too zealous, and so mao didn't have much trouble convincing puyi that the land that was being ravaged by mao's own policies were actually puyi's fault. That;s actually something I find quite sad, but like I say at least he did develop some humility and learned to live a normal and happy life

[@tywinlannister8015]

@@jayasuryangoral-maanyan3901 Pu Yi himself wrote a book on the subject reflecting on his life that is a rather interesting read.

[@jayasuryangoral-maanyan3901]

@@tywinlannister8015 yeah I know of it. I might read it one day

[@genericname4739]

Best Resume Ever *Previous Job Experience* Emperor of China Landlord Chief Executive of Manchuria Emperor of Manchuria Street Sweeper Editor

[@dusanbrankov5533]

And what are you applying for now sir, professor of the arts?

[@nehcooahnait7827]

Lol “chief executive”.

[@nehcooahnait7827]

Palace Museum historical researcher. Gardener. Writer

[@dusanbrankov5533]

Scratch Professor of the arts, I wouldn't want him to fail art school as well, like certain men with funny mustaches

[@drsibisudhan]

Dude that’s not Manchuria... it’s manchuko. Manchuria is a type of fried cauliflower or mushroom crackers ...made in India lol 😂

[@gezzarandom]

Ever watch the movie The Last Emperor? That movie covers this, albeit in a long drawn out fashion lol.

[@itrthho]

The movie doesn't cover his trial by the Allies for Japanese collaboration.

[@wikipediaintellectual7088]

The Last Emperor is one of the best movies I’ve ever seen.

[@jamiengo2343]

ephabouyed did you mean albeit?

[@pathowgate2544]

One of my favourite films

[@jw1731]

Blue Milk Alien Monster the interrogation In the movie was after his extradition to the PRC from the USSR in 1950. The allies’ interrogation and his testimony took place in 1946 in the Far East Tribunal when he was under soviet custody.

[@TheMightyMcClaw]

Mao did not make a lot of good decisions, but sparing Pu Yi and reducing him to an ordinary citizen of the new republic was a pretty sharp PR move.

[@jowen9422]

At least in today's China, everyone is the same, while in the UK, the royal family is a first-class citizen, and ordinary people are second-class citizens

[@calebfielding6352]

@@jowen9422 yeah the very small percentage of people in the communist party that have ten luxery cars are exactly the same as the regular people whose house is falling down. SMH

[@jowen9422]

@@calebfielding6352 It's not like what you think, I am Chinese, I know what it is, but your mind is what your government and your media want you thought. and there is no limited, if anybody want be a member of communist party he or she can, but in UK you never be a royal member, that is blood, they are undoubtedly the first-class citizen, from birth. This hierarchy of feudal society seems crazy to me. I can accept that someone is richer than me, but I can't accept that someone is born superior politically.

[@incognito-px3dz]

@@jowen9422 动态网自由门 天安門 天安门 法輪功 李洪志 Free Tibet 六四天安門事件 The Tiananmen Square protests of 1989 天安門大屠殺 The Tiananmen Square Massacre 反右派鬥爭 The Anti-Rightist Struggle 大躍進政策 The Great Leap Forward 文化大革命 The Great Proletarian Cultural Revolution 人權 Human Rights 民運 Democratization 自由 Freedom 獨立 Independence 多黨制 Multi-party system 台灣 臺灣 Taiwan Formosa 中華民國 Republic of China 西藏 土伯特 唐古特 Tibet 達賴喇嘛 Dalai Lama 法輪功 Falun Dafa 新疆維吾爾自治區 The Xinjiang Uyghur Autonomous Region 諾貝爾和平獎 Nobel Peace Prize 劉暁波 Liu Xiaobo 民主 言論 思想 反共 反革命 抗議 運動 騷亂 暴亂 騷擾 擾亂 抗暴 平反 維權 示威游行 李洪志 法輪大法 大法弟子 強制斷種 強制堕胎 民族淨化 人體實驗 肅清 胡耀邦 趙紫陽 魏京生 王丹 還政於民 和平演變 激流中國 北京之春 大紀元時報 九評論共産黨 獨裁 專制 壓制 統一 監視 鎮壓 迫害 侵略 掠奪 破壞 拷問 屠殺 活摘器官 誘拐 買賣人口 遊進 走私 毒品 賣淫 春畫 賭博 六合彩 天安門 天安门 法輪功 李洪志 Winnie the Pooh 劉曉波动态网自由门

[@ColasTeam]

@@jowen9422 the British monarchy holds basically 0 political power nowadays.

[@AunknownMan]

Damn he had one heck of a life. His CV would look like: Emperor of China, unemployed home, chief executive, Emperor of Manchuckuo, Vacation in a Gulag, Street sweeper and then Mao personal gardener. XD

[@maxthexpfarmer3957]

“vacation”

[@AunknownMan]

@@maxthexpfarmer3957 ;))

[@intergalactic92]

Except you don’t include vacations on your CV. At least I wouldn’t.

[@andynguyen7817]

Video suggestions “What was the Soviet Union’s relationship with Europe and the United States after WW1 to the start of the Cold War? What did they think of the communist country at the time before the Cold War?” “The Ottoman Empire during the Napoleonic Wars. What was the Ottoman Empire doing at the time, and how did they view and react to it?”

[@brandonlyon730]

Didn't Napoleon conquer Egypt prior to the French Revolution a vassal of the Ottomans?

[@LouisKing995]

Brandon Lyon Technically a vassal, but de facto an independent state run by the Mamaluks.

[@CoffeeSuccubus]

The US held a part of Siberia during the revoluion

[@andreimoga7813]

This comment needs to go to the top

[@wannabedal-adx458]

Also do one on the Barbary pirates and the brief military incursion in Tripoli to stop them!!!

[@pridelander06]

"He'd have to do without Mongolia this time because, you know, Communist revolution." *Mao with narrowed eyes* "Soon"

[@VarietyGamerChannel]

No, because 80% of mongolians on earth already live in China and mongolia itself is an empty expanse. It's entire resource base is ocntrolled by Chinese extraction firms and all of Mongolia's overseas trade (thats not with china) is via Tianjin port. There's no point it's already a total puppet state of China.

[@Brandonhayhew]

Mongolia is like a buffer state but also a puppet state. The joke is still stands but not really honest to the actual thing

[@Brandonhayhew]

zonda_r2 every landlocked country is the same its that your country is made a buffer state made by USSR. Today its very different

[@Brandonhayhew]

zonda_r2 85% of the imports comes from China. This gives China leverage over Mongolia economy and politics. The chinese workers also comes in for constructions. If China economy goes bad then Mongolia is in trouble

[@samaritan3712]

Puyi when he becomes the Emperor of Manchuria, and finds out it was useless; *Those bastards lied to me.*

[@UnknownFortune]

Unpopular opinion but Puyi is the most interesting figure in modern Chinese history. He was certainly not as influential as Mao Zedong and Sun Yat-Sen, but his diaries are very interesting and I like to see how one man went from being the Emperor of the most populated country on earth, to becoming just a custodian.

[@tintek12]

We gotta admit, what Mao did was pretty Smart.

[@raptorfromthe6ix833]

the only smart thing he did before starving his people... twice

[@electricangel4488]

@@raptorfromthe6ix833 the man is thinking not a farmer jim

[@jer2689]

Save kings, kill sparrows

[@UmeNNis]

Even a broke clock is right twice a day

[@peffiSC2source]

Also evil as hell. Imagine you go into prison thinking to be the rightful heir of one of the most important countries in history and then come out 10 years later pledging allegiance to the new rulers, adopting their ideology and go on to sweep streets. Who knows what they did to him in those ten years to break him like that.

[@thehoosher9322]

0:18 this image is blessed on so many levels

[@andreimoga7813]

Explain please

[@LazyAndFabulous]

@@andreimoga7813 Basically the father of China, or modern figure of China (especially both PRC and ROC agrees each other about Sun Yat Sen being good)

[@andreimoga7813]

Yes, Dr. Sun Yat Sen, the founder of the Repblic, and also the young emperor and someone I assume is Huang Xing. I thought there was some subtle joke I didn't catch Since he said _blessed_

[@dogodog1247]

Also in the background is the chinese word for china. No problem, except it’s simplified chinese, which was only invented 40 years later in the 1950’s.

[@joermnyc]

“The Last Emperor” is a great movie... and it shows just how much of a fool Puyi was going along with the Japanese... and it cost his wife her sanity. It also showed how quickly the state would turn on people as the jailer who basically interrogated and indoctrinated Puyi into Maoist communism was later seen being arrested for not being a “good” communist by the younger generation.

[@fsdds1488]

Cultural Revolution was a big hell hole, I wasn't aware that the time there is a group in Chinese Science Academy that basically publish bullshit to prove that Relativity is wrong(I was not aware of whether they are opposing General or Special relativity, their successors though tried to challenge special relativity by saying if you change the name of the variable it not longer works so it must be fake) because it violates Marxist theory, I was totally shocked at the fact that these legit scholars were forced to publish stupid things to please the politicians, and even more stupid is that there are members of the academcy still lingering on this stupid notion of Marxist philosophy governing physics. Things can get surreal when the mass go crazy.

[@biliminsrlar5752]

China history in a nutshell: *_China is whole again.Then it's broke again._*

[@Emilechen]

China always comes back when the other empires were died definitively,

[@cb41503]

More like: The empire, long divided must unite, long united must divide, thus it has ever been.

[@lioubastoupakova3770]

They’re gonna break again

[@consumebees1404]

The ups and downs and ups and downs and ups and downs and ups and downs and ups and downs and ups and downs and ups and downs and ups and downs and ups and downs and ups and downs and ups and downs and ups and downs of China!

[@L3monsta]

I understood that reference

[@ZDZiggy]

I recommend watching the movie "The Last Emperor", I don't know if it's 100% accurate but still good movie too watch about this person.

[@andreimoga7813]

It's not fully accurate, as some commenters would point out. But it's good

[@ZhangtheGreat]

It's not 100% accurate (even CCTV did their own fact-check show of the movie), but it's a damn entertaining film

[@viniciusgomes5147]

The Last Emperor is a great movie about this. Not to mention the amazing soundtrack by Ryuichi Sakamoto! 👍

[@wikipediaintellectual7088]

The Soundtrack is nigh unparalleled.

[@frzferdinand72]

The Last Emperor is a visual masterpiece

[@francescoboselli6033]

That film won something like 9 Oscar! A true master prime of Italian cinema!

[@nossahmvssg]

That child Puyi saying "obey me" was probably the cutest thing I've ever seen in a History Matters vid

[@MaceEtiquette]

Mao definitely knew how to turn old enemies into good pr opportunities. He welcomed Li Zongren back to the mainland before he died. Now there's a dude who deserves an episode.

[@garmenlin5990]

The only reason I know that name, is because of HOI4

[@Aidenaman]

2:38 former emporers looking down from the heavens: you where the chosen one!

[@JoseHernandez-bv5gr]

You were supposed to destroy the CCP not Join them!

[@jonathanredacted3245]

To be fair he was chosen by the dowager cixi and his time as emperor of China and Manchuria was a psychological nightmare for him, his wife, and his staff

[@jokuvaan5175]

To bring balance to China! Not leave it in darkness!

[@JoseHernandez-bv5gr]

@@jokuvaan5175 Puyi: I HATE YOU Also why are are there so many J in this comment.?

[@andreimoga7813]

You were supposed to destroy the commoners, not join them! Bring aristocratic and bureaucratic elites to the rule of China, not leave it to people who are actually the same (because China never really changes) but they claim they represent the poor common workers!

[@freddy4603]

"how to draw child?" *_Eyes_*

[@Ballacha]

Just to clarify, Puyi never worked as a “street sweeper”. After he was released by the Mao regime, he was officially employed by the government as a gardener for Beijing Botanic Garden, a job that he chose among other job offers from the CCP. Yes, this job does involve cleaning the pedestrian paths but it’s just a small part of the daily routine as a gardener.

[@MrLantean]

Despite of being a gardener, Puyi was treated with a semi-VIP status. He had bodyguards protecting or for the better definition watches over him. Everywhere he went, he was escorted by bodyguards. Even his last wife was an arranged marriage by the government. Even after his death, his ashes were at first interred in Babaoshan Revolutionary Cemetery the main resting place for the highest-ranking revolutionary heroes, high government officials and, in recent years, individuals deemed of major importance due to their contributions to society. Then in 1995, Puyi's ashes were interred to a new commercial cemetery named Hualong Imperial Cemetery located near Western Qing Tombs where four of the nine Qing emperors preceding him are interred, along with three empresses and 69 princes, princesses, and imperial concubines.

[@joseph23ification]

Video suggestions.... "What was the effect of Black Death on Asia?" "Why did the Vikings abandoned America?" "Why didn't the Byzantine Empire fall to the Mongols?" "Why did Prussia and Russia have similar name?" "Did Ancient Greece and China known each other?

[@arnold3768]

Pretty sure this is the 1st time I've seen a child in your videos.

[@nikolaytsankov9066]

I think there was a child king of France in the HYW or War of the roses episodes

[@PedroLanzarini]

Puyi: *fells* Warlords: allow us to introduce ourselves

[@heroepato]

"it's free real state"

[@Yora21]

The typical story of China. That story about the 3000 year long empire might have been a bit embellished.

[@derniercaesar5319]

China in a nutshell

[@DeclinedMercy]

The Warlord Era was not inevitable. Yuan Shikai, a Qing official who helped the Revolution overthrow the Qing Emperor, was made the first head of state in the Republic of China until the first election due to his significant role in ending the Imperial dynasty. Shikai wound up betraying the republic, having the winner of the election assassinated, banishing the Republican government to Japan and crowning himself the new Emperor. This proved very unpopular and various governors and military leaders functionally seceded from his government which soon collapsed and the Republican leaders came back from Japan to take control of the country but it was already shattered. And that's why the Warlord Era, the Communist uprising and the seizure of Manchuria happened. Because of one guy.

[@strategossable1366]

2:53 "I used to rule the world Seas would rise when I gave the word Now in the morning I sleep alone Sweep the streets I used to own"

[@edra3118]

The earth king in avatar the last airbender was inspired by the last emperor of China He also rose to power at such a young age and was kept in the dark about the ruling of his kingdom by his advisors and administrators

[@CannedBread-mz2tx]

Ok but can we talk about how absolutely adorable you made the last emperor look?!?!

[@seand1011]

2:34 - Notice that Puyi has a teardrop tattoo near his right eye.

[@stevemc01]

F

[@sibericusthefrosty9950]

Damn, nice eye.

[@mapoleo]

@@stevemc01 he’s been in the inside

[@blackpowderuser373]

"Small regional conflict between Japan and the Republic of China" 😂 Also: *Assertiveness Focus Branch intensifies*

[@Peppermynt.]

Imagine walking in the streets in the PRC to find out that the local street sweeper you passed by was the last qing emperor

[@antagasugite35]

*PRC, Puyi only started sweeping the streets after the establishment of the People's Republic

[@Peppermynt.]

@@antagasugite35oh

[@internuf5754]

So they spared him and converted him to their ideology so he won't become a martyr for the opposition? *I knew that Mao was inspired by 1984 afterall...*

[@Mr.LaughingDuck]

More like the other way around

[@Nikolaj11]

@mr red I didn't know Mao was published.

[@Longshanks1690]

@mr red Why would that mean Mao couldn’t be inspired by it? I mean, it was critical of communism so of course Mao didn’t read it, but just saying that the timeline of its release doesn’t mean he couldn’t have read it.

[@Nikolaj11]

@mr red Usually humans are born though, this is the first time i've heard of a person being published. (If you still can't tell I'm just making a joke on your sentence not mentioning the man was born in that year, I am well aware of what you meant, but if you read your first comment literally it seems as if you're saying he was published in 1948 in the comparison to the book).

[@cd180]

@@Longshanks1690 It was critical of totalitarianism. Orwell was an anarcho-communist himself

[@mrniceguy7168]

Stalin holding up a “proud of you” sign tickles me

[@ik2254]

What always fascinated me about China is that Empires throughout history used to rise then fall. An empire never comes back. Some empires are going through their livespan very fast (Empire of Alexander the Great), some rather slowly (Great Britain 13th-20th century). The only empire that collapsed to emerge again was Russian empire as a USSR, but it didn't last even a century. But China... China is different. It existed for as long as civilization has, constantly shattering and coming back. Shattered and back, shattered and back... And once again it's back, after horrible ww2. And once again it's at the top, just like 6000 years ago, just like 500 years ago. It doesn't matter. They'll come back no matter what

[@Blownkingg]

The reason for this is because their empire is mostly composed of one ethnic group(Han Chinese), while other empires(USSR/Russian Empire, British Empire, etc) were composed of several large ethnic groups.

[@jasonquigley2633]

I think it makes much more sense to think of the USSR as a continuation of the Russian Empire, similar to how France after the French revolution was a continuation of the pre-revolution kingdom. China is also not the only empire to keep coming back like that. Persia/Iran or the Eastern Roman Empire -> Ottoman Empire also comes to mind. The Roman Empire itself came back in multiple forms (You could argue that the Catholic Church, Holy Roman Empire, Ottoman Empire, Russian Empire, Austro-Hungarian Empire etc. were all to one degree or another successors to the Roman Empire.)

[@kendallcarter3491]

I love the use of your square people holding their signs. Makes learning history that more interesting.

[@DragonActual]

2:55 Lots of job experience that can satisfy employers hiring for “entry level” jobs

[@luisshorts.]

“Yeah I used to be the empirer of China when I was a kid”

[@yujie.ho123]

Last time I was this early, the ruling dynasty was apparently fictional

[@nickjack1696]

Amazing video. This is exactly the kind of content I subscribed for. Keep it up!!

[@Ellis-zr1qd]

I love your sarcastic statements that you make from time to time.. honestly, they make me laugh like “he managed to get a tiny bit assassinated” and “after this things started to look good and by good I mean absolutely terrible”

[@jonbaxter2254]

"Small regional conflict" lol

[@Yora21]

It got a bit out of hand after a border skirmish in Poland.

[@ForelliBoy]

am I the only one who noticed "traditional" characters used on the picture frame and on the Forbidden City walls while "simplified" ones are used in the imperial background

[@jacobwiren8142]

I mean... China's current leader is basically an emperor, just not in name. It feels like this is just a continuation of the dynasty system but with extra steps for legitimacy in a modern world.

[@ZhangtheGreat]

Hard to distance oneself from history. Mao was an emperor in everything but name. Chiang Kai-shek was as well after fleeing to Taiwan, and we imagine he would've been the same way had he managed to beat Mao.

[@jacobwiren8142]

@@ZhangtheGreat Probably...

[@davasaurthereal4678]

Loved the video, keep up the great work HM!

[@galiciangladiator5857]

1:51 Love the inclusion of Jonathan Frakes.

[@blacktallsmart1914]

GalicianGladiator nice. I didn’t catch that

[@phildevereux9136]

"Wrong again. We made it up."

[@aleksandarvil5718]

Next Video: **Mongolian Revolution in 1911**

[@SP-rt4ig]

*Ungern-Sternberg has joined the chat*

[@brbjuke45]

Love the questions you ask and answer.

[@unioneitaliana7107]

The Italian director Bernardo Bertolucci made in 1987 a movie named "l'ultimo imperatore" ("the last emperor") about the life of Pu Yi. The movie won three Oscar.

[@ECKohns]

It won 9 Oscars.

[@Alex_FRD]

"I swear I like sweeping streets more than being the Son of Heaven." - Henry while blinking twice.

[@MustacheCashStash125]

Puyi : I was a king once! Nurse at the retirement home : That’s nice Mr. Puyi

[@diggles27]

I love how you touch on all these subjects that. We never would have thought of.

[@alexconti7932]

One of the best short videos. Very good job.

[@LEFT4BASS]

Viva la Vida’s line “Sweep the streets I used to rule”, might have been based on a real person.

[@user-sb7ys7ge8p]

Oh, so that's the guy I keep seeing when I press on manchukuo in hoi4.

[@SelfProclaimedEmperor]

Peasant, show some respect to the Emperor of all China, the son of Heaven!

[@trnaughton]

The best KZbin channel, bar none. Great stuff.

[@oliversherman2414]

I love your channel keep up the great stuff!!!!!

[@m60patton85]

Imagine he had to submit a resumé for a sweeping job and one of his career experiences labeled "Emperor of China"

[@Oblivisci........]

Get out of here America! No one cares what you think!

[@m60patton85]

@@Oblivisci........ lol if no one cares wdy replied?

[@Oblivisci........]

@@m60patton85 So where I live these things called jokes exist. And sometimes these said jokes arent that good. So they go right over the persons head. So you just feel like an idiot and respond so that the person gets that it was a joke. Even though it was a pretty bad one. Its all good though. No one has ever accused us Americans of having a good sense of humor...

[@Oblivisci........]

@@m60patton85 At any rate stay frosty America. China is getting a little stupid lately.

[@corporalzeph2518]

Sun-Yat-Sen: **topples Qing Dynasty** *Oh yeah, it's all m i n g*

[@Muhammed552]

eu4 flashbacks

[@Exotic3000]

This was very well done!

[@sleepyuser5189]

Hell yeah the only thing I knew without your video , nice video btw

[@arnigeir1597]

it's a pretty big flex to invite your former emperor back only to have him serve a light prison sentence and then don't care about him being a citizen.

[@DardanellesBy108]

Didn’t he get married to a girl, through arrangement, that ended up being a big time opium addict and who eventually went insane. Just about every detail of this guys life was tragic.

[@barreloffun10]

Yes, that was his primary wife. His secondary consort just got tired of it all and left him. His story is pretty tragic. He had a really messed up childhood and never had a chance.

[@this_is_patrick]

​@Emperor Xi There's no way he could live abroad; 1. He was a poor newspaper editor. Even if he did have the necessary funds to leave China, there's no way the Communist Party would just let him straight up leave the country. Foreign enemies could kidnap and use him to challenge the legitimacy of the then fledgling communist government. Negating the chance of this happening was why the Bolsheviks murdered the Romanov family. 2. He's a full fledged communist by the time he was released from incarceration. No communist or non-aligned nation would have granted him asylum in fear of straining their diplomatic relationship with communist China and no Western nation would, either, because... well, because he's a communist. It was Puyi's fate to live and die as the physical manifestation of misfortune lmao.

[@peacekeeperbabe]

Thank u! I know this is a brief history; but he had no wives/kids?

[@elseggs6504]

@@this_is_patrick back when he was released? Maybe. However, Yugoslavia was a non-Aligned Communist Nation and might have granted him that asylum. With misfortune it kind of depends. He died a happily married man.

[@elseggs6504]

@@peacekeeperbabe he had several wives. I dont think he had any (legitimate) Children though.

[@nelsonchereta816]

Considering the records of both Stalin and Mao he got a much better ending than anyone could have expected.

[@blueciffer1653]

the records: CIA

[@BeeEmpress]

@@blueciffer1653are you really a Stalin and Mao apologist?

[@blueciffer1653]

@@BeeEmpress no. There is nothing to apologize for on behalf of both of them. Everything surrounding them is literal CIA red scare

[@idiot-yw5oq]

@@blueciffer1653 provide sources for your claim please

[@thenarwhalking5604]

I watched the movie "The Last Emporor" last week and It was a movie from the 1980s that was about PuYi. Kinda shitty being a rich lonely person with no real control over the direction of your life. Dude was a gardener after prison and finally was at peace with what he wanted for himself. His wife also had an opium addiction and so on. He spent a majority of his life lockes up, be it between the forbiddin city, under the japanese as a puppet, or in a chinese labor camp. Not really sure how biased the movie is but if you liked this video check out the movie.

[@BartlomiejDmowski]

"The Last Emperor" was based solely on the Pu Yi's memorials. It was also filmed in the Forbidden City. I would say it's pretty acurate There are only some minor mistakes

[@BarbarosaAlexander]

These videos are great. My 8 year old loves them. She asks to watch them when we are cooking or doing the laundry.

[@antirbx]

Child Chinese emperor : exist Literally every warlord : allow us to introduce ourself and cause years of civil war and then die to some random commoner down on the street 3 kingdoms flashbacks sun yat sen's revoluation flashbacks the reunifition of china flashbacks and chinese civilwar flashbacks 8 princes era flashbacks

[@wannabedal-adx458]

I loved his resume!!! Also could you do a video about Tibet's history and how (and why) it came under PRC control? Also do one on the Barbary pirates and the brief military incursion in Tripoli to stop them!!! Thanks

[@DMK304]

Looking forward to part 2,

[@Nexxarian]

1959: *street sweepers reviewing an application for a new employee* "Let's see here... your name is Aisin Gioro... Puyi?" "Holy shit! You're hired!"

[@cyberblah]

In the Forbidden City fifteen or so years ago, there was a tiny little three room museum about the last emperor off one of the courtyards. The third room was about his return to China and how he became a good Communist, and also had a gift shop with last emperor souvenirs you could buy.

[@Oblivisci........]

Yeah China doesnt have a problem with its history at all. Five thousand years of bliss. Nothing to see here.

[@MrZooop]

short, fantastic video

[@ijustwanttobloodycomment5141]

LOVE the Jonathan Frakes reference 1:51

[@aleksandarvil5718]

Sun Yat-Sen 0:20 : *"Now I'M President of Republic of China."* Yuan Shikai: *"WELL YES BUT ACTUALLY NO!"*

[@hunterbg7531]

Chang kai shek:thats what she said

[@aleksandarvil5718]

@Hunter bg Mao Zedong and his communists: *_"Allow Us To Introduce Ourselves."_*

[@hunterbg7531]

@@aleksandarvil5718 Chank kai shek escape's to Taiwan and makes a republic there:Still a victory for me. O yeah i also took the navy with me

[@aleksandarvil5718]

@Hunter bg In 1971, Mao's China took Changs Taiwan's place in OUN. Thus making Chang's Taiwan/Republic of China unrecognized state internationally. Chang Kai Shek: **Surprised_Pikachu_Face** 😦😦😦😦😦😦😦

[@hunterbg7531]

@@aleksandarvil5718 Chag kai shrek: Confusion 100000+

[@anclss2384]

HOI4: Reclaiming the mandate of heaven

[@andreimoga7813]

Yea, no, sorry, Republic all the way, sit back down mr Puyi

[@SelfProclaimedEmperor]

@@andreimoga7813 BORINGG....wouldn't you rather be the Son of Heave, Emperor of all Chinese!?

[@andreimoga7813]

@@SelfProclaimedEmperor no, i'd very much rather be Dr. Sun Yat-Sen, Father of the Nation and President of China. But since he died in '25, i can settle for Weng Wenhao and see that the Founder's dream comes true

[@tsmspace]

well,,, I did not know that stuff, and that was super interesting. Certainly worthy of compliments.

[@threedawg]

That was significantly great to watch thank you

[@StonedWidowOnDoom]

I knew his fate until the end of WWII. Didn't know what happened after. Thanks for researching that :)

[@specialunit0428]

There is a short story about Aisin Gioro Puyi and an 8 year old. The boy asked the street cleaner what he was before and he responded with "I was the Emperor of China.". The boy then said "Prove it!" and the cleaner opened a small hidden compartment in a statue and revealed a hidden stash of sweets.

[@musAKulture]

that was a VERY good overview.

[@joeyclemenza7339]

the film "the last emperor" not only tells a far mroe in depth story, but is also an amazing flick as well. highly recommended.