Background 背景介紹(Bèi jǐng jiè shào)
The movie is telling about the tragedic life(1906-1967) of the last emperor, 溥儀(Puyi) in office from 1908-1911, in Chinese history. He was ascended to the throne when he was just a child at the age of 2.
However, the political situation was caught in the turmoil when he was in office, and he was ousted in 1911 due to the Xinhai Revolution(辛亥革命(Xīn hài gé mìng), ending China’s last imperial dynasty, the Qing dynasty(清朝Qīngcháo). However, he had still lived in Forbidden City(紫禁城Zǐ jìn chéng) until 1924.
1924-1945
After being expelled out of the Forbidden City in 1924, along with his wife, 婉容(Wan rong) ,he sought refuge with many powerful people. Eventually, with the promise of obtaining the chance to become the Great Qing Emperor again, he was eventually invited to be puppet emperor of Manchukuo controlled under Japanese colonist government from 1932 to 1945.
Unfortunately, as the emperor, he did not, de facto, have any power to make any important decision for the puppet government. His role seemed ostensibly flamboyant, but privately he was facing unfair treatment from Japanese and felt full of loneliness and shame.
1945-1959
After Japan lost the WWII and Manchukuo puppet government collapsed in 1945, he fled to Soviet Union to seek refuge until he was extradited to China in 1949. Due to the political crime of treachery, he was sent to prison after World War II until 1959.
1959-1967
After he was released from the jail in 1959, he was not the emperor or any political leader but the normal citizen working in the farm as a peasant until he passed away in 1967.
His whole life was full of ups and downs from the emperor position ruling hundreds of millions of people to the normal citizen who is leading an ordinary life.
This movie was made in 1987 and directed by the Italian director, Bernardo Bertolucci, winning 9 Oscar prizes. This movie illustrates vividly this last emperor’s life with impartial third-party perspectives, and also has the audience enter the time tunnel of some historical periods, including Xinhai Revolution, divided warlord regimes after Xinhai Revolution, Manchukuo, WWII, and Culture Revolution. For those who are interested in history, empire politics, clothing fashion in the early 20th century, this movie is one of the most classic examples.
Moreover, Puyi wrote the autobiography about himself before he passed away. The name of the book is “From Emperor to Citizen: The Autobiography of Aisin-Gioro Pu Yi” or 我的前半生 (Wǒ de qián bàn shēng) in Chinese.
Vocabulary
歷史|历史 Lìshǐ history
電影|电影 Diànyǐng movie
革命 Gémìng Revolution
清朝 Qīngcháo Qing Dynasty
紫禁城 Zǐ jìn chéng Forbidden City
紫禁城 is equal to 北京故宮(Beijing Gùgōng, Beijing Palace Museum)
滿州國|满洲国 Mǎnzhōu guó Manchukuo
🚀🚀Mandarin Meta 華語元宇宙 