介绍:
EMPEROR MALGRE LUI
不自在的皇帝
--选自《Imperfect Understanding 不够知己》温源宁 著
In the long history of mankind there have been many commoners made emperors; there have been many emperors forced to abdicate the throne;there have also been some exiled emperors who made a successful struggle back to the throne, as, in the case of Napoleon I. But there have been few, if any, instances where a man was made emperor three times without knowing why and apparently without relishing it. Believe it or not, Mr. Henry Puyi holds the world's record in the number of times that any mortal may ascend and abdicate the throne-that is, after March 1 when he will be crowned for the third time.
Yes, Henry was born lucky- if being an emperor as he was can be considered as such. At the age of four, his late uncle Emperor Kwang Hsu died and as he left no offspring, Empress Dowager Tsu Hsi picked Henry as the nearest of kin to be the successor. So, in 1909 when he was a mere infant, Henry was ceremoniously enthroned and was supposed to reign under the title of Hsuan Tung. History does not record how he liked his coronation, but we can easily imagine how a kid of four years old would react when he is forced to leave his bed at four or five o'clock in the morning, to keep quiet on the throne and to watch kowtowing all round. Henry must have forgotten his experience at coronation, otherwise he could have told us how out of curiosity and devilry he tried to snatch the crown jewels from his own head only to be put back again by the Empress who was sitting with him. He must have wished to give up everything- crown, throne, and all- to be able to come down to have a grand tussle with some of his subjects that kept on kowtowing to him.
Whatever it was, it proved to be an unholy thought for a baby emperor and inauspicious for such an occasion, for after only three years of this grand ceremony, the revolution broke out and Yuan Shih-kai whom the Manchus trusted with the task of suppression of the revolution double-crossed his erstwhile masters and suggested abdication. What could the Manchus do against a man who was backed up to the limit by his henchmen who held important positions in the army? Accordingly, in 1912, the boy emperor was
made to resign for the benefit of the country. But here again, the luck of the boy carried him through, for instead of having to submit to an ignominious fate and live in retirement as most emperors under similar circumstance would have to do, Henry was allowed to keep the palace and an enormous annuity of 4,000,000. He had lost his empire and all that it would bring, that is true; but for practical purpose, he was just as comfortably off and could command just as much respect inside the premises of the palace as he ever could. Then, on grand occasions, like new year, birthday, etc., some of his farmer subjects would come to kowtow to him just as they did formerly.
However, his retirement did not last long. And if he did not appreciate the first coronation, at least he should the second occasion in 1917 when, after the successful coup d'etat by his faithful subject, the late notorious General Chang Hsun, he was again put on the throne. Henry was by this time eleven years old and certainly would have enjoyed seeing so many people fussing over him and paying respect to him. But the sin of his ancestors was evidently too much for him, for in about a week's time, Marshal Tuan Chi -jui's army surrounded Peking and Henry was again forced to abdicate and retire to the palace.
Because of this experience and other reasons, he was chased out of the palace in 1924, when Marshal Feng Yu-hsiang came into power, and he had to seek refuge in the Japanese Concession in Tientsin. It was during this period that Henry enjoyed a little of the life of a normal man. He was now married- to two wives too. He studied English under Dr. Johnston from whom he got his foreign name, Henry, and it was undoubtedly due to this English man that he obtained his occasional favorable press comments in English a
nd American journals. He was learning some manly sports, tennis, golf and what not. It was also during this time that his second wife sought to leave him and Henry had to pay her ¥ 50,000 for alimony in order to keep the matter out of court. Henry is probably the first emperor that has to do that. Usually when an emperor was dissatisfied with his wife, he just cut her head off or had her strangled. However, in spite of desertion and scandal, this was
undoubtedly the happiest period in his life. The payment of his annuity had long since stopped, it is true; but he was never in want. Many of his former subjects were still rich and ready to help. Besides he had at his disposal a great amount of palace treasures that he had secreted out with him when fleeing from Peking. Under the circumstances, Henry would have been quite satisfied if he were to be left alone to pass his life in quietude.
But evidently the sin of his ancestor was again working against him, when lo, all of a sudden there came the Japanese coup at Mukden on September 18, 1931, and he was spirited away from Tientsin and the next thing we heard of him was that he was chosen to be the head of the puppet state established by the Japanese in Manchuria. Report has it that Henry is not comfortable in his new surroundings and wishes that he could be restored the liberty and freedom that he enjoyed before. But regardless of his intentions, the Japanese are not yet through with him. They are going to make him 'emperor" once again. The future of the young man is very hard to tell. But
those who realize that he is merely a victim of circumstance, in spite of the injustices that his ancestors did to the country, wish him well. May he outlive his usefulness.
[No. 6; Feb. 8, 1934]
