Wanrong
Wanrong, of the Manchu Plain White Banner Gobulo clan, was the wife and empress consort of Puyi, the last emperor of China. She is sometimes anachronistically called Elizabeth, Xuantong Empress, referring to Puyi's era name. She was the titular empress consort of the former Qing dynasty from their marriage in 1922 until the exile of the imperial family in November 1924. She later became the empress consort of the Japanese puppet state of Manchukuo in northeastern China from 1934 until the abolition of the monarchy in August 1945, at the conclusion of the Second World War. She was posthumously honored with the title Empress Xiaokemin by Puyi in 1946, in which “孝 Xiao” and “恪 Ke” articulate Confucian ideals of moral conduct, while “愍 Min” conveys an official expression of lamentation for a life marked by misfortune.
During the Soviet invasion of Manchuria at the end of the Second Sino-Japanese War in 1945, Wanrong was captured by Chinese Communist guerrillas and transferred to various locations before she was placed in a prison camp in Yanji, Jilin. She died in prison in June 1946 and her remains were never found. On 23 October 2006, Wanrong's younger brother, Runqi, conducted a ritual burial for her in the Western Qing tombs.
Other names
Her courtesy name was Muhong and her art name was Zhilian. She also adopted a Western name, Elizabeth, which was inspired by Queen Elizabeth I of England.Family background and early life
Wanrong was born into the Gobulo clan on 13 November 1906, which translates to the 32nd year of the second month of the fourth day of the Guangxu Emperor's reign, under the Plain White Banner of the Eight Banners and of Daur ancestry.Her father Rongyuan had held office under the Qing dynasty until the 1911 Revolution. When Wanrong became empress in 1922, her father took employment in the Imperial Household Department until Wanrong was expelled. Wanrong's biological mother, Aisin-Gioro Hengxin died when Wanrong was two. Wanrong was raised by her stepmother, Aisin-Gioro Hengxiang. Wanrong had a brother, Runliang as well as a half-brother, Runqi. The family lived in Mao Er hutong near Di'anmen in Beijing's Dongcheng District.
Unlike many of his contemporaries, Rongyuan believed in gender equality in regards to education, so he arranged for Wanrong to be educated in the same manner as her brothers. Wanrong attended an American missionary school in Tianjin.
Marriage to Puyi
The Qing dynasty was overthrown in 1912 and replaced by the Republic of China, marking the end of thousands of years of imperial rule in China. The former imperial family were granted special privileges by the Republican government, which allowed them to retain their imperial titles and be treated with respect. Puyi, the abdicated Last Emperor, was allowed to hold an imperial-style wedding in the Forbidden City.Puyi, 16 years old at the time, was shown a selection of photographs of young females for him to choose his spouse from. Puyi later claimed the faces were too small to distinguish between. He selected Wenxiu, a 12-year-old girl, but the decision was opposed by the former concubine dowager Consort Jin based on her status and appearance. The dowager consorts suggested Puyi choose Wanrong, who was about the same age and had a similar family background as he did. Because he had already chosen Wenxiu, they decided he would marry both Wanrong and Wenxiu as his primary and secondary spouses in accordance with Manchu tradition. After Wanrong was selected, she moved back to Beijing to prepare for the marriage. A group of palace eunuchs were sent to her home to prepare her for an imperial wedding. Runqi, Wanrong's brother said that: "They taught her how to bow and behave with the emperor. She rebelled. She was fed up with the lessons and unhappy about marrying someone she had never met before." However, she eventually conceded to the marriage. Wanrong's wedding included three traditional ceremonies, both before and after the grand nuptials: The ceremony of betrothal gifts, in which a large procession presented gifts from Puyi at her home; the Daizheng ceremony, in which the Emperor sent messengers to the bride's home to inform them of the wedding date; and the title-conferring ceremony, in which The Book of Empress Title-conferring was presented to Wanrong at her home. In accordance with Manchu tradition, she stepped over a large fire, a saddle, and an apple on her wedding day.
The American travel writer Richard Halliburton, who was present at the event, described it as follows: "At four in the morning this gorgeous spectacle moved through the moonlit streets of Peking en-route to the prison-palace. The entire city was awake and the people thronged the line of march. A forest of pennants blazed and fluttered past...gold dragons on black silk, blue dragons on gold silk; and swaying lanterns, and gilded kiosques containing the bride’s ceremonial robes, and princes on horseback surrounded by their colorful retinues. There was more than enough music. Last of all came the bride’s sedan hung with yellow brocade, roofed with a great gold dragon, and borne along by sixteen noblemen. I followed close behind the shrouded chair, and wondered about the state of mind of the little girl inside. Headed straight for prison, she was on the point of surrendering forever the freedom she had hitherto enjoyed... The procession wound its way to the 'Gate of Propitious Destiny,' one of the entrances to the palace, and halted before it. Torches flared. There was subdued confusion and whispers. Mandarins and court officials hurried back and forth. Slowly, darkly, the great gates swung open,—I could look inside the courtyard and see the blazing avenue of lamps down which the procession would move up to the throne room where the emperor waited. Into the glitter and glamour of this 'Great Within' the trembling little girl, hidden in her flowered box, was carried. Then as I watched, the gates boomed shut and the princess became an empress."
Puyi sat upon his Dragon Throne as people kowtowed to him. Later, in Wanrong's new living quarters, she kowtowed to him six times as the decree of their marriage was read in celebration. Wanrong wore a veil, as was Imperial Chinese tradition for the night-time wedding ceremony, and Puyi, who was inexperienced with women, later stated: "I hardly thought about marriage and family. It was only when the Empress came into my field of vision with a crimson satin cloth embroidered with a dragon and a phoenix over her head that I felt at all curious about what she looked like." Afterwards Puyi, Wanrong, and his other consort Wenxiu stayed in the Palace of Earthly Tranquility for the night where Wanrong first showed her face. The ritual before entering the bridal chamber included eating cake, drinking wine served in two cups tied together with a red silk thread, and eating "longevity noodles." Puyi left and did not consummate the marriage.
After the marriage Wanrong began living in the Palace of Gathering Elegance, the old residence of Empress Dowager Cixi, whereas the Emperor continued living in the Hall of Mental Cultivation.
Life in the Forbidden City
As empress consort of China, Wanrong had every whim and desire dealt with by a retinue of eunuchs and maids. The Empress had her own separate kitchen as well as a special tailor who would make new dresses for her almost every day. When bathing, her elderly maids would undress and clean her. Afterwards she would often sit on the side of the basin and admire her body. Sun Yaoting, her personal eunuch servant, said despite her volatile character and occasional bursts of temper, Wanrong was generally kind to servants and would offer him food as she often dined without Puyi. Her brother, Runqi, recalled Wanrong admonished him for being disrespectful to a servant on one occasion. The Empress, however, was not afraid to dismiss those who upset her, expelling an unfortunate eunuch who was apparently hard-of-hearing for incompetence.Wanrong enjoyed reading, jazz, Western cuisine, playing the piano, writing in English and photography. Described as old-fashioned by her brother, Wanrong was nevertheless somewhat more Westernized than Puyi, having grown up in the French Concession in Tianjin, and she was noted for teaching Puyi how to eat Western food with a knife and fork. An article in Time magazine dated Monday, 12 May 1924, titled "China: Henry the Democrat", noted Huan Tung, and Wanrong had adopted Western names, with Wanrong's being Elizabeth. The Empress also wrote poetry, composed at least one song, practiced painting and wrote letters, some of which included a few English words.
Despite being Empress and having a higher position than Puyi's wedded concubine, Wenxiu, Wanrong perceived her as something of a rival. The Empress wrote at least one letter and a poem teasing and making fun of Wenxiu, who lived just 70 metres away in the Palace of Eternal Spring. The Empress would sometimes also playfully tease Puyi, calling him, in one letter,
A sarcastic poem written by Wanrong again shows Wanrong's feelings about Wenxiu, with it reading:
Wanrong's problems with Wenxiu may have arisen from a suspicion Puyi had a preference for Wenxiu, with Wanrong later writing in a diary entry she suspected Puyi had a preference for her. Puyi would later describe his partners as "furniture" and "tools".
Wanrong's marriage to Puyi was unhappy but she found promise in her studies. Her tutor, Isabel Ingram, who began teaching her English in 1922, observed Wanrong could focus for hours on tasks like studying and playing the organ. Hu Siyuan, who later taught Wanrong classical literature in Tianjin commented "she was wise and eager to learn, quick-witted and inquisitive; she always made a thorough inquiry of the ups and downs of ancient events, had a profound understanding of the texts. My admiration of her was beyond description. If she kept on teaching herself in the palace, I believed that she would be able to refer to the past for the present and then contribute to the wise governance of the emperor."
Puyi, Wanrong and Wenxiu along with an entourage would occasionally leave the Forbidden City mostly to visit relatives or on a few occasions to sightsee. On one such occasion, It was reported they stopped in a garden during a visit to see his sick grandmother. The local press during 1923 reported on these outings and they appeared in newspapers. On one trip they visited the Summer Palace in April 1924. On another outing they left to have tea with Puyi's English tutor, Reginald Fleming Johnston. Time magazine said Elizabeth was accompanied by Miss Isabel Ingram and Puyi was "in his element" speaking English. Pujie said there were always several two-person palanquins waiting to carry the tutors in at the Gate of Divine Valor every afternoon when they came to teach.
At the age of eighteen or nineteen she still behaved like a child in many ways and enjoyed playing games with her maids and eunuchs. She once played "drop the handkerchief" in the courtyard into nine o'clock in the evening. The Empress was reluctant to see visitors go, making them play games until everyone was thoroughly tired. Sometimes a eunuch would be summoned and be on duty for no other reason than to keep her company or play with her. Wanrong had few visitors, except for her servants and tutor, and was often lonely.
Wanrong's personal eunuch, Sun Yaoting, said Puyi would rarely spend the night with Wanrong in the Palace of Gathered Elegance. Sun said Wanrong never closed the door at night, but only drew the door curtain. On rare occasions when Puyi did come the door would be closed and the maid on night watch sent away. Puyi would invariably be in a bad mood afterward. Reginald Johnston attempted to improve the relationship between Puyi and Wanrong as well as to get Wanrong's entourage to mix with Puyi's, ultimately Johnston did not get very far. Johnston thought Puyi had been married too young.
File:TaitaiWanRongJohnston.jpg|thumb|Wanrong sitting, with her tutor, Isabel Ingram, and Reginald Johnston, the tutor of her husband, Emperor Puyi, in the Forbidden City in 1924|253x253px
Sun reminisced Puyi once appeared with a German-made bicycle to help Wanrong learn how to ride a bike with the eunuchs helping. During this time Puyi would come every day to see her. On one particular day, Sun was asked to have a try, with him quickly falling off, not knowing how to ride causing everyone to laugh and clap. On another occasion he was asked to go on a swing in the veranda of the Palace of Universal Happiness, with the other eunuchs pushing vigorously, scaring him, with Wanrong finding the situation to be humorous. The Empress on the other hand was brave enough to stand up while the swing was moving.
Wanrong would send subordinates on occasion to donate money to the poor outside the Forbidden City. In December 1923 she received praise when she donated 600 yuan to a charity.
Smoking became a habit for the Empress; she began with cigarettes and eventually opium, although initially it was for severe stomach ache as well as headaches. According to Wang Qingxiang, author of the book The Last Emperor and His Five Wives, her headaches were actually a