Puyi, the last emperor of China, came from a long noble ancestry. During the course of his three terms as emperor, and during post war life, he had five wives and numerous consorts.
Quotation from Puyi: [1]
My father had two wives, and they bore him four sons and seven daughters.
The Pedigree of the Qing House flow chart can be found in Puyi's autobiography. [2]
Quotation from Puyi (referring only to his first four wives): [3]
... they were not real wives and were only there for show.
Puyi's great-grandfather was the Daoguang Emperor (r. 1820–1850), who was succeeded by his fourth son, the Xianfeng Emperor (r. 1850–1861). [4] [5]
Puyi's paternal grandfather was Yixuan, Prince Chun (1840–1891), the seventh son of the Daoguang Emperor and a younger half-brother of the Xianfeng Emperor. The Xianfeng Emperor was succeeded by his only son, who became the Tongzhi Emperor (r. 1861–1875). [6]
The Tongzhi Emperor died at the age of 18 without a son, and was succeeded by the Guangxu Emperor (r. 1875–1908), son of 1st Prince Chun and Lady Yehe Nara Wanzhen (younger sister of Empress Dowager Cixi). The Guangxu Emperor died without an heir. [7]
Puyi, who succeeded the Guangxu Emperor, was the eldest son of Zaifeng, Prince Chun, who was born to Yixuan, Prince Chun and his second concubine Liugiya Cuiyan (1866–1925). Lady Liugiya had been a maid in the residence of Yixuan. Born to a Han Bannerman family, her original family name was Liu (劉), and this was changed to the Manchu clan name Liugiya when she became the concubine of Yixuan and was transferred to a Manchu banner. Zaifeng was therefore a younger half-brother of the Guangxu Emperor and the first in line to succession after Guangxu. [8]
Puyi was in a branch of the Aisin Gioro clan with close ties to Empress Dowager Cixi, who was from the Yehe Nara clan. Cixi's niece, who later became Empress Dowager Longyu (1868–1913), was married to the Guangxu Emperor.
Puyi had a younger full brother, Pujie (1907–1994), who married a cousin of Emperor Hirohito, Lady Hiro Saga. The rules of succession were changed to allow Pujie to succeed Puyi, who had no children. [9] [10]
Puyi's last surviving younger half-brother Puren (b. 1918) adopted the Chinese name Jin Youzhi and lived in China until his death in 2015. In 2006 Jin Youzhi filed a lawsuit in regards to the rights to Puyi's image and privacy. The lawsuit claimed that those rights were violated by the exhibit "China's Last Monarch and His Family". [11]
Puyi's second cousin, [12] Pu Xuezhai (溥雪齋), was a musician who played the guqin, and an artist of Chinese painting. [13]
Puyi's mother was Youlan (1884–1921), the daughter of Ronglu (1836–1903), a statesman and general from the Gūwalgiya clan. Ronglu was one of the leaders of the conservative faction in the Qing court, and a staunch supporter of Empress Dowager Cixi; Cixi rewarded his support by marrying his daughter, Puyi's mother, into the imperial family.
The Gūwalgiya clan was regarded as one of the most powerful Manchu clans in the Qing dynasty. Oboi, an influential military commander and statesman who was a regent during the Kangxi Emperor's reign, was from the Guwalgiya clan. [14]
Empress
Noble Consort
Consort
Noble Lady
In 1921, it was decided by the Dowager Consorts (the four widows of the emperors before Puyi) that it was time for the 15-year-old Puyi to be married, although court politics dragged the complete process (from selecting the bride, up through the wedding ceremony) out for almost two years. Puyi saw marriage as his coming of age benchmark, when others would no longer control him. He was given four photographs to choose from. Puyi stated they all looked alike to him, with the exception of different clothing. He chose Wenxiu. Political factions within the palace made the actual choice as to whom Puyi would marry. The selection process alone took an entire year. [15]
Puyi, was the final emperor of China, reigning as the eleventh and final monarch of the Qing dynasty. He was later ruler of the puppet state of Manchukuo under the Empire of Japan from 1934 to 1945. He became emperor at the age of two in 1908, but was forced to abdicate at the age of six in 1912 during the Xinhai Revolution. During his first reign he was known as the Xuantong Emperor, with his era name meaning "proclamation of unity".
Empress Dowager Cixi ; born Yehe Nara Xingzhen, was a Chinese noblewoman of the Manchu Yehe Nara clan who effectively controlled the Chinese government in the late Qing dynasty as empress dowager and regent for almost 50 years, from 1861 until her death in 1908. Selected as a concubine of the Xianfeng Emperor in her adolescence, she gave birth to a son, Zaichun, in 1856. After the Xianfeng Emperor's death in 1861, his five-year-old son became the Tongzhi Emperor, and Cixi assumed the role of co-empress dowager alongside Xianfeng's widow, Empress Dowager Ci'an. Cixi ousted a group of regents appointed by the late emperor and assumed the regency along with Ci'an. Cixi then consolidated control over the dynasty when she installed her nephew as the Guangxu Emperor at the death of the Tongzhi Emperor in 1875. Ci'an continued as co-regent until her death in 1881.
The Guangxu Emperor, also known by his temple name Emperor Dezong of Qing, personal name Zaitian, was the tenth emperor of the Qing dynasty, and the ninth Qing emperor to rule over China proper. His reign, which lasted from 1875 to 1908, was largely dominated by his aunt Empress Dowager Cixi. Guangxu initiated the radical Hundred Days' Reform but was abruptly stopped when the empress dowager launched a coup in 1898, after which he was held under virtual house arrest until his death.
The Tongzhi Emperor, also known by his temple name Emperor Muzong of Qing, personal name Zaichun, was the ninth Emperor of the Qing dynasty, and the eighth Qing emperor to rule over China proper. His reign, from 1861 to 1875, which effectively lasted through his adolescence, was largely overshadowed by the rule of his mother, Empress Dowager Cixi. Although he had little influence over state affairs, the events of his reign gave rise to what historians call the "Tongzhi Restoration", an unsuccessful modernization program.
The Xianfeng Emperor, also known by his temple name Emperor Wenzong of Qing, personal name Yizhu, was the eighth emperor of the Qing dynasty, and the seventh Qing emperor to rule over China proper, reigned from 1850 to 1861. During his reign, the Qing dynasty experienced several wars and rebellions including the Taiping Rebellion, Nian Rebellion, and Second Opium War. He was the last Chinese emperor to exercise sole power.
Empress Xiaozhenxian, of the Manchu Bordered Yellow Banner Niohuru clan, was a posthumous name bestowed to the wife and empress consort of Yizhu, the Xianfeng Emperor. She was empress consort of Qing from 1852 until her husband's death in 1861, after which she was honoured as Empress Dowager Ci'an.
Yixuan, formally known as Prince Chun, was an imperial prince of the House of Aisin-Gioro and a statesman of the Manchu-led Qing dynasty in China. He was the father of the Guangxu Emperor, and the paternal grandfather of Puyi through his fifth son Zaifeng.
Zaifeng, also known as Tsai Feng, Prince of Ch'ün, formally known by his title Prince Chun, was a Manchu prince and regent of the late Qing dynasty. He was a son of Yixuan, the seventh son of the Daoguang Emperor, and the father of Puyi, the Last Emperor. He served as prince regent from 1908 to 1911 during the reign of his son until the Qing dynasty was overthrown by the Xinhai Revolution in 1911.
Yikuang, formally known as Prince Qing, was a Manchu noble and politician of the Qing dynasty. He served as the first Prime Minister of the Imperial Cabinet, an office created in May 1911 to replace the Grand Council.
Youlan, of the Manchu Plain White Banner Gūwalgiya clan, was a consort of Zaifeng and the mother of China's last emperor Puyi.
Cuiyan (1866–1925), of the Manchu Bordered White Banner Liugiya clan, was a consort of Yixuan. She was 26 years his junior.
Yehe Nara Jingfen, of the Manchu Bordered Yellow Banner Yehe Nara clan, was the wife and empress consort of Zaitian, the Guangxu Emperor. She was empress consort of Qing from 1889 until her husband's death in 1908, after which she was honoured as Empress Dowager Longyu. She was posthumously honoured with the title Empress Xiaodingjing.
Imperial Noble Consort Wenjing, also known as Dowager Imperial Noble Consort Duankang, of the Manchu Bordered Red Banner Tatara clan, was a consort of the Guangxu Emperor.
Li Yuqin, sometimes referred to as the "Last Imperial Concubine" (末代皇娘), was the fourth wife of China's last emperor Puyi. She married Puyi when the latter was the nominal ruler of Manchukuo, a puppet state established by the Empire of Japan during the Second Sino-Japanese War.
Imperial Noble Consort Zhuangshun, of the Manchu Uya clan, was a consort of the Daoguang Emperor. She was 40 years his junior. She was the paternal grandmother of the Guangxu Emperor and the great grandmother of The Qing Dynasty's last emperor, Puyi through her son, Yixuan.
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 the 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 conclusive part of the Second World War. She was posthumously honored with the title Empress Xiaokemin.
Imperial Noble Consort Xianzhe, of the Manchu Bordered Blue Banner Hešeri clan, was a consort of the Tongzhi Emperor.
Wanzhen, of the Manchu Bordered Yellow Banner Yehe Nara clan, was a consort of Yixuan. She was one year his junior and the younger sister of Empress Cixi and the mother of Emperor Guangxu.
Imperial Noble Consort Duanke, of the Manchu Tunggiya clan, was a consort of Xianfeng Emperor.
The Xianfeng Emperor had eighteen consorts, including three empresses, two imperial noble consorts, two noble consorts, four consorts, four concubines and three first attendants. The consorts are classified according to their posthumous titles.
Pu Jie, the younger brother of the last Emperor of China, died on Monday in Beijing. He was 87.