CHAPTER THREE

My Courtship with the Last Emperor of China

Our second meeting took place on the weekend, only five days after the first one. Puyi had phoned Mr. Sha Zenxi, inviting us to attend a ball that was to be held at the auditorium of the CPPCC Headquarters(HQ). We accepted the invitation, leaving for the ball in plenty of time. Surprisingly, after getting off the bus and walking for only a few steps, we saw Puyi coming to welcome us, beaming with delight. I felt very content to sense his warm sincerity again. Inside the auditorium of the CPPCC HQ, the band was repeatedly playing "The Friendship Waltz", with the couples dancing happily. At first, Puyi remained seated by Mr. Sha and me, accompanying us while we sipped tea. Later on, Mr. Sha politely asked a lady to dance, intentionally leaving an opportunity for Puyi and me to talk freely, but it seemed that he couldn't find a suitable subject to talk about.

When, after a regular break, the music started up again, Puyi stood up and, following the example of the other male dancers, invited me politely, saying: "Comrade Li, let's have a dance," but he added: "I can't dance, so I'd like to learn from you. Maybe I'll make your shoes dirty."

I said: "I can't dance either!"

Very soon, I realized that he really couldn't dance! He had no idea about rhythm and he couldn't follow the beat. Sometimes his shining leather shoes trod on mine, which was followed by a gentle voice: " I'm sorry, " or an apologetic smile. However, he could follow "the slow step" by meeting my steps, albeit unskillfully. When the music changed to "the quick step", he immediately got muddled up, so that finally he just simply dragged me around in circles.

"You were emperor for so long, why didn't you learn to dance?" I asked, when we returned to our seats by the small round table. I was perspiring profusely!

"Back then, I was the 'Son of Heaven', when even my parents had to kowtow to me, when they saw me. Ordinary people were accused of discourtesy if they even dared raise their heads to look at me. No lady was willing to risk her life by dancing with me, or even placing her hand on my shoulder, so it was impossible for me to learn how to dance. Now that I'm an ordinary citizen I hope that you'll be able to teach me, and make up for lost time," he stated. Afterwards, he said to me in a whisper: "May I phone you directly, to avoid having to bother Mr. Sha?"

He asked for the telephone number of our hospital and I gave it to him. But at the same time I softly explained my concern to him: "You enjoy such a great reputation, it might make it difficult for me to get along with my colleagues in the hospital, if they know who you are." Puyi smiled: "I won't say that I'm Puyi. If your colleagues want to know my surname, I'll just tell them that I'm Mr. Zhou." From then on, our hospital received more and more telephone calls, asking for me. Many of my colleagues therefore became aware that I was dating a man called Mr. Zhou.

Puyi (second from left) with his collegues

The ball came to an end just after 10 pm. It was extremely cold outside that evening, and a thick layer of ice had formed on the ground. With great care Puyi escorted Mr. Sha and I to the bus stop. When the bus drew up, Puyi again reminded us to be careful when getting on the bus as the footboard was very slippery. I thought to myself that "The emperor" was really good at caring about others.

On our way back, Mr. Sha asked me what I thought of Puyi. I told him that I would like to spend more time getting to know him. I added that as he and Mr. Zhou had graciously introduced us to each other, that it was important to spend this time with Puyi." Actually, I was very keen to continue a friendship with him.

"As an old friend of yours, I was able to introduce him to you and arrange meetings with him, but I can't decide whether to marry him for you!" Mr. Sha remarked.

"I notice that he is kind and ready to care about other people," I uttered.

"I have already told you that he had been "remoulded" completely. Now he is neither 'Emperor Xuantong' nor 'Emperor Kangde' . Why are you still judging him by his previous role and lifestyle?" he questioned. While voicing these comments, he sounded to me as though he was very pleased with himself. However, I didn't expect that the Last Chinese Emperor would be so easy to approach.

Our third meeting was arranged by a direct phone call to me from Puyi himself. He invited me to watch the well-known film, The Yangtze River flows to the East, which was to be shown in the auditorium of the CPPCC HQ. He informed me that he had already reserved some seats for us.

The film's plot captured his attention from the beginning. When seeing the scene of the male protagonist forsaking his original wife, even though she had cared for him unerringly and had also shown filial respect for her parents-in-law, while caring for their son, Puyi condemned him indignantly: "The man is despicable! He was lucky to have such a virtuous wife at home, but still sought pleasure from outside and then finally drove his wife to commit suicide by jumping into the Yangtze River. He was so heartless!" Upon hearing this, I knew that he was a kindhearted man.

After the film was over, Puyi saw me off at the White Pagoda Temple bus stop. On the way there Puyi asked me whether I felt cold or not. He expressed that he would prefer to accompany me back to the Guanxiang Hospital. I was grateful for his kindness, but wouldn't let him to do that. He returned home after watching me get on the bus.

Not long after that, on another Saturday and for the fourth time, Puyi invited me by phone to meet him in front of the auditorium of the CPPCC HQ. Unfortunately, on that day, all the buses were jam-packed with passengers. After being unable to board several full buses, I finally managed to force my way onto one. Because I had missed several buses, and the bus I journeyed on was overloaded and slow-moving, I didn't arrive on time.

Seeing that I was too late to meet him in front of the auditorium as planned, I made a detour along the office building to his apartment, a singlestorey house in the compound of the CPPCC HQ, but there was no light on inside. I decided to go back to the front of the auditorium to see if I could find him there. A few steps from the auditorium, I ran into Puyi, who was anxiously returning from the bus stop. Because he was so delighted to find me, he hugged me spontaneously. Lots of people were hurrying past the front of the auditorium and they all laughed when they saw him hug me, making me feel embarrassed. Puyi suddenly realized what he was doing and roared with hearty laughter also. A few of his acquaintances came up to banter with him: "Why is the old man so delighted?" He hastened to explain to me, "As I didn't find you at the bus stop, I was anxiously looking for you everywhere and didn't expect to bump into you here. Why shouldn't I be happy?" I commented to him in a whisper, "How forgetful you are! You should know where we are." He replied to me jokingly: "You were not punctual for our meeting, so this is the punishment I have given you!" I was lost for words.

That evening, we enjoyed the very popular Peking Opera, The Concubine Gets Tipsy. He was very fond of Peking Opera, the leading school of the traditional Chinese operas and one of the "Four Chinese National Treasures" ¹ He was able to distinguish the different singing tones of its various schools. While watching it, he excitedly explained to me its plot and special creative art forms, airing his appreciation of them. From that evening on, as he took me more and more to watch the Peking Opera, I gradually began to appreciate and thoroughly enjoy it.

When the opera finished, Puyi suggested that I have a look at his apartment. He had informed me concerning the location of his apartment, but this was the first time I entered it. I found that it consisted of a sittingroom and a bedroom. The bedroom was about 20 square meters in area, with a desk, a pair of single sofas, a small round table, several chairs, a double bed and a door leading to a tiny washroom. The sitting-room was larger, having a writing table, a bookcase, a crescent-shaped sofa and a teapot. The furniture, his clothes and utensils were scattered around the room, in no apparent order.

He invited me to sit on the sofa in the sitting room and offered me a variety of cakes, fruit, melon seeds and sweets. Seeing that I was reluctant to reach out and get them for myself, he picked up an orange and some sweets, stuffing them into my hands.

Puyi remarked that our several meetings had already left him with a good impression of me and that he was not able to tear himself away from me. He wanted to know whether I was also glad to have the pleasure of his friendship. I expressed that I hoped to keep seeing him regularly, to give our friendship a chance to blossom. Then, with the appropriate words of that time, he asked me whether or not I was satisfied with him. I replied that we should continue to have mutual positive criticism and help each other in the future. He beamed with pleasure.

At that moment, Mr. Wan Jiaxi, Puyi's fifth younger sister's husband came in. It seemed that they had planned this beforehand. Puyi informed me that on the next day, a Sunday, they would like to go to my home. Considering that our relationship was still in its early days and that Puyi was a very unique figure, I didn't think that it was suitable for him to come to my home. I felt that I must decline him: "Our compound contains a farrago of different families and is far from here, so it is better not to go there!" Puyi asked in reply, "Why don't you want me to go?" I recognized that he was determined to go and that it would be impolite for me to reject them again, so I reluctantly agreed.

Puyi and some of his close relatives at the home of Yunxin during the Spring Festival 1960. On the far left is Wan Jiaxi, Puyi's fifth brother-in-law.

Around 9 am the next morning, Puyi and Mr. Wan Jiaxi found my home, in Chaowaijishikou Street. Actually, my home consisted of only one tiny room, and was soon filled by the three of us. Later, Puyi commented about my tiny room, "Both Wan and I liked your small room. It's not big, but clean and neat, with the simple furniture placed in the right positions." It had been a surprise to me that the imposing Emperor Xuantong even wanted to come as a guest, to the tiny room of an ordinary citizen.

After chatting for a few moments, Mr. Wan made his excuses and took his leave, so that there was only Puyi and I left in the room. He kept on smoking, but didn't say anything for a while. Finally, Puyi broke the silence:"Now, in your home, I'd like to have a heart-to-heart talk with you. I have a lot of things that I want to say to you."

"Certainly! I'd like to know what you have to say," I answered.

"As you know, I was the former Puppet Emperor of the 'Manchukuo'. I followed the Japanese Imperialists for thirteen years, as their 'lap-dog' and during that time, I committed a lot of crimes against the people. I owe the Communist Party of China and the Chinese People a large debt."

I responded: "I think that you have been remolded completely and have a very high political consciousness now. Anyhow, Chinese history is quite complicated. Let the past be past, now we should look forward!"

Puyi continued, "I appreciate your words, but I'm determined to do more for the Chinese people in my remaining years."

"Both of us should do more for our people", I stressed.

It seemed that my words had helped to free his mind from some of his misgivings. Immediately he revealed a very happy expression and then changed the subject of our conversation.

"The Communist Party of China and the People's government had given me my second life, and after lengthy consideration, I presented to the People's Government 468 pieces of rare national treasures, including platinum, gold, diamonds, pearls and jewelry. Before I left the Forbidden City in 1924, I had selected them all from the vast treasures which had been stored in the Forbidden City. I had taken them with me while in Northeast China and Russia. Now, I'm only living on my 100 yuan monthly salary, without any other income. So, I wouldn't be able to provide you with a high standard of living, if we were to marry."

I further remarked, "It was not because you were an emperor before that I'm enjoying and appreciating your company. I think that virtue is most important and that money cannot buy real love."

He continued: "I'm nearly twenty years older than you. I worry that the age gap would affect our love." Evidently, he had been weighing up this matter for some time.

I decided to tease him, to see his reaction, so in a gentle voice I uttered, "I hadn't thought about that." An uneasy look appeared on his face. "But energetic and lively people always look younger," I added. Hearing what I said, he was happy again, saying: "Do you think that I'm lively and energetic? Since knowing you, I have been very happy."

"Actually, I would prefer to marry a gentleman who is a little bit older. I lost my parents when I was little, so I need love and affection and an older husband who knows how to take care of a younger wife," I spoke out, honestly.

That day, we had enjoyed a long and open-hearted conversation. But I was still not sure that we had firmly established our relationship. We had only had several meetings together and both of us still hoped to gain more mutual understanding. For me, marriage was a major matter. Puyi also thought that his choice of wife needed great care. He had told me in a very secret tone: "This is the concern that Chairman Mao Zedong shared with me!" He excitedly described to me that only half a month before our first meeting, Chairman Mao had held a banquet at his home in Zhongnanhai to entertain Puyi, encouraging him to consider marriage again. "You need to consider your marital situation very carefully, don't enter into anything lightly. You must find a suitable wife. It will have a great impact on your remaining years. You must have a wife."

Aunt Li was one of my neighbors. She had taken me as her own daughter, always doing her best to take care of my daily needs. When she heard that Puyi had come, with an awestruck and curious mood, she came to see him while we were still talking. To her amazement, Puyi was such a likable gentleman. He greeted her kindly, calling her "aunty", as well as inviting her to have lunch with us, at a nearby inn. Afterwards, she complimented Puyi to me: "Who would have thought that the emperor could have become an ordinary person like us!"

Notes

1　the four national treasures are Chinese painting, cuisine, medicine and opera.