Twilight in the Forbidden City

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Twilight in the Forbidden City ( Chinese  紫禁城 的 黄昏 ) is a 486-page book by Reginald Johnston , whichtreatshis memoirs regarding the last Chinese emperor Puyi . The title refers to the Imperial Palace in Beijing, the Forbidden City .

Johnston was the emperor's teacher and eyewitness to Chinese history in the 1920s and 1930s. Johnston was also a Chinese professor at the University of London and British commissioner for Weihaiwei .

overview

Twilight in the Forbidden City is more like a complete sketch of the history of China during this period than the portrait of the last emperor. The book is mentioned in the film The Last Emperor .

Johnston provides a wealth of anecdotes about the final days of the Qing Court before the 1911 revolution . He knew many of the actors in these events personally. His observations on the political structure of the Qing court, especially the Nei Wu Fu or the department of the “Imperial Household”, are of historical significance . Johnston had little to do with the Dowager Empress Cixi and many other important characters in the plot.

The book was given a foreword by Puyi himself in 1931. In the fourth edition, published in December 1934 by Victor Gollancz Ltd., additional information such as the fully expanded fan was added and some important historical information such as the incarceration of Cao Kun and the place of retreat of Kang Youwei were critically reviewed “with regard to the fourth edition” and supplemented.

pads

  • Reginald F. Johnston: Twilight in the Forbidden City. Victor Gollancz Ltd., London 1934, 486 pages.
  • Reginald F. Johnston: Twilight in the Forbidden City. Oxford University Press, Hong Kong et al. 1985, ISBN 0-19-583978-1 , 486 pages.
  • Reginald F. Johnston: Twilight in the Forbidden City. Soul Care Publishing, Vancouver 2008, ISBN 978-0-9680459-5-4 , 488 pages with a previously unpublished bonus chapter.