Benevolent contract

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The Benevolent Treaty ( Chinese  宣統 帝 退位 詔書  /  宣统 帝 退位 诏书 , Pinyin Xuantong di tuiwei zhaoshu ) is an agreement between the last Emperor of China , Puyi , after his abdication , and the government of the Chinese Republic from 1912 .

Contract text

The treaty continues to guarantee the former emperor titles and dignities as well as a right of residence in the Forbidden City (the center of Beijing) and an annual appanage , and puts the imperial court under the protection of the republican government. The contract consists of eight articles and is worded as follows:

In view of the fact that the Emperor of the Great Qing Dynasty has publicly announced his consent to the establishment of a system of republican government, the following articles regarding "benevolent treatment of the Great Qing Emperor after his abdication" are hereby enumerated:

  • After the abdication of the Great Qing Emperor, his title dignity is to be retained without restriction; the ROC will treat him with the courtesy protocol provides for foreign monarchs .
  • After the abdication of the Great Qing Emperor, he will receive an annual allowance of 4,000,000 taels from the Republic of China . After the currency reform, this amount is to be changed to 4,000,000 Mexican dollars .
  • After the abdication of the Great Qing Emperor, he may continue to reside in the palace (in the Forbidden City) for the time being; later, however, he is said to have moved to Yihe Park ( summer palace ). He can keep his usual bodyguard.
  • After the abdication of the Great Qing Emperor, the ancestral temples and mausoleums of the Imperial Family will be preserved for all time and the sacrificial services will continue as prescribed. The Republic of China assumes responsibility for the adequate protection of these sites by setting up military guards.
  • Since the Qing mausoleum for the deceased Emperor Dezong ( Guangxu ) has not yet been completed, the work will be completed in compliance with the traditional regulations (for the imperial tombs); the burial ceremony will also be performed in accordance with the ancient rites. All effective costs for this are to be borne by the Republic of China.
  • The services of any person of the various levels previously employed in the palace can be retained; but no further eunuchs are to be added to the staff in the future .
  • After the abdication of the Great Qing Emperor, his private property will be secured and under the protection of the Republic of China.
  • The composition of the Imperial Palace Guard at the time of the abdication will be placed under the military control of the War Ministry of the Republic of China. It should remain in its original strength and receive the same salary as before.

meaning

With this treaty the Republic of China recognized the cultural heritage of the past even after Puyi's abdication and guaranteed the last emperor a symbolic meaning. Republican officials and ministers, as well as foreign state guests, still came to the Forbidden City and paid their respects to the young emperor. This shows that the Chinese emperor was still a powerful symbol for the Chinese people and was recognized as a person of respect from abroad.

Breach of contract

Just a few years after the conclusion of the contract, the Chinese government fell behind with the payment of the annual appanage, so that in order to be able to maintain the imperial court, valuables and works of art from the imperial inventory had to be sold. In 1924 the hatred among the representatives of the republic had increased so much that republican troops marched into the Forbidden City and expelled the emperor and his court. This broke the treaty on the part of the Republic of China.

Imprisonment as a war criminal

In the People's Republic of China , Puyi was imprisoned as a war criminal in a communist re-education camp for 10 years and indoctrinated because he was installed by the Japanese as head of the puppet state of Manchukuo . He died in 1967 of kidney cancer , physically and mentally broken by the Cultural Revolution .

literature

  • Thomas Weyrauch: China's neglected republic. 100 years in the shadow of world history . Volume 1: 1911-1949 . Longtai, Giessen (ie) Heuchelheim 2009, ISBN 978-3-938946-14-5 .
  • I was the last emperor, Pu Yi, Hanser Verlag
  • The last eunuch of the emperor Pu Yi

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ Pu Yi: I was Emperor of China . Hanser-Verlag, p. 39