Wanrong facts for kids

Quick facts for kids Wanrong
Wanrong c. 1926-1931
Nominal empress consort of the Qing dynasty
Tenure	30 November 1922 – 5 November 1924
Empress consort of Manchukuo
Tenure	1 March 1934 – 17 August 1945
Born	(1906-11-13)13 November 1906 Beijing, Qing Dynasty
Died	20 June 1946(1946-06-20) (aged 39) Yanji, Jilin, China
Spouse	Puyi ​ (m. 1922⁠–⁠1946)​
Full name Gobulo Wanrong (郭布羅·婉容) Posthumous name Empress Xiaokemin (孝恪愍皇后)
House	Gobulo (郭布羅)
Father	Rongyuan
Mother	Aisin-Gioro Hengxin

Wanrong (Chinese: 婉容; 13 November 1906 – 20 June 1946), of the Manchu Plain White Banner Gobulo clan, was the wife and empress consort of Puyi, the last Emperor of China, 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, and 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.

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.

Names

Wanrong's full birth name was Gobulo Wanrong (郭布羅·婉容); she is referred to as simply Wanrong because Manchus were usually referred to by their given names only. Her courtesy name was Muhong (慕鴻) and her art name was Zhilian. She also adopted a Western name, Elizabeth, which was inspired by Elizabeth I of England.

Family background and early life

Wanrong was born in the Gobulo (郭布羅) clan, under the Plain White Banner of the Eight Banners and of Daur ancestry.

Her father Rongyuan (榮源) had held office under the Qing Dynasty until the 1911 Revolution. When Wanrong became Empress in 1922, her father then took employment in the Imperial Household Department until Wanrong was expelled. Wanrong's biological mother died when Wanrong was two. Wanrong was raised by her stepmother, Aisin-Gioro Hengxin (恒馨). Wanrong had a brother, Runliang (潤良) as well as a half-brother, Runqi (潤麒). The family lived in Mao Er hutong ("hat maker lane") 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 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.

The wedding ceremony of Puyi and Wanrong

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 mask, 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."

After the marriage Wanrong began living in the Palace of Gathered 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 alone. Her brother, Runqi, recalled Wanrong admonished him for being disrespectful to a servant on one occasion. The Empress, however, was not afraid to wield power if a eunuch or maid upset her, banishing 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 (Xuantong Emperor), 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.

Wanrong and Wenxiu in the Forbidden City

Empress Wanrong in regal dress after being conferred as Empress

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 a few letters teasing or throwing scorn on Wenxiu, who lived just 70 metres away in the Palace of Eternal Spring.

A sarcastic poem written by Wanrong again shows Wanrong's feelings about Wenxiu, with it reading:

The bright moon has risen over the east wall;
The Consort Shu was sitting alone in the empty room.
The delicate swallow often dances in a lonely way;
The fair lady is absolutely unrivalled in the world.

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."

Wanrong and Wenxiu on a boat during a trip to Jade Spring Hill

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 (Wanrong) was accompanied by Miss Isabel Ingram and Puyi was "in his element" speaking English. Pujie (Puyi's brother) 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 (Chinese age) 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 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 (perhaps due to loneliness), 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 himself thought Puyi had been married too young.

Wanrong sitting, with her tutor, Isabel Ingram, and Reginald Johnston, the tutor of her husband, Emperor Puyi, in the Forbidden City in 1924

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. According to Wang Qingxiang, author of the book The Last Emperor and His Five Wives, her headaches were actually a ''mind'' problem. Wanrong may have suffered from a form of hereditary psychosis. Wanrong's father, Rongyuan, is said to have had schizophrenia.

Life in Tianjin

In October 1924, the warlord Feng Yuxiang seized control of Beijing in a coup. He forced Puyi and his family out of the Forbidden City on 5 November. Wanrong's tutor, Ingram, spoke of seeing the soldiers outside as she came to enter and said of the time period: "...That day was the end of my beautiful China... In my country (China), a steam train is still a fire-spitting demon, electricity is the eye of the devil, motor cars which are not uncommon, still elicit a dubious and suspicious response from the inland Chinese. It has all come so suddenly. The Chinese are being Europeanized with one majestic blow. And that blow has killed the beautiful spiritual quality of the country. It is, at present, a chaotic and uncertain land."

Puyi, Wanrong and Wenxiu stayed at the house of Puyi's father after being exiled, the Prince Chun Mansion in Beijing. Puyi then secretly took refuge in the Japanese Legation in Beijing. Puyi later moved out of Beijing to the Japanese concession in Tianjin on 24 February 1925. Wanrong and Wenxiu later followed him and arrived on 27 February. Puyi and Wanrong settled in the Zhang garden in Tianjin later moving in 1929 to the Quiet Garden Villa (Jing garden) within the Japanese concession in Tianjin.

In the villa, they lived in relative peace and enjoyed an active public and social life.

Wanrong smoking a cigarette, Japanese concession, Tianjin

Wanrong found various avenues for entertainment in Tianjin: theatre, dancing, skating, horse-riding, sports, shopping, and more. She was a heavy shopper – shopping was a technique she used to compete with Wenxiu for Puyi's affection and attention. Puyi would frequently take Wanrong to the Xinming Theater to enjoy operas. Wanrong's friend Shuh Yun was invited on one occasion to play mahjong tiles at the Zhang Garden. Shuh Yun recalled she would go on sightseeing trips with her. She apparently did not participate in activities like dancing in the ball, nor did she buy any sweepstakes, she did not ride a horse or play balls. They had previously visited the International Jockey Club and the ballroom of West Lake Restaurant. Though, she mostly just enjoyed observing out of curiosity.

Whenever Puyi bought something for one of them, the other would insist Puyi also buy it for her too. Puyi also showed a preference for Wanrong and spent more time with her, which eventually led to Wenxiu divorcing him in 1931.

When the 1931 Yellow River floods broke out Wanrong donated a pearl necklace to aid the relief efforts.

Tianjin diary entries

Wanrong kept a diary while in Tianjin and wrote numerous entries about Wenxiu, her illnesses, and her neglect at the hands of Puyi.

On 2 May 1931, she wrote:

Wanrong playing with a child

In Wanrong's journal entry of 30 April 1931, she said she had got seriously ill three times during her seven years in Tianjin. According to her journals, she still had several chronic diseases such as "panasthenia" (neurasthenia).

On 1 October 1931, she wrote, referencing Wenxiu's asking for divorce with Puyi as treason, "It was the lunar 20 August. The Emperor talked about the treasonous act with me. I asked: 'is what was said in the press true?' The Emperor said: 'it's nothing but rumors.'" Wanrong further wrote in another entry on the same day, recounting what she had told Puyi: "...I said: If you live alone I would know that. If you always find some excuse for going out alone, I would know that you have allowed her to live alone. If you go to see her, I would also know about it."

Puyi noted in his memoir he began to feel "great resentment" for Wanrong after she drove Wenxiu away and consequently neglected her to the point Wanrong did not tell him of her feelings and he rarely spoke to her.

As Empress of Manchukuo

Late in 1931, Yoshiko Kawashima, acting under instruction from the Japanese Kwantung Army, fetched Wanrong from Tianjin to Dalian and then to Port Arthur (now Lüshun) to meet Puyi who had accepted an offer from the Empire of Japan to head the puppet state of Manchukuo in Manchuria (northeastern China) in the hope of restoring the Qing dynasty. Wanrong disliked the Japanese and was firmly against Puyi's plans to go to Manchuria, and for a moment Puyi hesitated, leading Doihara to send for Puyi's cousin, the very pro-Japanese Yoshiko Kawashima, to visit him to change his mind. After Puyi had snuck into Manchuria, Li Guoxiong (a servant) claims Wanrong had told him: "As you see, His Majesty had left and His Highness could not come here. I was deserted here and who would take care of me?" Yoshiko Kawashima, a strong-willed, flamboyant, openly bisexual woman noted for her habit of wearing male clothing and uniforms, had some influence on Wanrong and she eventually secretly relocated to Manchukuo. However, a member of Wanrong's entourage later said Yoshiko Kawashima had only played a minor role.

Puyi and Wanrong leaving their hotel on 8 March 1932 before setting off for the official Manchukuo founding ceremony in Hsinking (Changchun). Li Tiyu is pictured behind Puyi.

Wanrong and her group landed at Dalian on 28 November 1931. Initially the Japanese military did not allow Puyi and Wanrong to stay together, with Wanrong's requests to visit Puyi being declined. Kudo Tetsuaburo, who worked as a guard for Puyi, stated there was a rumor the emperor had been killed and another rumor he had been put under house arrest. Wanrong was eventually allowed to visit Puyi in Lushun. It is possible the Japanese military initially feared Puyi could be influenced by those around him at such a critical stage of development and were hesitant to allow them to live together. Prince Su's Mansion in Lushun served as Puyi's temporary palace in which Wanrong would spend a few months before settling in Hsinking (Changchun). Li Guoxing, Puyi's servant recalled she acted like a spoiled child on several occasions.

After arriving in Hsinking, Wanrong was closely monitored by the Japanese and had to do as they instructed. She began to detest the Japanese and secretly planned to escape on two occasions. Wellington Koo, a diplomat, recalled in his memoirs when he was in Dalian, he once met a man who said he was sent by Wanrong to seek his help in escaping from Hsinking. Koo could not help her because of his status as a consultant then. Koo later wrote in his memoir "..My attendant said that he knew this man in Beijing and that he could meet him. He told me that this man was disguised as an antique dealer to avoid the attention of the Japanese (perhaps he had been an antique dealer). I went out to the porch and we stopped at the corner. The man told me that he was sent by the Empress. He said she asked me to help her escape from Changchun because she knew I was going to Manchuria; he said she felt miserable about her life because she was surrounded by Japanese attendants in the palace (there were no Chinese attendants there), and her every move was watched and denounced. She knew that the emperor could not escape, and if she could, she could have helped him to escape." In another incident, around August or September 1933, when the wife of Zhao Xinbo (趙欣伯), a Manchukuo official, was preparing to leave for Japan, Wanrong approached her and asked her for help. However, Wanrong's plan to escape was again unsuccessful. In frustration, the Empress was noted to have been heard saying on one occasion: ''Why can everyone else be free, but I can't be free?"

On 1 March 1934, the Imperial Japanese Government proclaimed Puyi as the Emperor of Manchukuo and Wanrong as his Empress. The couple lived in the Russian-built Weihuang Palace (now the Museum of the Imperial Palace of the Manchu State), a tax office that had been converted into a temporary palace while a new structure was being built. Apart from Puyi's coronation in 1934, Wanrong only made one other public appearance as Empress of Manchukuo, in June 1934, when Prince Chichibu visited Manchukuo on behalf of the Shōwa Emperor to mark close ties between Japan and Manchukuo. While these were the only big state ceremonies she participated in, she is noted to have made smaller public appearances; in the non-fiction book Wild Swans, she was noted to have participated in the official visit of the Emperor to Jinzhou in September 1939, where the mother of the author was selected to present flowers to the Empress on her arrival to the city.

According to the 1934 "Imperial Palace" archives, Wanrong made 27 pieces of cheongsam in one year. She was also taught drawing and music, such as the piano as well as playing chess and tennis recreationally. Cui Huimei who taught Wanrong recalled: "We sisters taught the empress Wanrong drawing and music, but I remembered the empress Wanrong taught us to sing a song. It was the national anthem of the Qing Dynasty. The lyrics were dismal.."

On 21 November 1934, The New York Times wrote an article stating that: "due to nervous illness, Empress Yueh Hua [pen name used by Wanrong] will soon leave the capital to spend the Winter at Dairen."

Puyi became a devout Buddhist in the Manchukuo period, reading many books and sutras on the topic and had developed superstitions to the point where he would not allow his staff to kill a single fly. Puyi wrote Wanrong became so engrossed in these superstitions she would blink and spit unnecessarily, tellingly, as if she was mentally ill.

Wanrong as Empress of Manchukuo wearing a large gege hat (1934)

Imprisonment and death

The site of Puyi's abdication in a small mining office complex in Dalizi

In August 1945, during the evacuation of Manchukuo in the midst of the Soviet invasion of Manchuria, Puyi attempted to flee from Manchukuo because his immediate entourage was at risk of arrest. Puyi, Wanrong and their group moved from Hsinking to Dalizi (romanised as Talizou) by train, and from there, Puyi departed to Tonghua, where he took a plane to Mukden. He left behind Wanrong, his concubine Li Yuqin, and other imperial household members in Dalizi (大栗子镇). Wanrong, along with her sister-in-law Hiro Saga and the rest of her group, tried to flee to Korea but were captured by Chinese Communist guerrillas (in present-day Linjiang, Jilin) in January 1946.

The Soviets had swiftly arrived in Dalizi and Soviet officers informed Prince Pujian, a relative of Puyi's in the group, they had come to liberate Northeast China as well as asking to see the Empress. The officers briefly met Li Yuqin and Wanrong before departing, leaving the group undetained.

Wanrong and her group later moved from Dalizi to settle in Linjian county to pass the winter in a hotel due to the cold as well as problems such as the running water icing up. On one occasion Li Yuqin went to see Wanrong who reached out her thin arm, making a wave to let Li Yuqin sit on her bedside. Eunuchs said this was unprecedented and nobody had before been offered a seat. Wanrong let out two noises, "Heh! heh!", Li Yuqin recalled: "My grief was unbearable and I was in tears. Her eyes showed a panicked and anxious look..."

Eventually, they were transferred back to Changchun by Chinese communist guerrillas under the command of He Changgong, who had discovered them. Li Yuqin, Puyi's concubine, was later taken back by her family, but Wanrong had no place to settle down. Her father had been captured and her brother had deserted her. She had no choice but to move around with the army. According to Behr in his book The Last Emperor, Li Yuqin supposedly offered Wanrong a place to stay at her home, but her mother having no sympathy alerted Communist Party officials who had her group arrested. In any case, when the military left Changchun, they took Wanrong with them.

An order was issued on 10 June to move Wanrong, Saga Hiro and their entourage to Mutankiang and then to Kiamusze. Wanrong was unable to walk and the man in charge of the prison said it would be best to leave Wanrong, in case she died on the way. Wanrong's last days were spent without any relatives or friends.

After Saga was separated from her, Wanrong died in prison at the age of 39 on 20 June 1946 in Yanji, Jilin province. Her place of burial is unknown.

Three years later, Puyi learned from a letter written by Saga Hiro to Pujie that Wanrong had died. He was emotionless. Puyi wrote in his memoir: "The experiences of Wanrong, who had been neglected by me for so long, would be incomprehensible to a modern Chinese girl. If her fate was not determined at her birth, her end was the inevitable result of her marriage to me. I often thought that if she had divorced me in Tianjin as Wenxiu she might have escaped her fate. But she was quite different from Wenxiu. To Wenxiu a normal man-woman relationship was more important than status or medieval pomp. Wanrong, however, attached great significance to her position as Empress and she was therefore willing to be a wife in name only."

Cenotaph

On 23 October 2006, Wanrong's younger brother, Runqi, conducted a ritual burial for his sister at the Western Qing tombs. A photo owned by Runqi was buried there. A hand mirror which belonged to Wanrong, owned by Runqi, was selected with hopes for it to be placed in a museum.

Song

Score composed by Wanrong

Wanrong wrote a song called "Paper Kite".

Awards and honours

Styles of Xuantong Empress
Reference style	Her Imperial Majesty
Spoken style	Your Imperial Majesty
Alternative style	Empress Consort (Titular)

• Grand Order of the Orchid Blossom (Manchukuo, 19 April 1934)
• Order of the Precious Crown (Japan, 6 June 1934)

Siblings

Wanrong had two brothers. The elder one, Runliang (潤良; 1904–1925), married Puyi's first sister, Yunying (not to be confused with Jin Yunying) (韞媖; 1909–1925). They had no children. Wanrong's younger brother, Runqi (潤麒; 1912–2007), married Puyi's third sister, Yunying (韞穎; 1913–1992). They had two sons and a daughter.

Portrayal in media

Wanrong was portrayed by Joan Chen in Bernardo Bertolucci's 1987 film The Last Emperor.

See also

In Spanish: Wan Rong para niños

• Ranks of imperial consorts in the Qing Dynasty
• Royal and noble ranks of the Qing dynasty