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The Reign Of The Imperial System

Decent Essays

Puyi was born in 1906 and crowned emperor in 1908. During that time, China had always been under the imperial system, where one dynasty was ruled by one family, essentially through the idea of "heredity monarchy." Puyi, who had been proclaimed the "son of heaven," followed tradition; however, his time in being emperor was short-lived as the Qing dynasty ended in 1912, introducing the Republic of China. Oblivious to life outside the temple doors, Puyi continuously assured himself that he was still in charge; it wasn 't until in 1924, when Puyi was captured by warlords and forced to leave the "Forbidden City." In 1931, Japan invaded northeast China, and the officers surrendered to Japan. The Japanese asked for assistance in establishing the Manchukuo, which was granted. In 1934, Puyi was crowned to be a puppet emperor of Manchukuo under the control of Japan; nevertheless, in 1945, Russia defeated Japan in northeast China. Puyi abdicated his thrown, was captured by the Russian army, and arrested for betrayal.
Puyi is important because he was the last emperor that marked the complete end to China 's long timeline of dynasties. Through his experience, he had witnessed and held gargantuan amount of power over so many people, just for that power to be stripped from him. Though Puyi didn 't like it, he basically was integrated into a modernized society, where even he could be punished under the law. Ultimately, Puyi plays a role in modern Chinese society, as it is a learning

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