One of the most tragic periods of Chinese history is the period when the last emperor of China Pu Yi appeared on the scene.  Pu Yi was an affable and nice man, but his fault was that he appeared on the scene when China was in turmoil and very weak. He was born in 1905, but his role was confined to ruling just the city of Peking( now Beijing). As Pu Yi grew up he realised that he was an emperor without a kingdom. All the provinces of China were controlled by war lords, who had their own armies and areas of influence. 

This was also the period when General Chiang Kai Shek appeared on the scene. He headed a party called the Nationalists, but he was in perpetual conflict with the Chinese communist party led by Mao Tse Tung. From 1924 onwards Chiang Kai Shek tried to control as much of China as he could. He had a strong connection with the United States who backed him to the hilt.. But China was weak as it had been weakened by the Opium wars and the Boxer rebellion and the Western Powers led by the British had extra territorial rights in China. In such a scenario Pu yi could not assert himself, but he longed to restore the old glory of the Ming dynasty.

Taking advantage of the situation in China, the Imperial Japanese army invaded China in 1931. In a swift military campaign, the Imperial army routed the forces of the warlords and Chiang kai Shek. Mao fled into the mountains to fight a guerrilla war. The young emperor thought his chance had come and he sent feelers to the Japanese. The Japanese were quick to respond as they needed a local puppet and collaborator.  They created a puppet kingdom of Munchokow, which consisted of the entire Manchuria, which they had conquered and recognised Pu Yi as emperor.

The Japanese were the real masters and they surrounded the young emperor with a string of Japanese advisers. Pu Yi became almost a prisoner. In addition his wife, the queen got impregnated by a Japanese army officer of his staff and the emperor realised he had made a grave mistake. He could not do anything but sign the decrees which were put up to him by the Japanese.

In 1945, Japan surrendered after dropping of the Atomic bombs. Pu Yi fled from Peking but was arrested by the Russians in Harbin and imprisoned in Siberia. He was flown in 1946 to stand trial as a war criminal at the infamous Tokyo tribunal.  He was spared the death sentence,  but awarded life in prison. He was again taken to Siberia to serve his sentence. In 1949, Mao tse Tung came to power and he requested that the last emperor be handed back to China. Stalin agreed to Mao's demand and Pu Yi was sent to China. He was put in a correction camp and released in 1959. He was fully rehabilitated by Mao and was given all his rights as a common citizen. In 1962, he fell in love with a Chinese doctor and married her. He continued to draw a small pension from the Chinese government.

Mao is known as the " butcher of China", but in this case he emerges as a man with a tremendous vision of history. He did not want the last emperor of China to die in a prison in Russia. Pu Yi died in 1967 and is remembered as the last emperor of China.