From Emperor to Citizen 2 Volume Set

Pu Yi was the eleventh Qing Emperor of China from 1908 until 1912. He was born in 1906 meaning he was emperor from age two until six before he was forced to abdicate. He was restored to the throne again in 1917 (about a month) before expulsion.

After courting both the Chinese warlords and the Japanese he was established by the Japanese as a puppet emperor over the state of Manchukuo from 1932 until 1945. In 1945 he fled, was captured by the USSR and imprisoned. In 1949, when the Chinese Communist Party to power in China, Pu Yi was repatriated and again imprisoned for re-education. This part is particularly tailored to making the Communist Party look magnanimous - they treat his very kindly, particularly the prison governor. The criticisms of his former staff are more punishment than his reeducation.

In 1959 Pu Yi was brought, rehabilitated, to Beijing, where he was allowed to live as an ordinary citizen. In the 1960s, with encouragement from Chairman Mao Zedong and Premier Zhou Enlai, Pu Yi wrote this autobiography From Emperor to Citizen (with a ghost writer).

As a newly committed communist, the book takes a fairly obvious slant, which is frustrating, but doesn't mean it is not interesting. Surely one of few men who came from the very top echelon of society to end up a common man. Having never done anything himself - brushed his teeth, tied his own shoelaces, needed to know where to go!

Upon returning to Beijing, fully rehabilitated, Pu Yi tries to integrate. He notices his neighbours on the street weeping it clean, and goes out to share the work. On completion, he is unable to find his way home, and must knock on a strangers door. They assist him back to his house!

The story ends quite soon after his return to Beijing.

Still a very slow read, and certainly for the first half of the first book, I struggled to sort out who was who, and how they fit together (many having more than one name or title), and largely had to give up on a full understanding. If you are only ‘interested in passing' then I suggest an hour on Wikipedia explains is succinctly and in good detail. Only recommended if you want all the details.

3 stars.