Henry PuYi

The life in pictures of Aisin-Gioro Pu-Yi, aka "Henry", HIM Emperor Hsuan-tung of the Great Qing Empire, later Emperor Kang Teh of Manchukuo; China's last great imperial ruler before the civil war, communist takeover and all that nonsense. Chosen by the Grand Empress Dowager Tsu-hsi he was enthroned at the age of 3 as "Great Emperor of the Great Qing Dynasty, Grand Khan of Tartary, the Son of Heaven and Lord of 10,000 Years. Deposed by the nationalist revolution at the peak of a wave of anti-Manchu hysteria he lived in Tientsin under Japanese protection until he was taken by Japan to Manchuria to head their State of Manchukuo; first as Chief Executive and later as Emperor of the Great Manchu Empire. With the defeat of Japan in 1945 he was taken prisoner by the Soviets and later turned over to the Red Chinese who held him as a war criminal. After ten years of "reform through labor" he emerged singing the praises of the communist regime and declaring his hatred of his life up to that point. He died at the height of the Cultural Revolution after which Peking experienced a freak Mongolian sandstorm unprecedented for that time of year. Most dismissed it but older Chinese considered it an omen that the "last Dragon" had ascended into the clouds. 民物欣鳧藻， 喜同袍， 清時幸遭。