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Pujie

Aisin-Gioro Pujie (Chinese: 愛新覺羅溥傑 (Traditional), 爱新觉罗溥杰 (Simplified), Àixīnjuéluó Pǔjié ; Japanese: 愛新覚羅溥傑, Aishinkakura Fuketsu) (16 April 1907 — 28 February 1994) was born into the Manchu Aisin Gioro clan and was the younger brother of the last Emperor of China, Puyi.

Early life

Pujie was the second son of Zaifeng and his wife Youlan. As a child, he was brought to the Forbidden City in Beijing to be a playmate and classmate to his brother Puyi. A well-known incident recounted how the young Puyi threw a tantrum when he saw that the inner lining of one of Pujie's coats was yellow in colour, as yellow was traditionally a colour reserved only for the Emperor.

In 1929, Pujie was sent to Japan for studies. He graduated from the Gakushuin Peers' School and became fluent in the Japanese language. He then went on to the Imperial Japanese Army Academy, graduating in July 1935.

Pujie was first married in 1924 to a Manchu princess, Tangshixia(唐石霞), but they had no issue. He left his wife behind when he went to Japan for studies, and the marriage was dissolved some years later. After graduation from the Imperial Japanese Army Academy, Pujie agreed to an arranged marriage with a Japanese noblewoman. Pujie selected Lady Hiro Saga (1914–1987), who was a relative of the Japanese Imperial Family, from a photograph from a number of possible candidates vetted by the Kwantung Army. As his brother Puyi was without a direct heir, the wedding had strong political implications, and was aimed at both fortifying relations between the two nations and introducing Japanese blood into the Manchu imperial family.

The engagement ceremony took place at the Embassy of Manchukuo in Tokyo on 2 February 1937 with the official wedding held in the Imperial Army Hall at Kudanzaka, Tokyo, on 3 April. In October, the couple moved to Hsinking, the capital of Manchukuo, where Puyi was then the Emperor.

Manchukuo

As his elder brother Puyi had no children, Pujie was regarded as first in line to succeed to the Manchukuo throne, and the Japanese officially proclaimed him as heir apparent. However, he was not appointed by his brother as heir to the qing dynasty, as imperial traditions stated that a childless emperor should choose his heir from one of the next generations of the family . While in Manchukuo, Pujie served as honorary head of the Manchukuo Imperial Guards. He returned briefly to Japan in 1944 to attend the Army Staff College.

At the time of the collapse of Manchukuo during the Soviet invasion of Manchuria of August 1945, Pujie initially attempted to escape to exile in Japan with his brother. However, as it became apparent that no escape was possible, he opted to return to Hsinking in an unsuccessful attempt to surrender the city to Kuomingtang forces of the Republic of China, rather than have the city fall into Russian hands.

Pujie was arrested by the Soviet Red Army, and was sent to prison camps in Chita and Khabarovsk in Siberia with his brother and other relatives. With the Sino-Soviet rapprochement after the establishment of the People's Republic of China, Pujie was extradited to China in 1950.

Under the People's Republic of China

On his return to China, Pujie was incarcerated in the Fushun War Criminals Management Centre. A model prisoner, he became a symbol of leniency by the communist regime, joined the Communist Party of China, and later served in a number of important posts.

In 1978, Pujie became a deputy from Shanghai at the 5th National People's Congress. He subsequently served as deputy from Liaoning , Politburo Standing Committee Member, and Vice Chairman of the Nationalities Committee of the 6th National People's Congress in 1983. He was appointed Deputy Head of the China-Japan Friendship Group from 1985. He rose to a seat on the Presidium of the 7th National People's Congress in 1988. From 1986, Pujie was also Honorary Director for the Handicapped Welfare Fund.

Last update 02-06-2012

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