The Last Emperor of China (Standard)

Product Description The life of P'u Yi, from emperor of China to citizen of the People's Republic, is a tragic tale that echoes the cataclysmic events in twentirth-century China. Heir to the 267-year-old Ch'ing dynasty, P'u Yi was catapulted to the Dragon Throne at the age of two. Overnight he became a living god- fawned over by eunuchs, but never allowed to venture beyond the walls of the Forbidden City. While the rest of China lurched from one crisis to another, P'u Yi remained isolated in the palace and cushioned from reality. When the 1911 Revolution finally toppled the Ch'ing dynasty, P'u Yi was upprepared for the upheaval that followed and culminated in the nre Communist order led by Mas Tse-tung. In these pages, he emerges as a naive and impressionable character, manipulated by successive governments and virtually imprisoned by historical events. About the Author Born in Canada, Anna Hestler studied in both Canada and the UK. After graduating from the University of London's School of Oriental and African Studies, she moved to Hong Kong, where she has lived and worked for the past seven years. Her other books include Shanghai Posters and The Legacy of Lhasa (FromAsia Books); Cultures of the World: Yemen and Cultures of the World: Wales (Times Books).