Empress Xiaorui Min – The widow of the last Emperor of China

Empress Xiaorui Min was the fifth and last wife of Puyi, The Last Emperor of China. She was a nurse who met Emperor Puyi after the fall of the Qing Dynasty. Empress Xiaorui Min became the last symbol of the imperial monarchy. After Emperor Puyi’s death, Empress Xiaorui Min worked tirelessly to preserve his legacy. Because of her efforts, Emperor Puyi became a global phenomenon.

Empress Xiaorui Min was born on 4 September 1924. Her personal name was Li Shuxian, and she was Han Chinese. Her father was a bank clerk.^[1] Li Shuxian grew up in Hangzhou. When she was ten years old, her mother died. Her mother’s death would have a great impact on her life.^[2] Her father then relocated to Shanghai, and he remarried. She was often beaten by her stepmother. Li Shuxian’s father died when she was fourteen years old, and she was in the care of her stepmother.^[3] To escape from her stepmother, Li Shuxian had to marry.^[4]

When Li Shuxian was nineteen years old, she married the son of a surgeon. Her husband was from a wealthy family. However, he neglected her and often lavished his affections on his concubine.^[5] They had no children. Six years later, Li Shuxian realized that she could no longer tolerate being in an unhappy marriage.^[6] She decided to leave her husband and move to Beijing. She entered Yuwen School and began intensive training to become a nurse. After she finished her training, she received a job at Guanxiang Hospital. This meant that she was now financially independent, and she officially divorced her husband.^[7]

In 1962, Li Shuxian’s friend Sha Zengxi introduced her to Puyi, the former Emperor of the Qing Dynasty. She was thirty-seven, and Puyi was fifty-six.^[8] Puyi immediately fell in love with Li Shuxian.^[9] They both shared a common interest in medicine, economics, and history.^[10] They married on 30 April 1962. The wedding was simple, but many leaders in the Chinese government witnessed the ceremony. Their wedding also became a national sensation because it was rare for an Aisin-Gioro royal to marry a Han Chinese.^[11]

However, problems quickly arose in their marriage. They could not consummate their marriage.^[12] This was because Puyi was sexually abused as a child, and it had traumatized him.^[13] Therefore, he could not perform his duty as a husband.^[14] Puyi tried to get treatment by getting hormone injections and medicines, but it didn’t work.^[15] This frustrated Li Shuxian because she wanted a family with Puyi.^[16] The fact that she could never have children with her husband was a big blow to her.^[17] She felt Puyi cheated her into marrying him, and she immediately regretted her marriage.^[18] She considered divorcing him. After much contemplation, she decided to stay with Puyi.^[19]

The marriage between Puyi and Li Shuxian eventually improved.^[20] They lived on a salary that was provided by the government, and the former Emperor learned how to budget.^[21] The couple spent their evenings reading and discussing books. They also practised calligraphy and took evening strolls. Puyi also liked to cook for his wife.^[22] He also accompanied her if she went shopping. Every time Li Shuxian went to work, he would walk her to the bus station and wait for her when she got off the bus.^[23] If she worked late nights, he would send her clothes and food.^[24] One midsummer day in 1963, Puyi went to meet his wife in the heavy rain.^[25] Along the way, he noticed that there was an opening in the sewer. Instead of greeting his wife at the bus station, he stood guard at the sewer opening for more than an hour so that his wife would not fall into the sewer.^[26] Puyi would also take care of her when she was sick. Puyi frequently took Li Shuxian to the Forbidden City. He often reminisced with her about his life in the Forbidden City.^[27] Their favourite places were the imperial gardens, where the couple hosted tea parties.^[28]

However, their marriage only lasted five years. Puyi’s health was quickly deteriorating. On 7 June 1965, Puyi had to have his left kidney removed. He quickly found out that his right kidney was cancerous.^[29] Li Shuxian remained by his side. She nursed him and tried to cheer him up through these difficulties.^[30] Puyi died on 17 October 1967. Puyi was cremated and buried in the Eight Treasures Mountain Cemetery.^[31]

Li Shuxian deeply mourned the loss of her husband. She would go to the cemetery every day and often brought her lunch.^[32] Her health declined so rapidly that she was forced to resign from work. Once she recovered, she struggled to survive on the salary that the government had allotted to her. She left the large mansion that she and Puyi once lived in and bought a smaller house. Yet, her greatest struggle was her medical bills.^[33] She pleaded her case to the government. They increased her salary and gave her a more suitable residence.^[34]

Since Li Shuxian was the widow of Emperor Puyi, she immediately became a national celebrity.^[35] She was often invited to attend state banquets, performances, and parties.^[36] In 1980, the government decided to finally hold a memorial service for Emperor Puyi. They would also rebury his ashes in the Babaoshan Revolutionary Cemetery.^[37] On 12 June 1980, the memorial service was held.

Through the 1980s, Li Shuxian began to collect and publish Emperor Puyi’s memoirs. She even published her memoir surrounding her husband titled My Husband Puyi: The Last Emperor of China. Because of these memoirs, there were many movies and television shows about Emperor Puyi.^[38] Some of them are The Last Emperor, Fire Dragon, and The First Half of My Life. This sparked a global interest in Emperor Puyi.^[39] Through books, movies, and television series, Li Shuxian became a global celebrity and a very wealthy woman.^[40]

On 25 August 1993, Li Shuxian went to New York to meet the Aisin-Gioro royals who were currently living in America. As soon as she arrived, she was greeted by journalists.^[41] She was given a private tour of New York. She attended parties given by wealthy Chinese American businessmen and politicians.^[42] She was treated as an Empress.^[43] She stayed in New York for a month.

In 1995 C.E., Li Shuxian was finally given permission to rebury Emperor Puyi near the Western Qing Mausoleum. On 26 January 1995, many prominent government officials attended the reburial.^[44] On 9 June 1997, Li Shuxian died of lung cancer at the age of seventy-two. The only people who were by her bedside were a distant relative, a friend, and her maid.^[45] She did not have any plans for her funeral.^[46]

On 29 June 1997, the government held a mourning ceremony for her. Many prominent government officials attended her funeral.^[47] Li Shuxian was cremated, but the government did not know where to bury her.^[48] They decided to bury her in the Babaoshan Revolutionary Cemetery.^[49] In 2004, Li Shuxian became the posthumous Empress Xiaorui Min.

It was a blessing that Empress Xiaorui Min did not divorce Emperor Puyi. While she did not get the family she wanted, she was at least able to have a happy marriage. Empress Xiaorui Min was devoted to him all her life. She spent decades preserving his legacy and helped him to become a worldwide phenomenon. It is no wonder why her faithfulness to Emperor Puyi won the admiration and respect of many people around the world. Because of Empress Xiaorui Min, the tragic story of The Last Emperor of China will never be forgotten.

Sources:

Becker, J. (2008). City of Heavenly Tranquility. Oxford England: Oxford University Press.

Wang, Q. (2014). The Last Emperor and His Five Wives. (Translated by Jiaquan Han et al.). Beijing, China: China Intercontinental Press.

Li, S. and Wang, Q. (2017). My Husband Puyi: The Last Emperor of China. (Translated by Na Ni, China). Beijing, China: China Intercontinental Press, 2017.