Twilight In The Forbidden City; With Preface By The Emperor

JOHNSTON, Reginald F.

Published by Victor Gollancz Ltd, London, 1934

About this Item

1st Edition / 2nd Impression. DESCRIPTION: Olive green cloth with gilt titles to spine. Black and white frontis portrait with 42 other illustrations Language: English. Book Condition: Fair: Heavy wear and torn cloth to turned corners. Creased sunned spine with wear. Wear to upper spine edges with small tears. Tightly bound with lightly toned intact endpapers and firm hinges. Prev owners name to front paste down. Foxing to prelims and front and rear pages. Toned pages with foxing to margins of many pages DJ Condition: No DJ. Pages 486. Size: 8vo 23.5cm by 15.5cm. AUTHOR: Sir Reginald Fleming Johnston Born in Edinburgh, the son of a lawyer Educated at University of Edinburgh and Magdalen College, Oxford (1894) In 1898 he joined the Colonial Office in Hong Kong, becoming a District Officer in China In 1919 he became famous as the tutor to Pu Yi, the Last Emperor of China and the first foreigner to enter the Forbidden City of Beijing As Chinese Nationalism swept through the country in 1924, Johnston was forced to flee He returned to Britain, and became Professor of Chinese at the University of London. BOOK RESUME: Sir Reginald Fleming Johnston was a Scottish diplomat and the tutor of Puyi, the last emperor of China. Johnston was eye witness to Chinese events in the crucial years of the 1920s and 1930s. Johnston was the only foreigner in history to be allowed inside the inner court of the Qing Dynasty. The author carried high imperial titles and lived in both the Forbidden City and the New Summer Palace. Johnston spent thirty-two years in China, from 1898 to 1930, and wrote this incredible account of his time with the Dragon Emperor of the Qing Dynasty, who he tutored for five years from the time the boy was 13. This is an important book as it provides a very rare glimpse into the very secretive court life of China. It was written and published prior to the Communist takeover in China and therefore sits squarely in one of the most tumultuous periods of Chinese history, without the benefit of hindsight. Through it all, Johnston provides remarkable opinions on the issues of the day via his brilliant writing style. Considerable time is spent on explaining the complex heirarchies within the family and court structures, and the backdrop of facts that he provides is richly interspersed with criticism of the rampant corruption of the Nei Wu Fu or imperial household department. Johnston has provided what is probably the only Western eye witness account over a period of many years and he does so with discipline and rigor, often bringing into the narrative the necessary context for the reader to truly appreciate the landscape. The story of the last emperor is ultimately one specific instance of sadness that is personalised for us during one of the most violent and turbulent period of Chinese history. Johnston ended up leaving China prior to major Japanese hostilities and moving back to the United Kingdom remaining friends with Puyi even after he ascended to the throne of Manchuko which was a controversial statement of loyalty. When he retired to Scotland in 1937, he bought a small island in Loch Craignish, and proceeded to cultivate a Chinese garden flying the flag of Manchuko, the new kingdom of his one-time pupil. Despite the political difficulties by endorsing the puppet state of a British rival, he believed in the character of his student, their relationship and in China, perhaps more than many Chinese of the time. Anyone wanting to know more about Chinese history, particular those influences that still reverberate in modern China should read this book. Twilight in the Forbidden City is very much a history of an entire period and not an exclusive portrait of the last Emperor of China. Prefaced by the Emperor Hsuan-Tung himself in the year 1931. Puyi ascended the throne at age 2 years 10 months in December 1908. Overnight, he was treated as a god and unable to behave as a child. Wherever he went, grown men would kneel to the floor in a ri. Seller Inventory # 9043

Bibliographic Details

Title: Twilight In The Forbidden City; With Preface...

Publisher: Victor Gollancz Ltd, London

Publication Date: 1934

Binding: Hardcover

Condition: Fair

Dust Jacket Condition: No DJ

Edition: 1st Edition.