Pu Yi wrote 8 words on the photo of his 'lover', revealing the hidden love in the harem, was it overlooked by history?

The life of China's last emperor, Pu Yi, was full of tragedy and irony. A self-portrait found after his death revealed a touching love story and 8 heartbreaking handwritten words.

In Chinese history, there were many kings who lost their country, but few were as lucky as Pu Yi. Pu Yi was lucky because he lost his country but still lived until the end of his life. On the other hand, Pu Yi, like all other kings who lost their country in Chinese history, was a truly tragic figure.

The last emperor of the Qing Dynasty had many wives during his lifetime. However, based on the photo he always kept with him, posterity can guess which woman he loved the most.

The woman in the photo is Tan Yuling, Pu Yi's third wife. Tan Yuling came from a Manchu noble family, the Thala clan. After 1911, her surname was changed to Tan, according to the pronunciation, so she was also called Thala Yuling. In 1937, Tan Yuling was 17 years old, studying in high school in Beijing; Pu Yi was 32 years old, serving as a puppet emperor in the palace in the capital (Changchun) of Manchukuo.

At that time, Empress Wanrong had become a mental patient, and Pu Yi decided to find a replacement. The Japanese army wanted Pu Yi to find a Japanese woman, but he strongly objected.

After entering the palace, Tan Yuling was arranged to live on the first floor west of the Xixi Tower, which was originally Pu Yi's guest room. Although initially, Tan Yuling was just a substitute, a necessary vase beside the emperor, over time, Pu Yi truly fell in love with her. And she also brought Pu Yi the warmth of family amidst the surrounding pressure.

Unfortunately, happiness was short-lived, Tan Yuling passed away only 5 years after entering the palace, at the age of 22. Pu Yi was extremely sad, stayed by Tan Yuling's coffin and cried for two days and two nights.

On October 17, 1967, Pu Yi passed away at the age of 61. After Pu Yi passed away, people found a photo of Tan Yu Ling that he had always carefully kept, with 8 handwritten words on the back that meant: "My dearest Yu Ling". That could be the true love, the lifelong love of the fallen king Pu Yi. The fact that he wrote this photo himself was also revealed by the king in his famous memoir "The First Half of My Life".

Currently, this photo is kept at the Manchukuo Palace Museum, Changchun City, Jilin Province, China.

After Tan Yuling's death, a girl named Li Yuqin quickly became his replacement. In 1957, Puyi and Li Yuqin divorced by mutual agreement. In 1959, after nearly 10 years of reeducation through labor, Puyi returned to Beijing. In 1962, he married his fifth and final wife, Li Shuxian.

Due to Pu Yi’s circumstances and his particular health problems, all five women who lived with him were not completely happy. Just one week after marrying Pu Yi, Li Shuxian discovered her husband’s particular health problems. She regretted it, but at Pu Yi’s earnest request, she remained by his side until the end of his life.

Besides Dam Ngoc Linh, who was remembered by Pu Yi, Chinese history still records the last beautiful princess of the Qing Dynasty, who loved the king but was not reciprocated, and lived a poor and lonely life in her old age.

The Qing Dynasty was the last imperial dynasty of China and the princesses of this period were often called Princesses. While living in the palace, Princesses were often pampered. They were well fed and well dressed, educated in proper etiquette, and had servants to wait on them in carriages.

However, deep in their souls, there is always suffering that few people understand. When they were still with their father, the king, they were pampered, but when they were born as Princesses, they always had to endure being pawns in politically calculated marriages. And when it was a trade-off, loneliness, restraint, and sadness were natural. Most of the Princesses of the Qing Dynasty were childless and many of them died young due to serious mental illness.

And the most famous of the last princesses of the Qing Dynasty, the one considered the most beautiful, was Wang Mintong, also known as Wanyan Litongji.

The princess had a slim face, flawless white skin and was very talented. However, during her lifetime, she had to witness the collapse of the Qing Dynasty and was betrayed in love, so she had to live her old age in loneliness and illness.

According to historical records, since he was just over 10 years old, King Pu Yi had a handsome appearance and thick eyebrows. One time, accepting an invitation from Min Tong's father, King Pu Yi went to Min Tong's house to drink wine. Her family was very devoted to King Pu Yi, so her mother personally prepared a lot of delicious food and had Wang Min Tong pour wine to entertain the king. That day, King Pu Yi was drunk, and from time to time he turned to laugh and talk happily with Min Tong.

Wang Mintong fell in love with King Puyi early on. The beautiful Princess always tried her best to learn dancing and playing the zither to please her dream man. Because of her deep feelings for Puyi, the infatuated Princess refused to accept four marriages of equal social status, making her father angry many times.

Even after the Qing Dynasty had fallen, Wang Mintong still held on to her unrequited love and retired to live in a small house far from the center of Beijing. It is said that Wang Mintong's beauty represented the Qing Dynasty, radiant and beautiful but fading in old age. In her final years, Mintong was taken care of by her neighbors and died alone.

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