The Twisted Tale Of China's Last Consort
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- เผยแพร่เมื่อ 20 เม.ย. 2024
- When Wenxiu married Emperor Puyi of China and became his Imperial Consort, she likely imagined a life filled with luxury. Instead, she got tragedy.
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"If she'd known, she might have run the other way. "
Sadly, that wouldn't have been possible for her. Her family would not have taken her back, and she would have no way to make a living.
Or only one way.
Let's not forget that Chinese Emperors were usually trigger happy and frequently used to give capital punishment to "9 generations, including friends, family and slaves" of those who pissed him off.
So, if she ran, it would'nt just be her in danger, it would be literally anyone who came within 10ft of her.
Can we just agree that Pu Yi deserved none of the 2 beautiful women 🤷🏻♀️
he later got caught by the soviets, repatriated, imprisoned in china, got humbled so hard he worked as a gardener, then married a nurse, worked as an literature editor and lived the rest of his life relatively happy.. what a luck.. what a life..
No we cannot agree
Nah he was a match with the other bully, the Empress. Those two did deserve each other. What is sad tho is that he himself was broken as a child, getting separated from his mother while he was still a toddler and made into an Emperor at such a young age. God knows what those adults around him, in the forbidden city (from eunuchs to officials) did to him growing up, behind those thick closed doors. What a sick system.
I would always choose being alone and poor than stuck in such an awful and toxic relationship. Glad Wenshiu managed to break free eventually.
Well, easier said then done when You're only 12 years Young...🤷 & a lot of more powerful People around her as grown up, that decided her everyday life ...
I choose rich and happy.
"I would always choose being alone and poor" - sure, providing you were ALLOWED to choose...
This was so hurtful to both women. They show some of this in ‘Last Emperor of China’
But not much. In the movie, she divorces him just because he said that he was planning to move to the west, and she knew that second wives were not a t thing in the west.
I love hearing a Scots accent correctly narrating this. Thank you!❤
The narrator didn't sound Scottish to me. He sounded more Chinese to me.
i think it's annoying
@@DwightHalpert why do you say that?
@@angharadswansea9343 i don't know. very intricate pronounciation just irritates me
@@Cricket2731 No, certainly a west/central Scottish accent.
Yes it's been said that he had a " fondness" for his handsome teenage pageboys during his puppet rule in Manchukuo . There was one who was his favorite who was even referred to as the male concubine. One of his pageboys even ran away to escape his advances and it was ordered by a furious Puyi that he be given his favored punishment ( which occurred at least once a day ) in being very harshly flogged for it .. which caused the pageboys death...which then of course got the floggers flogged. His younger brother when questioned said he was "biologically incapable of reproduction" which was a polite way of saying someone is gay in China at the time. It has also been said he did have a near pedophilic attraction to very young girls too ...along with being something of a sadist in his relationships with women . It's confusing and has been argued if he was actually bi or truly gay. Either way he really was just a huge nasty mess sexually and as a human being . He really was ruined as a decent human being in becoming the Emperor far too young.
This what happens when a little boy is preyed upon by emasculated men who had no sexual outlet other than a child unprotected and helped nurture sexual grooming, perversions into a boy. They had complete control over him and adding humiliation and pain to sexual acts with him would corrupt a child who was treated as a god of Heaven. Tons of soul crushing rules and pressures does not make a healthy mind. This was happening for as long as there was the palace for hundreds of years, princes were subject to corrupted practices growing and most if not all became twisted emperors with some crazy as a loon or just plain of low intelligence being puppet king subject to back room control by who ever could grasp the power as regent for a child emperor or adviser to prince who could be managed. Too often a capable, intelligent prince was gotten rid of by hook or by crook because he many not be managed. Sad to think how many sons were murdered by the court factions, an Empress, a concubine, other princes or their own father. Such a great system to raise twisted, insecure, paranoid or delusional emperors, think how much farther and more the populations of Chinese people could have had better lives if only they had stable leadership. What could have been accomplished for the World to Marvel. History is always mostly lies by those in power to make themselves save face. We will never know the whole truth because those who did, were too afraid to white it down or killed to silence any truth coming out.
I have also read and heard that a lot of his strange sexual preferences were due to the way the eunuchs used, er, taught him when he was young. Sad life, and he certainly made the worst of it.
i never thought I was a simpleton but at the very end when the narrator said someone once said "he preferred the land way to the water way"... i don't quite understand. obviously he is saying he preferred men to women but what is the "land" reference to male and "water" reference to female?
@@scorpion-lg4ic I think water way would refer to women's vaginal fluids, and land is the opposite of water.
@@sidhedanu that's what I thought of when listening to the video... but the "land" part referring to a man is just not making sense to me. so the person who came up with the saying could have very well said "he prefers a drought to a monsoon" if he would have referred to a woman's wet fluid & a dry drought would be the opposite. i just think there is some meaning that we are not understanding since they were speaking in Chinese. the words were interpreted from Chinese to English so maybe they actually mean something else but the meaning is lost in the interpretation. also, this occurred 80 years ago and their way of speaking would have been a lot different then. we speak using pretty direct, vulgar language now. back then they would have i wish an older person who is fluent in Chinese could explain this but thank you very much for taking the time to answer my question.
It's good to know she had a loving husband the second time even if they fell into poverty later on. It's a million times better than living in a palace with a horrible person.
Never heard a more poetic way of describing a gay man. " preferred the land way rather than the water way"😂😂😂
I like the much older "cut sleeve" which is a reference to Emperor Ai of Han (and his male paramour).
@@craigcook9715 never heard this one either😅
Anyway, my brother Puyi, he's uh...he's a little off to the side, you know? Uh, foofy. Uh, up to the knuckle. He's uh...he's a backwards mechanic, likes to play in the dirt.
@@skaldlouiscyphre2453 recently the term is Diddy 🤭🤭🤭
@@notimefornonsense722 You mean Diddy means gay? ....
An interesting documentary, excellently narrated. Pu Yi was a deeply damaged & damaging individual; the film Last Emperor romanticised him & this is a far more accurate portrait. These two unfortunate women never had a chance.
People on the outside think it's a wonderful life but the agony of loneliness has got to be gut wrenching
I’m not sure everyone has experienced loneliness. Some people don’t ever need or feel an emotional bond with ANYONE. Others came from healthy, loving homes, and they always feel connected. Then again, some people have no empathy, so would never consider how she would have felt. You are blessed with understanding.
It's probably not even a lonliness that the average person could even understand. It's probably more comparable to that of a celebrity where everyone treats you great when you know that you are probably not all that great.
@@kingjoe3rdthey were extremely isolated in the forbidden city... wives and concubines having their own dwellings where they were forced to stay, only being able to interact with servants
Whoever think it’s a wonderful life, knows nothing about the life of a concubine.
@@Kunkali And also not. permited to leave it.
"He preferred the land way to the water way" Those Chinese euphemisms man💀
I don't get it
He preferred the company of men. He is gay. Got it?
Puyi really had no right to agree that anyone was ugly.😡
Inbreeding among royals and the rich is not a good thing.
@@justkiddin84 not in China.
Zaifeng, Prince Chun and Youlan, his main wife and Puyi's mother were not related. Ronglu was not direct descendant of the Aisin Gioro clan. Zaitian's parents were not related. Curiously, both Zaitian and Youlan were good looking when young.
@@justkiddin84inbreeding didnt happen much for chinese emporers. The empress dowager sometimes got some family memebers in the harem but usually the next emperor came from on of the othe hundred of women in the harem
Wenxu is NOT pretty at all and too young to be his concubine.
@@user-ls9hs9iw3v seriously? You are look shaming a long dead lady here, why?
Well done! Thank you for not using AI. Looking forward to more from you.
Fr! I’m so tired of them AI 😂 I just blocked those channels
love your accent and the content, of course
@@Skootfairy
13 days ago?
2:54 was clearly ai
What a terrible life Wenxiu had between a happy childhood and being divorced .Her tiny home was at least filled with real love.She actually proved she was superior to those who have taunted her- As for Puyi she lost nothing there. Many thanks liked and subscribed :
This was well made! I was so surprised. So many documentary type videos on youtube are rubbish. This was NOT! It was really well done and interesting (and humourous in bits). Thank you.
By the time, the emperor was a total figurehead. While the rest of China was being torn apart by rival warlords and their personal armies, The emperor was in a golden cage. The forbidden city was the only place where he had power, and he was not permitted to ever leave it.I expect that it was the same of these wives. He was taken care of by unicks, but they were completely corrupt and were robbing him, until he finally fired them all. Can you imagine how distorted his view of the world must have been, treated like an absolute ruler within the city, but completely isolated from the events going on around him.
It was the same when the Japanese made him the official ruler of "Manchu," the section of Manchuria that they controlled. He was given the title of emperor and a lavish house and villa, but again, he could not leave it.
As soon as the Japanese left, the Communists captured him, and he was put in a real prison. He claimed to have converted complexly to Maoism when he was let out, and, even though he still had no basic life skills, like flushing the toilet or remembering to keep his bus ticket, he found work as a gardener. But, just as the Cultural Revolution started, he got cancer. He got trapped between high government officials that wanted to give him special privileges and radical young red guards who did not, and invaded the hospital by force to try and enforce their will.. So the hospital staff pretty much ignored him, didn't give him pain medication, and he died a miserable death.
I didn't know any of that. He was a gardener, how bizarre.
@@SoonGone. In the end, he really did seem to have “preferred the land way,” and became a gardener. Hee, hee!
What a elegant way of learning! The narrator was perfect and I even added the movie "The Last Emperor", to my movies list. KUDOS
Yes , the narrator is very good
I watched the last emperor. My bucket list after that was to see the forbidden city which I did a few years later.
I watched that movie when I was a little kid in the mid 90's. The movie left me with a strong impression. I really liked it.
It was really good but because of the documentary-like low def nature of pace feels long but still great. I'd love to see a for-Western audiences remake of that movie since it's been a while.
GREAT👏job narrating im sure Wenxiou was more happier as a poor civilian than as a Consort
It should be noted that Wenxiu married the Emperor after the later had actually lost the throne. so it was an empty title - at least until the Japanese-controlled Manchukuo empire, by which time they were divorced. It is true that the Imperial Family were expelled from the Forbidden City in 1924, but it was the Revolution of 1912 which led to PuYi's abdication.
Wow what a story - I totally enjoyed hearing this story - it was a haunting and sad epic tale.
You are by far the most enjoyable story teller on TH-cam
He is really good. Mrballen tells a good story as well.
Do you even know how many story teller on TH-cam? Saying he is the best is dishonest.
Yeap thats why it was easy for him to be so cruel. He hated them because he wanted to be them
I doubt it, he was gay, and they were women.
You held my attention with every word. You are a great relayer of information, and storytelling. Thank you. 😊
I've said the same. I love this Guys narration. He's Scottish!! As am I. '🏴The Brave'
Ya!+rqyy+wyqyqqywqyyqyyyqqyqyq!555qqqqqqqqqq4qqqqqq4wwwqwq4qqqqqqqqqqqqwq4q4qq4qqqqq4q.q4.n@@nicolamillar4958
Totally agree with you
Ditto. I just subscribed.
That was a good video!
The movie “The Last Emperor “ was beautiful but this info (his sexuality, the wives’ ages, etc. )wasn’t included at all, or maybe I just have forgotten it. I felt sorry for him as a child…a ruler and a prisoner, all in one.
It was there, it’s worth a rewatch…but also consider how little representation LGBTQ ppl had during the time that movie was made so it will be really subtle
You must watch madame butterfly if you want lgbtq in imperial china.
@kaidanalenko5222 Do you mean M. Butterfly? That wasn't really LGBT. It was a tale of deception.
@@SewardWriterno, the opera, Madame Butterfly
The movie depicts him having his two wives in bed in a happy threesome. Though it did show that his second wife left him, and his first wife became a severe opium addict, there was no mention of any sexual weirdness or did function or any homosexual or pedophilia or sadistic tendencies, and there was not in the book version of "The last emperor," either though it covered some different aspects of his life then the movie did.
He came across more like a leaf blown along by the winds of history than a man who was personally malignant, although they did show him committing enact of cruelty towards a servant as a child.
Such a beautiful narration! I simply loved & enjoyed it!
He never reigned as Emperor in China - the Dowager Empress Longyu acted as Regent during his infancy and abdicated on his behalf in 1912. His position in Manchuria was purely nominal. It was a Japanese colony.
Besides having the far wealthier, nobler family there was the fact that Wanrong was 16 while Wenxiu was only about 12 to 13. The most urgent duty of the empress was to birth a son to secure the dynasty, and control the imperial Harem. Wenxiu was simply too young to do the job, while Wanrong was old enough and she was far more ready for the job than Wenxiu was.
JUST LOVE THE SOUND OF THIS MANS VOICE , AND HIS STORY TELLING. GIMME MORE❤❤❤
Yes lovely Scottish accent perhaps Edinburgh
I didn't read your comment but I'm sure the answer is: On the left side of the keyboard in the middle.
Wow, what horrible people. I remember watching The Last Emperor and feeling some kind of sympathy for him. I guess not anymore!
Yep. They are really horrible, to each other, that's for sure..
12 years ago, I was 14, and found a beautiful red book called empress orchid. An interesting and poignant read, beautiful at times, hilarious in others, it’s not quite the historical biography of wenxiu but it’s clearly based off of the conflicts that arose between wanrong and wenxiu. The book was actually so macabre by the end I didn’t read the sequel , the last empress, but this video covers the history well. It seems pertinent that mao could have easily used the wildly dysfunctional throuple in this video as a firm basis of rhetoric for his own madness.
I dont think she would have had a choice to refuse the marriage?
A fuller picture of Puyi's life is available on Wikipedia. It is even more extraordinary than portrayed here.
Very sad lives for all of them, as it turns out. Thanks for this episode. ♥
This story blew me away, and you told it very well 👍🏽
You should read wild swans.
Raise The Red Lantern is a fantastic movie about the intrigues between Chinese wives starring the beautiful Gong Li. Awesome movie!
Amazing story telling!
Fascinating history and so well told. Liked and subbed💙
Puyi reminds me of Russia's Peter III. Feeble minded at best.
The emperor was a jerk
What would you expect from a spoiled kid.
Interestingly, there were no children with either woman.... Sad, sad story.
He didn’t sleep with women
Thankfully, there were no children....
"He prefer the muddy path" ㊗️🈹️🈲️
I thoroughly enjoyed this history, as it played well to fill-in the backdrop of this period.
As a fan of the Anime, The Apothecary Diaries, it spoke to the pomp and circumstance, the dirty tricks and the intrigue of the back-Palace.
This story is all the better for being true.
Really interesting and well presented! Thank you!
The Last Emperor by Bertalucci is a beautiful Film.
Bertolucci
WOW , gay man and married to two women at the same time !
Money.
None of these people had a good life.
I recommend watching Raise the Red Lantern 🏮🏮🏮!
That's a good movie! One of my faves in middle school. Curse of the Golden Flower is up there too. 🤌
& to think of Diana Princess of Wales once saying . “Well there were 3 of us in this marriage” or something to that effect.
More than three if she'd counted her own lovers into the mix.
Great narrator. I’ll add my comment to all the others. My fav on the channel.
Just a small observation here: I am just a few minutes into the video and it is worth to say that she was not a "meager" consort. She could had it worst, being below the consort rank (concubine, noble lady, 1st attendant, 2nd attendant), but of course she could have it better, anyways, above her there was only the empress. And as a consort she was officially a wife, unlike the ranks below her, so she got enough, considering her family background.
The other thing is that she didn't get remote quarters for her, she was given the Changchung Palace, which was previously inhabited and expanded by Cixi in her latest years, compounding two palaces into one; Wan Rong was given the Chuxiu Palace, next to the gardens which had become a compound as well by being expanded by Cixi, joining the Yikun and Chuxiu palaces together when the alley between them got removed. And both were the most well kept palaces available at the time, from all the twelve for the concubines. Also, both were on the West side that had a more updated accomodations than the East side. In any case Wenxiu was the closest to the Hall of Mental Cultivation, where Puyi resided.
Thank you so much for this. Really caught my attention and I was hooked! Looking forward to seeing more! Terribly sad story. So sad the wife who divorced puyi didn’t have a happy ever after. The empress was vile too but she was obviously jealous and was never truly loved. So she was to be pitied a bit too. Obviously Puyi
was a tyrant and monster, but in a way it wasn’t entirely his fault. He was ruined as a human being by the total power he was given and the fact his every wish was granted. No one ever said no or that’s not right. If any child has no boundaries and is spoilt utterly then I think it’s safe to say they won’t be very nice people. For him though, as a gay man, it must have been awful to have to keep up the pretence of being straight all his life. It doesn’t excuse his behaviour, but it may go some way to explain why he was such a terrible human being.
Thank you for the sharing👍
FYI. Back when all this happened it was Peking as they hadn’t changed the name to Beijing until communist rule and the spelling of the name became romanized. 🙂
I didn't know she was Mongolian. That is so cool.
You know it’s bad when the rival wife tries to calm things down.
short version: he was gay (probably)
Fascinating. Well told.
I think it should be emphasized a bit more how miserable Wanrong was. The video makes her an antagonists, but many time she was just as tortured and lonely. Also, the end of Wenxiu's life as "quiet sorrow, I wouldnt say. She and her husband were very poor, but they were truly in love and happy with each other. When she passed, her husband was by her side, holding her hand. She was happy that he was there and that they were truly in love. I think it is more triumphant than sorrowful. We should see her strength and end as a victory story, than solemn sorrow. Wanrong lived a miserable life and had a very horrible end. I think that should be more noted. Really all 3 of them were victims of the cruel times :(
I've watched a few vids of your content, you're the best narrator by far 😊🏴 Thank you 🙏🏻
Poor Wenxiu!! To suffer so much at such a young age too... I'm so glad she escaped
I saw the movie, The Last Emperor, and that was quite the story!
I saw the movie last Emperor it was very sad and made me cry but of course being a movie you can't believe everything you see and hear. But I think he did have a very sad life.
Actually, he was finally released from prison in 1958. The Communists gave him a very cushy job at the palace museum (aka the Forbidden City). It was during the decade of the 60s that he found true love and remarried (with a nurse). He also enjoyed his job and riding his bike to work on warm days. He said later that this was the "happiest time of his life."
So he married a child.
He was a child too
THE LAST EMPEROR was a great movie but didn't even come close to depicting how fucked up Puyi was.
The views of the Chinese go etnment and people had to be considered in the making of the film.
government
@@mssmssmssmss That's true, the Chinese government had to approve the script.
One correction. Fragile mindset? Because she was a young women in horrible abusive circumstances an empress with little rights married to a cruel sociopath who liked to torture people with cruel pranks and no doubt other behaviors! Please don’t describe a women who was going through an experience like as a fragile mindset because she wasn’t coping!
She was made fragile. Your 'sanity' is a function of your peers. Place a person in an environment where all human contact is hostile and where the rules of behavior are different and strict and the result is heavy insecurity.
☝️There are grownups these days, that are fragile❗🤷 Blessings 🙏🕊️🌟
She was fragile. Saying she was not is denying her abuse.
When were you going to get to why he ran screaming from his wedding night?
He’s gay. That’s what happened.
Well then, the movie hid more than it told.
Loved the video.
Great video! Very informative and well made! Loved all the original footage and photos to accompany the excellent narration! Yay! No AI!! 😊
Wow, Such an amazing interesting story! And, you are a master at storytelling👏 THANK YOU!
Interesting story of " not so glamorous " life of the royals
In the end Wenxiu found a degree of happiness something which was denied her as an imperial consort. She had a lucky escape.
Nobody had lucky escape in ww2 era china back then. There was no safe haven any where. As every place was a battlefield
I like your narration style and tone of voice. It's very beguiling.
Well-done. I learned a lot.
Poor child! How disgusting, a 12 year old child. What a horrible life.
Excellent presentation on this video!
Abuse is so horrible
Awesome story telling. You actually have to feel bad for both women. He was an immature person who never grew up and may not have known it himself - gay.
Fascinating story ❤
Thank you!
8:24 “ people were so childish back then. You wouldn’t say that these days”
😂 touché ! 👏
the typo rivalry is wrong. the real interaction was just wenxiu and wanrong being polite to each other.
So, a quick search to find out some of the ages of these people…. and I’m horrified and disgusted.
He was 10ish and the consort was 13ish when they first married, and I’m not sure about the empress…
It was also said he was 2 when he was put on the throne.
I can understand the immaturity and ignorance, they were children and were never taught properly…. pretty much the same problem’s going on in the modern age .
Pu Yi was around 15 when he married. His Empress was also 15, and his secondary consort was 12.
I think you came from country that doesn't have a history of monarchy.
A toddler cannot rule a country, in puyi's case its the grand empress dowager that actually run the empire, infant kings are always puppet and a mere figure head.
@@kaidanalenko5222 "Guest" ?
And I didn't say he was ruling, I said they put him on the throne.
Reading and comprehension....
@@susansusan6612 you wrote awfully, blame yourself 🤭
💚✌🏽Throughout Chinas history various hats were worn. I would love to know the significance of these hats.
"spineless rulers doom their kingdom" - a perfect thing to say here
Puyi was messed up. Glad she got away.
Excellent historical overview. What a sad thing.
Wonderful presentation! Thank you.
I grew up with the movie "The Last Emperor" as an epic favorite of mine. It was a beautifully done movie, though I knew much of the movie would be dressed up for Hollywood. I am so glad to see a bit more of the story now. Thanks for sharing it!
So very entertaining thank you
This video was actual snagging, understandable, digestible, and week or together! Thank you!
I found your channel, I like it, and just subscribed. Amazing story, and your voice is so calm and peaceful. Keep uploading ❤.
Awesome Job👏🏾👏🏾👏🏾
I enjoyed this narration! ASMR voice. 😌
👍⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐You are one of the most enjoyable story teller on TH-cam
Thanks for another fine video and education.
Wouldn’t Consort Wenxiu be Guifei? She’d ONLY be below the empress. How would her palace be so far away from the central palace?
"Puyi preferred the land way to the water way"
🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣
Thank you 😊
This video is a complement to the film The Last Emperor. Thanks
You’ve gained a new follower ❤.
💚✌🏽I seem to remember watching a similar video on TH-cam about this same topic.
Wan rong, ya wrong but wan empress, ya right 😅