Tan Yuling. The Biography of Li Yuqin: Two Noblewomen of Manchukuo

Author: Wang Qingxiang
Publisher:
Publish Date: 2006-05-01
Features:
1. The "Emperor of the Pass" Puyi's "passing the eastern pass" was originally intended to restore the Qing Dynasty's realm with the identity of an emperor,'s military force. Unintentionally, he fell into a trap and became a puppet in the hands of Eastern warriors, becoming a monkey being played for fun. In the era when anti-Japanese flames were burning across the white mountains and black waters, Puyi went from being the chief executive of Manchukuo to the "Emperor Kangde," holding an increasingly large position while managing fewer and fewer affairs. According to Puyi's self-account①, in the early years of Manchukuo, there were few restrictions on ministers or other officials visiting the palace "for an audience." Later, the situation changed. "Imperial Household Executive Officer" Yoshikawa Yasuda stood at the gate of the "palace" with wide eyes, allowing only the "Premier" and the "President of the Council of State" to enter weekly for reports on the "political situation" with no real substance. No one else was allowed in. As a result, the only official duties of the emperor for Puyi were the ceremonial "formal audiences," attending "special appointment ceremonies" or various "ceremonies," and "approving" the false policies and laws passed by the Manchukuo Cabinet and the Council of State. The policies and laws presented to Puyi were decided and secretly submitted to the commander-in-chief of the Kwantung Army for approval at the "Tuesday Meeting"② organized by the chief of the General Affairs Bureau of Manchukuo, and then formally discussed and passed by the Manchukuo Cabinet and Council of State. Puyi could only draw "approval" and could not object. Under these circumstances, Puyi gradually became lazy about going to Q?? Building for work and spent the entire morning sleeping in Jilin Building. Upon waking, he would sit on the toilet in the bathroom and draw "approval." "It was almost unnecessary to even look at the content, and it was also unnecessary to look, because even if you looked, it would be a waste of time and effort for your eyes"③. After drawing, he would casually throw it away, and his attendants would pick up each one from the floor one by one. This "working" method was clearly a passive reflection of Puyi's unwillingness to be manipulated, but in fact, Puyi had also actively acted to seize sovereignty. In August 1932, taking advantage of the change in the commander-in-chief of the Kwantung Army, Hu Siyuan gave Puyi a suggestion to propose to the newly appointed General Isogai Nobuyoshi to reduce the political authority of the chief of the General Affairs Bureau so that the ministers of Manchukuo could be responsible for their respective departments. Puyi followed through, spoke to him in person, and then handed over a written document to Isogai. As a result, Hu Siyuan was transferred away from Puyi's side④, and the authority of the chief of the General Affairs Bureau not only did not decrease but was actually expanded in the institutional reform in July 1937, changing the chief of the General Affairs Bureau to the chief of the General Affairs, who was originally under the direct subordination of the premier of the state affairs, and now the only assistant to the premier of the cabinet, with the power to act on behalf of the cabinet, essentially becoming a person with the highest actual power who supervised and controlled all departments and local offices of Manchukuo. As the "emperor," Puyi was not only powerless against this but also had to receive a blunt lesson from the Kwantung Army commander-in-chief, the "emperor" of Manchukuo, on how to be a good puppet. They told Puyi that the political system of "Manchukuo" implemented the "Premier Responsibility" system (in reality, the system of the chief of the General Affairs Bureau or the chief of the General Affairs), and the "emperor" should adopt the attitude of "remaining high above and governing without effort," not interfering or amending the resolutions or laws passed by the "cabinet" and "Council of State" (in reality, the resolutions or laws passed by the "Tuesday Meeting"), which was precisely the "cultivation of imperial virtue."