Tilight in the Forbidden City [Paperback]

Johnson's account of the last years of the Chinese Qing dynasty provides a unique Western perspective on this historic period.This work is the record of Johnston's time spent in Beijing between 1919 and 1924, where he served as tutor to Aisin-Gioro Puyi, the last emperor of China. As a foreigner, Johnston had unprecedented access to the imperial palace. He provides a unique Western perspective on this tumultuous period.This work is the record of Johnston's time spent in Beijing between 1919 and 1924, where he served as tutor to Aisin-Gioro Puyi, the last emperor of China. As a foreigner, Johnston had unprecedented access to the imperial palace. He provides a unique Western perspective on this tumultuous period.British academic and diplomat Reginald Fleming Johnston (18741938) published Twilight in the Forbidden City in 1934. The work is a memoir of Johnston's time in Beijing between 1919 and 1924, at the court of the Qing Dynasty, where he served as tutor to Aisin-Gioro Puyi (19061967), last emperor of China. Johnston was one of only two foreigners who were permitted to enter the imperial palace, and so his account provides a unique Western perspective on the epochal events of the period. The work has a preface by the emperor Puyi and includes detailed descriptions of palace rituals, including Puyi's wedding ceremony; translations of key documents; Johnston's perspective on the revolution of 1911 and the 1917 restoration; his observations on Chinese society as a whole; and eye-witness accounts of the political intrigues of the palace. The memoir was dramatised in Bernardo Bertolucci's cinematic masterpiece, The Last Emperor.Introduction; Preface; 1. The Reform Movement of 1898; 2. The collapse of the Reform Movement; 3. Reaction and the Boxer Movement, 18981901; 4. The last years of Kuang-Hs?, 19011908; 5. The Empress-Dowager, T`z?-Hsi; 6. The Revolution, 1911; 7. The 'Articles of Favourable Treatment' of the Manchu Imperial House; 8. The Ta Ch`ing and the Hung l­