On September 18, 1959, a prisoner was listening intently to the radio in the Fushun War Criminals Management Center in Liaoning Province. Suddenly, there was an uproar in the crowd! It turned out that the broadcaster was reading a statement about amnesty for war criminals.
Since then, there has been a lot of talk in the crowd, all speculating whether he will be one of the people who have been amnestied. If not, then who will it be?
No one in this crowded war prison noticed that a thin man with glasses was sitting silently in the corner, unwilling to speak.
He had been in this war criminals management center for ten years, had no freedom for the first half of his life, and now he longed for freedom more than anyone else. However, he knew deep down that his sins were too great to be easily pardoned.
However, since hearing the news of the amnesty, he can't help but wonder, will there be himself? And this person who desperately wants to be pardoned is none other than the last emperor of the Qing Dynasty, Aixin Jueluo-Puyi.
In 1912, 6-year-old Pu Yi was forced to abdicate by Yuan Shikai. However, his life did not change in any way with the loss of the throne. ** Set aside 4 million taels a year as maintenance for Pu Yi to ensure that he lives a carefree life in the Forbidden City.
There are people in the palace who serve his diet and daily life, and even have a group of concubines to accompany him. However, the good times were short-lived. In 1924, Pu Yi was forced to flee the palace and go to Tianjin.
After that, he traveled to the northeast, came under the control of the Japanese military, and once again ascended the throne of "emperor". However, this "emperor" has no real power, and is only a "prop" and puppet used by the Japanese side in building a puppet Manchurian regime.
With the victory of the War of Resistance Against Japan, the position of Pu Yi, a puppet emperor, became more and more unstable. When he tried to flee from Shenyang to Japan, he was captured by the Soviet Red Army, became a war criminal, and was sent to the Soviet Union.
There he spent five years. After the founding of the People's Republic of China, the Soviet Union handed him over to China and sent him to the Fushun War Criminals Management Institute in Liaoning Province for ideological transformation.
Pu Yi is now 40 years old, and despite his life of displacement, he has always lived a life of luxury and meticulous personal care. Despite being regarded as a "puppet" during his time in Japan, Pu Yi was not wronged in any way.
During the Soviet era, he was even arranged to live in a single-family villa, where he was served four sumptuous meals a day, including Russian meals and Western specialties. In addition, the servant was required to kneel down to him.
However, this feudal behavior aroused the dissatisfaction of the Fushun War Criminals Management Center, believing that this way of life could not achieve the effect of transformation. So, they decided to remove his retinue first.
This decision made Pu Yi very anxious, and he begged the administrator not to let his entourage go, because he had never left them, and without them, he could not survive.
As the times changed, the whole people advocated self-reliance, so Pu Yi's servants were asked to leave. This forced him to start taking care of the day-to-day affairs on his own. Surprisingly, however, Pu Yi's over-reliance on aristocratic attendant services led to the lack of basic life skills at the age of 40, such as tying shoes, putting on socks, and doing laundry.
Considering his actual situation, the staff of the management center can only teach him these basic life skills by hand.
Although life skills can barely cope with it, the experience of emptying the toilet and the public bathhouse on duty is too much for Pu Yi to bear. The triviality and disrespect of emptying the toilet bowl made him feel deeply humiliated; And the chaos and filth of the public bathhouse made him feel scared and nervous every time he took a bath.
His "imperial majesty" is completely subverted in both contexts, making him feel that his dignity is being ruthlessly trampled on. Therefore, he always rushed into the bathhouse before everyone else, and after a quick shower, he quickly escaped, as if in doing so he would protect his dignity from being violated.
In the long-term transformation life, he gradually let go of the attachment in his heart and realized that he, like countless Chinese, is an ordinary worker. After the change of thinking, he began to write his autobiography "The First Half of My Life", in which he wrote: I have been high above for forty years, and I have fallen into the ordinary overnight, always unacceptable, angry, and wronged.
However, although my position has collapsed, the ruler in my heart is still there. The reason why I was able to understand this truth was because I met people who couldn't measure it with my ruler.
Under the guidance of the change of thinking, Pu Yi's attitude gradually became positive. In 1955, General ** and *** came to visit him at the Fushun War Criminals Center. During the chat, ** and *** said to Pu Yi: "You will definitely come out early in the future, and you will see the real situation of socialist construction." ”
This kind of encouragement has always inspired Pu Yi, and he hopes to see the new social landscape outside as soon as possible, so he is more active in accepting the transformation. One day in December 1959, the Fushun War Criminals Management Center hung up a red and eye-catching slogan: "Fushun War Criminals Management Center Amnesty Conference." ”
Subsequently, the people of the war criminals prison were all gathered together, and after a concise opening statement, the vice president of the Liaoning Provincial Supreme Court began to announce the amnesty list. At this time, Pu Yi sat in the crowd full of anticipation and uneasiness, until he heard the first name read out by the vice dean: "Ai Xin Jue Luo Pu Yi." ”
He froze in place, both happy and unbelievable that this was true, until his younger brother Pu Jie, who was sitting in the back, reminded him to come to the stage, and he reacted: This amnesty has really happened.
The moment he received the amnesty, he burst into tears. Previously, he seemed ready to spend the rest of his life in this war criminal rehabilitation facility. After all, in ancient and modern times, when almost all the last emperors were facing the fate of execution, he not only got the opportunity to participate in the ideological transformation, but also gained freedom.
And all of this is thanks to ***'s deep care. He once urged Pu Yi's last imperial uncle Zaitao to visit Pu Yi in the war criminals' center, and when he learned that Zaitao did not dare to contact the war criminal Pu Yi, he laughed and said: "We are exterminating the exploiting class, not individuals.
People in your family should move around often, help each other, and work together to transform. However, at that time, Pu Yi felt deeply sinful, and he didn't dare to imagine when he would be able to become a "newcomer" in his mouth.
Therefore, when Pu Yi received the amnesty order, he was full of gratitude and took the initiative to write a letter of thanks, in which he especially thanked *** and the new communist society, and said that he would do his best to contribute to New China.
After the amnesty, Pu Yi chose to return to Beijing after more than 30 years of absence, and the prime minister has always been concerned about his future life and work. On the first Chinese New Year's Eve after the amnesty, ** invited Pu Yi to spend it in advance, and when they met, he took the initiative to stand up, warmly held Pu Yi's hand, and expressed greetings.
This kind gesture brought great comfort to Pu Yi's soul. During the dinner, the two men met for three hours. In order to help Pu Yi find a suitable job, the prime minister not only researched Pu Yi's cultural background, read his autobiography, but also asked him in detail about his interests and hobbies, and listened to his opinions on work.
**I heard Pu Yi mention that he has a strong interest in medicine, has read a lot of medical books, and practiced in a war criminal camp, and wants to become a doctor. ** Shaking his head, he said, "Although you have read a lot of medical books, if you do not have deep medical knowledge and experience, I advise you not to treat people."
Because, it is a good thing to be a patient, but once it is inappropriate, it will attract gossip, which is not good. After listening to this, Pu Yi accepted ***'s suggestion.
Under the arrangement of ***, Pu Yi found a new job in the Beijing Botanical Garden, which allowed him to relax and study. Due to his physical condition, his working hours were also deliberately shortened so that he had more time to rest or go out into the city.
Pu Yi likes this job very much, and he often sighs about ***'s concern for him. However, at this time, he didn't know that in fact, *** was also concerned about him.
On the eve of the Spring Festival in 1962, Pu Yi learned that *** offered to invite him, which made him feel panicked. ** is the head of state, it is he who led the people to liberate the whole of China, and he himself was once the sinner of this country through the ages.
However, when he plucked up the courage to come to the banquet venue, as soon as he entered the door, he found that there were several old-timers attending the banquet. After seeing Pu Yi coming, he took the initiative to step forward and hold his hand, and introduced everyone enthusiastically with a smile, saying, "This is Pu Yi."
The former Emperor Xuantong, we are all his people, our top bosses. The humorous opening of * immediately dispelled Pu Yi's doubts and made everyone laugh at the banquet.
In fact, the purpose of **'s banquet is to help Pu Yi unravel the knots he has been holding for a long time. **I have read the autobiography of "The First Half of My Life" written by Pu Yi, but I can't stand it after reading half of the chairman.
** Think, Pu Yi wrote himself too badly. He took all the blame for himself, and what he said was "sinful" was not objective. Those bad things have happened, but they are all historical problems, and they are caused by social influences.
Finally, tell Pu Yi not to be stressed. These warm words made Pu Yi cry instantly, and it was at this moment that Pu Yi really understood the wisdom and broad-mindedness of ***.
At the banquet, ** asked Pu Yi about his physical condition and marriage with concern, and said humorously: "Everyone here is an elder, you are the youngest one, I heard that you are still single, you can find someone to introduce you to a partner, and live a good life." ”
Pu Yi nodded in gratitude and smiled in agreement. Later, he was introduced by Prime Minister ***, met **Li Shuxian, and married her.
For Pu Yi, who has always lacked family warmth, this is undoubtedly a light in his life and brings him a home of love.
When *** heard that Pu Yi's salary was only 180 yuan, he was a little surprised. So, he presented Pu Yi with his manuscript fee through others. Pu Yi was deeply touched by this, he had always felt that he was a sinner, but now he had received so much care and love, that he even began to wonder if his past misfortunes were real.
Later, considering Pu Yi's intellectual base, he thought that his work in the botanical garden was overkill. Therefore, considering his knowledge of the Imperial Palace, ** arranged him into the Cultural and Historical Committee of the National Committee of the Chinese People's Political Consultative Conference as a cultural and historical commissioner.
This arrangement surprised Pu Yi immensely, because he knew that it was the most suitable job for him. Therefore, Pu Yi put all his energy into the work he loved, and became an expert in supplementing the cultural and historical materials of the Forbidden City.
In 1967, Pu Yi's condition deteriorated day by day due to uremia, and although he tried his best to send people to treat him, he still could not survive the autumn of that year, and on October 17, 1967, he left the position of commissioner of culture and history that he loved deeply, and left the *** and *** that he was grateful for all his life