Fan presented by Henry Puyi, the last Emperor of China, to his tutor Sir Reginald Johnston (MS 381195)
MS381195 : Fan presented by Henry Puyi, the last Emperor of China, to his tutor Sir Reginald Johnston.
稿件编号 381195 : 扇子.
Black and gold paper fan bearing an inscription of 1930 and the Imperial Seal of Xuantong (1909-1912). One side of the fan contains two poems from the Han dynasty (207BCE-220CE): xing xing chong xing xing & bu chu cheng dong men. Both poems are about departure and separation and were transcribe...
| Full title: |
Fan presented by Henry Puyi, the last Emperor of China, to his tutor Sir Reginald Johnston (MS 381195) [electronic resource]. |
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| Alternative titles: |
MS381195 : Fan presented by Henry Puyi, the last Emperor of China, to his tutor Sir Reginald Johnston. 稿件编号 381195 : 扇子. |
| Other authors: | Puyi, Henry.., Puyi, 1906-1967., 溥仪, 1906-1967., 溥儀, 1906-1967. |
| Format: | Physical Object |
| Language: | Chinese |
| Published: |
c1930 = 大约1930年.
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| Series: |
SOAS Digital Library.
REGIONS. FORMATS. ARTE. REAS. ILOAA. IASC. |
| Subjects: | |
| Online access: |
Electronic Resource Click here to view record |
| Summary: |
Black and gold paper fan bearing an inscription of 1930 and the Imperial Seal of Xuantong (1909-1912). One side of the fan contains two poems from the Han dynasty (207BCE-220CE): xing xing chong xing xing & bu chu cheng dong men. Both poems are about departure and separation and were transcribed by the Emperor himself. The other side of the fan depicts a golden image of a settlement. (From SOAS Archives and Special Collections blog.) “With its striking landscape picture in gold, this black fan bears an inscription of the Imperial Seal of Xuantong (1909-1912). Xuantong, better known as Puyi (1906-1967), the last Emperor of China, was tutored by an outstanding sinologist called Sir Reginald Fleming Johnston (1874-1938). ----- Johnston’s first encounter with 13-year-old Puyi was in 1919. By this time, Puyi had been living an isolated existence for over 10 years. Many books about Johnston show that he was incredibly fond of Puyi and influenced him in many ways. ----- After Johnston returned to U.K, he became one of the first Professors of Chinese at the School of Oriental Studies, teaching between 1931 and 1937. His friendship with Puyi was unknown to the world until Johnston published “Twilight in the Forbidden City” in 1934. Much later, their friendship drew public attention again when Bernardo Bertolucci made the film “The Last Emperor” in 1987, in which Peter O’Toole portrayed Johnston. ----- This fan was given to Johnston by the Emperor Puyi as a farewell gift on 15th September 1930, just before Johnston returned to the U.K. In “Twilight in the Forbidden City” Johnston said that the Emperor had personally inscribed the calligraphy of the two Chinese farewell poems. Without a doubt, this fan was one of Johnston’s proudest possessions. Johnston passed away in 1938. ----- The fan displays two poems, “Xing Xing Chong Xing Xing (行行重行行)” & “Bu Chu Chen Dong Men (步出城東門)” from Chinese classical literature in Han dynasty (207BCE – 220 BC). The year “庚午”(1930) and “志道師傅書” were inscribed on the fan sealed with the Imperial Seal of Xuantong. “志道” is Johnston’s pseudonym and “ 師傅” means teacher, tutor, master. ----- Puyi had a difficult life as a participant and a victim of the rapidly changing history of modern China. He implicated Johnston at the war crime trials of 1946, and portrayed him as a villain in his autobiography “From Emperor to citizen”, claiming he had lured him away from all that was best in Chinese culture and toward Western Imperialism. His motives for this are still unsure, but it is clear that Puyi’s last gift to Johnston not only captures the sorrow of a young man losing his beloved friend, but also the frustration of an Emperor watching his country change dramatically.” ----- (Jiyeon Wood, Subject Librarian for Arts and Multi-Media, SOAS, University of London)" |
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| Other authors: | Puyi, Henry.., Puyi, 1906-1967., 溥仪, 1906-1967., 溥儀, 1906-1967. |
| Language: | Chinese |
| Published: |
c1930 = 大约1930年.
|
| Subjects: | |
| Series: |
SOAS Digital Library.
REGIONS. FORMATS. ARTE. REAS. ILOAA. IASC. |
| Production Credits: |
Catalogued by LM and JW, January 2014. |
| Access: |
[cc by-nc] This item is licensed with the Creative Commons Attribution Non-Commercial License. |