Last Successor of Last Emperor in China
I watched a very interesting TV documentary last night. Maybe, Lunar New Year is getting near for Chinese, though Japan seldom celebrates it nowadays.
As depicted in a movie titled “Last Emperor,” Ching (Qing) Dynasty ended 1912 as the last classic empire in China.
The last emperor of Qing died in 1967 in People’s Republic of China. He had no children.
But, he had one brother who married a daughter of a Japanese noble clan and had two daughters, one of whom is still alive in Japan with her children and grandchildren.
Put simply, the family line of Emperor of Qing has become part of Japanese population of today.
However, it often happens that people fled from war-torn regions in China and Korea to Japan since ancient ages. Some precious works of art and literature also fled ancient China and Korea to Japan where those works have been well cherished and preserved while originals were lost in those countries.
Qing was not established by Han people, majority of Chinese, but by Manchu who might be rather related to Mongolians. But, today, Mancuh seem to be completely absorbed by the majority of Chinese.
As the last Emperor of Qing had no children, his younger brother might have been expected to succeed him; nonetheless, the younger brother, too, had no boys. The dynasty was destined to finish.
The TV documentary showed the brother of Last Emperor in his last days in Beijing with his Japanese wife. He died in 1994.
He was good at calligraphy. His last work was also introduced. Apart from difference in style among Manchu, Chinese, and Japanese, its meaning is clear. The possible true Last Emperor praised two things, each in China and Japan, during his last days in this world.
First, the Great Wall of China, which was built to fend off invasion on China by Mongolians as well as Manchu but overcome by founders of Qing Dynasty.
And, Mt. Fuji in Japan where he once had been trained in a military academy of Empire of Japan.
If Americans had one great wall running from the East Coast to the West Coast, they should be more proud. And, if they could observe the world’s most elegant volcano from New York City or Washington D.C. just like from Tokyo, they should feel more honored.
However, it is also a fact that neither Japan nor China can enjoy the both all together.
“LIVING IN REVERENCE FOR GOD”