Puyi
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Puyi was the last emperor of China, reigning as the eleventh and final monarch of the Qing dynasty. He became emperor at the age of two in 1908, but was forced to abdicate in 1912 as a result of Xinhai Revolution at the age of six. During his first reign, he was known as the Xuantong Emperor, with his era name meaning "proclamation of unity".
1908 portrait
A 2-year-old Puyi, 1908
Puyi in 1908
Manchu Restoration
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The Manchu Restoration or Dingsi Restoration, also known as Zhang Xun Restoration, or Xuantong Restoration, was an attempt to restore the Chinese monarchy by General Zhang Xun, whose army seized Beijing and briefly reinstalled the last emperor of the Qing dynasty, Puyi, to the throne. The restoration lasted just less than two weeks, from July 1, 1917 to July 12, 1917, and was quickly reversed by Republican troops. Despite the uprising's popular name, almost all putschists were ethnic Han.
Republican troops fighting to retake the Forbidden City on July 12, 1917, after Zhang Xun’s attempted imperial restoration
Republican troops scaling the wall of the Forbidden City.
Monarchist supporters and spectators gather at the Temple of Heaven in Beijing during Zhang Xun's attempted restoration of the Qing dynasty.
Image: Zhangxun