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Li Shuxian (; 4 September 1924 – 9 June 1997), was the fifth and last wife of Puyi, the last emperor of the
In the early eighties, she sought and received legal ownership of royalties from Puyi's autobiography from the government of China.
Under the approval of the government, she moved Puyi's ashes closer to his ancestors in the Western Qing Tombs (清西陵) from the Babaoshan Revolutionary Cemetery, allowing the last Qing Emperor to rest alongside his predecessors at last. She died of lung cancer at the age of 72. It had been Puyi's desire to be buried alongside Li as well as his first concubine Tan Yuling (潭玉齡). Li was firmly against this arrangement, stating that she had given Puyi enough of her time and energy in life.
Li's memoirs were published posthumously under the title ''Modai Huangdi Puyi yu wo'' (). The author, Wang Qingxiang (), compiled oral interviews with Li Shuxian, along with those of others close to Puyi in his later years, to retell their marriage and family life. Li is sometimes credited as a coauthor of the book.
Qing dynasty
The Qing dynasty ( ), officially the Great Qing, was a Manchu-led Dynasties of China, imperial dynasty of China and an early modern empire in East Asia. The last imperial dynasty in Chinese history, the Qing dynasty was preceded by the ...
in China
China, officially the People's Republic of China (PRC), is a country in East Asia. With population of China, a population exceeding 1.4 billion, it is the list of countries by population (United Nations), second-most populous country after ...
.
Biography
Li was ethnicHan Chinese
The Han Chinese, alternatively the Han people, are an East Asian people, East Asian ethnic group native to Greater China. With a global population of over 1.4 billion, the Han Chinese are the list of contemporary ethnic groups, world's la ...
and orphaned by the age of 14. After three years in foster care, her foster mother attempted to enter her into concubinage with a wealthy man. Li refused, and ran away to Beijing to become a hospital worker. In 1959, after ten years in prison, Puyi was pardoned. The pair were introduced to one another by a friend in 1962 and wed that same year. Premier Zhou Enlai approved their marriage. It was Li's third marriage, and Puyi's fifth. They had no children. She remained with Puyi to his last days.
After her husband's death, Li retired from public life. She was not a regular hospital employee, but supplemented her income with a special stipend from the government that gave her a degree of financial stability.
In the early eighties, she sought and received legal ownership of royalties from Puyi's autobiography from the government of China.
Under the approval of the government, she moved Puyi's ashes closer to his ancestors in the Western Qing Tombs (清西陵) from the Babaoshan Revolutionary Cemetery, allowing the last Qing Emperor to rest alongside his predecessors at last. She died of lung cancer at the age of 72. It had been Puyi's desire to be buried alongside Li as well as his first concubine Tan Yuling (潭玉齡). Li was firmly against this arrangement, stating that she had given Puyi enough of her time and energy in life.
Li's memoirs were published posthumously under the title ''Modai Huangdi Puyi yu wo'' (). The author, Wang Qingxiang (), compiled oral interviews with Li Shuxian, along with those of others close to Puyi in his later years, to retell their marriage and family life. Li is sometimes credited as a coauthor of the book.
References
{{DEFAULTSORT:Li, Shuxian 1924 births 1997 deaths Chinese nurses Deaths from lung cancer in China