The farmer and mechanic., 1909-09-14
CHINA'S BABY EMPEROR
By Frank G.. Carpenter.
ALL ABOUT LITTLE PU VI, THE
RULER OF FOUR HUNDRED
MILLIONS.

the Raby's Attendants-His Educa-
uon-The Eunuchs and Their Head
Boss-Sometling About the New
Empress Do.yager Or Pu Yi's Adopt
ed Mother.
Peking 19O9.-Under the shadow
of the Pink Forbidden City, so near
its yellow palaces that I can almost
Ihear the almond-eyed nurses sing
ing their 1ullabies. 1 write Of little
Pu Vi, the baby ruler Of China. OF
all the children on earth he ranks
first in Importance. He has under
him a country larger than Europe,
and his subjects are one-fCurth OF
mankind. They worship him as
heavens own son. and from now on
the oldest and highest officials Will
fremain on their knees in his presence.
He is so holy that the house in which
he was born has been given up by his
parents. and according to custom it
can be used only as a temple here
after.
Little Pu Vi is too sacred for his
own mother to have charge of him.
He has been taken away from her,
and given over to the care Of the
new empress dowager, that is. to the
wife Of Kwang Su. who died last No
enter the palace except by permis
sion, and the only way she see
her own baby is by calling upon the
dowager and asking to have him
brought into her presence. If the
doWager consents the eunuchs will
carry the message to the imperial
nurses and they will trot in Pu vi
am told that his majesty cried
much upon his accession He was
then three years Old as the Chinese
reckon such things. He was only two
years by our accounting, and like
most Manchu children of that age,
was still being nursed by his mother.
When they tore him away he howled
like a young satyr, and the eunuchs
and other palace officials were in
despair. They published a notice ask
ing for twenty-five Manchu wet
nurses. These were straightway
brought to the palace. They were
examined as to their age, beauty and
health by the imperial physicians, and
as a result the emperor's cries were
soon drowned in milk.
How Pu vi Gets His Job.
But let me tell you how little Pu
III comes to be ruler of this great
Chinese empire. I call him Pu Vi,
although since his accession. his name
has been changed to the more digni-
fed imperial title, Hsuan Tung. But
Pu vi is more baby like, and it
brings US closer to the little one as
from his parents. It was his milk
name given just a month after birth.
Before that he was known as "the
little one" and as baby or ''darl-
ing" At the age Of one month his
head was shaved and he was known
as Pu vi. The hair has since grown
and it is now braided in four long
plaits which stand out like tails on
the different sides of his head.
); The Vi, or the last part of the
name is that which distinguishes him
from the other children Of the same
generation Of the imperial family.
According to precedent and the un-
written law of the country the en-
perors should run in one long unin-
terrupted succession from father to
son If there are no sons, the chill
.dren of other princes are adopted
to take their places, and this is the
case with Pu Vi. Kwang Su had no
children, so just before dying the
Eedict that Pu vi should be regarded
as the adopted son Of Kwang Su and
heir to the throne. This was done,
1notwi t1asstanding Prince Chun, little
OF the emperor, Kwang Su, was still
living, and that in any other coun-
try he would have been Kwang's sue
cessor. The baby emperor is thus
really the nephew Of the last emperor
but he is his son by adoption.
Pu vi is the great-grandson Of the
Emperor Tao Kwang, who ruled
China from 1921 to 1850. Ills grand
father by adoption was Emperor
Hsien Feng, who married the great
EMPRESS uoWaSer' OIL Whon1 Hu "
in his edicts now speaks Of as his
"hOlv grandmother
How Pu vi Was Crowned.
I was in Peking when Pu vi was
crowned. The ceremonies took place
inside the Pink Forbidden City. and
only the highest officials of China
were present. The baby was brought
forth and made to go through the
rites fixed for the occasion. Some Of
the requirements he could only per-
form by proxy, but word was sent
out over the country giving his i'm
perlal actions, and according to the
publications he acted as young man
rather than a baby. He was really
carried into the throne room in the
arms Of his father. Prince Chun who