#wanrong

Wanrong, the last impress of China

Emperor Puyi and Empress Wanrong in the Forbidden City, China, early 20th century.

In this photo every single person has swivelled themselves to look at the camera, except Wanrong, who is looking down seemingly dejected. The man to her second-left is even looking at her, perhaps noticing this.   

It is maybe the only photo that shows Wanrong’s sadness.  

Previously, before being booted out of the Forbidden City her life was much more glamorous. 

"I hear you're a more enlightened woman, I hope you do not treat me like everybody else. Maybe you've started feeling the distress. I am very lonely, no friends. Treat me like a friend. Can you promise me?" – Wanrong repeated, "Yes, I promise." trying to restrain her voice from shaking. "This is good," Puyi feels happy and bids goodbye to Wanrong, "Go rest and have a good evening.’‘ 

Wanrong had her own kitchen in the Palace of Gathered Elegance in the Forbidden City. She could order people to buy sauces, meat or any food at will.[25] One of her favourite meals was said to be dog meat.[22] As Puyi rarely visited her she often ate alone with a dozen dishes sprawled out on the table. Sun Yaoting, a eunuch recalled a conversation he had with Wanrong on such an occasion:

''Have you eaten, Chunshou? (name for Sun) Come let's eat together.''

''Your slave thanks the Empress.''

''Save your thanks.'' Wanrong seemed uninterested in etiquette.

''Your slave has just eaten.''

Styles of

Xuantong Empress

Reference style

Her Imperial Majesty

Spoken styleYour Imperial Majesty

Alternative styleEmpress Consort (Titular)

''What did you have?''

''Pies.''

''How many did you eat?''

''Seven.'' Sun Yaoting gestured. ''They were about this big, the size of a palm.''

''Go to the kitchen and tell them I'll have meat pies tomorrow.''

The following day the Imperial kitchen made meat pies with Wanrong offering some to Sun.

''Come and have some.''

''Come on have some more,'' she urged.

'''I'm full already.''

''Didn't you say you could eat seven?''

Sun hesitated. ''Your slave cannot eat so many because those pies have thin wrappings and plenty of meat.''

Wanrong giggled.

Sun felt uneasy, Wanrong was normally amiable and kind but sometimes burst into fits of temper which other eunuchs had warned him about. Wanrong had previously expelled a eunuch who was hard of hearing who had angered her.[26] He had to remain standing which made the situation further uncomfortable.[27]

Wanrong's brother said that the Empress rarely lost her temper and had respect for her servants and showed kindness to him, sending him chocolates while studying in Japan. He recalled: "Once, I went to see my sister to play, pointing to the eunuch next to us bowing, teasing my sister I said, "You say hit him." My sister, uncharacteristically, glared at me then said: "Didn't I tell you? Do not say this word, it's forbidden!" My sister often taught me through these little things to treat my subordinates with courtesy and respect."[28] At this time if someone spoke of beating a eunuch someone would quickly appear ready to hit them.[5] In another incident he recalled: "I remember once when I was a child eating Western food in the palace, I noticed that the eunuchs served everyone's food on the left side, but put mine on the right side. I felt very uncomfortable, so I said to the eunuch: it should be served on the left! When the eunuch heard that, he immediately changed the position. At this point, my sister said: ''You just make do with it.'' She thought that I was too picky and that the eunuch should not be embarrassed by this small matter."[5]

Once when she was dining alone she let two eunuchs have some oxtail soup. Sun further asked for some bread. Wanrong handed over a bun. Sun cheekily asked where the jam was with Wanrong responding, ''You really know how to enjoy yourself, don't you?'' Wanrong laughed. After the meal it was Sun's job to prepare a fruit plate. One day Zhao Xingshen accused Sun of stealing some apples. Zhao Xingshen told Wanrong: ''Chunshou has stolen some apples!'' with Sun saying: ''A few apples were rotten and I picked them out.'' ''Do you call that stealing?'' Zhao Xingshen replied: ''Whatever you call it, some apples are missing!'' Wanrong burst out laughing and emptied the fruits on the floor telling them to ''come and eat them all!'' with Sun picking one up, wiping it with his sleeve and eating it. Several other eunuchs then came over to pick some up which the Empress found hysterical.[29] Once in the evening when Wanrong retired to the bedchamber where her head adornments were removed by a lady-in-waiting she went to the main hall and sent for all her servants. Sun was told to bring out the imported sweets and dispersed them on the floor. ''This is all for you!'' Wanrong said. She watched as the servants quickly picked them up. ''These foreign sweets are very expensive, at least six or seven silver dollars a jin,'' she remarked. The sweets were actually much less expensive as Wanrong had no idea how the Accounting Office falsified accounts and cheated the imperial family out of their money.[30] Wanrong's friendly behaviour to ''lowly'' servants may be in part explained by the fact they were often the only people to keep her company.[31]

Wanrong and

Wenxiu

in the Forbidden City

There’s a scene from Bernardo Bertolucci’s The Last Emperor in which Wenxiu (Wu Jun Mei), the second wife of the recently exiled emperor, tells her husband Puyi (John Lone) that she wants a divorce. “I do not want to be your mistress any longer,” she declares in the back of their chauffeured sedan while seated next to Puyi’s first wife, Wanrong (Joan Chen). Both women are shown draped in furs, each clutching their respective lap dogs. Later, we see Wenxiu make good on this threat as she walks out the front door of their European-style house and into the rain without an attendant or even an umbrella. It is a brief moment of triumph in the otherwise unhappy biopic.

The last empress of China, Wanrong and her brother 

On the left, the Wanrong, Empress Consort of China (13 November 1906 – 20 June 1946) source