#wenxiu

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 Concubine

This is a Chinese historical drama following the tragic life of the Imperial consort Wenxiu of Emperor Puyi, the last Emperor of the Qing Dynasty. She was the only concubine to have divorced an emperor, demoting herself to a commoner, and dying at 43.

Shui Ling as Concubine Wenxiu

Li Yapeng as Emperor Puyi