Chen Baochen (; 1848–1935), was a Chinese official during late
Qing era, hailing from
Fuzhou,
Fujian
Fujian (; alternately romanized as Fukien or Hokkien) is a province on the southeastern coast of China. Fujian is bordered by Zhejiang to the north, Jiangxi to the west, Guangdong to the south, and the Taiwan Strait to the east. Its cap ...
province in southeast/coastal China. During the last years of the
Qing dynasty
The Qing dynasty ( ), officially the Great Qing,, was a Manchu-led imperial dynasty of China and the last orthodox dynasty in Chinese history. It emerged from the Later Jin dynasty founded by the Jianzhou Jurchens, a Tungusic-spea ...
, he served as sub-chancellor in the
Grand Secretariat and as vice minister of the
Ministry of Rites
The Ministry or Board of Rites was one of the Six Ministries of government in late imperial China. It was part of the imperial Chinese government from the Tang (7th century) until the 1911 Xinhai Revolution. Along with religious rituals and cour ...
(礼部侍郎). Following the collapse of the imperial order and the establishment of the
Republic of China in 1912, he remained loyal to the Qing dynasty and served as tutor and adviser of the former emperor,
Puyi
Aisin-Gioro Puyi (; 7 February 1906 – 17 October 1967), courtesy name Yaozhi (曜之), was the last emperor of China as the eleventh and final Qing dynasty monarch. He became emperor at the age of two in 1908, but was forced to abdicate on 1 ...
, who was allowed to stay in the
Forbidden City
The Forbidden City () is a palace complex in Dongcheng District, Beijing, China, at the center of the Imperial City of Beijing. It is surrounded by numerous opulent imperial gardens and temples including the Zhongshan Park, the sacrifi ...
for more than thirteen years under the "
Articles of Favorable Treatment." In 1917, Chen supported the
Manchu Restoration
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 las ...
, the loyalist general
Zhang Xun's abortive attempt to restore the Qing dynasty. Chen Baochen continued to serve Puyi after he was finally expelled from the Forbidden City in 1924, but unlike his rival
Zheng Xiaoxu
Zheng Xiaoxu (Cheng Hsiao-hsu; ; Hepburn: ''Tei Kōsho'') (2 April 1860 – 28 March 1938) was a Chinese statesman, diplomat and calligrapher. He served as the first Prime Minister of Manchukuo.
Early life and diplomatic career
Although Zhe ...
, he refused to collaborate in the establishment of
Manchukuo.
Victor Wong portrayed Chen in the 1987 feature film, ''
The Last Emperor
''The Last Emperor'' ( it, L'ultimo imperatore) is a 1987 epic biographical drama film about the life of Puyi, the final Emperor of China. It is directed by Bernardo Bertolucci from a screenplay he co-wrote with Mark Peploe, which was adapted ...
''.
Further reading
*Aisin-Gioro Puyi. ''From Emperor to Citizen: The Autobiography of Aisin-Gioro Pu Yi.'' Translated by
W.J.F. Jenner. Peking: Foreign Languages Press, 2002. .
External links
Calligraphy by Chen BaochenBaoChen Chen's calligraphic couplet
{{DEFAULTSORT:Chen, Baochen
Qing dynasty politicians from Fujian
Politicians from Fuzhou
Imperial tutors in Qing dynasty
1848 births
1935 deaths