''Twilight in the Forbidden City'' () is

Reginald Johnston Sir Reginald Fleming Johnston, ( zh, s=庄士敦爵士, p=Zhuāngshìdūn juéshì, "Sir Johnston"; 13 October 1874 – 6 March 1938) was a British diplomat who served as the tutor and advisor to Puyi, the last Emperor of China. He was also the ...

's 486-page memoir of the

Xuantong Emperor 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 ...

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-speak ...

. Johnston was tutor to the Emperor and an eyewitness to events in China in the 1920s and 1930s. Johnston was also a professor of Chinese at the

University of London The University of London (UoL; abbreviated as Lond or more rarely Londin in post-nominals) is a federal public research university located in London, England, United Kingdom. The university was established by royal charter in 1836 as a degree ...

as well as the British Commissioner of

Weihaiwei Weihai (), formerly called Weihaiwei (), is a prefecture-level city and major seaport in easternmost Shandong province. It borders Yantai to the west and the Yellow Sea to the east, and is the closest Chinese city to South Korea. Weihai's popula ...

Overview

''Twilight in the Forbidden City'' was prefaced by Puyi himself in the year 1931. Johnston provides a good deal of anecdotal material for the last days of the

Qing 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-speaki ...

court before the

1911 Revolution The 1911 Revolution, also known as the Xinhai Revolution or Hsinhai Revolution, ended China's last imperial dynasty, the Manchu-led Qing dynasty, and led to the establishment of the Republic of China. The revolution was the culmination of a d ...

. He knew many of the active players in those events, and his observations on the Qing court's political structure, and in particular the

Imperial Household Department The Imperial Household Department (; mnc, , v=dorgi baita be uheri kadalara yamun) was an institution of the Qing dynasty of China. Its primary purpose was to manage the internal affairs of the Qing imperial family and the activities of the inn ...

, are of historical significance. ''Twilight in the Forbidden City'' is a history of an entire period and not an exclusive portrait of the last emperor of China. The 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 ...

'' features the book. In the fourth impression, published in December 1934 by

Victor Gollancz Sir Victor Gollancz (; 9 April 1893 – 8 February 1967) was a British publisher and humanitarian. Gollancz was known as a supporter of left-wing causes. His loyalties shifted between liberalism and communism, but he defined himself as a Christ ...

Ltd., additional information such as the fully spread fan (pp. 448–9) was developed and some important parts of the history, such as the confinement of

Cao Kun General Cao Kun (; courtesy name: Zhongshan () (December 12, 1862 – May 15, 1938) was a Chinese warlord and politician, who served the President of the Republic of China from 1923 to 1924, as well as the military leader of the Zhili clique in ...

(p. 381) and

Kang Youwei Kang Youwei (; Cantonese: ''Hōng Yáuh-wàih''; 19March 185831March 1927) was a prominent political thinker and reformer in China of the late Qing dynasty. His increasing closeness to and influence over the young Guangxu Emperor spar ...

's escape from the country (p. 17), were reviewed for modification with "preface to the fourth impression" (p. 6) (Japanese translation; ).

Publication history

*Reginald F. Johnston, ''Twilight in the Forbidden City'', Victor Gollancz Ltd., 1934, 486 pp. *Reginald F. Johnston, ''Twilight in the Forbidden City'', Oxford University Press, 1985, 486 pp. *Reginald F. Johnston
in the Forbidden City'', Soul Care Publishing, 2008
488 pp. with bonus previously unpublished chapter. History books about China Qing dynasty Chinese memoirs 1934 non-fiction books Books about Beijing Books about Manchukuo {{memoir-stub