Pujie

Pujie (Chinese: 溥傑; 16 April 1907 – 28 February 1994) was an imperial prince of the Qing dynasty belonging to the Aisin-Gioro clan. He was the younger brother of Puyi, the last Emperor of China. His Manchu name was ᡦᡠ ᡤᡳᠶᡝ (Pu-giye), with the courtesy name Junzhi and the art name Bingfan, the latter inspired by Zeng Guofan, with the meaning "live up to (the legacy of Zeng Guo)fan."

Pujie was born in 1907 in what was then the Qing dynasty. He was the second son of Zaifeng, Prince Chun, and his primary consort, Youlan. During childhood, he resided in the Forbidden City in Beijing, where he played with and was a classmate of his brother, Puyi. An incident from childhood involves Puyi throwing a tantrum upon seeing that the lining of Pujie’s coat was yellow, a color traditionally reserved for the emperor.

In 1929, Pujie traveled to Japan and received education at the Gakushūin Peers' School, becoming fluent in Japanese. He further attended the Imperial Japanese Army Academy, graduating in July 1935.

In 1924, Pujie married a Manchu noblewoman from the Tatara clan, Tang Shixia, but they had no children. The marriage was later dissolved after Pujie moved to Japan. Subsequently, Pujie entered into an arranged marriage with Hiro Saga, a Japanese noblewoman related to the Japanese imperial family. The engagement occurred at the Manchukuo embassy in Tokyo on 2 February 1937, with the wedding held on 3 April at Kudanzaka, Tokyo. The couple then moved to Xinjing, the capital of Manchukuo, where Puyi was the reigning emperor.

While in Manchukuo, Pujie was regarded as first in line to succeed his brother as emperor due to his status as the heir presumptive, despite traditional Qing succession customs which typically favored a child of the reigning emperor. He was appointed honorary head of the Manchukuo Imperial Guards and briefly returned to Japan in 1944 to attend the Army Staff College.

During the Soviet invasion of Manchuria in August 1945, Pujie initially attempted to escape to Japan with Puyi but ultimately returned to Xinjing to surrender the city to the Republic of China forces. He was captured by Soviet forces and detained in prison camps in Chita and Khabarovsk. Pujie remained in Soviet custody for approximately five years and was extradited to the People's Republic of China in 1950 amid Sino-Soviet rapprochement.

Following his return to China, Pujie was detained at the Fushun War Criminals Management Centre in Liaoning. He was considered a model prisoner and was eventually pardoned and released in 1960. After release, he joined the Chinese Communist Party and held various official positions, including serving as a deputy at the 5th National People's Congress in 1978 and as Vice Chairman of the Nationalities Committee of the 6th Congress in 1983. In 1985, he was appointed Deputy Head of the China–Japan Friendship Group, and in 1988, he was a member of the Presidium of the 7th Congress.

Pujie was also involved as a technical adviser for the 1987 film "The Last Emperor." He was awarded an honorary Doctor of Law degree by Ritsumeikan University in 1991. Pujie died of illness in Beijing on 28 February 1994, at age 86. His remains were divided, with half of his ashes interred at Nakayama Shrine in Shimonoseki, Japan, and the other half in Beijing.

His familial relationships include two wives: Tang Yiying (Tang Shixia), from the Tatara clan, and Hiro Saga, from the Saga clan. He fathered at least two daughters: Huisheng (1938–1957) and Husheng (born 1940). Huisheng died in Japan in 1957, in what appeared to be a murder-suicide. Husheng married Fukunaga Kenji and had children.

Throughout his life, Pujie remained connected to both his imperial heritage and the political developments of modern China, holding titles and positions within the Chinese government and participating in diplomatic activities.