The war criminals will proceed in orderly fashion to the main waiting room and await instructions.
No talking! Obey the guards!
War criminals must proceed to the waiting room!
Those caught talking will be severely punished!
The emperor!
Your majesty. Your majesty. Your majesty.
What do they think they are doing? Stop! It is dangerous!
Go back, Go back. Go!
Are you mad?! They could kill us all!
Go! Go!
Open the door!! Open the door!!
Mama!
By the command of Her lmperial Majesty, also call, the compassionate,
and the Blessed, the Respectful and the Long-Living, the Empress Dowager commands
Aisin-Gioro Pu Yi, son of Prince Chun,
shall be transferred immediately to the Forbidden City and will remain in the great within,
awaiting Her Majesty's decision. Respect this!
Ar Mo. I am giving your my son. My son is your son!
Quick! Quick!
I want to go home!
Look, look at all the camels. Unlook at the Forbidden City!
Give him to me.
Ar Mo!
Pu Yi, come here.
How small you are. Are you afraid of me? Everyone is.
I am the Grand Empress Dowager.
And I have lived here for a long, long time.
And they call me the old Buddha.
This is Peony. Do you like her?
Men, you know, are not allowed in the Forbidden City after dark.
Even little men like you!
The only man who can live here is the Emperor.
But the Emperor is on high, riding the dragon, now!
He died today!
Longevity.
These other men, they're not real men. They're all eunuchs.
And now, they're all wait for me to die.
That is why they're putting my bed in the middle of the room, under the black pearl.
Little Pu Yi, I have decide that you will be the new Lord of Ten-Thousand years.
You will be the Son of Heaven.
Are we going home, Papa?
Sssh! Sssh! Sssh! It will soon be over.
Look!
Cricket!
Cricket! Cricket! Where's the cricket?!
Ahh, he is my friend, Your Majesty. Safe and warm under my arm.
Kept me company on the long journey here.
Ahh, see? He is kowtowing to Your Majesty.
Now, he can be the Emperor's Cricket!
You Majesty, this is the Forbidden City.
Ah, look! This little one is Your Majesty's bedroom. This is where we are.
Am I going home, today?!
Not today, not yet. A-And here, look
This is the Hall of Supreme Harmony where Your Majesty was crowned.
I give Your Majesty the Gate of Marshall Valor.
I give you the maju-gate the... gate! /Yes.
Yes. And the Palace with he Loudest Heaven... and... yes.
Your Majesty, your lmperial bath is ready!
I don't like baths! I don't like baths! I don't like baths!
No beam curd today and no meat!
Is it true I can do anything I want?
Of course, Your Majesty!
Anything you want. You are the Lord of Ten Thousand Years.
Oh!! Oh! Oh! No! Not in my face! Oh! Oh, no! No!
I'm the Son of Heaven! I'm the Son of Heaven!
Yes! Oh, yes! /I am the Son of Heaven!
Ar Mo! I want to go home! I want to go home, I want to go home!
I want to go home, Ar Mo! I want to go home.
Once upon a time, there was a great tree and a great wind.
The tree and the wind were always fighting.
His soup is getting cold!
Where am I?
In the people's Republic of China.
Why did you stop me?
You are a criminals! You must be judged?
I repeat.
Prisoners going to their cells will walk with their heads bowed. Keep your eyes on the ground!
No looking forward or to the side!
The guards will give you directions and tell you when to turn!
Pu Chieh.
Your guest is waiting to meet you. You Majesty.
Also your mother has arrived.
You have not seen your mother for many years. Your Majesty.
He is so small!
He is young, Your Majesty.
Go. Go!
The Emperor's brother. His Excellency, Pu Chieh.
Ar Mo.
How is the health of His Majesty's mother?
It is better, thank you. How much His majesty has grown!
My mother has not seen me for seven years!
Do you remember my face?
No!
The night they came with the horses, I knew it would be like this.
My brother sees you everyday!
Pu Chieh is very excited to meet you. He often talks about you.
We are all very proud of you.
The kite.
He chose this for you.
Papa!
They're turning away!
Of course! Ordinary people are not allowed to look at the Emperor!
I am too important.
Is it true that you can do whatever you want?
Of course, I can. If I am naughty, someone else is punished. One of them!
Stop!
The Emperor will walk.
I have never met other children. Are they all like you?
I've got three sisters and two friends.
If you come to our house, you can play with us.
The Emperor never leaves the Palace.
We play games together!
I know a game too! Run!
The ones in the boat are the high consorts /High consorts?
The wives of the emperor before me.
They say they're my mother, but they're not! They're not!
Why are you wearing that? You are not allowed to wear yellow!
But this is ordinary yellow.
It is lmperial yellow!
No, it is not!
We say it is! Only the Emperor can wear that yellow! Take it off!
No!
Take it off!
No! And you're not the Emperor anymore!
There is a new Emperor now!
He has cut off his queue, and instead of a camel, he has got a car!
What did you say?
You're not the Emperor!
Liar!
You're not the Emperor anymore!
Liar! Liar!
You're not the...
Liar!
You're not the Emperor! /How dare you!
Calm yourselves! Oh!
You're not the Emperor!
How dare you!
No! Your Majesty! Calm yourselves!
Am I the Emperor or not?
Your Majesty will always be the Emperor.
You see?
Prove it!
Big foot, drink it! Go on, drink the green ink.
I will show you!
See? That is a car! He is the President of the Republic.
Why is this wall here, Lord Chamberlain?
It is just a wall, Your Majesty. Nothing has changed.
You are lying.
Hight Tutor, am I still the Emperor?
You will always be the Emperor inside the Forbidden City, but not outside.
I do not understand.
Outside China is now a republic, with a president.
Where is Ar Mo? Ar Mo?
You are all liars!!
Let me say "good-bye"!
Hurry! Hurry!
He's my child! Ah!
Ar Mo?! Ar Mo?
I don't understand.
Your Majesty is a big boy, now.
He can't have a wet nurse anymore.
It's much better like this. Much healthier.
But she is not my wet nurse.
She is my butterfly.
Ar Mo!!! Ar Mo!!
This is the detention center of the Fushun Bureau of public security.
And I am the governor!
During the war, this was a Japanese prison.
Many of you may remember it.
Because you worked with the Japanese,
you were responsible for building it and you filled it with innocent people.
How could this happen?!
Why did you betray your country?!
What turned you into war criminals?
We believe that men are born good!
We believe that the only way to change is to discover the truth and look at it in the face.
That is why you are here.
You will begin by writing the story of your lives and by confessing your crimes.
Your salvation will lie entirely the attitude you take!
I advise you to be frank and sincere, otherwise things can still go very badly for you.
After a few years, the tiny republic had become as corrupt as the old emperor.
It fell quickly into the hands of ambitions generals and corrupt bureaucrats.
The era of the warlords had begun. By May, 1919. When Ireceived my appointment.
China was in turmoil.
May the new tutor present himself!
Your lmperial Highness, the new tutor.
Dear lmperial Highness, Mr. Reginald Fleming Johnston.
How do you do, Mr, Johnston?
How do you do, Your Majesty?
Now we will go to school.
Your Majesty, in my country, it would be usual to begin with some kind of an examination.
The Emperor can't be examined.
Well, that may have to change.
But first, Your Majesty might like to ask me some questions.
Where are your ancestors buried?
In Scotland, Your Majesty.
But then, where's your skirt?
In your country, men wear short skirts, do they not?
No, Your Majesty. Scotsmen do not wear skirts, they wear kilts.
Kilts.
Kilts. A matter of words, perhaps, but words are important.
Why are words important?
If you can't say what you mean, Your majesty, you will never mean what you say.
And a gentleman should always means what he says.
Ah yes! "a gentleman". Are you a gentleman?
I would like to be a gentleman, Your Majesty. I try to be.
I'm not a gentleman. I'm not allowed to say what I mean.
They are always telling me what to say.
Your Majesty is still very young.
I thought he might like to see some English and American magazines.
I have just received them.
I know that you know that I know that you know that,
that is a dialog between Confucius and Chuang Tzu.
Concerning respect, Your Majesty.
Who is this "George Washington"?
A famous American, Your majesty.
A revolutionary General. The first American President.
Ah! Like Mr, Lenin in Russia?
Not quite.
Dose he have a car?
He lived a long time ago, Your Majesty.
I want a car.
I think your mouse is trying to escape, Your Majesty.
Please do not tell anyone about my mouse.
The lesson is finished.
Our official taster's a brave men.
Many of my ancestors have been poisoned, you know.
Does Your Majesty have lunch like this everyday?
Oh, yes! Every day! Like theater!
I don't know why. It has always been like that.
How do they kill emperors in the West?
The Austrian emperor was shot, was he not?
No, but his nephew was assassinated before the Great War.
But the Russian emperor had been shot. He was called the Tsar.
Yes.
He took lots of our land in Manchuria.
I'm a Manchrian. Even after the republic, it's still country.
The-uh... secret, Your Majesty, is emerging again.
Is something the matter, Your Majesty?
Something is happening.
What is happening, Mr, johnston?
Uh nothing is happening... /Quiet!
On my way here, Your Majesty, we were held up by students from the university.
They were protesting against the republican government.
because it has agreed to give away Chinese territory to Japan.
It is true, Mr, Johnston, that many people out there have had their heads chopped off?
It is true, Your Majesty. Many heads have been chopped off.
It does stop them thinking.
It is time for the Emperor's rest.
The students are right to be angry.
I am angry!
But I am not allowed to leave the Forbidden City.
I want to go out, Mr, Johnston!
My lord!
I want to see the City of sounds!
The Emperor awards you with the order of the Ruby Hat Button,
and with the right to be carried in your own chair, with four bearers.
I hope the Emperor has not forgotten that this is the day for his math class?
For Your Majesty!
My doctor says, "Bicycles are bad for you".
Bad for you, nonsense!
How does it work?
Oh, it's simple.
Head up and eyes forward! As in math!
My mother is dead, is she not?
Yes, Your Majesty.
I'm profoundly sorry!
I'm not.
She killed herself.
She swallowed the ball of opium.
I'm going to see her, and my brother.
Open the door. Open the door.
Open the door.
Fallen devil and fallen machine. Trouble! Nothing but trouble!
Look where you lead him! And you are an old, cruel, ignorant man.
The boy's mother is dead, and he's not even allowed to see her!
I want to go home!!
Stop it, stay where you are!!
I want to go home!!
Stop it, stay where you are!!
You fool!! Stay there!!
Chang!
Hunchback, Bigfoot!
Sir? Give me your hand, sir. Give me your hand, sir!
Can you not see?
Look at my left ear, please, sir.
Thank you, and my right. Thank you.
Would you follow my finger, please, sir-
Well it's perfectly simple, Johnson. The emperor needs spectacles.
Like Harold Lloyd!
Impossible! An emperor does not wear spectacles!
That can't be allowed!
Time have changed, Your Highnesses!
If His Majesty doesn't get spectacles, Johnston, he could lose his sight.
Your Majesty.
If the Emperor does not get spectacles, I will resign.
Unfortunately, our decision is final.
And unfortunately, what I have to say will be published in every newspaper in China.
What do you have to say, Mr, Johnston?
The Emperor has been a prisoner in his own place since the day
that he was crowned and has remained a prisoner since he abdicated.
But now he's growing up. He may wonder why he is the only person in China
who may not walk out of his own front door.
I think the Emperor is the loneliest boy on earth.
It would be conveniently sad if he becomes blind.
Blind, Mr, Johnston?
To the expense, Your Excellency. To the cost of maintaining one thousand two hundred eunuchs,
three hundred and fifty ladies-in-waiting.
and one hundred and eight-five cooks to buying one hundred.
and twenty sable furs a month and three thousand chickens a week.
To the fast that eight hundred and forty guards and employees of the household department,
plus one Lord Chamberlain, care only about one thing!
Filling their own rice bowls!
You are very good at accounts, Mr, Johnston!
The Emperor may have abdicated,
but he is still a symbol of great importance to many people.
If I did not agree with that, I would not be here.
And some of us believe that one day soon, he may be more than a symbol.
The spectacles are a detail.
What do you really want, Mr, Johnston?
Ah-Just the spectacles.
The Princess Wan Jung, Your Majesty. Seventeen years old.
Princess Wu Chang, fifteen years old.
The princess De Li, Your Majesty. And the Princess Fung Ying.
Who is this?
Princess Wen Hsiu, twelve years old.
She has got a funny face.
Notjust one wife. One empress and one secondary consort.
Two wives?
But who do you choose to be the Empress?
They chose her!
She's very old, Johnston! She's seventeen!
That's not so old, Your Majesty. What does she look like?
Old fashion!
I want a modern wife, Johnston, who speaks English and French!
And who can dance the quickstep!
Johnston!!
Sir!
I'm going to escape, Johnston.
I've got a suitcase, and a ticket to England.
I'm going to Oxford University.
Your Majesty, if you get married you will become the master of your own house.
A wedding might be a more practical way to escape.
Why did you never get married, Johnston?
The secondary consort welcomes the Empress greets the secondary consort.
You are doing everything very well.
Thank you. I rehearsed many times.
What is His Majesty thinking?
I was thinking, if I was the real emperor, I would become the ruler of China now.
And what would the Emperor do, if he could really rule?
I would change everything. Even the way we get married.
Is the Emperor against arranged marriages?
It is humiliating not to choose whom you marry!
Even I was not allowed to choose.
In another year or two. His Majesty will be taller than me.
Is it true the Emperor has a suitcase under his bed and is going to Oxford?
Will the Emperor take Wan Jung with him?
Perhaps he would like to see my face before he decides.
Yes, the Emperor would like to see the face of the Empress.
It is the Emperor who must remove the kait'ou.
I also had a tutor like Mr, Johnston.
Miss Windsor. She's American.
Miss Windsor taught me how to do the dance of the quickstep.
Does the Emperor know hoe to do the quickstep?
Will you teach me?
Leave us! Leave us!
If Your Majesty thinks it is old fashioned to make the rain and the wind with a stranger,
we can be like a modern couple, to begin with.
A modern couple?
Good night.
You must come to Oxford with me.
I like him! I'm sure I'm going to like him!
And he will grow up!
Eyes down!
Report your arrival!
Prisoner nine-eight-one reporting.
Louder!!
Prisoner nine-eight-one reporting.
Open the door!
Close the door!
Sit down!
Name?!
Aisin-Gioro Pu Yi.
Write it!
Now read that aloud!
We call them toothpaste and water tap.
The toothpaste prisoner needs to be squeezed every now and then or else he forgets, to keep confessing.
The water tap man needs one good hard twist before he starts.
But them everything comes out.
Now, you're an intelligent person. I'm sure you understand me.
Good. Then we will begin.
Why do you think you are in here, nine-eight-one?
I'm accused of being a traitor a collaborate and a counter-revolutionary.
It's not an accusation!!
You are a traitor, you are a collaborator and you're a counter-revolutionary!
Did you write this? And you call it a confession?
This is noting but a list of dates! A child's fairy tale!
What do you want me to confess?
You know what you did and what others did.
So why don't you volunteer the information?
I don't understand.
We don't tell people what to confess. We already know everything about you.
I...
Go on.
I wanted reforms.
What did you what to reform?
Everything.
Cut off my queue.
Your majesty! Please!
It's heavy!
The emperor before me was murdered because he wanted to reform the empire.
Is that not so, Mr, Johnston?
Yes, Your Majesty. Probably.
Well, let us see if they will kill me for reforming the Forbidden City.
Lord Chamberlain! I'm appointing Mr, Johnston's friend,
the poet and scholar, Chin Hsiao Hsiu, to be the new Lord Chamberlain.
I want him to supervise a detailed inventory of the imperial storerooms!
So that we can learn exactly how much has been stolen!
Can I sleep here? I'm frightened.