Something is happening.
Silence, tell them to be quiet.
Silence.
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.
The last Emperor died on the same night as the Empress Dowager.
The night I was brought to the Forbidden City.
When I was three.
The eunuchs think he was murdered but who killed him.
And why?
And who will kill me?
The chair, your excellency.
The traditional gift to eunuch...
Many thanks. Deeply grateful.
- If it is an official practice... - Always sir, always sir.
In which case I would like an official receipt.
Stop!
One, two,
three, four, five...
Emperor extends his apologies.
Please, tell the Emperor that there is no offence.
The Emperor was offended.
But even the bicycle was viewed with suspicions in the Forbidden City.
My present to the Emperor lead to a lot of trouble.
Change about!
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.
Where is it?
Foreign 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.
Just the eyes not the head.
Well it's perfectly simple, Johnston. The Emperor needs spectacles.
Like Harold Lloyd!
Impossible! An Emperor does not wear spectacles!
That can't be allowed!
Times have changed, Your Highnesses!
If His Majesty doesn't get spectacles, Johnston, he could lose his sight.
Now please, could you show me the way out of here?
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 palace 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 eighty-five cooks, to buying one hundred
and twenty sable furs a month and three thousand chickens a week.
To the fact 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?
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.
The Princess Wang-ching.
The Princess Shi-lean. Sixteen years old.
Who is this?
Princess Wen Hsiu, twelve years old.
She has got a funny face.
Not just one wife. One empress and one secondary consort.
Two wives?
But who did 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 fashioned!
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.
I suppose she's on her way Ba-unr.
It will be all right They do everything for you.
Why did you never get married, Johnston?
Your Mongolian cousin Prince Demchukedamgruv has sent you twelve racing camels...
Plus this.
On behalf of Manchuria.
A lump of coal.
Manchuria...
- The secondary consort welcomes the Empress. - 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.
And yet westerners might be amazed
how much happiness can come from arranged marriages.
That is what old fashioned women say, like the high consorts.
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 how 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!
Leniancy to those who confess, severety to those who resist,
redemption to those who gain merits.
Now than, there are two types of confession.
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 collaborator 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 nothing 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.
Chang, you have a house out of the Forbidden City. Do you not?
Yes, Your Majesty.
It has 20 rooms, doesn't it?
And you also have houses.
Oh, we all do, your majesty.
I recently learned that many pieces from the imperial collections are on sale
in the antic shops of Peking. Is that true, Cheng?
- Would you do me a favour, Wen shu? - Of course.
Stop growing.
The Forbidden City is like a theater without an audience.
The audience left long ago when China became a republic.
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.
You're brave. Are you not frightened?
I'm excited. I don't want to escape anymore.
I want to rule.
Kiss me.
Can I stay with you as well?
Get in, get in.
I used to play a game with the eunuchs.
Trying to guess who is who.
Now I can't see you!
Jung! Wan Jung? When Hsiu?
Come underneath the sheet with us.
Your Majesty! The storeroom's on fire, Your Majesty!
Tian xiao shu, did you not write a poem about a spider who gets caught in his own web?
I did not know your majesty had read my poetry, I'm very honored.
I am the spider.
The eunuchs set fire to this place to stop me of knowing what they have stolen.
I'm going to expel them from the Forbidden City.
There are twelve hundred eunuchs, your majesty.
They have been here for eight hundred years.
It will be dangerous.
Do you think the republican government would help me?
The republicans will do almost anything if you know who to speak to.
It must happen quickly.
Before they burn the whole place with us inside.
I lived with them all my life, Johnston. They're my family.
Majesty there is no alternative.
- What is happening? - I do not know.
What are they carrying?
Their organs.
Whatever their crimes, they can't be deprived of the right to be buried as whole men.
Well?
I have forgot what I was saving.
You're wasting our time!
We want to know about the Japanese.
How did your friendship with the Japanese begin?
Who introduced you? When?
Hmm, I think it was the new Lord Chamberlain. It was 1924.
Parliament had been dissolved again. The president had fled.
At first, I thought it was just another coup d'etat by just another warlord.
Only this time it was different. This time it was my turn.
Fifteen, love.
Play.
Your highness, how shocking.
Thirty, love.
Ready?
Thirty, fifteen.
The rotten government of the republic is in flight!
Now we shall remove the foreign stench of the Manchurian rats who still hide in the Forbidden City.
Mr. Pu Yi and his family have been given one hour to leave the Forbidden City.
They will be escorted to the home of his father.
and remain there under guard as state prisoners until further notice!
What are you all looking at? What are you standing there for?
You always wanted to leave the Forbidden City.
Now you're got an hour to pack. So, go! Go!
I always thought I hated it here. Now, I'm afraid to leave.
Do you think they will kill me?
You must do as they say, Your majesty, while I try to reach the British embassy.
They will give you asylum there. I'm sure they will.
Chang, take my car to the South gate! I want you to drive His Majesty.
Your Majesty!
Please, Your Majesty!
What?
But you didn't go to the British embassy, did you?
You ended up at the Japanese embassy.
The Japanese were the only people prepared to help me.
Help you for nothing?
Japan has an Emperor. We're almost the same age.
I thought it was kindness.
At the same time I realized that for many Chinese I was an alien.
Simply because I'm Manchurian.
There was even an anti-Manchurian league who wanted to assassinate me!
So, I want to live in Tientsin.
It was a nice provincial town with a big port.
In those days, we had a large, international settlement.
The Japanese thought it would be safer for me there.
If you had read the books we gave you more carefully,
you might have learned that the anti-Manchurian league was largely financed by the Japanese.
It was designed to frighten you.
I did not know that at the time.
- Cigarette? - I do not smoke.
Were the Japanese paying for you in Tientsin?
Oh! No.
I had to rent a villa. The Villa Chan, and it was very expensive.
So were the bodyguards.
I spent a lot of money in Tientsin.
Did you still believe in a restoration of the imperial system?
Others did. They were later caught and exiled.
I can't remember how much jade and jewelry they made me
spend to buy the friendship of some warlord or some white Russian general.
I even financed an English speaking newspaper.
They closed after three days, it was unreadable.
And what else did you spend your money on?
Oh, I was never tired of buying pianos, watches, radios...
As long as they were foreign!
Of course. Anything Western was good.
Especially Wrigley's chewing gum, Bayer aspirin and cars.
While you were in Tientsin, most of China came under the control of General Chiang Kai Shek,
the so-called Nationalists, the Kuomintang.
What were your relations with them?
None.
I felt useless in Tientsin. I was twenty-one.
I dreamt of going to the West.
I became a playboy.
Am I blue? Am I blue?
Ain't these tears in my eyes telling you? Am I blue?
You'd be too. If each plan with your girl done fell through. T'was a time I was her only one.
But now I'm the sad and lonely one. Bu-Bu-Booo. Bu-Bu-Booo.
Now she's gone and we're through. Lord, I'm blue.
Very good.
Well done.
That's a great ship... if you're going first-class.
I'm not going anywhere.
Would you like to dance?
You're a brave man. Nobody here would have danced with me.
Why is that?
Because I'm Chinese.
Well, I'm American.
You say California. I say French Riviera.
San Francisco!
Monte Carlo! Are we really going this time?
Who's that couple?
Oh, Henry and Elizabeth.
The Emperor of China?
The ex Emperor and his wife.
She's beautiful.
Yes, very.
And who are you?
I'm His Highness's other wife.
His other wife?
Number two wife.
Well, some people have all the luck.
Ladies and gentlemen!
General Chiang Kai Shek has taken Shanghai!
The Kuomintang have broken with the Reds and have knocked them for six!
The Reds are finished!
Sorry about the reception, everyone!
It would be wiser to return to the Japanese delegation now, Your Majesty.
Your car is waiting.
Thank you, Mr. Amakasu.
The general strike in Shanghai has collapsed.
The international settlement is safe.
Troops of the Kuomintang are now in full control of the city.
And firm steps are being taken to restore order in the native areas.
What do you think of General Chiang Kai Shek?
Why should I think of him. He's just another warlord.
But he has smashed the Communists.
That's good. Except the Communists were his sworn allies until a few days ago.
I expect he betrayed them for money.
- You want some gum, Elizabeth? - Uh-huh.
Wen Hsiu, you want some gum?
I want a divorce.
I don't want to be your mistress any longer.
I thought you were my secondary consort.
In the Forbidden City, you were the Emperor and I was a secondary consort.
But now you are Henry Pu Yi.
Wan Jung is your wife, Elizabeth.
And who am I? I'm nobody.
I didn't know you were so unhappy.
You can only have one wife in the West.
I want a divorce.
No one can divorce me!
I want a divorce!
Come inside me?
Leave me alone.
Your Ladyship!
Thank you.
I don't need it!
Wen Hsiu?
Elizabeth! Can I come in?
Don't you remember me? I'm dressed like a pilot, but I still can't fly! Not yet.
Eastern Jewel! We had dancing classes together!
Yes, just before your marriage.
Silly girl! Why do people want to get married?
Wen Hsiu has gone. She will never come back.
Is it so bad?
She was my only friend.
Well, at least now you've got your husband all to yourself!
And you've got me!
I'll be your friend.
You smoke opium?
Be wicked. It's the best in Shanghai! Why are you going to Europe?
The place to go is Japan! It's more fun than anywhere!
It's modern.
How do you know we're going to Europe? It's a secret.
Oh, I know everything!
I know Chiang Kai Shek has got false teeth.
I even know his nickname, "Cash my check!".
I'm a spy. I don't care who knows it.
A spy?
I work for the Japanese, special service Bureau,
and I've come to protect you.
The Japanese. They are getting closer to him everyday.
He is sending his brother to the military academy in Tokyo.
They talk to him about Manchuria all the time.
And Mr. Amakasu never says hello to me.
I don't trust the Japanese.
Of course, I'd love to be the Emperor's new secondary consort!
Eastern Jewel.
If the post is available.
The post is vacant, my dear cousin.
But you don't fit the part!
Wen Hsiu left the dog behind. Do you want it?
It's my fault. It's all my fault.