Short Story: The Last Entry in the Emperor's Chronicles

The Last Entry in the Emperor’s Chronicles

The following are from the last pages of the journal of the Last Emperor of China, Emperor Pu Yi, written and translated from the original writing…
“The eunuchs that have stayed loyal to me are now about the palace, hurriedly looking for articles of my life that can still be salvaged and brought away with me on the journey that lay outside these walls. I hear the incessant shouts from [the people of] the communist forces especially at this last hour that I will be staying here. Their noise, though terribly annoying, is essential for the operations I have sent my eunuchs to do to go smoothly and undetected.
“I would never have thought in my wildest imagination my people wanting their emperor out of his palace, stripped of his glory, and uprooted from the place he calls home. My mother the Empress, she had not foreseen this. She promised to be forever with me, taking care of me, but no, she too left just as all my ancestors before me did. I was only a child when my people have bestowed me emperor and kowtowed before me all around the palace. It truly was a magnificent feeling, to be wanted and [to be] worshipped. But how can people change so quickly, and without reason as well! I gave up my childhood to sit in my teachers’ classes and learned calligraphy, history, governance, and the genealogy of my family, while the peasant children ran amok outside the palace walls, playing with kites and firecrackers, shrieking their heads off in pleasure. I was only a child then and am still not even a grown man now, and yet they threaten me with force to leave my home and everything that is truly mine? When they first marched up with the peasants in the villages of the South, my council convinced me to keep calm, for the peasants [of the North] will surely come to my aid when they arrive and lay siege of my palace. I heeded their comfort, believing that my people still loved me, especially the ones around the palace who are humbled at the mere site of my doors. They will fight for me, my council told me, but the people never did. It was too late when I had broken their counsel and ordered [the royal guards to recruit] men in the city to defend the fortress with honor and riches as reward. It was at the end as well when I discovered that [most of] the council members were with the communists in the first place, anticipating the whole treachery. I really thought my people still loved me, still remembered the day they bowed down before me, hailing me their emperor. They have forgotten. I will never understand why my people listened to the likes of those communists, talking of equality when all they want is a bite of my treasure.
“Most of my eunuchs have even been deceived into leaving me and joining their forces as well. The whole thing [has been planned and] has spread across the palace all along, under the attention of my most loyal eunuchs and teachers. The communists had sent messages through couriers that were allowed to come in since they posed as men from the provinces who delivered the best of their harvest. These messages were received by the council men themselves, pretending to inspect the meat and greens that have been brought into the palace. My most loyal eunuch just informed me a few hours ago that these messages were folded paper slit into holes carved into the melons or into the cavities of hens and pigs. This had been going on for the past five months, and today, their accursed plan has come into fruition. [Hereafter, several words seem to have been blotted out]
“Only my teachers and the highest eunuchs in my confidence truly know and understand me. No matter, I have already made discreet arrangements for a company of my most loyal servants to stow the most valuable of the treasures away at the bottom of the pile I am allowed to bring away with me. The smaller things [that can be concealed under our robes] shall be packed in silk and sown underneath the sleeves, hems, and undergarments of my concubines. My wife will do her share and conceal some in her undergarments, and my second wife as well. I have chosen only the most loyal of my concubines, for fear that the others may leak information to those bastards in exchange for better treatment and benefits. I fear only that there may not be enough time for all of the best treasures to be sown in. I am confident that the communists will not try and inspect the women, for even if they are [the] dogs [that they] are, they are still Chinese, and would never dare dishonor my wives. As for me, I shall not be carrying anything; for surely, I will not be shown the courtesy that they will with the women. My eunuchs and servants will not be carrying anything as well, only the bags and wooden chests that I have been allowed under their pretense of humanity. The treasures will be safe; they will be my last hope.
“My eunuchs promise a return of my power, but I doubt it. I know they only say these things to comfort me and give me [false hope] to hold on to, but I know better than that. If all is well, I have arranged for a retreat [under the cover of darkness] to Shanghai where allies will take me to England, as the King, a loyal friend, expects me.
“I swear upon my ancestors that I will do everything to return!”