A CHINESE LADY

Evening Star, Issue 21632, 30 January 1934, Page 11

A CHINESE LADY

EMPRESS OF MANCHUKUO In Tokio the Empress of Japan is receiving tributes of homage and affection upo ntlie birth of an heir to the throne. In Manchukuo there is a lady to whom when the new State of Manchukuo changes from a republic to a monarchy the wheel of fortune will bring another Empress’s crown. Hitherto her life has been a succession of bewildering changes in status and in rank. She is the wife of Mr Henry Pu-Yi, once known as the boy Emperor of China, and at present President of. the Manchukuo Executive. Upon his shoulders will fall the first mantle of kingship in the new State. Kuo Shia-si, a pretty and cultured Chinese lady, aged twentysix years, will share his throne. ,

She has done so before—twice before. The first time was in Peking, where “ the last of the Manchus,” as her husband was called, lived an life surrounded by old Manchu retainers, clinging pathetically to rank and authority which did not exist. After that there was the phantom Court he set up in the Japanese concession in 'iientsin, whither he and his retinue had fled for sanctuary. As Queen of Manchukuo Kuo Shia-si’s rank will be based on more solid foundations than it has ever been.

Kuo Shia-si is this Chinese lady’s personal name. At present she is generally known as Elizabeth, the English name she adopted when a year or two ago her husband announced that henceforth he

"sired to bo called Henry Pu-Yi. She is of noble birth-;— daughter of a Manchu prince of long lineage, who was associated conspicuously with the Court of the Emperor’s family. Until she was aged ten years she was not permitted to go 'mi tside the extensive courtyard of her father’s large mansion in the heart of Peking. Those about the boy Emperor, as he was known, had long decided that here was a fitting mate for one who, it was hoped, would one day bring the Manchu dynasty back to its old lustre and magnificence. Thus was the marriage arranged; and the high-born Chinese girl’s first night journey was that which she took during winter when a special palanquin arrived for her |rom the Forbidden City, WEDDING AT 2 A.M. The wedding took place at 2 o’clock in the morning, with all the pomp and ritual ordained by centuries of rigid observance. The _ boy ’Emperor was charmed by his girl bride, and did what no other Chinese Emperor had ever done before him—sang the praises of his wife in striking English verse. Her lot for the next two or three years has been described as that of a, prisoner in a gilded cage. That is because, following the Chinese custom, she'did not concern herself with what went on in the outside world, and she knew nothing of political intrigues, plots, and counterplots. Her life was centred in the Forbidden City. It was, therefore, a sadly bewildered girl-Empress who found herself one dark night fleeing through the turbulent streets of Peking with her husband and the faithful remnants of his retinue, driven from the Forbidden City, which had been as holy ground for centuries, and which was now being “ desecrated ” by the raids of rebel soldiery. It was at Tientsin, where she became Mrs Elizabeth Pu-Yi, that this Chinese princess gained her first contact with the outside world. To-day she has become so far habituated to the ways of the Western world that she plays tennis and billiards and reads the most notable of Western novels with keen enjoyment. Modern as are these tastes, however, she has yet a loye of the traditional Court robes and jewellery of the princely ranks of another generation. She dresses not in Western garb, but in the prevailing Chinese mode, with its high-necked distinctive, hairdressing, and queenly artificial make-up, this latter a somewhat old-fashioned custom, which has been superseded in

those towns in which Western influenc* predominates. As wife of the President of Manchukuo Mrs Pu-Yi has he? own little circle of premier ladies to rule over. She takes no part in the politics of her new land, howeverand if with her husband she dons once more a crown she will continue to eschew such affairs.