Tragic Facts About Wanrong, The Last Empress Of China

When Wanrong became the Empress of China, she was already ruling over a ghost land. In a matter of months, her country abolished the monarchy, turning all Wanrong’s decadent pleasures into dust. Somehow, though, this was just the beginning of her tragic tale. By the end of her life, Wanrong would lose her crown, her child, and most infamously of all, her sanity.To get more news about empress wanrong, you can visit shine news official website.

1. Her Pedigree Was Perfect
On November 13, 1906, Wanrong was born to the Golubo clan in Beijing—and she had far from humble beginnings. Her father was a high-ranking minister in the Imperial Court, and her mother boasted a top-notch pedigree. All in all, her parents might have been overjoyed to spoil their little girl—except tragedy struck the moment she was born.
2. She Killed Her Mother
Sadly, Wanrong’s mother suffered through a difficult labor in giving birth to her daughter, and she ended up passing from childbed fever—another term for postpartum infection—soon after Wanrong was born. Instead, a kindly stepmother raised the little girl like her own daughter. But that didn’t mean it was a normal childhood.
3. She Was A Sharp Girl
Wanrong’s father was extremely progressive for his time and insisted that she get just as good an education as her brothers. Even more luckily, her dad was stinking rich, and he could afford to send her to a pricy, chi-chi American school in the city of Tianjin. When Wanrong emerged from her tutelage, she was fluent in English, accomplished in piano…and ready to meet her destiny.
4. She Was Incredibly Beautiful
As Wanrong grew up, people couldn’t help but notice she was transforming into an absolutely stunning young woman. With a soft face and wide eyes, she perfectly fit the Chinese ideal of beauty at the time…and then there was the fact that the gorgeous girl also came with a very attractive dowry courtesy of her Daddy Warbucks.
5. Her Family Wanted Her To Rule The World
In 1922, when Wanrong was still only 16 years old, the teenaged Emperor Puyi of China started looking for a bride. Although Puyi was technically not Emperor anymore, having been overthrown for the Republic of China in 1911, he was still allowed to live in stateliness and splendor in the Forbidden City. Accordingly, Wanrong’s ambitious family put her forward in a bridal bid…only, this was no fairy tale.
6. She Was In A Bridal Competition
Puyi’s courtship of Wanrong didn’t involve him swooping in and romantically swearing he would have only her—God no. In fact, the courtship didn’t even involve only her. Instead, the old Dowager Empresses at Puyi’s court collected a whole slew of photographs of the prettiest girls in the land, and Wanrong was just one among many presented to the emperor. And it gets more nightmarish than this.
7. She Was The Emperor’s Second Choice
See, when Puyi took a look at his prospective brides, he dealt Wanrong a crushing blow. He didn’t actually pick her; his first choice was a pretty girl named Wenxiu. However, his advisors vetoed the choice, claiming that Wenxiu wasn’t from a good enough family and could only work out as a concubine—besides, grossly enough, she was only 12 years old.
8. Her Fiancé Was A Nightmare
Once the Emperor of China says he wants you as his bride, there’s not much you can do about it. Still, Wanrong probably should have thought twice about her betrothal anyway. As an Emperor who had held the crown since he was a toddler, Puyi had grown into a spoiled young man who was completely incapable of doing anything for himself. But it wasn’t just that.
9. Her Emperor Was A Psychopath
In addition to his major case of rich kid syndrome, Puyi also had a terrifying dark side. He was notorious for his cruelty and loved to torment the eunuchs who served him. He particularly loved to flog the poor souls, despite repeated pleadings from his counselors to go easy on them. As Puyi himself later confessed, “My cruelty and love of wielding power were already too firmly set for persuasion to have any effect on me.” Run girl, RUN.