Gilded Lamps

the Last Emperor

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January 8th 2007
We came to Changchun for one reason only: to see the palace of Puyi, the famous "Last Emperor" of China who's life has been the feature of several books and an academy-award winning movie. I read the book on which the movie is based shortly before we left on the trip, which I highly recommend. Puyi became the last emperor of the Qing Dynasty in 1908, before he had even reached his 3rd birthda ... read more

Asia » China » Jilin

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For centuries China stood as a leading civilization, outpacing the rest of the world in the arts and sciences, but in the 19th and early 20th centuries, the country was beset by civil unrest, major famines, military defeats, and foreign occupation. A... ... read more