Puyi, China’s Last Emperor, led a life unlike any other in Chinese history. Born with imperial blood in 1906, he was crowned as emperor in name but lacked real power, later becoming the puppet ruler of Manchukuo (满洲国). Despite the trappings of wealth and prestige, his authority was largely symbolic, and political turmoil eventually stripped him of even that. By analyzing his BaZi chart, we can uncover why his strong wealth elements promised prosperity, yet fate ultimately led him to live the second half of his life as an ordinary citizen. This case study explores how the interplay of the Five Elements shaped Puyi’s extraordinary journey, offering insight into the mysteries of imperial destiny and metaphysics.
Puyi’s real time of birth
Puyi was born on February 7, 1906 (Gregorian calendar). Most people in the public sphere follow the BaZi chart proposed by the fate analyst Xu Lewu (徐樂吾), who assigned the Ren Yin (壬寅) hour, thus classifying the chart as a Follow Structure (Cong Ge 從格).
However, a different clue emerges from the memoir The Last Imperial Yunhe (末代皇妹韞龢), which reveals that Puyi’s BaZi contained three “Wu (午)” characters. If we arrange the known pillars, they appear as:
- Year: Bing Wu (丙午)
- Month: Geng Yin (庚寅)
- Day: Ren Wu (壬午)
This means the third “Wu” must logically belong to the Hour Pillar, indicating that his birth hour was most likely Bing Wu (丙午) rather than the commonly accepted Ren Yin hour.
His BaZi Structure
Ren 壬 water day master, there is no other water in this BaZi, with only Geng 庚 Metal Indirect Resource, which again heavily suppressed by fire, making this a Follow Structure (Cong Ge 從格) or more precise a Follow The Wealth structure (從財格).
Within the chart, two Bing 丙 Fires sit on three Yin–Wu 寅午 half fire combinations. The Wealth element alone in his chart (财 (Direct Wealth – 正财 Zheng Cai) and 才 (Indirect Wealth – 偏财 Pian Cai)) —Fire—is seem exceptionally strong, suggesting the destiny of a wealthy man. Yet in the case of Puyi, fate took a dramatic turn. Although he was born into the imperial family and destined for glory and riches, wealth and power ultimately passed him by, such fortune slips away (榮華富貴，擦身而過). In the latter half of his life, he lived not as an emperor, but simply as an ordinary citizen.
Three enthronements as emperor
Puyi’s BaZi Four Pillars also contains a hidden clue that confirms the extraordinary life of Puyi.
Within the Earthly Branches, there are four sets of Wealth–Officer, all showing strong tendencies of Wealth generating Officer stars. Both in strength and in number, this corresponds exactly with his three enthronements as emperor.
1.First Enthronement — Qing Emperor at Age 3 (1908)
- In the Chen hour (8 AM), on the 2, Dec, 1908,
- Year: Wu Shen (戊申)
- Month: Gui Hai (癸亥)
- Day: Xin Mao (辛卯)
- Hour: Ren Chen (壬辰)
- A regent (his father Zaifeng, Prince Chun) held the real power because he was a child.
- On the day Puyi ascended the throne, he was only three years old (in full age, just two years and nine months). During the ceremony, Puyi was so frightened that he cried. His wet nurse picked him up and said: “It’s over, it’s almost over.” Indeed, those words turned out to be ominously prophetic. Before the Xuantong Emperor had grown up enough to truly enjoy being emperor, the Qing dynasty had already fallen.
- His reign continued until the Xinhai Revolution, when the Qing dynasty was overthrown and he was forced to abdicate in February 1912, ending imperial rule in China.
2. Second Enthronement — Brief Restoration at Age 12 (1917)
In 1912, Puyi announced his abdication. Yuan Shikai, in negotiations with the Republican government, secured for the imperial family the righ qt to retain the imperial title and continue their lifestyle unchanged within the Forbidden City. This arrangement lasted for five years.
Inside the palace, life remained as before, but outside, various political factions fought bitterly. A group of loyal officials from the former dynasty, unwilling to lose their vested interests, staged a “restoration” farce led by Zhang Xun. Ignoring everything else, they placed the still immature twelve year old Puyi once again on the throne, marking his second enthronement.
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In July 1917, a Qing loyalist general named Zhang Xun marched into Beijing and tried to restore the monarchy by reinstating Puyi as emperor on
- Year: Ding Si (丁巳)
- Month: Bing Wu (丙午)
- Day: Jia Chen (甲辰)
- Hour: Wu Chen (戊辰)
- This second enthronement lasted only 12 days (1–12 July 1917) and was quickly undone by Republican forces of the Beiyang government.
- This was largely a military and political stunt, not a popular restoration — and Puyi still had no real authority.
3. Third Enthronement — Puppet Emperor of Manchukuo (滿洲國) at age 28 (1934)
- After his exile from the Forbidden City in 1924 and time in Tianjin, Puyi later agreed to become head of a new state created by Empire of Japan in Northeast China.
- On March 1, 1932, under the control of the Japanese Kwantung Army, the state of Manchukuo (滿洲國 a puppet regime set up by Japan) was established in the three northeastern provinces. On March 9, Puyi assumed office in Changchun as the Chief Executive of Manchukuo.
- In 1934 he was officially crowned Emperor of Manchukuo (滿洲國) under the reign title Kangde — a third enthronement, but again one in which real power lay with the Japanese Kwantung Army, not with him personally.
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Two years later, on March 1, 1934, Puyi finally fulfilled his wish and ascended the throne for the third time, becoming the puppet emperor of the Great Manchukuo Empire. His reign title was Kangde, and it lasted until Japan’s defeat and surrender in 1945.
- Year: Wu Shen (甲戌)
- Month: Gui Hai (丙寅)
- Day: Xin Mao (辛未)
- Hour: Ren Chen (壬辰)
The timing of Puyi’s third enthronement echoed a popular saying in today’s society: “So poor that only money remains (窮得只剩下了錢).” As a puppet emperor under Japanese control, he was merely used as a banner to summon the fading spirit of the Manchu and Mongol aristocracy.
As one destined by Wealth, Puyi continued to squander extravagantly, indulging in luxury. Yet, just as in the Forbidden City of old, the treasures possessed by the emperor—were they ever truly his in the end?
All three times he became emperor, he had the title but no real power.
Why Puyi Never Had Real Power or True Wealth
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