Sir Reginald Johnston | |
|---|---|
 Johnston at theForbidden City in 1924 | |
| Commissioner of Weihaiwei | |
| In office 1927–1930 | |
| Preceded by | Walter Russell Brown |
| Personal details | |
| Born | Reginald Fleming Johnston (1874-10-13)13 October 1874 Edinburgh, Scotland |
| Died | 6 March 1938(1938-03-06) (aged 63) Eilean Rìgh, Scotland |
| Alma mater | University of Edinburgh Magdalen College, Oxford |
| Occupation | Educator |
| Known for | Tutor toPuyi, the last emperor of China |
Sir Reginald Fleming JohnstonKCMG CBE (simplified Chinese:庄士敦爵士;traditional Chinese:莊士敦爵士;pinyin:Zhuāngshìdūn juéshì;lit. 'Sir Johnston'; 13 October 1874 – 6 March 1938) was a Scottishdiplomat and colonial official who served as the tutor and advisor toPuyi, the lastemperor of China. He was also the last British Commissioner ofWeihaiwei. Johnston's bookTwilight in the Forbidden City (1934) was used as a source forBernardo Bertolucci's film dramatization of Puyi's lifeThe Last Emperor.
Johnston was born inEdinburgh, Scotland.[1] He studied at theUniversity of Edinburgh and later was awarded a scholarship to read modern history atMagdalen College, Oxford. While at Oxford Johnston had begun a friendship withCecil Clementi. Both shared an interest insinology; Clementi and Johnston would keep in contact for the rest of their lives.[2]
In 1898, he joined theColonial Service and was initially posted toHong Kong. In 1904, he was transferred to the Britishleased territory atWeihaiwei on the coast of the Shandong Peninsula as a District Officer, working with SirJames Stewart Lockhart. For his extreme industry, Johnston was noted from his superiors as a capable colonial magistrate. Johnston was also a keen traveller. In 1902, he exploredTonkin,Laos andSiam. In 1904, he visitedKiautschou,Jinan, and laterKorea. In January 1906, he undertook a year-long journey from Peking toMandalay, publishing an account of his experiences in 1908.[3][2]
A "militant anti-Christian" whose criticism of missionaries in China possibly hindered his promotion, Johnston was fascinated by Chinese Buddhism. In 1908, he had a private audience with the13th Dalai Lama, one of the few westerners to do so. He wrote three books during his time in the service:From Peking to Mandalay (1908),Lion and Dragon in Northern China (1910), andBuddhist China (1913).[citation needed]
Selected by theColonial Office for his expertise in Chinese history and culture in 1919, he was appointedtutor of thirteen-year-oldPuyi who still lived inside theForbidden City inPeking as a non-sovereign monarch.
Johnston andIsabel Ingram, daughter of an American missionary and the empress's tutor, were the only foreigners in history to be allowed inside the inner court of theQing dynasty. Johnston carried high imperial titles and lived in both the Forbidden City and theNew Summer Palace. Johnston met theMing dynasty imperial descendant, Zhu Yuxun, theMarquis of Extended Grace, and arranged for him to meet Puyi in the Forbidden City.[4]
More than a tutor, Johnston befriended the isolated adolescent. In his account of his time at the Forbidden City, Johnston notes the rampant corruption of the imperial household, witheunuchs selling off dynastic treasures. He obtained a bicycle and telephone for Puyi, and against the wishes of the retainers, much-needed spectacles.[5]
After Puyi was expelled from theForbidden City in 1924, Johnston briefly served in an advisory capacity to Puyi before returning to his colonial service duties. Serving as Secretary to the British China Indemnity Commission (1926). In 1927, he was appointed the second civilian Commissioner at Weihaiwei. He ran the territory until it was returned to theRepublic of China on 1 October 1930.[2] Johnston tried to get the British diplomatic legation in Peking to host Puyi, and although the British authorities were not very interested in welcoming the former emperor, the British representative eventually gave Johnston his consent. However, he later discovered that Puyi—in view of the situation and against Johnston's advice—had taken refuge in the Japanese legation after being advised byZheng Xiaoxu.[6]
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Johnston was appointed Professor of Chinese in theUniversity of London in 1931, a post based at theSchool of Oriental and African Studies, to which he bequeathed his library in 1935. This library, one of the finest collections of Chinese and East Asian books in the country, consists of over 16,000 volumes.[citation needed]
He retained his ties with Puyi, hosting one of his sisters and her husband at his house in Mortlake Road,Kew, in London during the 1930s, and even visited him inManchukuo in July 1935.[7][2]
Johnston retired in 1937, having acquired the small island ofEilean Rìgh inLoch Craignish, Scotland. Puyi granted Sir Reginald Fleming Johnston permission to fly the Imperial flag of Manchukuo on the island, making it the only location outside of China to do so, and grew a Chinese style garden.[8][9] After a short illness, he died in Edinburgh. In his will, he requested that no religious ceremony be conducted. In accordance with his wishes, he was cremated. His ashes were scattered on his island and the surrounding loch.
He never married but was at one stage engaged to the historianEileen Power, and was close to authorStella Benson. He was named as a respondent in the divorce of Elizabeth Sparshott,[10] and was engaged to her at the time leading up to his death. Against his explicit request, Sparshott burned many of his materials and letters, including ones from Puyi's childhood in the Forbidden City. Sparshott justified her actions by saying "when a woman makes the supreme sacrifice for a man (her reputation) she probably feels too deeply to be able to identify herself with him for some long time".[9][2]
Johnston's bookTwilight in the Forbidden City (1934) describes his experiences in Peking and was used as a source forBernardo Bertolucci's film dramatization of Puyi's lifeThe Last Emperor. He was portrayed byPeter O'Toole in the film.
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| Preceded by | BritishCommissioner of Weihaiwei 1923–1930 | Weihaiwei returned to China |
