Sir Reginald F. Johnston-Emperor’s Tutor and the Forbidden City

In the final years of the Ch’ing dynasty, the imperial court extensively enlisted Western advisers to cope with the great calamities that had befallen China. Despite the differences between Chinese and Western cultures, there were a great number of Western individuals who privately committed themselves to join those Chinese dedicated to stem the tide of decline. Notable among them were the American nationals Frederick Townsend Ward and Anson Burlingame, and the British nationals Charles George Gordon and Robert Hart. Their names were recorded for posterity in the Draft History of Ch’ing. As Confucius instructed: “The ruler employs his ministers with propriety, the ministers serve their ruler with loyalty.” This principle was upheld across generations by Chinese scholar-officials and likewise validated by certain Western advisers. These Western advisers who long admired Classical Chinese Culture were motivated by genuine interest and respect, culminating in personal actions deemed righteous and honourable, magnanimously rendering assistance to support China. Their appreciation of Classical Chinese Culture was the wellspring of such commitment. Surveying the barely visible traces of Classical Chinese Culture today, there is little left to inspire admiration from the West, and little left to sustain and bolster the Chinese themselevs. The last Ch’ing emperor P’u-i (溥儀) abdicated shortly after the founding of the Republic of China, yet the Forbidden City continued as a piece of imperial property. In late November, the 7th year of the Republic 1918, the British national Reginald Fleming Johnston was appointed English tutor to the former Ch’ing emperor P’u-i. The following year, in the 8th year of the Republic 1919, Johnston met P’u-i for the first time in the Forbidden City. P’u-i was thirteen years old then. Johnston chronicled this meeting in his work Twilight in the Forbidden City. He wrote: “He was dressed for the occasion in court dress, and was attended by a number of functionaries in uniform. On being conducted into the audience-chamber I advanced towards the emperor and bowed three times. He then descended from his seat, walked up to me and shook hands in European fashion. He remained standing during the rest of this short interview and asked me a few conventional questions, mainly about my official career in China. When the interview was over I withdrew to a waiting-room and was informed that the emperor wished to begin his English lessons immediately and would receive me again in a less formal manner as soon as he had changed his clothes.” The year Reginald Johnston was appointed tutor to the emperor, he had not only lived in China for almost twenty years, he was also serving as the British district officer and colonial magistrate of Weihaiwei. His writings were widely known at the time. His publications included From Peking to Mandala: A Journey from North China to Burma through Tibetan Ssuch’uan and Yunnan, published in the 34th year of the Kuang-hsü reign 1908; Lion and Dragon in Northern China, published in the 2nd year of the Hsüan-t’ung reign 1910; A Chinese Appeal to Christendom Concerning Christian Missions, written under the pseudonym of Lin Shao-yang, published in the 3rd year of the Hsüan-t’ung reign 1911; Buddhist China, published in the 7th year of the Republic of China 1918. Many of Johnston’s writings were sympathetic to China’s position, and for this reason he formed close friendships with China’s scholar-officials. His appointment of imperial tutor was recommended by Li Ching-mai (李經邁 1876-1940), the third son of Li Hung-chang (李鴻章 1823-1901). Reginald Johnston was born on 31 October 1874 and died on 6 March 1938 at the age of sixty-three. A native of Edinburgh, Scotland, he was educated at the University of Edinburgh and later at Magdalen College, University of Oxford. In 1898, he was posted to Hong Kong by the British Colonial Office. In 1906, he was posted to Weihaiwei in Shantung province. In 1919, he was appointed imperial tutor. In 1924, after P’u-i was expelled from the Forbidden City, Johnston became secretary to the Sino-British Indemnity Commission. From 1927 to 1930, he was promoted to commissioner of Weihaiwei. On 1 October 1930, when Weihaiwei was returned to China by the British government, Johnston’s official career came to an end. In the same year, he returned to Britain, having lived in China for a total of thirty-three years. In 1931, he was appointed professor of Chinese Studies at the School of Oriental and African Studies, University of London. His personal library of 16,000 volumes were later all donated to the SOAS Library. The bookplate with the design of the Five Sacred Mountains is a distinct feature of the Johnston Collection....