Cause of death Lymphatic cancer Ethnicity Manchu Name Puru Puru | Role Painter | |
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Full Name Aisin-Gioro Puru
(愛新覺羅 溥儒) Born August 30, 1896 ( 1896-08-30 ) Beijing, China Resting place Yangmingshan No. 1 Public Cemetery Residence Linyi Street, Zhongzheng District, Taipei, Taiwan Occupation Painter, professor, politician Employer Kyoto Imperial University (1928-1928)
Peking National College of Art (1934-1949)
Republic of China National Assembly Representative (1947-1963)
National Taiwan Normal University Art Department (1950-1963)
Tunghai University Art Department (1955-1963) Died November 18, 1963, Taipei, Taiwan Education Humboldt University of Berlin | ||
Puru 溥儒, (August 30, 1896 - November 18, 1963), also known as Pu Xinyu 溥心畬, Xinyu being his courtesy name, and Xishan Yishi 西山逸士 (Hermit of West Mountain), which is his sobriquet. He was a traditional Chinese painter and calligrapher and a member of the Manchu Aisin Gioro clan, the ruling house of the Qing dynasty. He was a cousin to Puyi, the final ruler of the Qing dynasty and the last Emperor of China. It was speculated that Puru would have succeeded to the Chinese throne if Puyi and the Qing government were not overthrown after the 1911 Xinhai Revolution. Puru was reputed to be as talented as the famous southern artist Zhang Daqian (Chang Ta-ch'ien). Together, they became known as "P'u of the North and Chang of the South."
Contents
Life
Puru was born in the Manchu Aisin Gioro clan as the second son of Zaiying (載瀅), a son of Yixin (Prince Gong). His mother was Lady Xiang (項氏), a secondary spouse of Zaiying.
Puru was once selected as a potential candidate to succeed the Guangxu Emperor, but his cousin Puyi was the chosen one. After he returned from Europe, he retreated into the Western Mountains, where he spent many years in Jietai Monastery to concentrate on his studies. After the fall of the Qing dynasty in 1911, he changed his family name to "Pu".
In 1947, Puru was appointed by Chiang Kai-shek as a Manchu representative at the Constitutional National Assembly. He was strongly against Puyi's cooperation with the Empire of Japan, foresaw the unrest in China and fled to Taiwan in the same year as Chang Kai-shek did.
In Taiwan, Puru made a living by selling paintings and calligraphy works during the first months of his arrival in Taipei. He lived in a Japanese-style house on Linyi Street in Taipei that the government provided for him. He was appointed in October 1949 as a professor of fine arts at the National Taiwan Normal University. In 1959, he held a two-week-long art exhibition at the National Museum of History with 318 works on display.
Puru died in 1963 and was buried in the Yangmingshan No. 1 Public Cemetery in Taipei.