Back in May of 2014 I did a blog on "The Manchurian Princess." It was a blog about a Manchu princess of Aisin Gioro clan who became a traitor to its people by being a spy for the Imperial Japanese, the Kwantung Army. Her Chinese name was Chin Pi Hui, although she was mostly known by her Japanese name of Yoshiko Kawashima. Her story is a sad one, yet it is interesting and somewhat improbable in parts. As explained in the earlier blog, she was "adopted" by a wealthy Japanese, although some claim she was simply sold by her "down on luck" father, who was a Manchu prince related to the Emperor's family. She was raised and educated in Japan and became as much Japanese as she was Manchu/Chinese. She had numerous affairs with both men and women, and acted as a Japanese secret agent within the Chinese, Mongol, and Manchu communities. She was briefly married to a Mongol prince so she could even lay claim to being a Mongol princess.
Some claim that Yoshiko Kawashima was instrumental in paving the way for the establishment of the puppet Manchukuo government by the Japanese. At any rate, when Manchukuo was established in 1931, Yoshiko Kawashima became a General in the new Manchukuo army. She organized a 5000 man cavalry brigade composed mostly of "reformed" Hung hu Tzu, the bandits. The "army" was formed ostensibly to fight anti-Japanese elements in Manchuria, mostly Korean Freedom Fighters and some Chinese Communist guerrillas. She liked to dress in uniforms and was seen in a fancy cavalry uniform with her new rank of Colonel General, complete with a sword! She was a character.
However, she was reviled by the Manchu and Chinese, considered a traitor, while the Japanese glamorized her and even made a movie about her in the 1930s! But, she soon realized that the Japanese had simply used her and when her usefulness was over, they simply dumped her. At that point she tried to revert back to Chinese/Manchu community but was having a difficult time. She was ultimately captured by the Chinese Nationalist forces at the conclusion of World War Two, tried as a traitor and hung like a common criminal. A sad ending for someone who at one time, less than a decade earlier was so popular in some circles, held a high, prestigious position, and even had a movie made about her! Life can indeed be cruel. But then again, some say that she caused death and misery to thousands of Chinese and Manchus who opposed Japanese rule.
She was not exactly unknown in the West. Someone as flashy as her could not go unnoticed by the Western press. There were many stories written about her and she became a very popular model for depicting an evil Asian woman. It is believed that the so-called "Dragon Lady" was patterned after her! She was a striking woman who liked to dress as a man from time to time, but could also put on a very glamorous appearance in a fancy Japanese kimono or a traditional Manchu dress.
But, Yoshiko Kawashima/Chin Pi Hui was not the last Manchurian princess as she is often depicted. She was one of the last, but not the last. The true last Manchurian princess was one of her younger sisters, Jin Moyu, who died recently, in 2014 at the age of 95.
Unlike her older sister Chin Pi Hui/Yoshiko Kawashima, Jin Moyu was never a traitor to the Chinese or Manchu. She was sent to Japan to be educated because at the time she was of high school age, Japan had colonized Manchuria. She was college educated in Japan, but really had no profession to speak of. She attempted to work at a newspaper office but found it hard to maintain work discipline, to come to work on time, etc.! Her privileged life as a princess had not prepared her for life as a common person!
When the Nationalists fled to Taiwan, she stayed on the mainland. She was left alone, since she was really apolitical and of no danger to the new communist regime. So, for the next half a century she struggled along trying to survive, trying to make a living. She was briefly successful at running a restaurant, but that didn't last long. However, she was fortunate in that she married someone (an artist) who was fairly well off by communist standards, so she did not suffer like some former aristocrats and members of the privileged class. All in all she led a rather insignificant existence. Her last attempt at starting some sort of a business was to open a Japanese language school in the 1990s. With Chinese business and industry booming, there was a heavy need for Japanese speakers and she capitalized on it. Her school was successful. She died peacefully in May of 2014, the very last Manchurian princess. She had no children, so there were no more descendants of the Aisin Gioro clan, the Royal Manchu line. The 95 year old Jin Moyu was the true last Manchurian princess.
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