The only concubine in Chinese history who dared to file for divorce from the emperor

In the spring of 1921, when Emperor Pu Yi was selecting an empress, Wen Xiu and Wan Rong were both among the young noblewomen recommended. Wen Xiu was not beautiful, far inferior to Wan Rong, but Emperor Pu Yi liked her. Empress Dowager Duan Kang, the emperor's mother, chose Wan Rong as empress, and Wen Xiu as Imperial Concubine Shu.

In the early days, Uyen Dung was often jealous and tried to overthrow Van Tu. Van Tu was not affectionate with the king, and was introverted, did not like to talk much, and had difficulty expressing her feelings. Since childhood, she loved reading poetry and always lived alone in the Thuong Xuan Palace to keep her company with books. King Pu Yi also invited an English teacher to teach her. Living in the palace, Van Tu learned a lot of knowledge.

Not long after, the king and the royal family were forced to leave the palace by Feng Yuxiang, a general of the Kuomintang, and live in the Chunshen Palace in Beijing. Wenxiu wanted to improve the atmosphere in the palace and maintain an equal status with the king. She often gave advice to the king, but the king turned to the Japanese, hoping to restore his throne.

Wenxiu did not want Emperor Puyi to collude with the Japanese, so he advised her many times. The Emperor felt disgusted and gradually became indifferent to her, especially when they moved to the Japanese concession in Tianjin. The Emperor even mistreated Wenxiu. When eating or walking around, Puyi often left Wenxiu alone and went with Wanrong. At that time, the Emperor and Wanrong lived on the second floor. Wenxiu lived downstairs and did not go upstairs every day, as if she were an outsider.

The relationship between Wenxiu and King Puyi grew colder and colder, their feelings were broken, and they had no affection for each other. Therefore, she escaped to find a lawyer and announced her divorce from King Puyi in the newspaper so that everyone would know. One of the main reasons for the divorce was that King Puyi did not fulfill his duties as a husband. After 9 years of marriage, Wenxiu was still a virgin.

At that time, Pu Yi was no longer emperor, but this still surprised people. The press called Wen Xiu "the revolutionary imperial concubine". When King Pu Yi received the court summons, he was extremely frightened and agreed to the divorce. He became the first emperor to be divorced by his imperial concubine.

When Wenxiu found a lawyer to handle the divorce proceedings, Pu Yi was extremely surprised, thinking that this was an unprecedented and absurd story. However, Wenxiu was extremely determined, and the two sides finally reached an agreement: Pu Yi would compensate Wenxiu 50,000 yuan for living expenses, and in return, Wenxiu would agree to never remarry again for the rest of his life. After the divorce, Wenxiu returned to Beiping City, which is now Beijing.

The only concubine in Chinese history who dared to file for divorce from the emperor - 2 — Imperial Concubine Van Tu. (Photo: *Baidu)*

Although she had returned to being a commoner, Wenxiu's palace habits remained. She hired four servants. Every day, she had to change her clothes and wash her hands three times, adding hot water each time, and the last water had to be careful not to burn her hands. If the servants did not do their job to her satisfaction, she would scold them. The extravagance did not last long, and her ex-husband's compensation gradually ran out. Wenxiu's days of staying home to read books also ended.

Van Tu changed her name to Pho Ngoc Phuong and became a teacher at a private school. As her new life began, Van Tu gradually smiled, loved being around children and was loved by them. Her happiness at that time was simple, the happiness of freedom.

Not long after, her identity as the last imperial concubine of the Qing Dynasty was discovered. People surrounded her house, turning her life upside down. Wenxiu had to leave school in tears. After that, she fell into poverty, working as a cardboard box paster and even a construction worker to make a living.

The only concubine in Chinese history who dared to file for divorce from the emperor - 3 — Emperor Puyi and Empress Wanrong. (Photo: *Baidu)*

In 1949, after the victory of the resistance war in China, Wenxiu became a proofreader for a newspaper, and later married Liu Zhendong, an assistant to Li Zongren, acting president of the Republic of China after Chiang Kai-shek resigned in 1947.

The wedding was held solemnly at Dongxinglou, a famous place in China at that time. Liu Zhendong gave the money he had saved for more than twenty years to Wenxiu. After the marriage, Liu Zhendong opened a small rickshaw rental shop. Wenxiu later quit his job as a proofreader. Their family also had a maid, and Wenxiu spent her days peacefully reading and painting. After two years of such a life, Liu Zhendong went bankrupt and lost the new house they had worked so hard to save.

Before the two could escape south, Beiping City was surrounded. Liu Zhendong listened to his wife and reported himself to the authorities. Thanks to his good performance, he stayed on to work in the sanitation team of Xicheng District, Beijing, earning a low salary but enough to cover his living expenses.

Wenxiu and Liu Zhendong lived in a room of only 10 square meters. Wenxiu managed the house and did all the housework herself. However, the couple had no children. Due to poor health, she passed away in 1953 at the age of 45.

TUE LAM (Source: Sohu)

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