On this day in 1912, following Sun Yat-sen's revolution, Hsüan-T'ung, the last emperor of China, was forced to abdicate. The Son of Heaven was a member of the Ch'ing Dynasty ~ a Manchu. His age when he became unemployed? Six.

The End of the Emperor's Rule. The government that was established in the Emperor's place ended 267 years of Manchu rule in China and 2,000 years of imperial rule.

And the Manchu Were? The Manchu were originally nomads from Manchuria, northeast of China. They conquered China in 1644, but kept themselves separated from the Chinese. They had their own language and fashions, lived apart, and married other Manchus. For a long time Chinese people weren't even permitted to settle in the Manchu homeland.

Back to the Emperor. The 6-year old former emperor was allowed to remain at his residence in Beijing's Forbidden City, where he took the name of Henry Pu Yi. . The new Chinese government granted him a large government pension. Pu Yi lived in the imperial palace until 1924, when he was forced into exile.

Pu Yi History. Pu Yi was became emperor in 1908 after his uncle, the Kuang-hsü emperor, died. Though he was the ruler, he had a regent to advise him.

Change of Plans. In October of 1911, Pu Yi's dynasty fell to Sun Yat-sen's revolution. Four months later, on this day in 1912, he abdicated. He ruled over a miniature court in the Forbidden City until 1924. That's when the Imperial Family was evicted at gun-point by the Nationalist "Christian General." Exile followed for Henry Pu Yi, and lasted until 1932.

Emperor Once More. In 1932, Japan created the puppet state of Manchukuo in Manchuria and Pu Yi was again enthroned as K'ang Te, emperor of Manchukuo. Despite guerrilla resistance against his puppet regime, he remained emperor until 1945.