A Scholar’s Dream and an Unlikely Appointment
For over two millennia, China’s literati cherished an extraordinary ambition—not to become high-ranking officials or accumulate wealth, but to serve as “Imperial Tutor” (帝师) to the emperor. This revered position represented the pinnacle of scholarly achievement. Yet in 1919, history took an unprecedented turn when a foreigner—a Scotsman named Reginald Fleming Johnston—assumed this hallowed role for China’s last emperor, Puyi.
Johnston, who adopted the Chinese name Zhuang Shidun (庄士敦), arrived at the Forbidden City’s Yuxing Palace on March 3, 1919, for a meticulously choreographed ceremony. The 13-year-old Puyi, who had nominally abdicated seven years earlier but retained imperial privileges within the palace walls, first received Johnston in full dragon robes. After the Scot bowed three times in traditional fashion, the ritual took a remarkable turn: Puyi changed into Western attire and bowed to his new teacher—an extraordinary gesture marking the first foreign Imperial Tutor in Chinese history.
From Oxford Scholar to Confucian Admirer
Born in 1874 in Edinburgh, Johnston distinguished himself at Oxford before joining Britain’s Colonial Office. Posted to Hong Kong and later Weihaiwei (a British leased territory in Shandong), he developed an unusual devotion to Chinese culture that bordered on obsession. Fluent in Mandarin, he immersed himself in Confucian classics, even adopting the courtesy name “Zhi Dao” (志道)—”Aspiring to the Way”—from the Analects.
His 1906 photograph in Weihaiwei shows a man already transformed: dressed in Chinese garb, his posture and expression reflecting deeper cultural assimilation than typical colonial officers. Johnston’s writings reveal startling critiques of Western imperialism: “Neither East nor West has completed its social experiment,” he argued, condemning Christian missionaries’ cultural imposition. These views earned him accusations of being “Britain’s traitor” from compatriots.
The invitation to tutor Puyi came through Li Jingmai, son of late Qing statesman Li Hongzhang, who had witnessed Johnston’s erudition in Weihaiwei. Despite reservations from the Qing court’s Neiwufu (内务府, Imperial Household Department), concerns about Puyi’s outdated education prevailed. Johnston’s £700 monthly salary (double what Peking University paid luminaries like Hu Shi) reflected the position’s prestige.
Classroom in the Forbidden City
Johnston’s daily tutorials followed rigorous palace schedules. After Puyi’s morning sessions with Confucian tutors like Chen Baochen (who had taught him since age six), Johnston took over at 1:30 PM. Initially tasked with English instruction, he quickly adapted to Puyi’s fascination with global affairs—the Treaty of Versailles, European geography, and modern sciences.
His pedagogical innovations broke centuries of tradition:
– Using fruit candies in tin containers to explain Western industrialization
– Introducing world maps and globes, expanding Puyi’s spatial awareness beyond the Middle Kingdom
– Arranging unprecedented meetings with cultural figures like poet Rabindranath Tagore and reformist Hu Shi
Puyi’s growing attachment became evident when he elevated Johnston to first-rank official status (一品), granting him residence in the Yangxing Study within the Imperial Garden—the first foreigner ever permitted to live inside the Forbidden City.
Cultural Shockwaves: Glasses, Haircuts, and Telephone Lines
Johnston’s influence catalyzed symbolic breaks with tradition:
1. The Spectacles Affair: Discovering Puyi’s myopia, Johnston insisted on Western eyeglasses despite court opposition. When the Dowager Consort Duankang threatened suicide, Johnston countered with his resignation. American ophthalmologist Dr. Howard’s examination confirmed the need, and Puyi’s adoption of glasses marked a quiet revolution.
2. The Queue Controversy: Johnston derided the Manchu queue as a “pig’s tail,” prompting Puyi to personally shear his braid in 1922. Within weeks, 1,500 palace staff followed suit—effectively ending three centuries of Qing sartorial mandate.
3. Technological Incursions: Telephones, bicycles, and Western suits infiltrated the palace, with Johnston serving as conduit to modernity. When Puyi called Peking Opera star Mei Lanfang (a scandal at the time), it epitomized how Johnston’s mentorship blurred imperial protocols.
Power Struggles and the Flames of Jianfu Palace
Johnston’s crusade against Neiwufu corruption exposed palace intrigues:
– Discovering repair funds dwindling from 80,000 to 80 silver dollars through bureaucratic graft
– Documenting systematic theft of imperial artifacts by eunuchs and officials
His audit initiative triggered the June 1923 Jianfu Palace fire—widely believed to be arson destroying 6,643 treasures (including 2,685 golden Buddhas) to conceal embezzlement. The aftermath saw Puyi abolish China’s 2,000-year eunuch system, expelling all but essential palace attendants.
Exile and Unintended Consequences
The 1924 coup by warlord Feng Yuxiang abruptly ended Puyi’s palace life. Johnston leveraged his foreign status to spirit Puyi to the Japanese Legation—a decision he later defended in his memoir Twilight in the Forbidden City (1934), insisting Japan had no prior involvement.
Yet this began Puyi’s tragic trajectory toward becoming Japan’s puppet in Manchuria. Johnston’s 1932 meeting with Puyi in Tianjin revealed the emperor’s resolve, influenced by the 1928 looting of Qing Eastern Tombs. As historian Puyi would later reflect, Johnston’s Western idealism couldn’t counteract centuries of imperial psychology or Japan’s geopolitical machinations.
Legacy: Between Nostalgia and Historical Crossroads
Retiring to Scotland’s Loch Craignish, Johnston transformed his island home into a Qing museum, hosting parties in imperial robes beneath what witnesses described as either a Qing dragon flag or Manchurian banner. His memoir’s dedication—wishing Puyi “a new and brighter dawn”—reflects the tragic optimism of their bond.
Modern assessments vary: Chinese scholars emphasize Johnston’s cultural respect versus colonial contemporaries; British accounts highlight his unique transcultural identity. The Forbidden City itself—now a UNESCO site—bears silent witness to this extraordinary encounter between China’s last emperor and the Scotsman who, for a fleeting historical moment, became the most unconventional Imperial Tutor in history.
Johnston’s story endures as a poignant footnote to China’s turbulent transition from empire to modernity—a twilight era when a Scottish Confucianist briefly held the keys to a vanishing world.