Reginald Johnston Chinese Mandarin Chinese Mandarin

Reginald Johnston was tutor to the last Emperor of China. He was, in fact, one of the only Westerners to gain access to the secrets within the Chinese power palaces. A middle-class Edinburgh man, he joined the British Colonial Service and went East, studying the language, culture and religion of China. He lived through the years of massive changes. As the only foreigner to work in the Forbidden City, where centuries old customs prevailed and corruption was rife, he was raised to the rank of Mandarin, the highest title of Chinese nobility. (In Bertolucci's Oscar winning film, "The Last Emperor, " Peter O'Toole played Johnston.) Writer Shiona Airlie's intensive research has uncovered unknown facts about the life of this eccentric and powerful man, about his upbringing, his career and about his years in China. Johnston met the last Emperor, Puyi, as a boy and they remained close until his death. Puyi eventually ended his life as a humble gardener and begged his friend to remain in China but Johnston moved back to Scotland and bought an island where he died in 1938. (National Museums of Scotland)Airlie, Shiona M. is the author of 'Reginald Johnston Chinese Mandarin Chinese Mandarin' with ISBN 9781901663495 and ISBN 1901663493.