The Extraordinary Life of The Last Emperor of China the envelopes; multiple drafts of Puyi's autobiography "From Emperor to Citizen"; Puyi's original medical records; glasses and glass boxes used by Puyi; mirrors used by Puyi during the Cultural Revolution; notes taken by Jia during interviews. The Extraordinary Life of The Last Emperor of China Jia had contact with Li Shuxian, Puyi's widow, for nearly 30 years, and was the first person to collect Puyi's writings and record Li's recollections of her husband. He even wrote the epigraph on Puyi's casket. Jia also interviewed over 300 people who had associations with Puyi since the late Qing dynasty, thus making the
Emperor of China made by the official dynastic histories; the compilation of a history of the preceding dynasty was considered one of the hallmarks of legitimacy, along with symbols such as the Nine Ding or the Heirloom Seal of the Realm. As with the First Emperor, it was very common also to retroactively grant posthumous titles to the ancestors of the victors; even in Chinese historiography, however, such grants were not considered to elevate emperors prior to the successful declaration of a new dynasty. The Yuan and Qing dynasties were founded by successful invaders; as part of their rule over China, however, they