Item number: M122

Year: AD 1933

Material: Bronze and Silver

Size: 盒 110.8 x 66.6 x 19.0 / 獎章 29.5 x 79.8 x 1.9 mm

Weight: 17.2 g

Provenance: Private Collector, Taiwan, 2022

Following Japan’s control of Northeast China through the Mukden Incident in AD 1931, they established Manchukuo and installed the former Qing Dynasty deposed emperor, Puyi, as its leader. On the second anniversary of Manchukuo’s founding in AD 1933, this bronze lacquer “Great Manchukuo Founding of the Country Merit Medal” was announced according to Manchukuo’s 11th decree. The issuance of this medal was extensive, with eligibility ranging from royal ministers of Manchukuo to ordinary Japanese soldiers.

The item comes with an original black wooden storage case, with the case cover featuring the inscription “Great Manchukuo Founding of the Country Merit Medal.” On the obverse side of the medal, the words “Founding of the Country” are written in clerical script, flanked by important Manchukuo agricultural products: sorghum. The characters and sorghum ears are embellished with silver inlay as decoration. On the reverse side of the medal, there are three lines of text, written from right to left: “Great Manchukuo,” “Founding of the Country Merit Medal,” and “First Year of Datong” (AD 1932).

The suspension of the medal features a ring connected to the ribbon, with the ribbon’s colours inspired by the “Five-Coloured Flag” of Manchukuo. The central wide vertical stripe in yellow represents the Manchu people, while the red and blue on the left symbolize the Han and Mongolian peoples. On the right side, the white and black represent the Japanese and Korean peoples, symbolizing the unity of these ethnic groups in building the nation under Manchu rule. Additionally, according to the official interpretation of Manchukuo, these five colours also symbolize geographical directions and the Eastern Way ideology.

On March 1, AD 1932, Puyi, who had been supported by Japan, ascended to the throne as Emperor, marking his third and final time as a monarch. His previous reigns occurred in AD 1908 under the era name “Xuantong” as the last Emperor of the Qing Dynasty, and in AD 1917 for a brief eleven days during a failed restoration led by warlord Zhang Xun. Following the failure of the second restoration, Puyi was expelled from the Forbidden City and took refuge in the Japanese concession in Tianjin until he was summoned back to assume the role of Emperor in the ancestral land of his ancestors.

During his time as Emperor of Manchukuo, Puyi used two era names, “Datong” and “Kangde,” until the downfall of Manchukuo in AD 1945. Puyi was later handed over to the Chinese Communist Party by the Soviet Union and was treated as a war criminal until his pardon in AD 1959. He was then assigned to work as a gardener at the Beijing Botanical Garden until his death in AD 1967 at the age of 62.

Puyi’s tumultuous life, depicted in the renowned film “The Last Emperor,” has become a legendary story celebrated worldwide.

物件編號: M122

年代: 公元 1933 年

材質: 銅, 銀

尺寸: 盒 110.8 x 66.6 x 19.0 / 獎章 29.5 x 79.8 x 1.9 mm

重量: 17.2 g

來源: 台灣私人收藏 2022

公元1931年日本藉九一八事變控制中國東北後，扶植前清廢帝溥儀為領導的滿洲國。大同2年(公元1933年)的建國二週年之際，按照滿洲國的第11號敕令所公布此銅質黑漆的「大滿洲國建國功勞章」。該款獎章的發行量極為龐大，上至組成滿洲國的王公大臣，下至普通日本士兵皆有獲得該獎章的資格。

該物件附有原版的黑色木製收納盒，盒蓋有「大滿洲國建國功勞章」字樣。獎章正面以隸書寫上「建國」兩字，兩側佐以滿洲國重要的農產品：高粱，並且在文字和高粱穗頭以錯銀工藝鑲上白銀為飾。獎章背面則有三行文字，由右至左依序是：「大滿洲國」、「建國功勞章」和「大同元年」(公元1932年)字樣。

獎章上方以一個貫穿鈕扣的固定環形懸掛銜接綬帶，綬帶的配色參考滿洲國「五色國旗」。以代表滿族的黃色寬豎條為中央，左側的紅色和藍色代表漢族和蒙古族，右側的白色和黑色則是大和民族和朝鮮族，象徵各民族在滿族統治下攜手建設國家。此外按照滿洲國的官方解釋，五種顏色亦是象徵地理方位和東方王道思想。

公元1932年3月1日，接受日本的扶植成為皇帝的溥儀，此次是他生命中的第三次也是最後一次稱帝。前兩次分別是公元1908年以年號「宣統」登基為清朝的末代皇帝、公元1917年，軍閥張勳推戴下的短暫十一天復辟。第二次復辟失敗後，溥儀便被趕出紫禁城避居天津的日本租界，直到這次被日本人找回祖先的龍興之地出任皇帝。溥儀在擔任滿洲國皇帝時間，先後使用過「大同」和「康德」兩個年號，直到公元1945年滿洲國覆滅為止。溥儀後續被蘇聯轉交給中共處置，並作為戰犯直到公元1959年特赦為止。此後溥儀被發配到北京植物園擔任園丁，直到公元1967年病逝，終年62歲。溥儀跌宕起伏的一生在著名電影《末代皇帝》詮釋下，成為享譽全球的傳奇故事。