I always find it fascinating that the first instinct of many failed European monarchs was exile abroad, whereas Chinese rulers usually abdicated or died where they stood.
The last Song emperor died with his ministers rather than surrender. The last Ming emperor hanged himself in Beijing when the Ming fell. And the last Qing regent, after surviving multiple assassination attempts and the collapse of the dynasty, simply retired to his Beijing mansion. He then spent the rest of his life in Beijing and Tianjin through the warlord era, the Republican period, the Japanese invasion, and the founding of the PRC. When Japan established the puppet state of Manchukuo, he publicly denounced it rather than treating it as a refuge. Bro never seemed to think there was another state he could flee to or call home.
Not just forgot I straight up did not know this. I thought it was kinda strange that European royalty were such a transcultural layer and often had such weak ties to the people they ruled. I just figured it wasn’t a problem.
But it was a problem. Created a crisis of legitimacy.
“Everyone forgets that the French Revolution villainized the monarchy for being alien to the French nation. King Louis XVI was 80% ethnically German/Austrian and his wife was 100% Austrian. In his trial, charges 9, 19, 20, 28, 31, and 33 were all concerning his foreignness to France which led to his treasonous collaboration with the Germans/Austrians fighting France at the time.”