Puyi

About Puyi

Puyi (1906–1967) holds a significant, albeit complicated, place in modern history as the last Emperor of China, reigning as the Xuantong Emperor of the Qing dynasty until his forced abdication in 1912. Though his reign was largely titular following the 1911 Revolution, he later served as the puppet emperor of the Japanese-controlled state of Manchukuo in Manchuria from 1934 to 1945. This dual role—the final monarch of a millennia-old imperial system and a collaborationist figure—solidifies his ranking at #620 in MIT’s Historical Popularity Index based on global cultural influence.

The internet's attention, however, suggests a different hierarchy. Puyi garners approximately 1.3 million annualized Wikipedia views in 2025. This level of interest represents an "overattention" gap of +4x when benchmarked against his historical importance score. To put this in perspective, he receives significantly more attention than figures ranked much higher in historical importance, such as Edward IV of England (#262 importance, 300K views). Meanwhile, his contemporary political peers like Bill Clinton (#704 importance) command over five times his traffic.

Despite his relative historical stature, Puyi’s modern digital presence shows increasing relevance, evidenced by a notable +12.4% year-over-year increase in views and a +5% positive momentum shift between the first and third quarters of 2025, suggesting contemporary media or events are driving renewed curiosity in the history of the final Chinese dynasty.