On October 17, 1967, inside the house, Pu Yi was lying on the bed, his face pale and his breathing weak. Li Shuxian sat on the edge of the bed, holding his hand tightly, her eyes full of tears.
She was Pu Yi's fifth and last wife. They got married in 1962, and Pu Yi treated her very well for the next five years of marriage, but now he has to leave before himself.
At 2:30 a.m. on the 17th, Pu Yi closed his eyes forever. She knew that in the future, she could only miss him in her memories.
Pu Yi wrote a book called "The First Half of My Life" before her death, and she cherished it very much. Little did she know, however, that the book would become a thorn in her life, forcing her to go to court and start a decade-long lawsuit.
From emperor to citizen
Pu Yi's life was full of drama. From ascending the throne and becoming an emperor at the age of three, to becoming a puppet emperor, and then to being captured by the Soviet Red Army, this huge identity gap is enough to glimpse the grandeur of his life.
In 1959, after ten years of reform in the Fushun War Criminals Management Center, Pu Yi was granted amnesty, and since then he has a new identity - a citizen of the People's Republic of China.
After leaving the management center, he was assigned to work in the Beijing Botanical Garden, where his daily work was to water flowers and trees, and his life was simple and peaceful. But deep down he still felt lonely.
In the royal palace, he was surrounded by people; In a labor camp, he lived with other war criminals; Now, living alone in Beijing, he feels extremely lonely.
In 1961, Pu Yi was taken to the Committee for the Study of Cultural and Historical Materials of the National Committee of the Chinese People's Political Consultative Conference, which was where he would work in the future. One day, Zhou Zhenqiang, a colleague of the Chinese People's Political Consultative Conference, came to the office with a photo.
The woman in the photo is named Li Shuxian, delicate and generous, gentle and quiet, Pu Yi is very interested in her. Hearing that she was a nurse, Pu Yi was even more excited.
He has always wanted to become a doctor, but unfortunately he has never had the opportunity to study systematically, so he has always had an inexplicable good impression of medical staff. After confirming his intentions, he asked Zhou Zhenqiang to help him meet Li Shuxian.
The beginning of love
Under Zhou Zhenqiang's introduction, Pu Yi finally met Li Shuxian.
Li Shuxian is 18 years younger than Pu Yi, and she was not interested in this relationship at first. But as the contact deepened, she found that although Pu Yi had a special identity, he was humble and polite, knowledgeable, and did not have the arrogance she imagined, and gradually developed a good impression of him.
After a period of dating, the two confirmed each other's hearts, and they got married in 1962.
After getting married, Li Shuxian and Pu Yi moved into a residence in Dongguanyin Temple in Beijing's Xicheng District. Although Pu Yi was accustomed to a life of fine clothes and fine food, under Li Shuxian's patient teaching, he learned to do laundry, cook, and tidy up housework, and gradually adapted to ordinary life.
Ephemeral bliss
However, married life is not all smooth sailing. Due to the unfortunate experience of Pu Yi's early life, he lost his fertility, which became a big regret in their marriage. Whenever Li Shuxian mentioned the problem of children, Pu Yi was always silent.
Despite this, Pu Yi's love for Li Shuxian has never changed, he said: "When I was in the palace before, I didn't understand the mutual relationship between husband and wife...... It wasn't until I met Li Shuxian that I knew that there was such a sweet thing in the world. ”
He was very kind to Li Shuxian, and gave her meticulous care in life, so the couple spent a very sweet five years.
At the end of 1966, Pu Yi was diagnosed with uremia, and although the government immediately arranged for the best doctors to treat him, his condition deteriorated rapidly.
Before dying, he held Li Shuxian's hand, his eyes were full of apology and reluctance, in the early morning of October 17, 1967, Pu Yi died at his home in Beijing, Li Shuxian was grief-stricken.
The battle for the legacy
After Pu Yi's death, she did not remarry, and his memoir "The First Half of My Life" became the spiritual sustenance in Li Shuxian's life. However, this book also became the focus of her struggle with others in her later years.
Pu Yi's memoirs were published before Pu Yi's death, with the help of Li Wenda, editor of the People's Publishing House.
After Pu Yi's death, the book continued to be sold in the market, generating a lot of revenue.
Li Wenda made great efforts in the publication process of "The First Half of My Life". In order to revise Pu Yi's first draft, he went to the Northeast many times to conduct field trips, interviewed people in the know, and finally completed the collation of the book.
Pu Yi once proposed to add Li Wenda's name to the author's signature of the book, but Li Wenda politely rejected this proposal, believing that it was inappropriate.
As time passed, after Pu Yi's death, copyright disputes over "The First Half of My Life" gradually surfaced. Li Shuxian believes that Pu Yi is the sole author of the book, and she, as a widow, has the right to inherit all the copyright income.
Li Wenda believes that he has put a lot of effort into the process of sorting out the book, and he should share the copyright with Pu Yi.
In order to protect her rights and interests, Li Shuxian did not hesitate to go to court with Li Wenda. She refused to remarry, lived alone in her former residence, and never gave up her determination to fight for Pu Yi's legal rights.
A copyright dispute over "The First Half of My Life" kicked off.
Confrontation in court
In 1985, the National Copyright Administration said that the book was a collaboration between Pu Yi and Li Wenda, and that the two should share the remuneration. However, Li Shuxian expressed unacceptability with this result.
In June 1987, Li Shuxian took Li Wenda and the People's Publishing House to court, arguing that Li Wenda had violated her legitimate rights and interests.
In court, Li Shuxian was very resolute, asking the court to determine Pu Yi as the first author of the book, and pointed out: "Pu Yi is the only author, and I, as his legal heir, should enjoy all the copyrights." ”
Not to be outdone, Li Wenda said: "I put a lot of time and effort into the manuscript when compiling The First Half of My Life, and I should be regarded as a co-author. ”
Li Shuxian's lawyer emphasized: "The book is only signed by Pu Yi, and Li Wenda's name does not appear, so it is obvious that he is only assisting in the editing and does not enjoy copyright." ”
Li Wenda's agent retorted: "Without Li Wenda's efforts, the book would not have been published, and his contribution cannot be ignored." ”
The atmosphere in the courtroom was tense, and both sides argued over their own words. However, due to the complexity of the case, the trial process was full of twists and turns, and there was never a conclusion.
turning point
In January 1995, after nearly ten years of struggle, the court finally made a first-instance judgment, finding that Pu Yi was the sole author of "The First Half of My Life" and that Li Shuxian, as Pu Yi's widow, enjoyed all the copyrights.
This verdict was undoubtedly a huge victory for Li Shuxian, but Li Wenda was not satisfied with it and immediately appealed.
Lee won the case in the end, but the price of victory was heavy. Her health has been severely affected by the prolonged legal battle, and her health has deteriorated.
In 1997, Li Shuxian died of lung cancer without leaving any will. The battle over the copyright of "The First Half of My Life" seems to have finally settled, but she has not been able to enjoy the fruits of the victory herself.
After her death, the inheritance faced the embarrassing situation of no one to inherit, and the issue of copyright claim for "The First Half of My Life" also surfaced again.
Pu Yi's brother and niece came to claim the copyright of the book, and the legal battle for this historical legacy does not seem to be over.
However, according to the inheritance law, the first order of inheritance is: spouse, children and parents, and after Pu Yi's death, his estate is inherited by his wife Li Shuxian according to law.
After Li Shuxian's death, the book should be inherited by her descendants, not Pu Yi's brother and niece, so the court rejected their request.
epilogue
After Pu Yi died of illness, Li Shuxian resolutely refused to remarry in order to fight for the copyright of "The First Half of My Life", and fought a lawsuit alone for ten years. With her tenacious will and unwavering determination, she finally won the legal victory and established her legal right to inherit the estate.
Li Shuxian's persistence and hard work have won her legal recognition, and it also shows her deep friendship for her husband Puyi, and also reflects the huge price she has paid to defend her legitimate rights and interests.
Although this inheritance has once again been mired in controversy due to her death and has become ownerless property, the spirit of Li Shuxian's struggle will always be engraved in people's hearts.
Resources:
"<我的前半生>Who Belongs to the Copyright" - 2007-10-29
"The Court Rejects Pu Yi's <我的前半生>Niece's Copyright Claim" - China Press and Publication News