Francis Wann and the Letters of Wen Su – China Underground

Reconstructing the life of a Qing dynasty official through unpublished family archives

Francis Wann (雲中燕) is a producer, photographer, editor, and teacher. He holds a PhD in Semiotics and has worked across multiple fields of cultural production, including visual media, literature, and education. His book Loyal to the End was released in May 2025 by Earnshaw Books, focusing on the life and letters of Wen Su, a Qing dynasty official who remained loyal to the last emperor of China.

Wann is also the author of The Other Wen Su (温肅別傳), a study that reconstructs the official’s life through archival materials, and the translator and editor of Let It Be, a poetry anthology by Lujah. In addition to his academic and literary work, he has contributed features to Leica International, writing on photography and related subjects.

What first drew you to the story of Wen Su as the central figure for this work?

I remember when I was small our home was adorned with various works of calligraphy. There were poems by Chen Jinghong （陳荊鴻, 1902–1993）, and Huang Weicheong （黃維瑁, 1902–1993）, but one huge couplet stood out from the rest and I had no idea of its origin. Anyway, I’d say I grew up with it and my parents seldom mentioned its significance. However, the last name of its calligrapher Wen Su (温肅) did ring in my ears as it was my family name and the couplet was meant for my dad, his nephew. Shortly before my father’s demise he somehow broke his silence and said his uncle was no ordinary man and was indeed the mentor and teacher of Puyi, the last emperor of China. Then I decided to find out who my great uncle was up to during his life in the Qing dynasty. Without any background in Chinese history, I had to start from scratch. I began scouring reference libraries across Hong Kong for sources, and became alert to any news and materials associated with him and tried to build up my own database. Later I was aware of the Hok Hoi Library which was founded by a group of Hanlins including Wen.

It was also by a strange coincidence that one day I was introduced to calligrapher Ho Yauwei, whose uncle He Guoli (何國澧, 1859–1937) was a Jinshi during the Guangxu reign, and was Wen Su’s colleague in the Hanlin Academy. Ho later introduced me to join his group of literati, a class of its own, and here I met a friend who introduced me to another friend in Rongqi, Shundi province, who passed me a collection of Wen Su’s letters left to him by Wen’s fourth son Bishen. I then decided it was about time I wrote about him, his public as well as private life, in proper historical perspective.

Indeed much has already been written about Wen Su, but more as an acclaimed calligrapher and politician. For the first time in history, the personal letters of a Qing Hanlin have been made available to the public, which should be of immense interest to researchers and scholars of this particular era.

It started off as my passion project and my objective was to dig into my family genealogy. Later as more historical facts came to light I began to see the more complete picture of a dying empire and what life was like for both royals and commoners. I feel that at times I would swap identity with Hanlin, my great uncle, taking a glimpse to the outside world from the Forbidden Garden.

As a public figure, part of Wen Su’s life is already well documented. The letters which I’ve acquired allow me to turn him into a man of flesh and blood, a family man who cares about the well-being of his wife, a father who was anxious to see his sons’ improvement in their academic studies, and a senior government official cum Hanlin who wanted to put the world right.

The relationship between Wen Su and the emperor is obviously a sensitive one which has resulted in numerous speculations and left many historians baffled. The official protocol and court etiquette were often bent between them. Perhaps it was destiny that Puyi was allegedly put to the throne by this young Hanlin in 1908, just a week after the deaths of both Emperor Guangxu and Empress Dowager Cixi.

The sudden turmoil facing the entire Qing empire must have made everyone think very hard about the future of the nation, and for Wen Su, it might also be an opportunity to nurture a new emperor, and bring a new vision of hope for the dynasty.

Wen Su’s unwavering loyalty to the Qing empire in general, and to emperor Puyi in particular, can best be seen when he was summoned to the Southern Study in 1923. With an unprecedented ambition to revive the empire and to groom a prospective head of state, he proposed to give daily lectures to the emperor on the art of governance based on Emperor Taizong’s (626–649) Political Summary of Zhenguan in the Tang dynasty. It was also during this period he met Puyi’s English teacher Sir Reginald Johnston, who managed to forge a lasting friendship with the emperor even after he was evicted from the Forbidden City by the warlord Feng Yuxiang in 1925.

Distressed and desperate, Wen Su went to Hong Kong to join Hanlin Lai Chishi at The University of Hong Kong in 1929. Even on his deathbed his heart was still with the emperor, and he sent him his last best regards in an official palace memorial which was hand-delivered to Puyi by his son Bifu:

“…I understand I have reached the twilight of my life. Now we’re miles apart and I’m not able to see you. My words and tears seem further away. I hope Your Majesty will take good care of yourself and wait for God’s intention. Pay attention to details and observe the world at large, just like Shaokang of ancient Guan (Xia dynasty, 1912–1972 BC), or Emperor Guangxu who revived the Han dynasty (Eastern Han, 25–220). Then although I may have gone, my spirit will still be with you. I’m instructing my second son to dictate this will memorial and present it later. Ji mu year November 20 (1939)”

excerpt from his will

The Hanlin scholars in the Hanlin Academy enjoyed a special status and privileges in the court administration. Many had become lifelong friends, and Wen Su was particularly close to a few other Hanlins such as Lai Chishi, who became Jinshi in the same year of gui mu (癸卯), and was fondly referred to as gui mu buddies among themselves. Their loyalty and faith in each other went to such an extent that they pledged to write each other’s obituaries. Indeed Wen Su’s son Bifu married Lai’s granddaughter, and his third daughter Ah Chiu (Chiuyu) was married to the son of Li Zhanzi, another gui mu buddy, thus further strengthening the link between them.

The family letters are obviously the main source of information which help me to reconstruct the personality and traits of a real Wen Su. I also made use of the materials in HKU’s University Archives, the Public Records Office and other sources to compare and analyse historical facts and figures to make sure they don’t contradict each other.

Were there any surprising or little-known events in Wen Su’s career that you felt were essential to the narrative?

Shortly after the coronation of Puyi, Wen Su was appointed regional governor for Hubei province which not only gave him the power to advise, recommend, and investigate, but also condemn and even impeach corrupt officials, and one of his prime suspects turned out to be Zaifeng, or Prince Chun, father of Puyi. His last posting as Deputy Chief Censor was possibly the highest rank awarded to an official of Han origin.

Despite his senior positions and a landlord himself, Wen often found that he had to struggle to make ends meet, and on various occasions, he had to seek financial assistance from other Hanlins and his well-to-do acquaintances.

As a man of the highest morals himself, it’s not surprising he admired other people with the same traits and creed, even not his contemporaries. One of them was Chen Gongyin, alias Chen Dulu (陳恭尹, 1631–1700), who was loyal to the Ming dynasty and fought against the Qing government. Wen repaired his ancestral hall, wrote his obituary, refurbished his head tombstone, and published an anthology of his poetry, all at his own expense.

Another notable character is Zhu Jiujiang (朱九江, 1807–1882), who mocked the imperial examination system by leaving his script unfinished in 1848. Wen later managed to secure this exam script and presented it at the opening ceremony of Confucian Hall in Hong Kong in 1935, almost a century afterwards.

How did his loyalty to the Qing dynasty influence his later life in the Republic era?

Wen Su’s staunch sense of loyalty to the Qing empire and his adherence to Confucian principles was well known and respected within the academic world, and this had made him a sought-after figure in many social and cultural events. His name was often associated with charity organisations such as Tung Wah Group of Hospitals and the Po Leung Kuk, where his calligraphy is still preserved today.

How do his writings on governance compare to the ideas of reformers and revolutionaries of the period?

When the cries of reform and revolution were heard in and out of the palace, Wen Su was certainly not oblivious to the political climate. While many might have judged him as old-fashioned and conservative, indeed Wen could be the first who wanted to reform the entire system and bring back social justice.

While other officials were eager to claim allegiance with the revolutionary society, Wen saw the danger of this half-baked sense of democracy when ministers jockeyed for positions in the parliamentary election game. His view of good governance was primarily based on the teachings of Confucius and the Book of Analects, which was a far cry from the view of the reformers who wanted to settle their scores with votes. While giving lectures to the emperor on the governance during the reign of Emperor Taizong, he saw the resemblance of the two monarchies, and was convinced there was a way out for the current impasse at home.

In your view, what can modern readers learn from Wen Su’s life that is relevant to today’s political and cultural climate?

In today’s world of AI dominance and political uncertainty, is Zhenguan Zhizhi still relevant, or is there a place for basic wisdom? For as long as modern society has existed, the quest for social justice and a better world has never changed. International relations and peace studies have long been introduced in universities, but why is it so difficult to achieve mutual understanding?

While Wen Su’s lecture notes highlighted the importance of a system with checks and balances, they invariably raised the question of human factors. According to the teachings of Confucius, if all of today’s leaders could pause to read the Book of Filial Piety and practise what they pledge, the world we live in would be a very different one.

“Those who cannot remember the past are condemned to repeat it.” — George Santayana (1863–1952)

This quote may sound cliché, but almost one and a half thousand years after Taizong’s reign, and more than eighty years since the first publication of Wen Su’s notes, history has repeatedly proved him right.

Photos and images courtesy of Francis Wann

Post Author

Matteo Damiani

CHINA-UNDERGROUND. Matteo Damiani is an Italian sinologist, photographer, author and motion designer. Matteo lived and worked for ten years in China. Founder of CinaOggi.it and China-underground.com.