The emperor was not in the Forbidden City to witness the expulsion of the eunuchs. This action was carefully planned with few people knowing, since the emperor could trust very few of his intimates. The order to remove the eunuchs was received in the City while the emperor was visiting at a friend's home. Also, not all of the eunuchs were dismissed, as the empress dowager (the wife of the late emperor) begged Pu Yi to allow a few of her personal servants to remain.
When the puppet Emperor of Manchukuo is speaking and gives a list of the countries that have recognized the Japanese imposed government, the Vatican is included as one of them. This is not the case. A religious organization in charge of missions recognized it, but the Holy See never officially recognized Manchukuo because of the Japanese invasion.
Mr. Johnston enters the Emperor's service during the 4 May 1919 student movement. Thus, Pu Yi is 13 years of age, not 15.
In numerous scenes taking place before the establishment of the People's Republic of China writings in simplified Chinese characters can be seen. However, these were only introduced in 1949. During the Qing dynasty much more elaborate traditional characters would have been in use.
When Pu Yi walks out on the terrace during his inauguration, the counting of the "kowtow" starts. At the inauguration or coronation of the emperor 3 times 3 bows should be made, but the count can be heard until 11.
The tour guide at the end of the film says that Pu Yi was 3 years old at his coronation. Puyi was born Feb. 7, 1906 and invested Nov. 14, 1908, aged 2 years 10 months. However, the guide was likely using the Chinese age system, in which a person is automatically aged "1" when born.
When Johnston and Pu Yi say "farewell" to each other and as the musicians appear and follow Johnston, reflections are visible in such a way that indicate that the scene was actually shot through the glass of a pre-existing structure. The reflections are not consistent with anything else in the shot.
When Johnston is about to board a ship to England in 1931, a ticket office window is seen in the background with opening and closing times given in simplified Chinese characters. China only switched to simplified characters after the Communists came to power in 1949, with a drive to improve literacy. At the time this scene takes place, traditional full-form characters would have been used.
The Emperor sings "Am I Blue" in 1927, but the song wasn't written until 1929.
In the Director's Cut, just before Pu Yi cuts his hair in 1924, the consorts are dancing to a violin playing "Ol' Man River" from the musical "Showboat", first performed in 1927.
In the part just before the beginning of the film, the train station service office sign is written in simplified Chinese, but at that time it should have been in traditional Chinese.
When the princess gives birth, you can hear the baby crying, yet when the camera moves across, the baby has a calm expression.
At the time when he next sees his mother, Pu Yi says, "My mother has not seen me for seven years." That would make the year 1915, but it is wrong. He should say, "My mother has not seen me for four years," which makes the year 1912. In the spring of 1912, the new republican government divided the Forbidden City by constructing a wall, thus restricting the emperor's domain. Assuming that it is that dividing wall on which Pu Yi and Pu Chieh climb, one must reasonably assume that, since the wall is clearly under construction, the date is mid-1912 at the latest. If so, then Pu Yi has just turned six, not eight, and has been separated from his family for four years, not seven.
When Pu Yi's wife arrives at the marriage ceremony, a woman can be seen in the background clutching to the side rail as she almost trips down the flight of stairs.
While all Japanese characters speak Japanese, all Chinese characters speak English instead of Chinese.
During the young emperor's coronation, at one point he ducks under a yellow sheet and walks down a set of stairs and past the rows of eunuchs kowtowing. As he approaches the last rows, a eunuch gets up and suddenly looks to his left as if he accidentally stepped on or bumped into the guard separating him from the emperor.