Empress Fu (傅皇后) (died September or October 1 BC), formally Empress Xiao'ai (孝哀皇后), was an

Empress The word ''emperor'' (from , via ) can mean the male ruler of an empire. ''Empress'', the female equivalent, may indicate an emperor's wife (empress consort), mother/grandmother (empress dowager/grand empress dowager), or a woman who rules ...

during

Han dynasty The Han dynasty was an Dynasties of China, imperial dynasty of China (202 BC9 AD, 25–220 AD) established by Liu Bang and ruled by the House of Liu. The dynasty was preceded by the short-lived Qin dynasty (221–206 BC ...

. Her husband was

Emperor Ai of Han Emperor Ai of Han, personal name Liu Xin (劉欣; 25 BC – 15 August 1 BC), was an emperor of China's Han dynasty. He ascended the throne when he was 20, having been made heir by his childless uncle Emperor Cheng, and he reigned from 7 to 1 BC ...

, but they had no children, and their marriage was possibly not even

consummated The consummation of a marriage, or simply consummation, is the first officially credited act of sexual intercourse following marriage. In many traditions and statutes of civil or religious law, the definition usually refers to penile–vaginal p ...

because he was

homosexual Homosexuality is romantic attraction, sexual attraction, or sexual behavior between people of the same sex or gender. As a sexual orientation, homosexuality is "an enduring pattern of emotional, romantic, and/or sexual attractions" exc ...

Life

Empress Fu was the daughter of her husband's grandmother Consort Fu’s cousin Fu Yan (傅晏). She became his consort when he was still the Prince of Dingtao and later

crown prince A crown prince or hereditary prince is the heir apparent to the throne in a royal or imperial monarchy. The female form of the title, crown princess, is held by a woman who is heir apparent or is married to the heir apparent. ''Crown prince ...

. After the death of his uncle Emperor Cheng in April 7 BC, he ascended the throne as

Emperor The word ''emperor'' (from , via ) can mean the male ruler of an empire. ''Empress'', the female equivalent, may indicate an emperor's wife (empress consort), mother/grandmother (empress dowager/grand empress dowager), or a woman who rules ...

Ai, and she was created his empress that same year on 16 June. Her father created the Marquess of Kongxiang. By the time Emperor Ai died in August 1 BC, Empress Fu's main support, Consort Fu, had already been dead for many months, and she suddenly was all alone as her father and her other relatives were purged from the government by

Wang Mang Wang Mang (45 BCE6 October 23 CE), courtesy name Jujun, officially known as the Shijianguo Emperor (), was the founder and the only emperor of the short-lived Chinese Xin dynasty. He was originally an official and consort kin of the ...

.Rudi Thomsen, ''Ambition and Confucianism: a biography of Wang Mang'', Aarhus University Press, 1988. . Wang, who bore grudges against Fu and Ai, did not permit her to become

empress dowager Empress dowager (also dowager empress or empress mother; ) is the English language translation of the title given to the mother or widow of a monarch, especially in regards to Chinese, Japanese, Korean, or Vietnamese monarchs in the Chines ...

, and a brief time after Ai's death, he had her demoted to commoner status and ordered her to guard her husband's tomb—even though she was not personally involved in any of the political intrigues. She committed

suicide Suicide is the act of intentionally causing one's own death. Risk factors for suicide include mental disorders, physical disorders, and substance abuse. Some suicides are impulsive acts driven by stress (such as from financial or ac ...

that day.

References

1st-century BC births 1 BC deaths Han dynasty empresses 1st-century BC Chinese women 1st-century BC Chinese people Suicides in the Han dynasty {{China-royal-stub