Empress Fu (Ai)

Empress Fu (傅皇后) (died September or October 1 BC[1]), formally Empress Xiao'ai (孝哀皇后), was an Empress during Han Dynasty. Her personal name is unknown. Her husband was Emperor Ai of Han, but they had no children, and their marriage was possibly not even consummated because he was homosexual.[2]

In this Chinese name, the family name is Fu (傅).
Empress Xiaoai
孝哀皇后
SpouseEmperor Ai of Han
Posthumous name
Empress Xiao'ai (孝哀皇后)
FatherFu Yan, Marquess of Kongxiang

Life
The tomb of Empress Fu, east of Emperor Ai's tomb in Yiling (義陵), Xianyang, Shaanxi

Empress Fu was a 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. After the death of his uncle Emperor Cheng in April 7 BC, he ascended the throne as Emperor Ai,[3] and she was created his empress that same year on 16 June.[4] Her father was created the Marquess of Kongxiang.[5]

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 government by Wang Mang.[6] Wang, who bore grudges against Fu and Ai, did not permit her to become empress dowager, 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 intrigue. She committed suicide that day.

References
  1. 8th month of the 2nd year of the Yuan'shou era, per vol.35 of Zizhi Tongjian. The month corresponds to 18 Sep to 16 Oct 1 BC in the proleptic Julian calendar.
  2. Book of Han, vol. 97, part 2.
  3. Stern, Keith (2009), "Ai Ti", Queers in History, BenBella Books, Inc.; Dallas, Texas, ISBN 978-1-933771-87-8
  4. bingxu day of the 5th month of the 2nd year of the Sui'he era
  5. Zizhi Tongjian, 33, 34, 35.
  6. Rudi Thomsen, Ambition and Confucianism: a biography of Wang Mang, Aarhus University Press, 1988. ISBN 87-7288-155-0.


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