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

Empress An emperor (from la, imperator, via fro, empereor) is a monarch, and usually the sovereignty, sovereign ruler of an empire or another type of imperial realm. Empress, the female equivalent, may indicate an emperor's wife (empress consort), ...

during

Han Dynasty The Han dynasty (, ; ) was an imperial dynasty of China (202 BC – 9 AD, 25–220 AD), established by Liu Bang (Emperor Gao) and ruled by the House of Liu. The dynasty was preceded by the short-lived Qin dynasty (221–207 BC) and a warr ...

. Her personal name is unknown. Her husband was

Emperor Ai of Han Emperor Ai of Han (27 BCE – 15 August 1 BCE) was an emperor of the Chinese 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 BCE. The people and the off ...

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

consummated In many traditions and statutes of civil or religious law, the consummation of a marriage, often called simply ''consummation'', is the first (or first officially credited) act of sexual intercourse between two people, following their marriage t ...

because he was

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

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 Dingtao District () is a district under the jurisdiction of Heze in Shandong province, China. Emperor Gaozu of Han Emperor Gaozu of Han (256 – 1 June 195 BC), born Liu Bang () with courtesy name Ji (季), was the founder and first emper ...

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 is crown princess, which may refer either to an heiress apparent or, especially in earlier times, to the wif ...

. After the death of his uncle Emperor Cheng in 6 BC, he ascended the throne as

Emperor An emperor (from la, imperator, via fro, empereor) is a monarch, and usually the sovereignty, sovereign ruler of an empire or another type of imperial realm. Empress, the female equivalent, may indicate an emperor's wife (empress consort), ...

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

Wang Mang Wang Mang () (c. 45 – 6 October 23 CE), courtesy name Jujun (), was the founder and the only Emperor of China, emperor of the short-lived Chinese Xin dynasty. He was originally an official and consort kin of the Han dynasty and later ...

.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 Chinese, Japanese, Korean, or Vietnamese emperor in the Chinese cultural sphere. The title was also g ...

, 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 Suicide is the act of intentionally causing one's own death. Mental disorders (including depression, bipolar disorder, schizophrenia, personality disorders, anxiety disorders), physical disorders (such as chronic fatigue syndrome), and s ...

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