Emperor Ai of Han
漢哀帝
简体 汉哀帝
“The cut sleeve”
A nephew who inherited because his uncle had no sons, and died at twenty-five. He briefly broke the Wang clan's grip, then gave the government to Dong Xian, the young official he loved — the origin of duanxiu, the cut sleeve, still the classical Chinese phrase for love between men.
The story is that he cut the sleeve off his robe rather than wake Dong Xian, who had fallen asleep across it. When the emperor died, Dong Xian was forced to suicide within a day, and Wang Mang came back to the capital.
Empress Fu was married to him for her surname, to tie him to his grandmother's family, and destroyed for the same surname afterwards by a politician who acknowledged she had done nothing at all.
The empress of this reign
Painted on silk in gemstone mineral pigments by Xiang Li.
About this page
Written for this site to place Ai's reign around the paintings. For the full biography, the dynastic histories and the scholarship behind them, start at Wikipedia.
Every Han emperor
Western Han
西漢 / 西汉 202 BC – 9 AD| Reign | Emperor | Painted empresses |
|---|---|---|
| 202 – 195 BC | Gaozu 漢高祖 / 汉高祖 Liu Bang 劉邦 / 刘邦 | |
| 195 – 188 BC | Hui 漢惠帝 / 汉惠帝 Liu Ying 劉盈 / 刘盈 | |
| 188 – 184 BC | Qianshao 漢前少帝 / 汉前少帝 Liu Gong 劉恭 / 刘恭 | — |
| 184 – 180 BC | Houshao 漢後少帝 / 汉后少帝 Liu Hong 劉弘 / 刘弘 | — |
| 180 – 157 BC | Wen 漢文帝 / 汉文帝 Liu Heng 劉恆 / 刘恒 | |
| 157 – 141 BC | Jing 漢景帝 / 汉景帝 Liu Qi 劉啟 / 刘启 | |
| 141 – 87 BC | Wu 漢武帝 / 汉武帝 Liu Che 劉徹 / 刘彻 | |
| 87 – 74 BC | Zhao 漢昭帝 / 汉昭帝 Liu Fuling 劉弗陵 / 刘弗陵 | |
| 74 BC, for 27 days | Liu He 海昏侯 Liu He 劉賀 / 刘贺 | — |
| 74 – 48 BC | Xuan 漢宣帝 / 汉宣帝 Liu Bingyi 劉詢 / 刘询 | |
| 48 – 33 BC | Yuan 漢元帝 / 汉元帝 Liu Shi 劉奭 / 刘奭 | |
| 33 – 7 BC | Cheng 漢成帝 / 汉成帝 Liu Ao 劉驁 / 刘骜 | |
| 7 – 1 BC | Ai 漢哀帝 / 汉哀帝 Liu Xin 劉欣 / 刘欣 | |
| 1 BC – 6 AD | Ping 漢平帝 / 汉平帝 Liu Kan 劉衎 / 刘衎 | |
| 6 – 9 AD | Ruzi Ying 孺子嬰 / 孺子婴 Liu Ying 劉嬰 / 刘婴 | — |
Eastern Han
東漢 / 东汉 25 – 220 AD| Reign | Emperor | Painted empresses |
|---|---|---|
| 25 – 57 AD | Guangwu 漢光武帝 / 汉光武帝 Liu Xiu 劉秀 / 刘秀 | |
| 57 – 75 AD | Ming 漢明帝 / 汉明帝 Liu Zhuang 劉莊 / 刘庄 | |
| 75 – 88 AD | Zhang 漢章帝 / 汉章帝 Liu Da 劉炟 / 刘炟 | |
| 88 – 106 AD | He 漢和帝 / 汉和帝 Liu Zhao 劉肇 / 刘肇 | |
| 106 AD | Shang 漢殤帝 / 汉殇帝 Liu Long 劉隆 / 刘隆 | — |
| 106 – 125 AD | An 漢安帝 / 汉安帝 Liu Hu 劉祜 / 刘祜 | |
| 125 AD, seven months | Beixiang 漢少帝懿 / 汉少帝懿 Liu Yi 劉懿 / 刘懿 | — |
| 125 – 144 AD | Shun 漢順帝 / 汉顺帝 Liu Bao 劉保 / 刘保 | |
| 144 – 145 AD | Chong 漢沖帝 / 汉冲帝 Liu Bing 劉炳 / 刘炳 | — |
| 145 – 146 AD | Zhi 漢質帝 / 汉质帝 Liu Zuan 劉纘 / 刘缵 | — |
| 146 – 168 AD | Huan 漢桓帝 / 汉桓帝 Liu Zhi 劉志 / 刘志 | |
| 168 – 189 AD | Ling 漢靈帝 / 汉灵帝 Liu Hong 劉宏 / 刘宏 | |
| 189 AD, five months | Shao 漢少帝 / 汉少帝 Liu Bian 劉辯 / 刘辩 | — |
| 189 – 220 AD | Xian 漢獻帝 / 汉献帝 Liu Xie 劉協 / 刘协 |