Empress Xu

Empress Xu (許皇后) (personal name unknown, but likely Xu Kua [許誇]) (died 8 BC) was an empress during the Han dynasty, who came from a powerful family. She was initially loved by her husband Emperor Cheng, but she eventually lost favor, and as a result of the machinations of her eventual successor, Empress Zhao Feiyan, she was deposed. After she was removed, she tried in vain to regain a measure of dignity by conspiring with her husband’s cousin Chunyu Zhang (淳于長), but that conspiracy would eventually lead to her being forced to commit suicide.

In July 33 BC, then-Consort Xu’s father-in-law Emperor Yuan died, and her husband Crown Prince Ao succeeded to the throne as Emperor Cheng. On 13 May 31 BC, he created her empress. He favored her greatly but also had another favorite, Consort Ban, who also was childless. Because both the empress and Consort Ban lacked children, Emperor Cheng’s mother Empress Dowager Wang Zhengjun became concerned, and she encouraged him to take on more and more concubines in the hopes of producing an imperial heir, but none would come.

Because of the relatively exclusive status that Empress Xu had with regard to Emperor Cheng’s affection, the officials also began to become concerned about the lack of an imperial heir. In 28 BC, the Confucian scholar and astrologer Liu Gengsheng (劉更生, later named Liu Xiang 劉向) submitted a report that suggested that Empress Xu’s power be reduced and that the emperor spread his affection to other concubines. In response, Emperor Cheng reduced the budget of the empress’ palace. She filed a formal objection with her husband, to which he made a formal reply in the form of an edict upholding the reduction in expenditures. Nevertheless, it did not appear that their relationship was severely strained.

However, a decade later, Empress Xu would meet her downfall. Circa 19 BC, when Emperor Cheng was visiting Princess Yang’a (陽阿公主), he became enamored with her dancing girl Zhao Feiyan (趙飛燕) and her sister Zhao Hede (趙合德) and made them his concubines, and they were favored over Empress Xu and Consort Ban. In late 18 BC, the Zhao sisters falsely accused Empress Xu and Consort Ban of witchcraft. On 8 January 17 BC, Empress Xu was deposed and put under house arrest in a subsidiary palace. Consort Ban was spared after successfully pleading her case, but she did not wish to return to the same environment and instead became a lady in waiting for Empress Dowager Wang.