Emperor Ai of Han

Liu Xin
Emperor Ai of Han and Dong Xian, by Chen Hong Shou (17th century)
Emperor of Western Han Dynasty
Reign	7–1 BC
Predecessor	Emperor Cheng
Successor	Emperor Ping
Born	27 BC Principality of Dingtao
Died	1 (aged -27–-26)
Spouse	Empress Fu
Full name Family name: Liu (劉 liú) Given name: Xin (欣, xīn) Era dates Jìanpíng 建平 (6–3 BC) Yúanshòu 元壽 (2–1 BC) Posthumous name Short: Ai (哀, āi) "lamentable" Full: Xiaoai (孝哀, xiào āi) "filial and lamentable"
Father	Liu Kang, Prince Gong of Dingtao
Mother	Consort Ding

Emperor Ai of Han (27–1 BC) was an emperor of the Chinese Han Dynasty. He ascended the throne when he was 20, having been made heir by his uncle Emperor Cheng, who was childless, and he reigned from 7 to 1 BC.

The people and the officials were initially excited about his ascension, as he was viewed by them (as well as Emperor Cheng) to be intelligent, articulate, and capable. However, under Emperor Ai, corruption became even more prevalent and heavy taxes were levied on the people. Furthermore, Emperor Ai was highly controlled by his grandmother Consort Fu (consort of his grandfather Emperor Yuan), who improperly demanded the title of Grand Empress Dowager—even though she had never been an empress previously and therefore did not properly have that title, and this led to the unprecedented and unrepeated situation of four women possessing empress dowager titles at the same time—Empress Wang (Emperor Cheng's mother and Emperor Yuan's wife), Empress Zhao Feiyan (Emperor Cheng's wife), Consort Fu, and Consort Ding (Emperor Ai's mother).

Consort Fu's control of the political scene extended until her death in 2 BC, including an episode where her jealousy of Consort Feng Yuan—another consort of Emperor Yuan's (and therefore her romantic rival) and the grandmother of the future Emperor Ping—resulted in Consort Feng being falsely accused of witchcraft and subsequently being forced to commit suicide. During Emperor Ai's reign, he also stripped the Wang clan (Empress Wang's clan), which had been powerful during Emperor Cheng's reign, of much of their power, and substituted members of the Fu and Ding clans in their stead (which, ironically, led to the effect that the people, who were not enamored with the Wangs initially, longing for their return to power due to the people associating the departure of the Wangs from power with Emperor Ai's incompetence in administration). In an unpopular act, Emperor Ai had his prime minister Wang Jia (王嘉, unrelated to the Wang clan mentioned above) put to death for criticizing him, an act that made him appear tyrannical. Emperor Ai's shortcomings quickly led to the demoralization of the people towards the government and the acquisition of power by Wang Mang, in a backlash, after Ai died in 1 BC.