A Fractured Court: The Rise of the Fu Faction

The early years of Emperor Ai’s reign (7-1 BCE) witnessed an extraordinary concentration of power within the Han imperial court. By 5 BCE, the political landscape had become a battleground between competing factions, with the Fu clan emerging as particularly dominant. This ascendancy followed a remarkable achievement – Fu太后 successfully obtained the prestigious title of “Imperial Grand Empress Dowager,” creating an unprecedented situation where four empress dowagers simultaneously held court positions.

The Fu clan’s rise precipitated significant political casualties. Key officials like Fu Xi and Kong Guang found themselves dismissed from office, victims of the factional warfare. Even the formidable Wang Mang, future usurper of the Han throne, was temporarily sidelined and sent back to his fiefdom during this period. These personnel changes reflected deeper struggles over imperial authority and the proper relationship between the outer court bureaucracy and inner palace influence.

The Calendar Controversy and Failed Reforms

Emperor Ai’s reign became marked by desperate attempts to address the dynasty’s mounting crises through symbolic measures. In 5 BCE, the emperor approved a dramatic calendar reform proposed by Xia Heliang and his associates, changing the era name from “Jianping” to “Taichu” and adopting the grandiose title “Chen Sheng Liu Taiping Huangdi” (Chen Holy and Liu Peaceful Emperor). This radical move, intended to reset the cosmic order and cure the emperor’s chronic illness, reflected the growing influence of millenarian thinking at court.

The reform proved short-lived. When the emperor’s health failed to improve after a month, the entire initiative was scrapped. Xia Heliang and his followers paid the ultimate price for their failed prophecy, being executed for “misleading the people.” This episode revealed both the court’s willingness to embrace unconventional solutions and its ruthless pragmatism when those solutions failed.

The Scandal of Imperial Favoritism

No account of Emperor Ai’s reign would be complete without examining his controversial relationship with Dong Xian, a relationship that came to define the era. The emperor’s favoritism reached extraordinary levels, with Dong Xian receiving unprecedented honors and wealth. Historical records describe astonishing scenes – the emperor cutting off his sleeve rather than disturb Dong Xian who was sleeping on it, establishing the famous Chinese euphemism for homosexuality, “the passion of the cut sleeve.”

The emperor’s largesse knew no bounds:
– Dong Xian’s wife was permitted to reside in the palace
– His sister was made a concubine second only to the empress
– His family received weapons from the imperial armory
– A grand residence mirroring imperial palaces was constructed for him
– A magnificent tomb near the emperor’s own mausoleum was prepared

This blatant nepotism provoked stern rebukes from upright officials like Zheng Chong and Wu Jianglong, who risked their careers opposing these excesses. Their protests largely fell on deaf ears, with Wu Jianglong being demoted to Pei Commandery commandant for his principled stand.

Social Crisis and Official Dissent

Beneath the court intrigues, Han society faced deepening crises. The brilliant official Bao Xuan submitted a memorial that has become one of the most famous social critiques in Chinese history, outlining “Seven Losses and Seven Deaths” plaguing the populace:

The Seven Losses:
1. Natural disasters of flood and drought
2. Heavy taxation
3. Greedy officials
4. Powerful families seizing land
5. Untimely corvée labor demands
6. Constant bandit alarms
7. Robberies and thefts

The Seven Deaths:
1. Beatings by cruel officials
2. Harsh judicial punishments
3. Wrongful executions
4. Rampant banditry
5. Vendetta killings
6. Famines
7. Epidemics

Bao Xuan’s stark analysis painted a picture of a society on the brink, with common people caught between predatory officials, natural disasters, and systemic violence. His memorial, though characteristically blunt, was tolerated due to his reputation as a leading Confucian scholar.

Diplomatic Challenges on the Northern Frontier

The period also saw significant developments in Han-Xiongnu relations. When the Xiongnu Chanyu requested to visit the Han court in 3 BCE, initial reluctance emerged due to superstitions about such visits preceding imperial deaths. The brilliant scholar Yang Xiong composed a masterful memorial urging acceptance of the visit, arguing that rejecting the Chanyu would needlessly create tensions with this formidable northern neighbor.

Yang Xiong’s memorial demonstrated remarkable geopolitical insight:
– He reviewed centuries of Han-Xiongnu relations
– Emphasized the unique challenges posed by the Xiongnu compared to other frontier peoples
– Warned against creating unnecessary hostility
– Advocated maintaining the careful balance achieved through generations of diplomacy

The emperor, persuaded by this reasoning, reversed his decision and approved the visit (though it was ultimately postponed due to the Chanyu’s illness).

The Erosion of Governance Norms

Perhaps the most telling indicator of systemic decline appeared in the degradation of official appointments. As Chancellor Wang嘉 noted in a memorial, the rapid turnover of provincial administrators (sometimes lasting mere months) had created a situation where officials governed with constant fear rather than commitment to good administration. This instability at the local level mirrored the factionalism consuming the central government.

The historian Hu Sanxing’s commentary on these events cuts to the heart of the matter: the obsession with minor protocol violations while allowing real power to concentrate in the hands of corrupt relatives paved the way for Wang Mang’s eventual usurpation. The principled Peng Xuan, who later refused office under Wang Mang, stood in stark contrast to the self-serving officials who dominated Emperor Ai’s court.

Conclusion: The Fading Light of Western Han

The years 5-3 BCE represented a critical juncture in the Western Han’s decline. Emperor Ai’s reign encapsulated the dynasty’s systemic problems: excessive imperial favoritism, factional infighting, administrative instability, and growing social discontent. The concentration of four empress dowagers at court symbolized the distorted power structures, while the Dong Xian scandal revealed the erosion of governance norms.

Yet even in this twilight period, voices of principle like Bao Xuan, Yang Xiong, and Wang嘉 continued to uphold Confucian ideals of governance. Their memorials, preserved in the historical record, would inspire later generations even as the Western Han dynasty moved inexorably toward its dramatic conclusion under Wang Mang’s interregnum.

The political maneuvers, social critiques, and diplomatic decisions of these years demonstrate how institutional decay occurs not through sudden collapse, but through the gradual erosion of norms and the triumph of personal interests over public good. Emperor Ai’s court became a case study in how not to govern, its lessons resonating far beyond its historical moment.