By now, many will be familiar with the part of the American constitution that provides for the removal of the president “on Impeachment for, and Conviction of, Treason, Bribery, or other high Crimes and Misdemeanors [ sic ]”. Unlike leaders of functioning democracies, whose powers are checked by various state apparatuses , Chinese emperors were absolute monarchs. However, that doesn’t mean they could not be removed. Besides being overthrown by armed rebels or foreign invaders, there were multiple instances of emperors being forced to vacate their thrones during peacetime by members of their own families or even their ministers. Liu He (92–59BC) was the nephew of Emperor Zhao of the Western Han dynasty, who died in 74BC at the age of 21 without any children. The formidable Huo Guang, a powerful minister who dominated the government after Zhao’s death, reckoned that among the male members of the imperial clan, Liu was the most amenable to his control. He arranged for Liu to be “adopted” as the late emperor’s son (though he was only two years younger than Zhao) and formally installed him as emperor. Upon arriving at the capital from his fiefdom Changyi (present-day Shandong), the new emperor did not endear himself to Huo. Not only did Liu harass the bureaucracy by issuing an average of 40 orders a day, but, most shockingly, he bedded the consorts of the late Zhao, who were, strictly speaking, his aunts and adoptive mothers. Zhao’s widow, the young Empress Dowager Shangguan, appealed to Huo for help to rid the palace of this lout. Before the ministers at court one summer’s day, in 74BC, Huo read out charges against Liu and declared him unfit for the role of emperor. Huo personally removed Liu’s crown, before placing him under house arrest. Liu was emperor for only 27 days before he was deposed. He was replaced by a cousin, known in history as Emperor Xuan. After more than 10 years as a prisoner in his own residence, Liu was given the denigrating title Marquis of Haihun (the character “hun” denotes “foolishness”) and exiled to the south (in present-day Jiangxi), in 63BC. In his little marquisate, the area of which was further reduced by an emperor wary that his cousin and predecessor would make a comeback, Liu lived quietly before his death at the age of 33. In 2011, Liu He’s tomb was discovered in Jiangxi and its contents suggested that he might not have been the uncouth ignoramus that official dynastic histories have made him out to be. The beautiful bronzes, musical instruments and books in the tomb intimated that Liu was a man of erudition and taste. Huo’s condemnation and dethroning of Liu was probably informed by political rather than moral concerns. Liu was supposed to be a puppet emperor but he had brought 200 of his own staff with him to the capital, indicating his intention to establish his own political base in the central government. It is telling that immediately after Liu’s dethronement, all but one of his men were put to death. Liu would have been a minor prince forgotten by history if not for his dubious honour of being the first emperor in Chinese history to be deposed by his own minister.